How does your garden grow?

Some of my fellow bloggers, like Andrea and Dawn, have done posts about the flowers in their yards, so they inspired me to go out and snap some shots of the things that are growing in mine...

First there are these vines (I think it might be wisteria, but I'm not sure) growing on the side of the carport, and they were starting to get a little out of hand, so I had planned to go out and seriously trim them back today, but we found a little surprise in there....
We found out that a robin has made her home there! I tried to get as close as I could without disturbing the nest. I don't have the heart to evict the birds from our carport, so I guess we'll just have a jungle growing there all summer... :/ Aren't the blue eggs pretty?

Now, onto the blooms...

I planted these wave petunias next to the mailbox. They have really started to spread already.
These flowers are also beside the mailbox. They were already there from the previous owners, and I'm not sure exactly what they are, but if you have any idea, feel free to tell me so. Anyway, I think they're pretty.

We also have a really pretty rose bush growing right beside our back patio. I've already cut flowers off of them a couple times to put in water.

There are also some peonies growing back beside our garden shed. The blooms are really beautiful and full.


These are growing in our flower bed in the front, and I'm not sure what they are either, so feel free to let me know if you do...

Those are all the things that are blooming right now. We did have some tulips, daffodils, and azaleas, but I didn't get any pictures before they stopped blooming. Our next door neighbor also has a really pretty dogwood tree, and those are my favorite kind of tree because my Nanny had one in her front yard that we used to love to climb on when we were kids. I love their snowey white blooms, but, alas, I didn't get a picture of that either. :(

Anyway, hope spring is treating you all well! Summer is just around the corner!

On a side note, congratulations to Aric and Amber! They are having a girl!

Thursday Thoughts: It Starts with the Heart

Last night in our Wendsday night Bible class at church, we started going through Matthew chapter5, which is where the Sermon on the Mount begins. There are a lot of good life lessons in those chapters. One of the major points that I got out of chapter 5 last night is that it all begins with our heart. In the first 12 verses, he goes through a list qualities that Christians should have. These are all things that pertain to our hearts, like meekness, mercy, and being a peacemaker and pure in heart. Later in the chapter we find out that both murder and adultery begin in the heart, with anger and lust.

The end of the chapter is what really had me thinking the most. From verse 38 on.

• v. 38-42 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."
• v. 43-48 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

That is such a hard concept to grasp sometimes. At least it is for me. Wouldn't it go against every fiber of your being to turn and let someone smack you in the face? What would your reaction be if someone did that? I think my first reaction would be to smack them back! not to turn and let them hit the other side also! Doesn't that just sound ridiculous? How about if someone sued you for $10,000. Would you give them another $10,000, just for good measure? I wouldn't. How about if you knew someone who really HATED you, and was so mean to you for no good reason. Could you find it in your heart to do something good for that person??

In the world's eyes, that would be foolish. "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.."(I Cor.1:27-28)

Isaiah 55:8,9 says "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Life Lessons from our trip to the Bramletts'

We had a great weekend! We drove 14 hours (was supposed to be 12, but baby added 2, which is not too bad I think) to see our dear friends, the Bramletts, in Florida. We found out that our other very close friends from Georgia, the Lesters, were going down there for memorial day weekend, so we decided to invite ourselves to go too. :D We had a wonderful time with our friends, and of course we missed the ones who weren't there with us. :(


I have a lot of pictures in this post, so to make it more interesting, I decided to share some things that I learned on our trip. Sorry that the pictures are all different sizes. I don't what's up with that.

Anyway, here are some Life Lessons from our trip to the Bramletts:

First, I learned that long car rides can make you act crazy :P

but that some rest stops afford great phto opportunities...


I learned that anything worth having takes a little reaching...

...and that if you want to get to the top, you're gonna have to do a little climbing....

...and even if you fall, great friends will always be there to pick you up...

I learned that we're all small when we're standing beside the ocean...


...and that babies and sand don't mix. :/

I learned that's is so important to keep a smile on your face!

I learned that it's also important to enjoy life's simple pleasures, like:

Pretty flowers

a good juice box


sparklers

and paper airplanes....

I learned that sometimes it's fun to hang out in your undershirt...
...or just put your feet up...


I learned that all boys want to be superheroes, no matter how old they are... :)

...and that kids will be kids...

I learned that sometimes it's good to be discreet....

....but sometimes you've got to put your GAME FACE on....
...or sometimes it's good to just be plain old silly... :P
I also learned that it's great to have friends who are good cooks...they make you yummy stuff like blueberry crumb cake, and apple dumplings.

I also learned never to trust a grown man in a pirate hat, even if he offers to rub your feet...




I learned that true love really does exist...

...and I learned to remember how much fun it is to be a kid...
Most important of all, I learned that great friends are a blessing from God, that should never be taken for granted....



Thanks again Aric, Amber, Sage, and Noah for having us! We hope we get to come back someday!












Okay, these last few are from a couple stops we made on the way home. I'm not sure why they came out so small.

This is Isabelle with her Aunt Megan. She lives in Knoxville. We stopped to visit with her for a little while, then spent the night in a town just past there, to break up the trip.

I wish I could have gotten it on tape, but Isabelle thought Megan was hilarious!! She would just look at her and start cracking up hysterically! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Our last stop today was to see Ben's grandparents in Pulaski. They hadn't seen Isabelle since she started crawling, and they just couldn't believe how much she had grown in such a short time. It was a good break from driving.





Well, I guess that wraps it up! Hope you all had a great memorial day! I have lots of laundry and unpacking to do this week!

You can check out Amber and Sarah's blogs for more pictures of our weekend.

Veggie Tales

No, I am not talking about Larry the Cucumber or Bob the Tomato. I am talking about my very own garden, in my own backyard.

So here is the story of my very first vegetable garden......

My brother, Don, is the gardener of the family, so he came over to help me get started, since I am a rookie at this vegetable garden thing.

Here he is starting the row of tomatos....
Izzy and Zoey liked watching us work...
Still working...
I tried to get Isabelle to help out, but she'd rather play with Zoey in the grass. Some kids.... :D
Here is the finished product....It looks kinda pitiful right now, but I'm hoping it will turn into something great. (not without a little hard work, I know.)
Starting on the left there are watermelons, cucumbers, squash, a row of carrots (well they are just seeds right now, but I'm hoping they turn into carrots.), and tomatos. I'm also planning to do some corn on the empty side of the garden.
Here is me and my brother standing in my new vegetable garden.
(please ignore the overgrowth in the background...it's on the to-do list.)

I'll post pictures of the progress.(If there is any.) Wish me luck! I'm probably gonna need it!!

A few pics

Sorry these pictures got a little out of order...I meant for the bath pic to be last. Anyway, my friend Sarah and I went yardsaling on Saturday and found lots of great deals, one of which was this big-girl bath seat for Isabelle that I got for $3! She really seems to like it.

Last Friday evening, we went to a park for my niece, Sienna's 5th birthday party. Here she is waiting so patiently to open her presents....

This laptop is what we gave her...I think she liked it.
Isabelle got to go down a slide for the first time! It was super cold outside for May, so we were all bundled up.

That's really all the pictures I got since it was so cold. My sister April is away at a writers' conference this week, but I'm sure she'll post some pics when she gets back.

I guess that's all for now...I finally got my vegetable garden in, and I'll be posting some pictures of that later...