the return of color

June is one of my favorite months. It's a time when the world is washed in brilliant colors -- from the deep purples of petunias to the lushness of green grass to the vibrant fuschias of salvia to the sunset oranges of moss roses hanging from terracotta planters.

I love it.

It's refreshing to see the landscape bursting with vibrance after enduring months and months and months of freezing temps and white and brown.  It reminds me that there is beauty in life -- and that even after hard times, discouraging times, and bleak days there will come a day when color and beauty will return.

Perhaps that's why I garden. To touch the soil and add my own splash of color to the back yard. Or perhaps, on a deeper level, it's to cement in my mind that there can be joy and beauty found in life -- and to watch it grow. It's not easy. It takes work. And time.

So as I prune and plant and water and wait I'm reminded to look at life the same way. To let go of the worry and to have faith that those little seeds, those sprouts, with time will grow beautiful.

It just takes time.

He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. {Psalm 107:35}

what i never thought i'd learn to love

 {my parents back yard and garden to the side}

I can still hear it. My dad calling from the top of the stairs, leaning over the metal railing, asking me to go down to the garden and pick beans. I'd inwardly groan, and do that eleven year old super-clever trick of hard of hearing, and go back to my book.

I knew it was temporary.

Within minutes I'd hear him ask again, and yet this time, there was more force. I knew I was busted. I'd throw my book to the side, dog-earring the page, and would look for my old garden flip flops. Those beat up, pink and yellow sandals, with the strap that seemed to consistently fall off.

{i still love these stairs}

I'd grab the paper sack that my dad left by the door, throw my hair in a sloppy eleven year old best you can do pony-tail, lope down the faded blue-stained deck stairs and wander down the hill to the garden. Where my dad was waiting. We'd nod and smile and I'd set to work for the next hour plucking long green tendrils into my bag.

By the end of the day I was happy. Happy to have worked side by side with my dad -- even though, back then, I would never have admitted it.

********** 

{my little garden area}

I can hear it. The kids are calling for me, leaning over the dark mocha stained deck rail, asking when the beans would be ready. I look around at the tomatoes I just planted -- looking at the rows of beans just plunked into the earthy soil -- and knew that within weeks we'd be harvesting our first bags of beans.

The silence was temporary.

Within minutes several eager little faces wandered down the deck stairs, across the sidewalk, and began to lean by the garden watching me work. "Mom?" Elijah would ask, "Mom, when are those seeds goina be beans?" I look up, brushing my face with my muddied hands, and tell him that it would be soon. We just need water and sun.

He looks around and next thing I know I see him trying to drag our no-kink hose down to my gardening square. "For the beans, momma," he tells me. I look at his sweet face and nod and smile. I set back to work planting herbs, and celery, and tomatoes. All grown by my dad. Waiting for me. For my garden.

{a tomato, started by my dad in late February, for me}

I am so grateful for my dad needing me -- wanting me -- to help him in the garden when I was young. His love for gardening his passed down to me which I hope passes down to my kids. There is solitude and peace that can be found in working the soil. In the shovels of dirt, the weeds pulled, and the excitement as new green shoots push upward. It's a haven from the rush and crazy schedule and technology driven world.

{some of my herbs -- labels handwritten by my dad}

Peaceful. And, I'll admit it, I love it.

(my friend Amy, at Raising Arrow's, wrote a wonderful post about herb gardening. Make sure to hop by and read it as well)

Do you garden? What's your favorite thing to grow?

And, by the way, I still don't have the biopsy results for Samuel. As soon as I get them I'll update. Thank you for continuing to pray.

~rachel

so blessed to be a mom

I am blessed to be a mother.

While I'm not a huge Mother's Day celebrator -- brunch is just too exhausting -- I do appreciate sitting back and pondering motherhood. The joys, the smiles, the laughter, the tears, the struggles, and the everyday.

It's easy to miss the blessings that being a mother brings when we're racing through the day.

So, tomorrow, for Friday Favorites, I am writing about some of my favorite motherhood moments including lessons that I've learned as a mother. Like:

Being okay if a little one picks your only flower from your flower bed and gives it to you. As a mother -- you accept it with a gracious and loving heart. The lone stem in the front yard will become even more precious and beautiful without the flower that is now sitting above your kitchen sink.

or

Always pick out church clothes on Saturday night. Include finding shoes. Because if shoes are not found they will disappear come Sunday morning in the five minutes after you should have left for church.

