Bunnies in the Garden

You have to look closely. Do you see them? Bunnies! There are two in the picture below, but there are four total. As we picked the garden tonight, something small, fast, furry, and gray ran so close to my feet that it almost ran across my feet! I almost screamed. I was not expecting visitors in our garden. As soon as I realized that the furry friends scurrying around my feet were tiny baby bunnies, I called for the kids to come and see. They came super fast and were super excited! The two bunnies that darted near my feet were the only ones we saw at first. Then, underneath the tomato plants, we spotted two more bunnies! Those are the two pictured below.
They were so very small and so fast, too!

You can see Mackenzie's hand coming in from the picture's left to pet the bunny. Josiah was able to pet one, too.

Josiah peering intently into the garden. Baby bunny is in the picture, too.

Josiah's hand reaching to pet a bunny.

This one was trying to escape up the rock wall area behind the garden. 3 of the 4 hid underneath the rocks and small Christmas shaped tree. 1 hid underneath another bush near the swing set. We were careful not to scare them away as we hope the momma will come back to raise them in our garden! :) We even think we found their burrow in the garden under some straw where our squash used to grow. How fun?! We even delayed bedtime to enjoy the bunnies. ;)

It's about time...

...for a major blog update! Sorry it has been so long. This update starts on July 4th and goes through today...but don't worry...it's not too long! ;) The above pic is of our two eager kids, ready to celebrate our country's independence with fireworks in the street! We picked out several small, but pretty and mostly quiet, fireworks to enjoy at home. The kids absolutely loved getting to pick some out, and they loved getting to hand "the next one" to Daddy who was shooting them in the street while we watched from a safe distance.
Hmmm. Pretty sparkly fountain or party hat?! Ha.

I loved seeing the two kids sitting in their little chairs in our yard admiring the fireworks show! (Our neighbors were also out in the street shooting some fireworks, too. Made for some fun times!)

Mackenzie in her little chair.

Josiah's been writing his own name for a long time now, but I was surprised to see this sitting on the ottoman, i.e., the entrance to his house in our living room, today. We have not been practicing writing this summer. We've just kinda taken a break from it all, so I was very impressed to see that he still remembers how to write his name without any help or prompting at all.

You can't read that piece of paper in this picture, but that's the one with his name on it. He says it is so everyone will know that this is his area. As you can see, he has created a "house" out of the love seat and lots of pillows/cushions!!!

And, also today in our living room, Mackenzie created a house out of our couch cushions and pillows. Her house, she explained, has two rooms: bedroom and bonus room for playing! She is in the "bedroom," and to the right is the "bonus room." I have such fond memories of building forts out of cushions and blankets from my own childhood, that I just love to see my kids doing the same thing! I do hope these memories are ones they will treasure, too. And, it's 9:00pm as I type this post. You'll get a kick out of knowing that our living room still looks just like that...even though the kids are sound asleep in bed now! No worries, I'll restore order before I head to bed. ;)

It's been a while since I posted a garden pic. I am thankful for Mark's help in discovering that we needed straw at the base of the squash plants. That has done wonders for our squash! Last year, we got one crop, at best, from the squash. This year it has produced tons of squash and is still growing strong! Thanks, Mzee, for your help. :) I love the picture of David holding up the gigantic squash that I had apparently been overlooking for quite some time. Thanks, David, for your help with the garden!

Here's what we found today. Squash, peppers, tomatoes, okra (my favorite), and cucumbers. Yep, we've had a ton of rain lately. My garden has enjoyed that...so have I as that means I have not had to water it in a couple weeks now! Thanks to our Lord and His amazing provision.

Here's the last picture. An overview of the garden with the pick of the day sitting in front of it. :)

Just Pickin'

Yesterday, we headed out our back door and went pickin' in the garden. The site of Josiah in amongst all those plants just cracked me up!
He was one happy kid just sittin' in the grass pickin' green beans. The site of him with his head practically under the green bean plants was pretty funny, too. He definitely had the right idea...sit down, get comfortable, and look under the leaves for those green beans that like to hide!

