Yes, it is not officially here yet but the kids are out of school and the days are warmer so the feel of summer is in the air minus the humidity (it shall arrive soon though). We have been busy out in the backyard this spring working away on jobs and just getting the backyard to a place where we can really enjoy it. I think that we are headed into the years with the little ones where we will be spending much much time out there.

I had a small garden last year just to try it out and see if it seemed doable and this year I decided to go a good bit bigger. After planting about a month ago I felt super stressed out and was feeling a little done with the garden. . .I know not good to feel that way at the start of something. After a lot of work and weed control this has been the first weekend where I feel like it is at a place where I like it and can really enjoy going out there to pull just a few weeds and check on everything. For now no bugs are eating away at anything and the weeds are under control etc. It is a happy place! For now we have Carrots, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Peas, Jalapenos, Green Peppers, Yellow Peppers, Pimentos, Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Yellow Beans, Green Beans, Okra, Sweet Basil, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Honey Dew, Sunflowers and some other flowers from seeds. Whew, we shall see what of that actually grows well but so far the squash and cucumbers, peas and green beans are all coming in. A few others have begun flowering so it is exciting!

Another purchase this spring were our rain barrels. I am super excited about these!!! It just takes a good rain for them to be overflowing so I am sure that we will add more in the future but for now I am very happy with two! They are very handy and hopefully they will save us some on the water bill when it comes to watering the garden this summer.

Last but not least yesterday Brad and his dad worked hard to install some post (set in concrete) in the backyard that we can attach hangers on for bird feeders. We have had one feeder for a very long time but we have all (even the kiddos) greatly been enjoying watching the birds come so we decided to add a few more. It has been fun to pick out some new feeders and I am hoping to plant some flowers underneath the feeders as well. We hope to add a few more plants to the backyard as well but for now it is all coming along. It has been so much fun to make our backyard our very owns space and bring a bit of restoration to it!

Brad and I escaped a few weekends ago to Asheville NC. It was a wonderful little getaway! We ended up staying downtown and having a yummy dinner at a local Italian resturaunt which was super tasty. I was hesitant to go to Biltmore as we have been in the past but I did really want to walk through the gardens there. We ended up buying tickets, as that is what one has to do even if they just want to see the gardens, so after a speed round trip through the house we hit the gardens and spent a large part of the day walking around and seeing many beautiful things. It was really wonderful to just be with Brad and to be unhurried. We both love taking pictures so we spent a lot of time doing just that throughout the garden. I love that we both enjoy pictures and I love that we both see things so differently. Looking through his pictures I gained a new appreciation for some things that I might of passed by as I was able to see them through his eyes. I am much more of a zoom in, close up kind of picture taker and Brad is a whole picture kind of guy which is actually how we are in real life as we deal with things. He is great at seeing the picture as a whole. He can take in the whole story of what is taking place. I however tend to get really intense with the little tiny details of the story. I love that God chose to put us together and I love getting to walk through life approaching things differently and learning from each other.

This was my second shirt of the day. Yes, it looks bad but the first one looked equally as bad although it had no blood on it! The first shirt spent the morning in the garden and then got caught in a rain storm in the middle of mowing. The second shirt baked cupcakes, helped clean blood off of brother’s mouth after he fell lips first into the hard cement floor of an office supply store (he is okay but has a swollen lip to show for it) and last but not least helped install our new rain barrels (more on that in a later post). Hubby always says that I am rough on my clothes. . .not sure where he gets that idea from!

This past week I got the incredible privilege of attending a luncheon with some friends where the guest speakers were Ron Hall and Denver Moore who are the authors of the book, Same Kind of Different As Me. Many wonderful people in our lives worked to make this possible as my mom offered the table at the luncheon, Brad’s mom kept brother and Brad picked up sister from school. It was a lot of juggling but all totally worth it! Thank you to everyone who made it possible plus a HUGE thank you to hubby for taking your lunch to pick up sis!!! I am starting to sound like I won an award! It felt like it being able to meet Ron and Denver. If you have not read the book it really is a great read. It is a true story of one woman’s obedience to God and how she changed many lives and still continues to change lives to this day. It is also the story of Ron and Denver as they interact with this woman which just happens to be Ron’s wife. It is a story of lives transformed! Ron is a great speaker as he pretty much retold the story of the of his wife’s obedience. Denver is an amazing man and he shared two songs with us and spoke a little as well. Denver is a man who uses his words wisely and powerfully. He tells it how it is and does not mess around. It was incredible to hear these men speak, and to actually meet them and speak with them in person! Incredible! If you have not read the book I do highly recommend it (as if you could not tell)!!!