For those of you who are linking -- consider adding some of your mom type favorite moments -- could be funny, or sweet, or bring nostalgia, or be some lessons, or even a tribute to your own mom. No limits. Just gratitude for this blessing.

Motherhood is a gift.

Every single day.

How about you? Do you celebrate Mother's Day? And if you do, what are your traditions?

And yes, they can be like my favorite, which is going to the garden store, picking out beautiful spring plants, and spending the afternoon planting my garden with my kiddos.

That, my friends, brings me joy.

Sheffield Park and Garden

Sheffield Park Garden is a National Trust property situated on the edge of the Sussex Weald midway between East Grinstead and Lewes, 5 miles NW of Uckfield on the A275.


It is a beautiful 120 acre woodland garden originally designed for the first Earl of Sheffield by Humphry Repton and Capability Brown in the 18th century. In the nineteenth century the third Earl made Sheffield Park famous for

Beautiful English Country Gardens

In the days of old England, peasants owned small homes with small gardens and acted as workers in the small villages. These gardens, despite their small size, had to be able to supply the entire family with all of their gardening needs. The kitchen garden would consist of fruits, herbs and vegetables, and sometimes even flowers would be grown. The most popular flowers that you will find in

Miscellany Monday

I've decided to once again be a part of Miscellany Monday.  I'm thinking that I'll have some random thoughts for you all -- and as I type this I'm trying to wrap my brain around which ones to share.  So here goes --

1) We have received tons of rain this June.  The new activity of choice for my kids?  Racing around in puddles in the backyard.  My new activity?  Baling it out my raspberry patch.  Or my fab neighbor's basement.

raspberry patch behind the pine in the new "pond"

2) Despite having massive amounts of moisture already my kids are enjoying our blow-up pool.  Because of the rain I've left the pool in the same spot for too long of a time.  That has successfully burnt some of our grass.  Oh, well, their smiles made it worth it, right?

note the grass in the back

3) When a mother is with a baby in the ER and has to use the bathroom it presents as a tricky situation.  My options and choices?  One -- walking out and asking the staff behind the desk to hold Samuel.  Two -- Wiggling.  Lots.  Three -- praying that someone walks in the room so that I don't have to push the "toliet" call button.  Four -- rejoicing when the alarm for the battery for the iv starts ringing (it needed to be plugged in) and then handing sweet sleeping Samuel over to the surprised nurse. :)

that's me holding my Sam

4) Graham crackers taste amazing after an entire day of no food.  That and a teeny can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup heated in the Children's Hospital Short Stay Unit's Microwave. Thank you Campbells.

5) I've written about being behind on laundry before and have decided that all those times are now fallacies.  Now, I can truly tell you that I am behind on laundry.  Mega.  Huge.  Ginormous. Anyone want to come and help fold?

6) Sleep helps gain perspective.  I don't think I need to explain that beyond telling you that I finally got some sleep.

7) Teething Bling Give-Away.  Last week, on Miscellany Monday, I told you that I would be doing the give-away that week.  I was planning on writing my post last Thursday -- which was the day I was in the hospital with Samuel -- so now I'm aiming to put it together this week.

that's the color of my Teething Bling -- love it.

8) I love my Teething Bling.  I feel a bit trendy.  And Samuel?  He just chews and chews and chews.  Honestly?  This will be my gift of choice for new mothers.  Worth it. Keeps them chewing on something large.

9) Next week will be a short Miscellany.  I will be writing it from the lake.  Yes, vacation.  I think I might need one. Just slightly.

that will be the view I see in less then a week

10) I made it to ten.  I know that Carissa did not make rules for this Miscellany Monday, but somehow I got it in my head that I need to do ten.  Carissa -- when you are reading this please try to refrain from giggling.  Try.  And, yes, I agree with you about those Jean Diapers.  Teething Bling = trendy.  Jean Diapers = just a bit too trendy -- at least for me. :)

Remember to link up and join the randomness!  I love this day -- it always puts a smile on my face. :)

Miscellany Monday

Yikes!  I can't believe it's Monday again.  You would start to think that I would run out of random things to say, but alas, I just keep having more to write about.  It's almost if Miscellany Monday is fueling my randomness.  And that deserves another YIKES!

