The Demanding Garden Hogs

When my sister in law sat down in the chair in my back yard I saw her gaze suddenly stop.........'Is that a zucchini plant?'  She said it with bigger than usual eyes and with a bit of a raised eye brow.....

After my 'Yes' response, I went on to explain to my sis in law that having zucchini, acorn squash, and pumpkins hogging my back yard was never my intention- they were an afterthought that was meant to 'accessorize' the $100 worth of flowers that I had purchased and planted. 

Not being a gardener by nature, I am not accustomed to what types of plants do what...oh I've planted the cute little pumpkin plant in my front yard each summer so that by fall the leaves will be grown up (the seeds never seemed to produce pumpkins, just leaves) and I would go purchase perfectly rounded pumpkins to place in those leaves....it was always a fun fall decoration that would literally draw a ton of 'are those pumpkins!! Oh how cute' attention.

As my $100 worth of flowers made their way over the scanner at our local plant co op the circular rack of seed packets caught my attention- as an afterthought I grabbed one packet of pumpkin seeds and 2 very small zucchini plants- this purchase added $3. to my bill-  After getting home and planting those beautiful flowers I stood back and told Matt...'I think I am going to plant these pumpkin seeds in front of the flowers- the leaves might add some nice color...while I'm at it I will also plant these 2 zucchini plants too (all in the same area).

Within a week those pumpkin seeds had all sprouted (the packet came with probably 15 seeds).  The zucchini plants seemed to grow an unusual amount in that week also.........by week 2 the $100 worth of flowers were squashed by the ever enlarging leaves of those pumpkins- and it seemed that the zucchini plant was determined to keep growing at an unusual rate......by week 3 the zucchini and pumpkins had hogged the whole flower bed, squashed to never been seen again those expensive flowers, and the zucchini started the daily demand of being picked

Lesson learned.........zucchini and pumpkins are demanding garden hogs!

Matt just asked me if I was going to plant them next year..........

Well ya!  It's flattering to this gal that I could grow anything at all AND if you really want to know the truth I kinda like seeing that huge patch of green in my back yard begging me to pick through it everyday..........the zucchini bread, cake, and steamed with dinner is not that bad either :)

Note to self....zucchini grows super fast and must be picked everyday-
If you miss one day this is what you get :)

I think this is an acorn squash- we have yet to eat one

Last Back to School Pic, A Freshman, & Baseball..

One of the most shocking things about being a mom is the amount of emotion little endings can produce.........little meaning the normal mile stones that all children meet but somehow when they happen to our own children they seem so big........so emotional...........

The below picture will complete the first day of school pictures for my Eli- the first day of 12th grade.... a senior.  I remember starting his 'school book' in 2001, his kindergarten year- The front of his 'school book' has 13 slots for pictures on the front and is labeled 'School Days'- When you pop that first picture in there it is unimaginable that in the blink of an eye all the slots get filled up with those first day of school pictures until one day, today, you pop that last picture in... aaaahhhhhh..........let the tears begin for this mama......#wheredidtimego #soproudofueli #classof2014 #makesthismamacrythatugrewupsofast #iloveukidpup

Yesterday marked my Ryan's first day of his freshman year :)  The high school Ryan attends is separated into 3 different schools (all under the umbrella of the high school).  Ryan choose the school that focuses on public service types of training (Ryan will be taking some agricultural type of classes as he makes his way through high school).  Last year marked some significant academic achievements for our Ryan- He was the first ever in our family to pull down straight A's..........He kept this up and by the end of the school year he had earned an academic excellence award.  While we do not push him to achieve straight A's (we have told our boys they must bring home nothing under a C and must always try their hardest) we were so pleased with Ryan's self motivation of straight A's and hope that he keeps it up!  Over the summer Ry realized that he's got quite a throwing arm and would like to play baseball...from what I hear fall ball will start up this Thurs. night- It will be exciting to see what baseball ends up looking like for him-

Loved seeing everyone's first day of school pictures they took of their kiddo's (on facebook)!!

Hope you are all having a great Wed-

Do Not Be Afraid- Stand Still and See...

I quickly grabbed a book from our church library on Sunday- It is Christian Fiction by an Author I don't know that I've read before (T. Davis Bunn). 
One of the most interesting things about this book is that several times, during the course of 265 pages, you follow the characters into their church and sit through most of a sermon with them...........
Below is an excerpt from one of the sermons 'preached'........hope you enjoy as much as I did :)

'Many of the lessons God wants us to learn are based on the principal of release.  We need to learn to take our hands off of the controls.  When we are at our most desperate and our desire to cling to control is strongest, this is when we most need to let go.  To be willing in faith to take our hands off, and put the experience and the circumstances under the control of God.  Yet, we desperately want to direct our own lives.  It is fear which keeps us from releasing control.  It makes us skeptical and keeps us from believing in the goodness of God.  A moment given over to fear is a moment lost from God.  We are lost in that moment, trapped by fear and doubt and a desperate desire to cling to what we know.
At these times, we can do ourselves the greatest harm by trying to forge ahead alone, governed by our fears, blinded by our terrors and our pains and our pasts.  It is in this moment that release to God is vital..... this is no senseless casting everything to the winds of fate. This is trusting God- putting action to the theory of faith.
Remember when the Israelites were trapped between the forces of Pharaoh and the Red Sea? Moses turned to them and in Ex, 14:13 says 'Do not be afraid, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.'
In our impossible times, when our human frailties are greatest, this is when God's power can be strongest.  If only we can release the impossibilities to God, He will work His miracles.  Free yourself from the deadly assumption that you have the strength and the wisdom and the capacity to make the right decisions yourself....Release control to God and step off the cliff of comfort into the unknown...... Hallelujah, AMEN!'  Author T. Davis Bunn (One Shenandoah Winter pg. 219-221)

Keeping it Simple....

