I have so many thoughts running through my head - none that are helpful, or useful, or even relevant.  It's a new year, but that hasn't really "sunk in" yet. 

Spent lots of time with this little man, and his Daddy, and big brothers over the Christmas break. 

It makes coming back to work so much harder than it's ever been before.  I feel an ache in me that's not been there in years past.

I want to try and keep a better log of life -both mine, and his - through this year. 

But today, I just don't have it in me.  I have frustration and anger. 

I'm angry that I have to miss time with him.

I'm angry that I want to be home with him.  It feels like I'm letting down the women through time that have worked so hard to make it possible for women like me to work outside of the home, because it was what they desperately needed.

It's ICKY.

And my brain is in a terrible place.  It started the evening of  New Years, knowing that I wanted to have an amazing new start to the year, but that so much of the time I want to be home is spent working. 

I know, this isn't a post for a new year.  I should be starting with a better attitude.  But, I can't pretend that right now.

This Moment

I have a whirlwind of thoughts in my mind today.  I hope I can make a real, live post soon.  :o)

This Moment - September 2013

Gardens, Mud, and Yellow Flowers...

Our Garden is doing AMAZING!  See the pics below!  I'm rather proud.  *grin*



Square Foot Garden as of June 3rd




Square Foot Garden as of July 3rd!!

Our pea plants didn't survive - I think they were just too whimpy to compete with the monstrous zucchini plants!!  I don't think I'll do any of them next year.  So far, I've harvested 6 zucchini, and there look to be about 15 to 20 more that'll be ready by the end of next week.  Sadly, I'm the only person in my family that will eat it - unless you count zucchini bread.  And really?  How much zucchini bread are they willing to eat?

We visited my husbands Aunt last week, and she suggested shredding and freezing it, so that I can use it later, when it's cold, and a little more "quick bread" weather.  GENIUS!!!

And the tomato plants?  Well, right now, we have nearly one HUNDRED tiny little green tomatoes!!!  YAY!!!!!  I didn't consider to plant any full-size tomatoes, so I'm a little bummed...but I'm sure the little tomato snatcher (our 6-year-old) will be jumping for joy at all the colors, shapes and BOUNTY of tiny tomatoes.  :o)

We've had a BUSY summer!!!

One thing I've learned from my "get off the gadgets and spend time with the people you love" kick - I don't think to get on here and POST, because it seems against my idea of getting back to those I love!

Here are a few pictures of the last two weeks...I just love these!!!

Puddle Jumping - Jam-style 

Back Yard Snacking...with cousins!

Momma's yellow flowers

This Moment...

A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

 

 

 

 

My Personal Accomplishments from the Weekend

Amidst all the family work we accomplished this weekend, I also had a few things that I completed myself that I'm quite proud to share.

The first is this darling duck planter.  My Dad saw the planter at a garage sale last week, and because I have a long-term adoration of rubber ducks, he picked it up for me for a few pennies.  I decided to fill him with some hens & chicks (succulent), so that I don't have to worry much about maintenance.  These little buggers can grow just about anywhere...and because I was afraid of drill a drainage hole in the bottom (fear of breaking him), I've stuffed him with just two small plants.  We'll see how this works.  I may need to suck it up, and put the drain holes in, go nice and slow, and hope for the best.

Hens and Chicks in a Duck...we've dubbed him Turducken, minus the "tur"

Next was this blanket I made for a family friend.  I started the blanket on May 18th, when she closed on her very own home!  She is a young woman, that considers God in every single choice she makes.

She is the young woman that, during an odd moment of personal struggle in my life, said something akin to - It's strange how everyone thinks it's SO trendy these days to go out to FIND God, but people have such an issue with you when you actually FIND HIM.  How does that work?  It's acceptable to search for Him, but not when you find Him, and begin to live for Him. 

This rings so true for me!  We hear so often, "All paths lead to God," and while it may be true that all paths lead to God, only ONE PATH leads to Heaven, and God's true plan for our life.  Maybe that's the secret?  I don't know.

Anyway, this lovely girl is a dedicated Woman of God, as well as a love of all things Granny Chic, and Uber-Geek/mathery.  And so, as a housewarming gift, I chose to crochet this afghan, in what I'd consider Granny Chic colors, with stripes in the ever-wonderful Fibonacci Sequence. *grin*

I'm calling it Granny Fib

I'm confident she's gonna love it!  And yes, this picture was taken in the garage.  :o) I had determined to stay outside with my family all weekend, even if it was cold and rainy.  So, we stayed in the garage most of the day yesterday.



