Oh how my garden and children grow!

So much has happened in this last week!  Easter was great, we attended our first Passover Sedar and I encourage any of you who have never done so to look into this!  It's an amazing demonstration of how the old tradition points straight to Jesus Christ as the awaited Messiah of the Jews!  I hope to see it become a yearly tradition for our family!

And oh, how my crops and children are growing!  And yes, animals too!  It looks like we may have puppies any day now, so that will be excitement for all of us!  Thankfully the only damage we sustained in the storms this week were a couple of beat up plants and no lights for almost 24 hours.

My right hand garden hands and I would like to share our progress around here!  It's SO amazing to me how things are growing!  Something that seems so simple is bringing me so much joy!  There seems to be a lesson in everything our garden does, it's almost like God has used this show us how life should be!  I'm finding a peace in this work, a stronger bond with my family, and gratitude to our Lord for the accomplishment He's filling our hearts with as our garden grows!



Pole beans and squash!  Aren't they beautiful!  Can you see how proud my baby girl is of the work we're putting in?  She loves her garden and I'll be the first to tell you that this tiny little girl works right beside me!




Our first runners on our pole beans!!!  Good thing Daddy's home from work, I couldn't reach high enough to stake these guys even if I tried!  I look forward to harvesting, preparing, and canning these together with the kids!  I think they'll get such a kick out of this!



One of my favorite plants!  This is a type of Chocolate Pablano Pepper...I'm still not quite sure what to expect!  But it sure is growing good!

Another of the pepper plants!  And let me tell you about this little piece of equipment you see in the background!  You can tell my kids are country....they call this their tiller and take it up and down the rows tilling the ground for me!  And Tommy just had to point out that they broke the wheels off of their tiller, just like their Mama did to one of ours earlier this spring!



Our bigger tomato plants!  Aren't they beautiful?  I followed the advice to break the bottom 'splits' off of the plant's main stalk.  Not sure that was best, as I seem to be learning that it's only the 'suckers' that need to go!  I just have to remember that after each trial and error....we will find our greatest success!  And in the meantime, I'm trust God to fill in the gaps where my efforts fall short!




Look at that baby boy!  I definitely have the greatest, and best looking, garden crew around!  And yes, that includes our own little Freckles back there rolling around!  Where we go, that sweet dog follows!

 I Can't leave my oldest boy out of the posts today!  He's at school during most of my picture taking, so I want to take a minute to focus on our Aiden!  We are so ready to have him home for the entire summer!  This last week of Easter break made it SO hard to resume the final bit of the school year Tuesday!  I can't believe my first born is already so big, so smart, and just so amazing all around!  We're very proud of this little man! 


Let me tell you the story behind this tooth!  Aiden has pulled all three of these teeth himself!  He thinks he's pretty tough, I think he just wants the money to go to the dollar store!  When it was time to put his most recently lost tooth under his pillow Friday night, it was nowhere to be found!  We even dug through the trash looking for the ziploc bag that held it!  Aiden was quick to inform me that, "you're trashy Mom".  He's so funny!  Anyhow, we decided to leave the tooth fairy a letter in another bag!  He wrote and told her that he couldn't find his tooth and to leave him some money!  He did add a nice heart to the bag that read, 'Love Aiden'!  Well, it worked, and the next morning he had money....and no letter.  I suppose the tooth fairy took the letter for a keepsake!  But, it wasn't long that next morning until the mystery was solved!  We hear this mischievous little laugh as Gracie giggles and tells us....."haha, I hided Aiden's tooth from the tooth fairy so her not find it!".   And we still don't know where the missing tooth has been hidden!




My little soccer star!  This kid loves soccer, and he's great at it!  Saturday will be his last game for the season and I'm not sure how many goals he's scored this first year, but it's been several!  He loves the game, enjoys the team, and has a great time playing!  We're sad to see the season come to an end, but as soccer fades away for the year, TBall begins!

One of the sweetest sites of the week.....Anybody want a kiss?  Freckles runs straight to this spot every day and kisses a pig!  YES, actually kisses their snouts!  How sweet is that?



