Things around that make me happy!

Matthew 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Reminds me that God DOES care about the little things...
Both of my grandmothers LOVED flowers and gardening and apprarently those roots run deep. Both of them would take pictures of the plants they loved so I have started doing some of the same! Each one is a treasure from God and I am amazed at the joy they bring me each spring when they arrive. They remind me as they die and bloom that indeed== His mercies are new every morning...
I now get my exercising during the days chasing boys on their Power Wheels and walking around the yard enjoying the plants that my "yard boy lover" has planted or that I have planted myself. They seriously bring me great joy. I have started to make arrangements from my plants to bring inside each week and enjoy on my kitchen counter (see pic). The magnolia (see pic) is Jeb's tree and I take his pic in front of it each Mother's Day to watch it grow and see how he has grown. The weeping cherry (see another earlier blog on that lovely tree) is Cay's and I am taking his pic in front of it. There was much weeping before his arrival, but the cherry blossom on it remind of the sweetness of waiting on God in his situation/birth. The day I bought the tree was the day of my miscarriage exactly one year (3/29) before his birth on 3/29 the next year. The hydrangeas at the hammock are reminders of my wedding and the gorgeous hydrangea blooms that I carried that very wonderful day! They are still my all-time favorite flower. The yellow daffodils were given to me by one of my best buds and they remind me of her and of how much I love yellow! The rose bush is like a tie-dyed rose this year...last year it was white..I think that is super cool. The red bud reminds me of LOVE since I have always loved the Red Bud leaves that are heart-shaped at the tennis club and I LOVE tennis! I think every time I walk by that tree that God must have done that on purpose. The hosta remind me of my dear grandmother who loved to get down and dig and I enjoy having lots of varieties of them to grow/divide/enjoy and give away! The blackberries and blueberries are also things I love and can't wait to eat. I always laugh about mid-summer when the boys eat so many their poop is BLACK. They get berries all over their face and hands and generally ruin a few outfits a year eating berries. The blackberries are from Mr. Ray and will alwasy remind me of the special friendship that we share with our 80-something year-old neighbors. They are so fun. Also, this year we are planting lettuce thanks to Ray's example. It has been a fun project for the kids and I to watch it come up! We will have our first salad this next month! The eggs are so pretty that our chickens are working hard making every day. We like to watch them and they are quite opinionated which fits me perfectly. Those ladies do not take any junk. When Bailey or Sherman or Sgt. try to chat with them they have a hissy fit and when I tried to put in golf balls to fool them into sitting on their eggs so the boys can have chicks they kicked all the golf balls out to show me who was boss! They must have worked all day to get those out of the nesting box and into a another area. Mr. Ray says that he eats eggs everyday and is donig GREAT at 80-something so I am eating more eggs these days and worrying less about the choloesterol hype. It is quite freeing.
Jeb is ending school this week and that, too, is making me happy. However, it is tempered with sadness knowing that the next 8 weeks are our last to have full days together. Our life is seriously about to change and although I am good with change in and of itself this one is still going to tear me apart and rock my world.
We have a new goat in our herd....Welcome Buttercup!

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Song of Solomon 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

Mountain Memories Pt.II

The last day of our camping trip Nana came up and brought B and K to come hiking with us! The boys enjoyed at picnic in NC and climbing up some huge rocks. Then, we hiked a mile or so to Bearwallow Falls. After that, we loaded up and visited Whitewater Falls; it is a 411 foot fall and it was so majestic. They hiked 2 miles and I was so proud of all of them for making it with very little complaining! They even found a huge centipede that entertained them for a while. Next, we visited our local fish hatcher and they got to "pet" some trout of all sizes. Finally, we got to put our toes in the river. Bradley and I fjorded the river and were the toughest of the bunch to make it across the icy cold river. The boys (and Jonas) had a tough man contest to see who could go under/across, and stay in the longest and Bradley won! He was amazing. We ended the day with a burger and blizzard at Dairy Queen...that place is nasty but the food hits the spot.