1) A garage sale is a tremendous amount of work.  And while you are working terribly hard you get to meet many of your neighbors -- which is a fabulous blessing.

2) All of my kids, especially Hannah and Chloe, rejoiced when the garage sale was over.  Literally.  I think there was some jumping, running around and audible sighs of relief.

3) If you do a garage sale do not use the round stickers that Target sells specifically for sales.  While they may be cute, colorful and easy -- they do not remove.  You will spend much precious time (while chatting with your neighbors) trying to gracefully rip off the small dime sized tag while not tearing the item that you are desperately trying to sell for 50 cents.  The whole time with a delightful smile on your face--while inside feeling quite annoyed.

do not use -- they are forever

4) I will be planting again today.  I went to a garden center and found 3 azalea bushes on closeout for $3 each.  That is within my budget.

5) Last fall (and every fall) I let the kids take turns and smash their carved pumpkin in my garden.  It's mega uber fun.  In fact, so much so that my neighbor kids now bring their pumpkins over.  It's a one-at-a-time cheering fest as the lucky child gets to bash their on the verge of rotting pumpkin with an old wooden bat.  This summer in my garden, deep in my beans, I noticed these HUGE leaves.  Vine type leaves.  It took a couple of moments of pondering before I realized that they are pumpkin plants.  4 of them.  Hmmmmm....wonder where they came from???

pumpkins in the beans

6) I am keeping the pumpkin plants.  As soon as my peas are done, I will pull them out and start wrapping the vine around the trellis.  Love this!  Want to see where they came from?

couldn't help it -- had to show my little pirates

7) Hannah (aspire) was in the paper this week showcasing her performance in ballet.  She was spring rain -- and oh so graceful.

picture of the paper taken with my cell phone

8) Stay tuned for a give-away this week.  I was given an opportunity to review a Teething Bling Necklace.  I will tell you that they are awesome.  And I have one to give away ---

9) only 9 randoms today.  I'll be back on track next week. :) hee hee hee

Have a great Monday!  Be sure to write your own random and link up.

those pesky weeds

This morning I woke up to a bit of chaos. The boys were wild, Todd was going to work, Hannah had ballet, and I was feeling a teeny bit sorry for myself.  Scratch that.  Make it -- I was in a full-fledged, self-pity party of lament.

I started to clean the kitchen, and grabbed the empty pizza boxes from the night before.  Self-righteously I carried them outside to the trash can.  Threw them in. Started back inside and stopped.  Staring down I saw several weeds poking up and lining my front walk.  In my flower garden.  I crouched down and started pulling those weeds.  Weed after weed after weed.  It felt good.  I could look and see where I had worked, I could see the clean mulch--losing it's brilliant red after a year--yet now weed free.

With each weed that I plucked from the earth I began to unearth the lies that I was fighting.  Lies about worth.

With each weed that I pulled I began to see beauty.  Beauty and hope that was covered by lies.

With each weed that I discarded I freed up my flowers to grow.  I saw my sin.  Repented.  And started again.

With each weed wilting on the sidewalk I felt blessed freedom.

Isn't it ironic how the Lord speaks to us?  For me, today, it was in some random clover and chickweed that decided to take root in my flower bed.  Those perennial plants reminded me to tend to the pesky and worldly weeds in my mind.

²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

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Thanks for sticking with me lately.  I know that my posts lately have been a bit more challenging.  It's just a season that I'm in right now.  When life is difficult it helps me find freedom in writing.  Maybe it's not always funny, but it's real.  It's my heart.  

Have a blessed Saturday.

Miscellany Monday

Phew....what a busy weekend.

Wedding.

Birthday Party

Cleaning.  Massive Cleaning.

Baptism

Confirmation

Party

Gardening.
Re-cleaning (is that a word?)

Thank goodness it's Monday!

And with it being Monday comes another totally random edition of 

Miscellany Monday.

1. Chloe was confirmed yesterday.  My mother purchased 1/2 sheet cake.  I thought that it would be way too big.
I was wrong.  Terribly wrong.  Buttercream frosting paired with an exceptionally moist cake will not last in this home. 

start

10 minutes later

2) This is a picture of some of my favorite things. 