On another note, I want to share this picture of the kids and their Papaw Coleman and Grandma Vickie!  A great picture of a great time over Christmas!  Weren't we just talking about how fast they grow?



I have been so blessed with these kids!  I'm 30 years old and couldn't ask for a better family!  People always talk about how sad it is to watch your children grow up.  And I guess I'm just not there yet!  I know one day I'll look back at these happy times with tears of reminiscence.   But as for now, I'm just enjoying our time as what it is.  Each day is so full of the laughter, sweetness, temper tantrums, joys, challenges, and love we have.  We're just too busy 'being' everyday to be sad that yesterday has passed!  I love my kids and I cherish who they are today!  And most of all, I thank God for entrusting them to me.  I'm so unworthy of being their Mom and yet that's who I am!  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'd love comments from family and new friends who are just joining us on our blog!  As for how to go about all of that.....you'll have to ask someone else.....I'm still new to all of this blog stuff! ;)

God Bless,

Jennifer, Tommy, and Kids

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Psalm 91:2,11,16

That Mystery Man In My Life!

Oh my husband's going to love this one!  More than once this past week someone has asked me where my husband is in this blog!  And I realized, that yes, he's sadly been missing in action!  One of my favorite things about this is how I can share what's going on at home with Tommy while he's at work!  However, that really does leave him OFF of the blog in general, now doesn't it?

So on behalf of myself and the kids, I'd like to introduce you to the head of our household, the man of my dreams, the guy that really was meant to born 100 years ago, the one who I STILL never know is being serious or joking, the greatest father my kids could ever have, the hardest working human I've ever known, and the most entertaining person I've ever encountered in my entire life! 


The day we said 'I do'.  I have heard those are the most famous last words!  And oh how far we've come since that day!  It's been a wonderful, fun, and very eventful road so far!  Thank the Lord that every bump along the way has been surrounded by His grace, our love, and the many blessings we've shared together!



I love this picture!  It's been several years since the day this was taken, but I think this may always be 'that photo' that takes us back to the early days of our life together!



Did I mention how much our lives have changed since that December day in Jackson Hole?  Perhaps pictures will speak louder than words in this case!  Let's just say we've been very blessed in a very short time! :)  Thank God for heated pools!  For those of you who don't know that story.....I may just have to share one day!

Tommy and all four kids!  They designed and decorated this cake for him on his birthday this year!  It's a coon hunting cake, complete with two coon heads!  They were so excited and by the end of the night, we had 4 proud kids and 1 proud Daddy!



I do believe Daddy was dishing out coon hunting advice in this picture!  But really, there's no telling what exactly was being discussed amongst these four!  Cass was looking on from the backseat of the truck!



The power was out on this night, so we all camped out in the living room in front of the fireplace!  This was an inside view of when Tommy joined the kids in the Thomas The Train accommodations!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Tommy, I thank the Lord that you are part of this beautiful plan He's unfolding in our lives and family!  Just like our wedding song talks about, God truly did bless the broken road that led me straight to you! 

...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  Joshua 24:15

How blessed these kids and I are to have this man in our lives!  We love you Tommy!

Monday Blessings



Before I get to the garden, I want to share two of my most favorite daily scenes around here.  Above is Grandma Gracie's old house.  Just down the road from us, I love the feeling I get every time it comes into view!  I wish I had a window into the past when this house was occupied and full of life.



 And this here!  Such a simple site but one I've grown to love.  Just an old trailer, a chicken house (I think)?  Correct me here if I'm wrong Tommy!  And then of course his old gold truck.



Quack quack!  Can you believe how they've grown just since I've posted their picture the other day?  I must say that this week I've both hoe'd our garden to rid it of grass and weeds, and watched these little things grow.  And I've came to the conclusion that instead of saying our children grow like weeds....we really ought to rephrase that to say they grow like baby chicks!  And just a note in their defense.....referring to an earlier post, it's been proven that these chicks DO NOT cry wolf!  The kids insisted we bury the little sexlink that didn't make it, so I guess I need to defend his honor also!  Little thing really was sick!



