Gardening, Ground Hogs, and God

This morning was a yard work morning.  We got up early.....well our new normal of around 6-6:30.....got the boys dressed in "farm clothes", made them breakfast to eat outside, and got to work.  What was on our plan for today?

1.  Restake the tomatoes.  Either we didn't put them deep enough and wind and rain is knocking them down, or there is an animal getting them at night.  (We will see tomorrow morning.)

2.  Put up a little fence around the garden to keep my chickens out.  They seem to love hanging out in the garden.

3.  Move the chicken coop to a better, cooler location.

4.  Puttering.....this one is for hubby

5.  Try to find that pesky ground hog and his hole.  Figure out a way to remove him!

6.  Begin the process of weeding my overrun garden.

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK for our to do list.  Well, all checked but #5.  While we did see him and found his hole, we still haven't agreed on how to remove him....the decision seemed a lot clearer before we learned he was a she and had a little ground hog-let.

Little M in our garden.  I think he liked collecting bugs.

There is a lot of weeding to be done.  Partly, because this is my first garden in a few years, so I am once again, a newbie.  Partly, because I have been too busy to maintain it.  Partly, because I did not think it would get as bad as it has.  And partly, because I was just too lazy to work on it. 

But seeing the vegetables start to sprout, the squash and zucchini ready to be picked each day, the buds on the cukes and bean plants, the tomatoes plumping up, and the peppers growing little fruits.......these visible fruits have been an encouragement that my work is not in vain and a reminder that a harvest is just around the corner.

So,  my motivation has returned.  I spent most of the morning working on the weeds.  I still have a lot more to do.  And once I am done with this round, there will be more popping up all the time.  So, I guess if I really am going to have a garden, I am going to need to maintain it DAILY.

We have a big toad in our garden.  I saw him a couple of days ago.  He makes his home under one of our cucumber plants.

While I was weeding, in between the boys needing things and the chickens noising their way into my business, I got to thinking about the weeds that surrounded the plants. 

You know,  it is not by accident Jesus often used simple parables and illustrations to make His points. I think God designed it that way so we could relate and understand what He was saying.  Ordinary day to day occurrences trigger reminders of biblical lessons.  As I struggle to pull out the physical weeds that are threatening my harvest, it hit me.  What am I doing with these weeds that are threatening my spiritual harvest?

Am I letting them spout up one by one....after all, one little weed isn't that dangerous.  Or is it? 

Am I waiting to remove them all at one time, when I have a whole pile...maybe one big glorious confessional with God?  Was that really His intention when He chose to create this beautiful path of forgiveness and restoration? 

What about 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

If forgiveness is so simple, why do I make it so complicated?  Why do I let weeds grow and multiply in my life when I have the power to go to Christ daily, hourly, every minute if I chose? 

Then there is the maintenance.  Perhaps this is what I struggle with the most.  The day to day upkeep of my spiritual life is what I so often neglect.  And I wonder why weeds have overrun my garden.....

Isn't this just the cutest little dirty child you have seen??? Have I mentioned recently how much fun boys are?

Matthew 13:40-43: "Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

I never want to loose sight of the importance of keeping my life pruned from weeds.  Weeds are useless and are only good for burning.  I know I am secure in my salvation, but that promise can not be my excuse to allow my spiritual life to entertain weeds. 

I can think of three reasons right off the bat.  1.  Sin keeps me from fellowshipping with God.  It makes my relationship with Him stagnant and I do not grow.  2.  If I do not grow, I will not produce fruit.  Much like my plants that are still in their toddler stages with their little buds and unripe fruit, I need nourishment and maintenance to grow.  3.  I may be secure in my place in God's kingdom, but what kind of example am I giving unbelievers.  If they see these weeds that I am allowing to grow, what example is that?  I wouldn't seek advice from a gardener whose garden is full of weeds.  I would go to a mature gardener who was dedicated to his plants for the best advice. 

 Big M was nervous that the toad was going to jump out of his hands.  I had to include this picture. 