Iced coffee (it's close to 90 with high humidity)

Garden Trowel

Gloves

3) These are my irises. I used the above stuff to plant them.
(last year)
I love them. Love them.

4) Yesterday I put in a huge raspberry garden.  I'm talking over 30 plants.  Later that night I took a shower -- I was covered in mud.  Then with wet hair I went to bed.  This is what my hair looks like in the morning after sleeping with wet hair.  (This is not what it looks like after I straighten it.)

can we say curly?

crazy hair

I am not straightening it today - not with ultra high humidity.
The world will just have to deal with my
big hair.

 5) Samuel did not like me taking pictures of my hair.

enough pictures!!

5 seconds later

Thanks, Carissa, for putting together this meme.  As a random person -- this helps me get those thoughts out!

Link up -- be random!

Love the button? 
-- my Hannah designed it --
her momma's proud!

scrapbook pages for Mother's Day

Yesterday, I hosted a design day at my home for homeschool girls fifth grade and older. My great friend, Amy --who designs amazing, and I mean amazing bracelets (check her out at legacybracelets ....), came and led the design morning. This months project? Creating beautiful scrapbook pages for each girls mom. What I love about the day is that it on each page, each girl wrote a prayer to the Lord thanking them for their moms. It was touching. As I typed each one up I would find myself tearing up at the sweet words these girls wrote.

Here are some pictures of the pages my daughters- Hannah, Chloe and Grace- made for me. I love them so much, and already know that I will cherish them in the years to come.  It amazes me what they treasured -- from the prayers I pray with Grace before ballet, to my faith, to my willingness to be a bit silly.  Those things matter!

from Hanni...

from Chloe aka Coco

Gracie girl

____________________________

What do you love to do for Mother's Day?

We've done brunches before, but as each year passes on I've realized that I don't really like the brunch thing. I have to get everyone ready, and then I need to keep order in a fancy-shmancy place. I prefer a calmer day. My Mother's Day present of choice? A shopping trip to the local nursery. I love, love, love flowers and gardening. There are few things I enjoy more than browsing the rows of fresh blooms and dreaming of them growing in my own soil.

some of my flowers

guess what & my gift

I remembered!

for further clarification, or simply curiosity,  on the bag of light bulbs from Target please see: the light bulb conspiracy

finally...light!

______________________________________________________

my gift

(and, sigh, yes I know that the picture is blurry...it was taken with my phone....but you get the picture.)

Yesterday, my sweet Elijah came running in (with the assistance of his big sister, Chloe) with a fistful of these gorgeous flowers for me.  Well, at least they are breath-taking in the eyes of a two year old. I've learned to find such joy in the proud moment as they hand me those dandelions.  It's ironic, especially because I am a huge gardener/lawn person.  I've learned to love these weeds, even though my lawn may not be as lush and green as the neighbors.  And ultimately, does it really matter?  Yeah...I'll take care of our lawn.  It will be green.  But it will also have sparse spots.  Not from neglect, but from my children making memories outside.  Running.  Playing. Digging (ok...I did have to ask them to NOT dig holes in the yard.  I do have limits.). Tag. Watching clouds.  Those are memories.  Memories worth having despite a few weeds and bare spots popping through.

__________________________________________________

Blessings on your day!  We have a busy, busy day.  We've got homeschool co-op this afternoon.  My kids take an art pastel class (I'll have to post some pictures.  Their art is outstanding.), gym, and drama.  It's fun, but also exhausting.  I'm in the the three and under room...and let me tell you...I'm so glad that I have an age span between my kids.  To all of you parents of multiples my hat goes off to you!  Then I have to take my older daughters, Hannah and Chloe, to their ballet class.  They both take classical ballet and are quite dedicated to the art.  It's busy. These are the days where I find peace in the smallest of things.  Like my cup of Caribou coffee, a caramel latte, that I will be picking up on the way down to co-op.

mine in 2 hours

Till tomorrow!

my Sam....and thought of spring

Samuel

My daughter Hannah took this picture of my Samuel.  I love, love, love it.  I'm hoping to have it blown up and put on a canvas type frame.  Sigh.  She's got many more pictures on her photography blog 2010 in 2010 and this picture she entered in a contest.  She wrote about it on her blog Aspire.

