Memorial Day

I wanted to write something thought-provoking about Memorial Day, but after a busy weekend and a day spent out in the sunshine today I'm just too tired. I do want to get a couple things in writing before I wander off to dream land, though - because this blog is as much a journal and way for me to remember things as it is a way to share stories and recent happenings with others, and a year from now I'll be happy I can look back on what we did today.

Rachel walked in the local Memorial Day parade with her Girl Scout troop. I was so proud of her. I took a couple of pictures of her with my cell phone, but apparently I didn't hit "save" because those pictures are nowhere to be seen. She looked so cute carrying a Girl Scout flag and wearing her Brownie vest with all the patches she has earned.

My parents came into town to see Rachel in the parade. It had been years since any of us participated in Memorial Day activities, and I chuckled with my dad - who served with the Michigan National Guard - about whether he had brought a handful of tissues with him. Dad gets choked up when he hears the national anthem, and I'm afraid I inherited that sappiness from him. An entire parade dedicated to the military and those who lost their lives serving our country would have us both a wreck.

Following the parade we stayed for the beach side memorial ceremony, and then drove over to the cemetery to see the grave marker at my grandma's and grandpa's grave (he was cremated when he died in '02 and they were buried together when grandma died this year). I was proud to see the American flag waving next to the stone; my grandfather was a Merchant Marine and served in WWII.

I imagine it would make anyone proud looking out across that huge cemetery and seeing so many of those flags. So many servicemen and women who called this area home. So much history. And we're a part of it in some small way.

I was glad to share this day with my parents and my children, and to allow my kids to witness and participate in the show of respect for all who serve this great country. And particularly on this day, those who lost their lives while doing so. We have several family members and many friends who have and do serve in the military, and we have been fortunate and blessed to have them all return home safely. I pray that continues to be the case. But for all those we welcome home, there are those who don't come home, and whose families forever have a void in their lives that will never be filled. We owe those families our deepest respect and appreciation for their loved one's service.

Happy Memorial Day.

It's Friday!

And the sun is shining. That makes me happy.

Except with the clear skies in the early morning comes cool temps and a layer of frost.

YES. Frost.

On the 27th of May.

I'm squinting at my petunias, hoping what I see through the blearyness is just the morning dew. But my brain is not tricked that easily.

Ah well. The frost was spotty so there's a chance I didn't lose anything. I went out to check on things and took my camera with me thinking I'd give an updated picture of my little flower garden, but the sun wasn't up quite high enough so most of it was covered in shadows.

I did get this, though:

My little helper. Not so little anymore.

 

And this. Yay for color!

 

I have been moving a lot of dirt and sod this past week making way for more perennial plants and shrubs. It's made for some sore shoulders and lower back, but I am really enjoying walking out there every morning and evening, seeing what's bloomed and what seems to have grown an inch in the past 12 hours. Or sometimes just staring ... and relaxing.

"There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling."  ~Mirabel Osler

More pictures later ...

Here we go AGAIN!

What a crazy few days it's been.

The kids and I went to visit Steve over the weekend which was absolutely wonderful because he was staying at a campground we are familiar with and we had a great time.

Sam found the new rope swing ...

Rachel was in heaven with the petting zoo barn cat's four new kittens (in addition to a mix of other animals including bunnies, baby goats, a deer and a pig) ...

And we saw one of the several peacocks all fanned out, which was absolutely enthralling ...

The crazy part was that we were hardly settled in before Steve told me he had arranged to go back to Pennsylvania to work, having reached his limit of frustration and micro-managing with his current employer. So Saturday - the next day - would be his last day.

Hhhhhhhhhh.

This was not exactly a surprise to me. I knew Steve had been unhappy with some recent developments on this job and I had encouraged him to hang in there as long as he could, which he did. I had also let him know, in essence, that quality of life is far more important than money or location.

Actually I believe my words were, "Whatever you need to do. You're no good to me if you're grumpy and depressed all the time!"

So on Sunday we all headed home. We got to spend some quality time together as a family, and Steve and I had a nice day together today when we took our travel trailer (Steve's home away from home) to the RV dealer to have an awning installed.

Somewhere in the meantime, plans changed from Steve going to PA to Steve heading to West Virginia. That's just how quickly things can change. And that's fine; it's all good. He leaves tomorrow after Sam and Rachel get on the school bus.

Tonight I've been trying to do all the "normal" school night stuff to help the kids get ready for another day while also helping Steve get ready to go, however I can. And it's a beautiful night - crickets chirping, frogs croaking, a cool breeze working on blowing a storm in, and the sky turned a glowing pink/orange as the sun went down. I stopped to admire the color and was surprised by a rainbow painted across the sky in front of our house. I hurried outside to take pictures and I could hardly get the whole expanse of it with my little camera.

This one is my favorite:

 I'll take this as a sign we're going in the right direction.

Road Trip!

I'm excited! Probably not as much as the kids, but pretty excited nonetheless.

I am picking Sam and Rachel up after school today and we're heading out to spend the weekend with Steve. He's been working a ridiculous number of hours and it sounds like he'll be working right through the weekend, so the only chance we have to see him at all is if we go to him.

We finally have a weekend when our only commitment isn't until Sunday afternoon, so we're seizing the opportunity to get away. The buckets of flowers and stack of lumber in the front yard will be waiting for me when we return. Projects can be taken on any day, but too many more days without seeing my sweetheart would make me pretty sad.

