A Garden Ramble

2009 was like a golden jewel in the crown of gardening. It was lovely, it was beautiful, it was productive and so inspiring. Go here and here for visual reminders. It now stands out as the measuring stick with which to measure all future garden successes/failures. And let me just say, I've been on the latter end pretty much ever since that year.

I can grow hydrangeas. I can grow mint. I can grow weeds. The end.

But, there is something about gardening - I am eternally optimistic that planting those tiny little dried seeds of life in the ground will somehow live up to my glory standards.

I am also greatly humbled in looking back that this was also the year we had a Garden Blessing Family Night. Isn't that like life? I know gardens succeed and gardens fail, but what a picture of committing it to God and seeing it flourish and thrive so much.

God controls what grows, what blooms, what produces in my garden. I am merely the vessel.

The mint, blueberries, blackberries and hydrangeas are all succeeding because God has allowed them to - certainly not because of anything I have done. God programs growing things and weather and all the necessary conditions.

There is still this hopefulness when you hold seeds in your hand and pull weeds and turn over dirt in your garden. It is the hopefulness of life and beauty. I told David that a prepared garden is like a blank canvas waiting to be made into an expression of creativity and beauty.

Gardening is one of those things that I want to be good at. I want to make it a priority. I want to pick flowers and food for our family to enjoy. I want the experience, the slowing of the work, the waiting and praying, the reaping and harvesting, the tending and caring.

And, I've convinced myself that I am doing all of these things but in the souls of our children instead of in the soil of the earth. Yet, there is still a longing to dig and plant and cultivate. So, I put aside failure after failure after failure and I venture to try again. I see the hope of anticipation in my children as they each want their own "square" to tend.

Isaiah 61:11,
"For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations."

So, in humility - here is what the inside of my garden looked like Saturday morning:

After lots of raking, week pulling and general getting-rid-of-every-green-thing we now have this: 

Better - we need to unearth the walkways; they are covered in dirt/leaves - but it is major progress.

My littles totally got into it and I gave them each their own square to plant, so a zillion seeds have been sown and now we get to practice gardeners patience :)

My goals for gardening:

- littles to have fun and learn and just get to dig in the dirt

- zinnia bouquets; please!

- help my littles learn the value of work and effort to receive a harvest

- watch God's hand at work right in front of our eyes

And, so in closing, I have lowered my expectations {generally a good idea!}, had fun in the process and surrendered it to the perfect Gardener!

Slow Weekend

It was a lovely weekend full of slow and productivity. Working hard does not mean slow cannot exist. Above, the girls scattered petals and leaves all over the front sidewalk which was beauty for all who walked by.

 
Thursday night, David spotted one egg in our cardinal nest. The next morning there were two and by Saturday - there were three!

We have also had fun noticing what a beautiful location {although thorny!} this mama bird chose - she may not realize it yet but the entire bush is about to explode in pink blooms! We have fun saying she will have the most lovely home without even realizing it!

A Rachel-ized version of David and Goliath - love.

Sweet-sleepy-boy.

Teddy bear swing rides...

Sunlight heading towards setting for the evening - creating beauty as it sparkles between leaves and branches.

I also want to talk gardening and meals on the porch! Coming up this week ...

Family Fun Hour

Short and sweet today with an idea we've been enjoying lately! Every Wednesday on Slow Day - we also complete our Home Blessing Hour ala Fly Lady! I used to always want to have this done before school started, but probably obvious to all of you - it really threw a wrench into our school schedule.

At any rate, we started doing it in the afternoon after Quiet Time and it works much more smoothly. In addition, I added a second hour and called it Family Fun Hour. After we work together to get the house clean, each child gets to choose something for us to do together. The idea is about 20 minutes on each of three things but we typically only get to do two and just stretch one longer.

My only rules for Family Fun Hour are: it has to be free, it has to be together, it has to be something we can do at home.

So far, we have played games, done science experiments, played with bubbles, painted, gone for a walk and more. It has turned into a super fun thing to look forward to after working together to clean and it is like a lovely reward at the end of our work.

Not only that, but I find that even though we are home together ALOT, it can be hard to make time for the fun things like those mentioned above and especially for all of us to enjoy together. So, this serves a multitude of purposes and has been full of blessings for us.

Slow Easter

Chocolate Silk Pie
Pioneer Woman Coffee Cake
Girls dress pattern and fabrics

Catching Up

Where to begin? After our Slow Week two weeks ago, I was sick and it knocked me out for three days. You know how this goes right? Then I was overwhelmed with how behind I felt in so many ways. So, we hunkered down for a few days at home, skipped Slow Day and I took a week off from my morning routine and things are finally back to running smoothly again which means I am doing laundry regularly and cooking dinner again. Goodness, it is amazing {and scary!} how quickly things can pile up when Mama is sick.

I am so thankful to be on this side of that survival mode and to have had a lovely slow weekend at home. We are all aflutter with nearing the end of school, anticipating the girls ballet recital and making a Colorado trek soon.

Lately it seems I have more pictures to share than words - in some ways I feel like I'm not sure what to write about anymore. And, there is this: leading a quiet life is beautiful. I have lots more on my Bible studies of slow to share soon.

For today - photos of a Slow Saturday morning breakfast, slowing to remember a sweet little friend, snuggles, dreaming of eggs to fill this nest and enjoying raindrops on roses!

Strawberry Art

One thing I've missed in recent months is my quest for beauty and creating art. Every picture shown today happened all in one day and as it was getting dark in the evening and I was washing and slicing berries for the fridge, I looked at the jars lined up on the counter and it was like beautiful art to me and I realized this is my art.

Every aspect of this felt like art to me - going and enjoying my littles picking the berries, noticing the blue berry boxes filled with red fruit and the cheer of the colors, lingering over lunch with new friends and not looking at the clock, piling the berries in enamelware just to take pictures and enjoy the beauty, slicing and baking and whipping to make something yummy for us and to share, bringing beauty as a gift, chasing sunlight to catch the rays as part of the art, sitting on the screened porch to enjoy the last rays of sun and the sweet bites of yummy-ness.

And, so - in pictures, this is my art. Really, though this is God's art that He pours through how I see things, appreciate things, enjoy His creation, who He has made me to be ...

Recipe: Almond-Cornmeal Shortcakes