I love spring.  Well, mostly.  If it wasn't for my terrible allergies I could safely state that spring would be my favorite season.  Despite those pesky allergies, there is something rewarding about seeing green growth come from what seemed to be dead earth.   It amazes me how this plant, buried under piles of snow, sitting in freezing temperatures unthaws to come alive again.  I never grow tired of wandering around my perennial gardens looking for signs of life.  And today?  Oh my, oh my, my beautiful crocuses emerged.  Some years these hardy flowers peek through remnants of snow.  This morning I wandered over to be greeted by this:

new life

What an amazing God we serve.  We were dead in sin without Him. His sacrifice, His giving of His life allows us to emerge...beautiful.  It's so easy to forget the power of the Lord at work in our hearts and lives.  We tend to get so busy with the world's concerns that our hearts slow die.to the beauty of Christ in our lives.  We plod around our day, trudging from menial task to task and losing sight of the big picture.

He's alive!  Without Him we would be no better than dead earth.  But with Him we are free to grow, to love, to live.  And to find joy.

Spring is about reminders of new life.  Everywhere I look green and color are returning.  It's a beautiful reminder of how our lives parallel the seasons.  I've had those times of winter.  Times when everything is bleak, and hard, and where the everyday seems enormous.  And I've had those times of fall.  Times when I need to reign in activities, to refocus, and remember.  Or summer.  Times that are carefree, full of family, and moments of rest.  But spring?  Ahhhh, spring.  Springtime is a new start.  New energy for life.

The most surprising moment of my daily "check out my gardens" walk is a post of chives given to me by my father last year.  He gave them to me late in the summer.  By that time I was quite tired, being seven months pregnant, and I never got around to planting them in my garden.  So I left them sitting in the planting pot.  Untouched.  The summer came and went.  Fall, then winter.  And now spring.  I looked at them a couple of days ago thinking that I might as well just dump the dirt into my garden.  I thought they were dead.  And then today....on my walk...alive.

chives

No matter how dead we think we are in our walks there's always hope.  Hope in Him.  Jesus can take us, no matter where we are, and breathe new life. So take a little "check out the garden walk" today and be reminded of the beauty of spring in our own hearts.  Alleluia to Him!!

what I REALLY did...

Ahhh...to be humbled. If you read my previous post, why I NEED a spring break, you will find these plans for my day and week.  Ideas that, on paper, did NOT get followed today.  I did NO reading.  I didn't play with chalk.  I played the piano, but ooooh, too fast.  Moonlight Sonata is meant to be savored and I rushed through it, impatient, and knowing I needed to make lunch.  I didn't look at those flowers.  Well, I did...but only to pick up the petals that had fallen.  That laundry pile?  Still there.  Same height.  Same arrangement.  Blink is scattered on the kitchen floor, blown around from the constant gust of wind caused from the sliding door being opened numerous times each hour. And not on the schedule?  The arrival of our caterpillars.

What did I do?  Well, some ain't stuff.  I DID cut back the perennials from last year.  I could see the green of new growth poking through so I took my gardening sheers and did away with last years remnants.  I DID clean out the window well.  (I'm sure my daughters will thank me.  Right Hannah ?)   And I DID help Hannah work on her graphic design blog.  And I tried, one more time to introduce Samuel to some solid food.  Not too  successful. And I DID sit with all of my younger kids and read about the caterpillar.  Did you know it has 10,000 eyes?  Unbelievable.  And we DID talk about how we need to keep the caterpillars away from our, oh shall we say curious, two year old.  :)

But more than that?  I was there for my kids.  At least I tried to be.  Samuel was sooooo fussy today.  He wanted to be held.  Constantly.  At first I was so irritated.  Didn't he know about my to-do list?  My spring break list?  But, as the day wore on, it became clearer and clearer that he was my to-do list today.  He needed me.  Not me who was racing from thing to thing.  But me...the mom who could sit in the rocking chair and snuggle him.  The mom who didn't worry about the laundry (although I will attempt to tackle it tonight...again).  He needed his to-do list taken care of, not mine.

So I thought I'd post about it.   And in the same spirit of my post from earlier, I'm going to offer you some pictures.  Real pictures of today.

My REAL day

Samuel...earlier.

perennial bed...cleaned up

yard remnants

caterpillars

cereal attempt

...Hannah working

Samuel, finally asleep