My two little garden pickers. They love it!

Here's Mackenzie with her freshly picked green bean!

First Pick of the Season!

Mackenzie and I spent some time in the garden today. We were able to pick some squash and green beans for the first time this year! I have to say...we. had. so. much. fun!!! Here's Mackenzie with our bucket of loot. She was such a good helper! She even helped me wash them, snap them, and fill the pot with water to cook them. Amazing!
Here's a couple of new pictures of our garden. We're having green beans, squash, and pork chops for supper. (I'm sure you really wanted to know that--Ha.)

And to explain the bale of wheat straw...our squash is beginning to rot again this year. After consulting one of Healing Hands International's expert gardeners (thanks, Mark, for emailing the pictures to your friend for us!), we've learned that it is either a bacteria or fungus of some sort causing it to rot. This typically occurs when squash is planted in a raised bed with rich compost and gets a lot of rain. Since ours is planted in a raised bed with rich compost and has received a lot of rain this month, we fit the bill for rotting squash! Not all of them are rotting, but the same thing happened last year and ended up killing the entire plant, so I was concerned to see it again this year. The man at Healing Hands International says the verdict is not yet in regarding exactly what is causing the squash issues, but the same thing happened in their raised beds with compost last year, too. So....he recommended placing straw at the ground to separate the plant from the soil. We are giving it a try. Whew, long explanation for that one bale of straw!
Happy Memorial Day! :)

Mother's Day Tea

Here's a quick update of our garden. We even have some tiny green tomatoes growing out there! Another view of the garden.
Green beans, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, and peppers.


Today was the "Mother's Day Tea" for Josiah's 3 year old Mother's Day Out class.

When I arrived, Josiah was sitting at his table with two pieces of paper made especially for me!

Here's Josiah and his best buddy, Kameron. These boys are just a little over 2 months apart. As hard as it is to believe, Josiah will be 4 years old on May 24!

Here's Josiah with his WONDERFUL teacher, Mrs. Missi. She has done an amazing job of setting a positive tone for Josiah's whole educational career! We love Mrs. Missi!

Sweet pic of Josiah and Mrs. Missi.

Here is one of the two papers Josiah made for me. You may have to click on the picture to make it big enough to read. It is priceless!!! They were told to draw a picture of their mom. The one in the middle is me as a baby. The one on the left is me as a little girl. The one on the right is me all grown up! That's how Josiah explained the picture to me today. I love it!!!

Above is a hand print flower of Josiah's hand with a sweet poem, too. My favorite part is that I now have a laminated copy of Josiah's signature! He's been writing his own name, all by himself, for quite some time now (at least since last semester). Pretty impressive for a little guy who's still 3 (for a few more weeks)!

I loved the interview so much that I typed up one with Mackenzie after school today. The above sheet of paper is hers. Her answers were precious, and you can see her signature and her drawing of me, too!

This is a picture that Mrs. Missi had saved from August 2009. Josiah drew it himself. He told her that it was him with his soccer ball. (The assignment was to draw a self portrait.) Well done! He was 3 yr 3 mo at the time!

This picture (above) is of Josiah "all growed up." He drew this self portrait this week (May 2010)! Kids are hilarious and totally priceless. I have had a wonderful Mother's Day already!!! I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day, too! :)

Our Yard

Our yard is looking better by the day! We are enjoying the gradual process of planting things in various and asundery locations. This post might bore you if you're not family. Just warning you! (Actually, even random readers might enjoy the froggy pictures at the end of the post!) Josiah, while playing with me in the yard today, asked for me to get the camera out and take a picture! Needless to say, I RAN for the camera. You have to be fast or you might miss that photo opportunity with him. :) I was delighted that he sat still long enough for me to snap some new pics of him. So, above is a picture of my cute little boy who is growing up too fast!!!
Here's a couple of pictures of our garden boxes. These are the same ones we used last year. We just added a little more compost/topsoil to top them off this year.