So,  I guess this morning was beneficial in two ways.  One, I was able to accomplish our check list and work on my garden.  It is actually kind of relaxing.  The weather was beautiful and breezy.  Two, I was really reminded about the danger of weeds, both in my garden and in my life. 

I cannot expect to have a thriving relationship with God if I am not removing the weeds, root and all, and maintaining my walk with Him.  There is no excuse for not walking with Him daily!  He is everywhere.  How easy is that-  we can literally talk to Him anytime, anywhere and have His undivided attention. 

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Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near."

Okay, what would be a blog post without mention of my girls, my hens.  When I am outside, they run to me like a bunch of puppies. 

 They saw us working in the garden and ran over from where their coop is. 

Pool Time Fun!

The boys and I went down to visit my mother this week.  It is a nice break to get away before summer begins.  We have been swimming every day and the boys love it.  Here are a few pictures.

Matthew has been learning a few new skills.  He was so proud of himself when he swam down to the end of the 25 meter pool and back.  Of course he was still in his tube, but that is okay.  He will  continue to get better.

Malachi with Nana and his cousin B.  They love the water.

Malachi and cousin B playing in the kiddie pool.

Malachi has really taken to the water.  He loves trying to swim.  He also sits on the edge of the pool and jumps in.  He is great with holding his breath under the water.  

Matthew likes to either swim with a noodle or the tube, although he is swimming a little bit all by himself. 

Malachi just resting after swimming.  I had to add it because I think it is adorable.  

So, please chalk this up as a beginners post.  I know there is nothing too exciting on here, but I have to learn with practice. 

" Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." James 1:17a

It is nice to be able to enjoy days like these and know that my father, who creates and sustains everything provides us with so many gifts....from summer days spent at the pool to everlasting life to those who believe. 

Watermelon and a Wagon Ride

I am loving this summer weather....you know, the kind that makes you want to just hang out outside, play and get dirty and sweaty, and forget that there are 3 loads of laundry to do, beds to make up, and dinner to start preparing.  Well, this afternoon was one of those days. 

So what did we do?

                                                                             

We cut up a watermelon and took it on a wagon ride down our road.  It was delicious....and messy.  It is a good thing we were outside!

Matthew spent a lot of time picking out the seeds.  I believe Malachi ate his. :) 

So, as they were devouring their first piece of watermelon, we started off on our ride.  In the end, Mommy and Daddy were really hot and tired and wonder why we don't have a pool? 

Everyone had watermelon today, even our six hens.  They loved the treat as well. 

    Anna is the above chicken.  She's my sweet girl and probably my favorite. 

All in all, it was a great day full of God's blessings.  It is amazing to see the gifts He gives to us each day. 

2012: New Year, New House, & a New Post!!!

Finally, I return to my little blog to share another post.  Yes, I am off to a very slow start, but maybe 2012 is my year to get into this blogging thing!

It is a chilly, rainy May day as I sit in our beautiful new home.  Dinner is simmering, Matthew is playing legos or something boyish and Malachi is in the bath.  (Don't worry, my computer is located catty cornered to the bathroom, and I can hear him playing).  Our home is a wonderful blessing from God.  A couple months ago, we were living in a 3 bedroom townhome, cramped but thankful.  Little did we know God had this new home in mind for us!  I will not get into all the details, but it is pretty amazing how I happened to find this house on Craigs List of all places. 

(Okay, okay.  I know the picture is not the best.  I am just a little amazed right now that I knew how to do this.)

This house is pretty big.  It is close to 100 years old (I need to do some investigation to find out the exact deatils.  So far I know a little old lady lived here until her death and it used to be a cow farm).  There is a beautiful backyard that looks out onto cow pastures and the Appalachin Mountains.  Breathtaking!  But it is old.  It is not perfect.  It has bugs and other unamed creatures that come for visits. The cat loves it. The boys love it.  Joshua loves it. I love it. 