And now onto my garden!  Please know that I typed that last sentance with a sigh!  I'm in the house instead of in my wonderful garden only because I'm frusterated right now!  Something as simple as staking the tomatoes can at times become a chore bigger than myself!  Whatever God put into men that He left out of me catches up with me sometimes!  And of course, that's when I wish Tommy was here!  All I need to do today is tie up these tomato plants and now I have to wait on assistance because cutting the stakes down to size proved too much for me!  However, I will insist on getting an A+ for effort!  I went after the stubborn things by hand, with a hatchet, and with a saw!  Then common sense got the better of me and I decided to wait on my father in law, as what would have taken me all day will probably take him all of 5 minutes!  And that there is the difference in men and one woman around here! :)

Now onto the rest of the garden story.....how much I've enjoyed and loved the work out here this week!  Things are really starting to grow and flourish and I happen to be quite proud of these plants!  As of a couple days ago, everything is planted!!!!!  And almost everything that has been planted is on it's way up and out of the ground!  Just waiting on my eggplant, carrots (not sure on those for this time of year), and my  purple hull peas to make their appearance.  And, those were the last of the seeds that made it into the ground!

 These are my favorite and best tomato plants, and yes, those that caused my earlier temper tantrum!  They're growing strong and fast!  Just the last day or so I'm starting to see them flower!  Can't wait to get them tied up!

 The whole garden!  My next project has taken alot of forethought and needs yet even more study!  I'm about to get the soaker hoses up and running.....at least I hope so!  The verdict is still out on what will be the most effective way to water this garden!  Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  YES, that was a hint!!! 

Garden gate keepers!

I absolutely COULD NOT post today without including this picture!  So although it may be off subject....I wanted to leave y'all with a great big smile compliments of my baby Cass! 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1John 1:9

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.                 2 Timothy 2:1

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  2 Timothy 2:3

When I grow up....I want to be a Mommy!

I want to spend a few moments talking about my sweet Gracie girl.  I love all of my children, not one more than the other!  It's always amazed me at the differences in my boys and Gracie, from the very day of their birth.  Having a daughter is different than a son.  One is not greater than the other, God just created them to be so perfectly unique!  As she grows older, I'm enjoying her companionship every day and am amazed at just how much she wants to follow in my steps!

If it's a Mommy chore, a woman action, or a girly habit, you can rest assured that my little Gracie has it mastered!  I know that when a kitchen utensil, office supply, or most notoriously MY MAKEUP and DEODARANT come up missing......just ask Gracie!  Nine times out of ten she knows exactly where it's located.  And most frequently, that would be in her Dora kitchen or her purse! 

 And what does my daughter want to be when she grows up?  A Mommy!  This is so precious to me and so important.  What she values already at the age of three is the ability to nurture, care for, and love those closest to her!  She loves learning how to cook, clean, garden, and be like me.  I can only pray that I pass the virtues onto her that God intends.  And how wonderful it is that my young daughter values these things and not the 'superstars' of today.  Even our youngest children are being targeted to the 'tweenybopper' lifestyle and ideas.  Not in this house! 

I was raised by wonderful women.  I have an amazing Mom, Grandma, step-mom, and sweet Granny that we laid to rest recently.  Each one of these women has helped to shape my life and turn me into who I am today.  And now, they're helping to shape my beautiful daughter's life also!  If my baby girl wants to grow up to be a Mommy......then I say AMEN to that! 

God please lead me into teaching my daughter that you have a plan and a purpose for her life!  A plan that's so much grander than the world around her!  I pray that I share with her my strengths and not my weaknesses, and that from my example she will always seek Your will first and foremost in her life!  I want to share with her how to be still before you!  Thank you for this wonderous little girl and the way that her life touches us every day!  I love these children and I thank you for entrusting them to me!  In Jesus' sweet name!