The last accomplishment was this old tire move to the front from our back yard.  It was left by the previous owners, and for that I'm so thankful!!  Growing up, my Grandparents had an old tire full of hens & chicks, and it's a very personal, VERY important thing for me.  I don't blame you for thinking it's silly - if it was someone else, I'd think so, too.  But, it holds a LOT of lovely memories for me.  Hubby & I have battled about the placement of the tire for the last three years.  I've BEGGED to put it out front, and he's nearly begged me to put it out with the weekly trash.  *wink*  But this year, I ignored his silly faces and eye-rolls, and put it out front anyway.  And, I'm in LOVE with where it landed!  At the end of a row of hedge bushes, there was a circle, that bumped out in the trim around the house.  And, since we moved in, it's been empty.  Boo! 

But no more!  It now houses the humble beginnings of our very own hens & chickens tire!  Yay!

After I placed it, I just stood and looked at it, thinking of all the times I had dug some out of my Grandmother's tire, just to see if nature would fill it back in (it always did), or how I ran my bicycle into that tire, and scraped my leg on the side of it, and Gramma would pour water on the scrape, and get me a wet washcloth or 35 band-aids, for even the tiniest of marks.  Or, my Grampa trying to offer me money to move it, knowing that my scrawy little arms would never be able to scoot it an inch, let along across the yard!

I read something on pinterest that said if you cleanly pull off some of the 'petals' from a succulent, and leave them laying on top of the dirt, they will both root & bloom (that's what the stray parts are spread around the tire).  What an amazing feat!  When it's ripped apart, this beatiful flower will not only start again renewed, it will produce more than it would've in its full, natural form. 

Read that again - when it's RIPPED APART, it will bloom again, brilliantly!  That's just amazing to consider- what a lovely idea to share.  That only we can know that when God allows our lives to be ripped apart, He can help us not only survive, but to bloom again brilliantly, and with more blessings to share than when we started.  What a blessing!

The Unofficial Start to Summer!

We took the long Memorial Day weekend to kick-off the season in the Little Lucas House! 

Ben & I started with a square foot garden.

Mostly, he enjoyed getting to smash the hardened balls of dirt with his hands, and pretend that the spray nozzle of the hose was a shooter.  Haha!

We got this adorable/amazing little square foot garden kit at Home Depot this weekend, and I'm quite smitten!

You can connect them to each other, and create larger raised beds as the need arises.  Since this is our first year with a bonafide garden, we opted for ONE for now. 

We have FAR too many tomato plants, some zucchini, not nearly enough peas & beans, and we opted for separate containers for strawberries and chives, which will be monitored by Connor, the oldest boy.  :)

There were several additions after this pic, but it was cold, and rainy and yucky while we did those, so I left the camera/phone in the house. 

We also started putting up this fence!  I wish I'd thought to take the phone out through the day, and get pictures of all the boys "working on the fence."  But, we were too busy to think about that.  This amazing man, with help from Connor & I, managed to go from nothing to full picket fence in about 30 hours!  It's so amazing!! 

Picture at the end of Day 1 - from the inside!



Picture at the start of Day 2 - from the outside!



That man up there worked NON-STOP this weekend, and we have an incredible new fence tos how for it!  Provided the weather cooperates, I hope to paint it this next weekend (the current color choice is "Eeyore's Rain Cloud" by Disney, please stay tuned), but we'll have to see...it's not looking promising.

It was tough work, but I just LOVED spending our weekend working, and enjoying the company of each other.

WHile our schedules really help us with Ben, and the older boys, it really, REALLY cuts down on the "let's be a couple," moments.  Because we only need to leave Ben with sitters for 2 or 3 hours a day, we are able to depend on our family to keep him.  THis means no daycare bills, and Ben is with people that love him, and care for him.  This is HUGE to me, but sometimes I just miss my husband.

Weekends like we just had give us a chance to BE together, and to WORK together.

Saturday evening, as the big boys went to stay with their Mom, Connor cried - he wanted to stay and help us.  I LOVE that he is so helpful, and such a hard worker! 

So much so that Sunday afternoon we got a call from his Mom, asking if Connor could come back to help us.  I don't think Hubby & I have had many moments that we were so proud of him. 

Him & I took off yesterday morning to buy some plants, and he said, "This is a great day!  Why would you want to WASTE A DAY LIKE THIS PLAYING??"

*gigglesnort*

I'll try to update on the gardening as we go along...provided it's not all eaten by the local rabbits!!