The upstairs has three main rooms: our bedroom, the boys room, and a homeschooling/craft/play room.  Off the homeschooling room is a nice sized extra room that we are actually using for Joshua's office.  Yay!  Joshua gets his own office!  A bathroom is attached to that.  Oh, there is a good sized foyer or sitting area upstairs.  Downstairs has a nice foyer and a living room on one side, guest bedroom on the other.  We also have a good sized dining room and a decent kitchen.  There are a few little closets and little nook type areas that help to give this house some personality.  The kitchen has a great pantry and we have a mud room.  We got a freezer which makes me so happy!  The yard is big and full of nice trees and bushes and I planted a little garden.  I am having a chicken coop being made and plan to keep about 6 or so hens. 

When I take better pictures, and do more stuff, I will post again.  Hopefully we will see each other before 2013!

What???!!! It is 2011 already?

Wow, so maybe I am not as "dedicated" to blogging as I thought I would be. Oh well, I will give the short version of these past couple of years.

I am married to my wonderful husband, Joshua, of almost 9 years! I am so excited of how the Lord has grown us closer to each other and to Him during these years. To see the roads we have taken and the adventures we have embarked on, and then to see the end results of our trials and struggles......well it has been really awesome!

We have ended up in a beautiful little town close to the foot hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Our town feels like another Mayberry and I love it! We can walk to the library, local sandwich shops, and antique stores. There are usually festivals or parades going on. I love raising my children here.

Oh yes, so our child has now become child-ren.

Matthew will be four in August! I can't believe it! He is growing so much-mentally. Physically, he is a little squirt. He is so smart, loves learning, and this past year we tried the waters of homeschooling. Right now, we both love it. We will begin a more structured homeschooling time this fall. Matthew loves swimming, looking for bugs, and his newest love is hiking with Daddy. They have been on three hikes so far and he just eats it up.

Our newest little guy is Malachi Thomas. He was born on October 1, 2010. He is a little peanut as well. He came out completely blond with blue eyes. It hasn't changed a bit. He is such a sweetie and such a cuddle bug! Last week, Malachi was diagnosed w/ a dairy allergy. It is pretty scary since this is our first experience with allergies. The little guy has been dealing with this sense birth and we had no idea! But it all makes sense as his vomiting, rashes, crankiness, etc. has decreased since we cut out dairy. (I will post more about this at a later time).

Yes, God has been incredibly faithful in His blessings, instructions, and even reproof. I love looking back and seeing where He has brought me and my family!

BRING ON 2010

Well 2009 has been quite the year. Last year pretty much started in the fall of 2008 when Joshua and I made the decision to move from Maine to Virginia. Matthew and I came down first. Joshua wasn't able to join us until the end of January 09. On December 31, 2008, my father called me with news: "I've been diagnosed with throat cancer." So, 2009 started with a bang...

Joshua arrived down here, and spent a good part of the year adjusting to his new job, school, and living again in the south. We also spent most of the year (and hopefully will continue) working on our marriage. We want to be a couple who not just tolerates each other, but is in love with each other. We want Christ to be at the center.

Matthew and I travelled a lot to NC to be with my parents. While my father was given an optimistic outcome, he had a rough experience. While a healthy person would have been able to take all the treatments, my father was just too sick from Muscular Dystrophy ( a disease he was diagnosed with about 10 years ago). My father passed away in late October. I am very thankful that I was able to see and talk to him the day before he died. I am also thankful that he was able to spend a few days with Matthew before he died.

Because we moved over 900 miles away, and because we travelled a lot, this past year had no structure, or rhythm to it. I have yet to get into the "swing of things". One of my resolutions is to SLOW DOWN, find order, and be with my son. I was really convicted a few weeks ago when I realized that although I was a Stay At Home Mommy, I spent little quality time with Matthew. I usually would drag him from one thing or the other, or I was working (as a house cleaner) too much. So, I have decided to slow down.


I can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for me and my family this year!!! I almost feel like it will have to be better than last year.