Mountain Memories...Pt. 1

We had our 5th trip in our camper this weekend and it was again--a blast! We had family with us and good friends. We rode bikes, ate yummy food, laughed, chased on the playground until exhaustion, made lots of puppy friends, made a load of smores, and had some good hiking adventures (next post).
Funny thing I don't want to forget:
---Jonas almost killing himself chasing a 5th grader almost into a pole, a fence, and a tree during playground freeze tag. I laughed till I hurt and B almost barfed he was laughing so hard. As J would say later, "it was not his proudest moment." There were a few injuries during playground freeze tag.
--T and Jeb can now start their own bikes and ride on gravel like champs...even making on some uphill jaunts that taxed me.
---Cay likes to get out of the camper FIRST thing in the morning and walk around in his PJ's playing trucks and helping start the fire.
---Jonas builds enormous camp fires even if it is 80 degrees.
---The kids begging to bike before breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, before supper, after supper...you get the picture.
---"The Bear" that was in the woods (up in the trees supposedly) ...it was really Jonas but Caleb NEVER forgot it for 3 days he was looking for the bear!
---Caleb is doing really well at saying everyone's names in the sweetest baby way possible and that warmed my heart. He is so loved by so many ...we are so blessed, thank you God.
---Jonas is an A+ hubby b/c he does all the dishes/cooking when camping and that is such a refreshing break for me. He also has the coffee ready when I wake up in the am (just like home)!
---How the boys collapse into bed and never move till morning b/c they are so exhausted.
---asking "where is Caleb" two-hundred thousand times. He is FAST.
---watching Caleb manuever the putt-putt course like it is a jungle gym with holes.
---hearing Jeb whine when camping is over..he is pooped out...but is sad to pack up.
---playing spaids with Sonya--she whooped tail...hopefully not rookie luck!
---eating real bacon each morning!
---watching the kids eat massive amounts of marshmellows

Jenny and Jess brought their new pup and the kids never let the pup's feet hit the ground. Caleb was especially fond of the little gal.
Papa D and Nana Mac came up and grilled burgers and ate supper with us on Friday night. Jeanie and Dave stopped by to say hello and Jameson stayed with us Friday and Saturday. Then, on Sunday Nana brought up Bradley and Kyler for our hiking advenuture in NC (see next post).

Fun times on the farm...

Caleb got to meet our new baby friend...and we had fun with all the siblings as always! Cay is super excited to have boy buddy to camp with in summers to come!








Meet our chickens...Dottie and Jeanette (Jeb named her himself).











We had some local kids over to ride the pony, feed/pet the goats and play in the waterfall. To say they took it all in and had a blast would be an understatment. They rode the powerwheels till they were dead and jumped on the tramp till they were ready to collapse. At the waterfall, they slid down the rocks (some on purpose/some not) dunked each other under, and took dares to put themselves under the waterfall! They took it all in. We had golf cart rides, we fed the big horses, they rode the tire swing higher than I've ever seen it sail, and the zipline was a big hit... and they enjoyed meeting our new chickens too. We had some yummy homeade churned ice cream and all the kids left soaking wet, dirty as all get out, full of sugar, and completely exhausted. One of the gals said on the way back from the falls/goats that this was the day she'd always wished for. My heart melted. They brought us more joy than we brought them for sure. Not one of them was scared of anything either...and we have some BIG dogs. We can't wait to hang out with them again.

We have had fun this week having various friends and cousins over to play for the day. In the past 2 weeks I know that we have had over 30 guests of all ages and sizes!

When we had little boys I brought out all our sprinklers and baby pool and the boys were thrilled. They swam for hours and I had fun sipping a Pepsi and soaking in the rays! Caleb does an amazing dive into the baby pool--as pictured. He squeals and screams and splashes in just the smallest amounts of water. I can't wait to see him hit the real pool. I just hope he is not as fast on water as he is on land...but I have a bad feeling.