I've got a few last-minute things to do (including packing) before I go, so I better get to it. Have a great weekend!

Just needed to share this one.

2 Peter 1:4 

In this way he has given us the very great and precious gifts he promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature.

Last night as I climbed into bed exhausted from a day spent outdoors gardening, I felt the pull to grab a book I keep on my bedside table, My Utmost for His Highest.

This is a book of daily spiritual readings compiled from shorthand notes of Bible teacher Oswald Chambers' lectures. I don't read it every day. Well, I do for periods of a week or two at a time, but it gets to be a little overwhelming for me. It calls for a whole lot of self-examination and, admittedly, there are some days when I just don't want to dig that deep.

But then there are nights like last night when I feel like I'm not quite through with what I'm supposed to do for the day, so I pick it up.

After what I wrote in my last post about abundance, while still - and always - having that nugget, however small, of "what if" and worry in the back of my mind, I found Chambers' words last night quite apropos.

The reading for May 16 says, in part:

"We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, 'Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.' And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn't they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God's riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain and we simply become spiritual sponges - always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.

Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, 'All my springs are in You' (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. 'God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you ... may have an abundance ...' (2 Corinthians 9:8) - then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God's nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time."

I am challenged by those words in a couple of ways. First, I recognize that I have a duty to see every aspect of life as a gift, every circumstance as something delivered with a purpose. Second, I am reminded that all the "wealth" in my life comes from one source: to God be the glory.

It was a lot for my exhausted brain to chew on last night, and it still is today. But what a wonderfully-timed reminder.

Abundance.

I am far from a minimalist. I like surrounding myself with things (and people!) I love. One of my favorite things to do is find great deals on items - new or used, large or small - that will add charm and/or comfort to our home, even if those things need a little sprucing up before I'll use them.

That's why it always surprises me that I feel so fulfilled when I unload things from our home that aren't useful or that we don't love anymore. You wouldn't think an inanimate object could cause or create negative energy, but the more I think about it the more I think there is something to the Chinese concept of feng shui. If the position of furniture matters, surely having a piece of furniture we don't even use or particularly care for in the bedroom would make a difference in the flow of energy, right?

We let go of a few pieces of furniture like that this weekend - items that didn't "fit" in our home anymore. The result, at least for me, is an amazing feeling of abundance. Abundance of space. Abundance of potential. And as I reflect on that I am reminded of the abundance in other areas of our lives.

Do you ever have those days - or even just moments - when you think, "wow, things are really coming together for us?" That's how I've been feeling lately.

Sure, I've been crazy busy and nothing is ever really perfect. I have a to-do list a mile long for the inside of the house, the grass needs to be mowed outside, and I don't get to see my sweetheart this weekend. Nothing about us being away from each other is cool, but on a positive note the abundance of work for Steve is a good thing.

The challenge for me is to continue to appreciate it all and forget about any notion that all good things must come to an end. I prefer to look at these times as seasons in our lives; we've been through seasons of struggle and trial to abundance and beauty ... Steve and I joke that it's always feast or famine, one extreme or the other, but rarely just "OK" and an even keel. It sure keeps life interesting.

Have a blessed Sunday. And don't forget to reflect on the abundance in your life.


Photo credit

Lots of irons in the fire ... and a little garden 'before & after'

I keep sitting down to write a post and it isn't long before I'm distracted by something else - the phone rings or the dryer buzzes or one of the kids asks for help with something. Or I remember something I meant to do 10 minutes ago before I got sidetracked with something else.

Spring has sprung and we are busy with life and that makes me happy. But I'm also a little overwhelmed with all the things screaming at me to be done. Heaps of laundry have only gotten higher this past week as I spent much of my days either prepping for the garage sale my family is having at grandma's house this weekend, or picking asparagus with the neighbors. Both ventures create a little bit of income - not much more than Fun Money to support my gardening and thrifting habits, but that's good enough for me.

Things will lighten up a bit once the garage sale is over tomorrow, and I can't wait to have a little more time to spend in the yard here at home. It needs some serious TLC. There are signs of hope out there, though. Early in the week I ripped out a chunk of green (and I use "green" here where others might use "lawn" because it's not really much of a lawn), and created a little flowerbed between a couple of our big ol' rocks.

Despite the fact that they are in the middle of ... well, everything ... these rocks are probably one of the coolest things we have going on in our front yard. The kids have climbed on them, jumped from them, BMX'ed over them for as long as they can remember.

Sorry kids. Mama wants a garden.

(And less green to mow.) 

Before

 The dandelions are a nice touch, aren't they?

 First I dug out the sod (or whatever you'd call it). See that spot of green in the middle? I planted that Catmint about a week ago. It's there in the first photo but you can hardly see it.

 Since I already had some landscape fabric I had purchased for some other project, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to use some here.

Tip: If you ever use landscape fabric, spring for those little metal stakes that secure the fabric to the ground. Totally worth it.

After

 

 I added a Creeping Phlox and Pincushion Plant here, and a couple of old pickling crocks I'll plant some colorful annuals in.

The solar lights add a sweet glow and make this little garden a quiet oasis in the evening. Once I have those annuals planted I might add some other rocks here and there in the bare spots. It's always good to have options!

Now I need to move over and work on the space between that middle rock and the next one. And about a thousand other places in the yard. 

Little by little, one at a time.