David has added some nice stepping stones in between them, and I planted cucumber seeds, tomato plants, yellow squash seeds in the box on the right. On the left, I planted okra seeds, green bean seeds, and a couple of pepper plants. It feels good to have the planting done! Now for the watering and watching it grow....(the kids were great little helpers in planting, too!)

If you look closely, you'll notice a new Autumn Princess Encore Azalea in the corner of the fence, just beyond the swing set.

And, in the corner by the gate, we have another one just like it! The two new azalea's add some much needed color to the yard.

Here's an up close of the blooming azalea.

Here's my crepe myrtle from my Grannie New's yard. It is still in winter-mode but will be pretty before too long! I took this picture because I have a surprise from my Grannie's yard...the heart shaped leafy plant with tiny purple flowers that sprang up at the base of the crepe myrtle!

Here's an up close pic of the surprise plant.

Last fall, David and the kids planted tulip bulbs on one side of our house. What fun for all of us to see them growing this Spring! (Also, notice the lights David added along side of our house. They are a nice addition to the yard. He put some across the front of the house, too.)

I love the pretty purple tulips! I was pleased with how this picture turned out, if I do say so myself! The fact that we have a Creator God seems so obvious in the Spring, doesn't it?!

Here's Josiah checking the mail box. Notice the daffodils we planted beside the mailbox. That crepe myrtle will look better this summer. :)

And...this afternoon the kids found a frog! Josiah named it "toad." He wanted to keep it, but we talked him into setting it free. ;)

Up close of Josiah and his new friend, "Toad."

Mackenzie enjoyed holding "toad," too, but he jumped right out of her hands. She was happy to let Josiah hold him after that! :)

We are enjoying the wonderful weather these days. I hope you are, too!

Random June Catch Up

Sorry that I've been so behind on blogging lately. Here's some of our June pictures taken since we got home from our trip to Arkansas. Enjoy! (I decided not to attempt to do a huge Arkansas post. Too overwhelming! Just know that it was a good trip and a fun time was had by all.)We used some birthday money to buy a tent! Then we camped out in our backyard...for a couple of hours. By 10:45pm we were all four back in our beds inside the house! Mackenzie decided she was a little nervous outside. Josiah agreed. David and I liked the idea of being in the cool instead of in the yard on the hottest day of the year thus far-HA. :) Fun family memory, though. We'll definitely do it again sometime.
Here's Mackenzie peeling her cucumber that she picked from our garden. She picks 'em, peels 'em, and eats 'em! I have to say, it's nice that she can peel them herself this year. Anyway. Cucumber makes a great snack when you're taking a break from playing in the sprinkler on a hot day.

Here's an updated pic of the garden.

This past weekend I looked out the window. The above picture is what I saw. I loved it. Josiah was so focused on mowing our yard while David mowed the neighbors yard. I am reminded that children don't miss a thing. Nothing. They notice our examples: the good and the bad. I pray daily that what my kids see will help them in life instead of harm them.

Mackenzie joined Josiah in mowing our yard while David mowed the neighbors. Just precious!

What better refreshment is there for after you mow than a fudge bar?!

Today we headed to the zoo with our friends, Lauren and Allison. We had so much fun!!!

(Lauren, Mackenzie, Allison, Josiah)

They spent most of the time together like this! Hand-in-hand. Precious friendship. They were easy to keep up with this way, that's for sure! We enjoyed seeing some animals together, then on to the kiddie play area.

The four kids enjoyed the water area. Cindy and I enjoyed visiting!

Mackenzie's in the background, while Lauren and Allison (with Josiah peering over) checked out the frog that sprays water! Such a fun time. Summer days have so much to offer. Almost more than one can take in! I am thankful for fun opportunities and friendships.