Last night Ryan came up with the idea to drag out an old discarded plastic bin and fill it with water- He wanted Ellie to have a swimming pool-  I didn't say anything at the time but was thinking to myself 'she's not gonna like it- I have drug out her giraffe pool time and time again and she hates it- what a waste of money that was...'
When the plastic bin was full of water, Elle's got right in
Wow!
Ryan, Matt, and I could not help but pull up chairs and watch- For a good hour Ellie twisted, twirled, and played in her bin of water...

Later, as I was cleaning up the outside, I came to the bin....as I stood over it, for some reason I started thinking....

It's not the over abundance of
(The over abundance of toys strewn throughout one's house and back yard all in hopes of encouraging both learning and play ignored by our children only to find that an old discarded bin filled with water will entertain for hours.......)
OR
the price spent that determines the fun (or appreciation of)..........
(As a decent amount of dollars and hours are spent picking out 'occasion' gifts by us parents, only to find that the child is more thrilled with the bow off of the wrapping than the actual gift itself)

A 2 year old, enjoying that old discarded bin filled with water...kicking her feet, laying on her back so that her hair can float, giggling at all the splashing she can do is a great reminder to keep it simple and enjoy what we have......

It's not always about bigger, better, or more of........sometimes it's just about appreciating what is already here....

Thank you Elle's for this reminder :)




Thank you Ryan for this adorable pic

Who's Trash is it Anyway?

A few posts back I mentioned that we were in the process of purchasing a small piece a property (a little over an acre).  This property was owned by the same woman since the early 60's....almost 55 years....I am making a logical guess here when I say that the Mrs. of the property was either looking for ways to save money or the 'grossed out' part of her brain was not functionally property... She choose not to have trash service but instead use the whole 1.23 acres to drop her trash...........for 55 years
From what I could gather the owner was elderly and passed away recently and did not have a proper will (and without properly disposing of her trash.........she definitely was not proper).  Due to a lack of relatives and some bills that needed to be paid, the State of Oregon acquired the property. 
In the eagerness to be rid of this property, the State found a realtor and allowed the price to reflect the trashy condition of this piece of land. 
After signing the closing papers on Fri. Matt and I talked about a plan of attack on all the trash.....praying for a flood to take all the trash away didn't seem very realistic..........neither did hoping that thieves would come onto the property and steal every last thing SOOOOO the first of several BIG garbage bins was scheduled to be delivered that same day and the weeks and weeks of clean up work began.....

Saturday as I was gazing out over the property it struck me that we were cleaning up a whole lot of someone else's trash...someone else's trash that had just become our trash............WAIT....who's trash is it anyway??? Their trash or Ours??

OURS :)

Free boat :)

In with the good air...out with the bad :)

• Wheat Thin Crackers taste exactly how dog food smells
• Refried beans used to be a staple in my diet (bean burrito w/o onions but add sour cream) UNTIL about a month ago.......I was looking at the refried beans in the bean burrito just before taking the first bite- I thought to myself 'refried beans look just like diarrhea'....then I took a bite of that burrito...dry heaved.........and have not eaten refried beans since.  I did the same thing with mayonnaise when I was in middle school (looked at it on a sandwich and thought it looked like a wad of snot).......I did not eat mayo until after I graduated from high school- Maybe I will go back to eating refried beans in my mid 40's
• Have you ever heard of Adrenal Fatigue?  Ya, neither had I until late spring.........Good bye late nights, over scheduling one's self, and bad eating habits.... I am on a strict regiment of vitamins (D, Iron, B complex, whole food vitamins, etc.), at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and 75 mg of progesterone cream a day for 14 days a month- I am also supposed to eat a bit healthier  :(-  It's a funny thing when your mind is saying 'go' and your body is saying 'no'.....So glad to not be as tired as I was 3 months ago but looking forward to being 100% again
• Matt is sitting by me........He just let one rip.........as I was glaring at him he looks over at me and say's 'You know what they say...in with the good air out with the bad!'....................hee hee hee hee hee!
• I'd like to give a shout out to my dad.  My dad is, I think, my biggest blogger fan- He is quick to remind me if I go to long without posting........... Hi dad- I love you!  Come visit me already!!

Hope you all are having a great Sunday night-

It took a lot of firm talk to make him take his hand down and get the picture below...
I guess teens don't think it's 'cool' to get their pictures taken with their parents

Design on Four Hundred and Fifty Dimes!!

After seeing this picture of our bedroom (our home is currently for sale- a photographer came in to do a photo shoot of it for the advertising)

It opened my eyes to exactly how bare and blah our bedroom looked..........no curb appeal.......nada.....zip........ZILCH. 
We do not have our bedroom furniture yet and I am not exactly sure what I want to decorate our bedroom like for the long term
BUT
Something needed to be done NOW to help with the curb appeal..........
Between Goodwill (love that store), Ross, and what I already had in storage at my own house
AND
with a total cost of a little under $45. this is what we came up with
Picture: Ross $19.99
Bed Pillows: Ross $19.99
Curtains: Goodwill $2.99
BEDSKIRT!!!!: Goodwill $1.99 (and it's pottery barn)
Dresser: Already had just moved it from one side of our room to the other
Mirror on top of dresser: already had
Ottoman, lamp, and light blue comforter: Was stored around the house in various places