Yes, odd title for a post but it speaks of the day! The sunshine greeted us this morning which was wonderful everyone needed another break from the rain that we continue to have. After rest time (I was gone this morning but I will post on that in a little bit) we headed outside to soak in the sun and paint! We really enjoy painting outside because you can be messy and it is okay. . .lots of inspiration when painting outside and lots of freedom to be messy. It was fun watching the kids enjoy mixing the colors and dipping the paint brushes way to many times in the water. It was fun to watch them giggle and enjoy each other even on the same piece of paper (wonders never cease). While outside the grass reiterated to me that it really needed to be mowed. With all the rain and our crazy weekend it was very shaggy. I did get a chance to mow tonight so restoration has taken place. Whew! It was really really shaggy. Poor hubby has a doctors excuse currently to not mow as his allergies are horrible. I actually enjoy mowing the grass so it works out well for us. We are hopeful for another sunny day tomorrow. . .the garden needs weeding and I am sure that the kiddos would love to paint some more.

We celebrated Sister this past weekend with a royal party! She invited a few prince and princesses over and while we were hoping to play in the backyard the rain had other plans for us. The royal party was held indoors but the princesses and princes did not seem to mind. It was so fun to see all the kiddos dressed up and playing together. It was a wonderful time and sister really enjoyed it which was fun to watch.
I used this tutorial for the crowns and we filled the gift bags with paint to decorate their crowns with. Super fun and easy!

The work of Mushroom Meadows on the gift tags. She actually made a few things for the party including the incredible invitations! Thanks again to her! If you have not seen her work check out her Etsy shop! I am a huge fan!

So, I have not posted in almost 2 months but I am still here. Life moved in and kind of took up residence as it does and we went with the flow and gave time where it was needed and now I am back or at least I will pop in from time to time to say hi! It is amazing that only two months have passed as so much has taken place. . .
-found out that a little one is allergic to penicillin
-went on vacation. . .still nothing quite like the beach!
-found out that you should always go to Children’s Hospital Emergency room with little ones (unless you child is not breathing. . .it was iffy) instead of the other hospital because they will just make you go there anyway via ambulance
-found out that an ambulance ride is expensive
-found out that the little one loves to ride in the ambulance
-found out that a little one can have pneumonia out of the blue even though they have had no signs or symptoms until they wake up in the middle of nap gasping.
-a dear friend came and tilled the garden making it larger so that we could plant more veggies this year as well as flowers
-planted the garden
-made a fence to keep the bunnies out of the garden
-remembered why it is important to start birthday quilts early
-was blessed by a blogging friend who used her amazing talents to make birthday invites and goodies for sister’s birthday
-celebrated sister’s birthday (where did those years go?)
-read
-played
-went to the zoo
-spent time with friends
-watched movies (loving Netflix date nights with hubby)
-planned some up coming parties
-played outside a ton. . .loving spring
-longing for school to be out to have more time together with the kiddos
- and just lived life
Yep, that is where I have been and what we have been up to! I am sure that more things happened but that is a brief summary. Looking forward to hopefully popping in a bit more regularly hopefully but if not that is okay as well. . .lots of freedom to live life as it comes at us! I am learning!

Last night I got to have our small group girls over for a fancy dinner. It was fun to break out the china and dress up the table a bit. It was also fun to remind them that they are worth a fancy dinner for no reason as it was a surprise for them. We all sat around an extravagant table in sweats, t-shirts, jeans, etc. we came as we were. . .exhausted and worn. There was laughter and there were tears and it was a sweet time of togetherness a time of remembering that we are there for one another and that we are not alone. We reminded each other of God’s love for us and that He will never leave us. It was truly a precious time.

I think that Hubby and Sister were a little jealous of the fancy dinner. They both made comments of the fanciness. Hubby commented on the china and Sister on the flowers that were set on the table. I love surprises and I love to surprise people but I think that I often forget to surprise those who live with me day in and day out those who see the good and the bad in me close up. I am looking forward to surprising them with a fancy dinner soon. I am most thankful for my Husband and these little ones and I am thankful for the reminder of showing them love in extravagant ways (that are affordable like a fancy table. . .it is the simple things). This season of Lent is reminding me of Christ extravagant love for us! He invites us into so much! The greatest gift and a great feast! I want to remember to love well day in and day out!

The ole’ blog got a little dusty again! It turns out that after that big cup of tea things went down hill a little more as brother broke out with an allergic reaction to some medication. Thankfully he is on the mend and spring decided to pay us a visit so we have been outside a lot these last few days.

Spring always seems a little tricky as it appears enough to get things blooming and growing and then we will have another cold snap and the cycle continues for a few weeks until it finally decides to set in. We are taking advantage of the tricky spring as I mentioned we have been camped out outside for these last few days trying to drink in all the wonderful sunshine and warm temperatures. Every Spring it never fails that I get so excited about the blooms on the tress and the flowers on the ground. Every year I take pictures of the beauty that surrounds our house. Even though it is always pictures of the Bradford Pear Tree blooming and the Daffodils each year the pictures look a little different and I see a little more detail. I am so thankful that God cares about the details! He cares about the details of our lives both big and small and he even cares about the little tiny and delicate details of blooms. I love that!

The house was silent tonight as the kiddos had a long day which led to quick sleep and hubby had a meeting so I curled up with a book and a hot cup of tea. It was much needed after this week of two trips to the doctors office with sick kiddos and an early pick up for an injury at school (all is well, just a large knot to show for the fall)! Is it really only Tuesday?