                                   

The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
Titus 2:3-5

Jack

Just for you Tommy!  WE LOVE YOU!!!

Roll Call!!!!

My dear husband, this one is for you!  And now introducing.....

 Freckles, aka the family mascot!  Love, love, love this puppy!  He's currently recovering from a nasty snake bite!

Out to feed the pigs~Cass was mad because I put him up there instead of on the 4wheeler!

 Nice and lazy afternoon....for the cows that is!

 Alarm clock!

This little piggy went to market.....would sure make my life much easier! 

Crystal, Aiden, and sweet little Gracie

I learned today that chicks can cry wolf....AND they're very good at it!  At least I hope so anyway!  We had one sick little chicky this morning.  Awhile later, still a sick little fellow with everyone else surrounding him (that in itself was pretty neat, they seemed to know he was sick).  Poor little thing stumbled once or twice towards the fresh water I gave them.  So I picked the little sickling up and set him over by the water.  And lo and behold.......'sick' chicken didn't even taste the water, but jumped up onto both tiny little legs and hightailed it over to the food and started chomping away.  And for the rest of the day, I couldn't even recognize one of them as being under the weather!

 Freckles and Suzy posing for the camera!  This is freckles' daily activity....he visits everyone all day and tries to eat their food!

 Aiden and Roxy girl!  Such a sweet puppy!

Okay Mom, REALLY?  Can we be done with the pictures already????

And unavaliable for photograph today are sweet pretty kitty Reese, Daddy's favorite four legged hound Jack, and a handful of cows who are currently on summer vacation!  Maybe soon!  Sorry Tommy!

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

And New Life Begins!!!

My country born and raised husband seems to always get a kick at how new all of this is to me!  The changes around here have kept us so busy that only now do I find time to stop and catch my breath!  The more work we do, the closer I feel to our Lord and who He has created me to be.  Who would think that such labor would be so fulfilling, although back breaking, and comical to say the least!  While to my husband, and many of you much of this may seem common sense....to me, it's turning out to be a very joyful learning experience!  So to finally share some of these changes.....

Pictures were taken as the sun was trying to set~will post brighter pictures later on!

After finding, purchasing, working on, and blowing up a tiller....learning you never wear flip flops out to the garden after it rains, and finally setting my differences with our mean yellow cow, we have 16 rows!!!  YES, this is it!  My very first garden!  I think it's huge (don't you see my teeny tiny little daughter off to the side?)   However, the more experienced farmer Tom has explained to me that we're really on a fairly small scale here!  I'm still not convinced!

 With only one or two tiny sprouts popping up last night, I was THRILLED and AMAZED to find these all over my garden this morning!  Until now, I really couldn't wrap my thinking around the idea that we could take such tiny seeds and nurture them into this, then full grown plants, and then put all of that into my children's bellies!!!!   Pretty amazing!  Each day that passes, I'm reminded more and more of what an awesome God we serve.  And how wonderful He has made these things for us.  Just how exactly have we gotten so far away from this?

Some of my tomato plants!  We have all different kinds and I can't wait to see what all I can make with them!

And now introducing.....the beginning of our family's life with ducks and chickens!  Aren't they sweet?  The kiddos love them, especially our little Cass!!!  This here is a little makeshift home Tommy and I threw together for them until it's time for them to hit the chicken house!  The Rhode Island Reds could escape from the place we originally had set up for them to come home to!  We've had them less than a week and they've already grown so much!  And in case you didn't know.....if there's not a roof over a baby chic's head, it will drown when it rains because the poor little thing will stand there and look up at the sky the whole time!   I never would have known!

Tweet Tweet!  16 Chicks and 2 Ducks!

And look at that.....a full grown rooster, way up in the tree top!!!  These are Popi's roosters that have made our tree their roostin' destination!  At least we know the little chic's should feel at home!

And now.....Goodnight and I thank you Lord for another wonderful day with my family.  I thank you for the family and friends you've given us, and for the way you're leading and guiding our family! 

In Jesus' sweet name......Amen