Saturday, December 31, 2011

the best gift

Every year I say I am going to write it down. I’ll finally put pen to paper (or rather fingers to keys) and write about losing my dad.  Every December I vow to record it.  And every year it doesn’t happen. But it sneaks up on me.  Not the day.  I know it is coming.  It’s everything else that goes with it. 

Dad died 12 days before Christmas.  There isn’t one thing about the season that doesn’t not make me think about what we lost.  You can’t hide or out run that day.  All through the year every siren I hear or fire truck I see makes me think, if only for a split second, of him.  Football season brings it’s own memories.  Christmas brings back the bad memories.  Christmas trees, lights, carols…it’s like every year you have these reminders of that day and the days that followed.  Even poinsettias, because some people had sent them to the funeral home.

I don’t write this for you to be sad.  I’m not sad.  I may be crying right now, but I wouldn’t say I’m sad. I’m far enough on this grief journey that I usually only cry a few times a year.  Sometimes on Ohio State-Michigan game day.  But usually not until 15 days before Christmas.  I’ll remember the last time I talked to my dad on that night and that will start it. I can still see him standing there in my doorway, silhouetted by the hall light.  Our last words were not goodbye.  By the time my sister and I got to the hospital he had already been gone for probably an hour or more.  Our last words came two nights before that. He stopped at my room before going to bed.  “Good night”, that was the last thing he said to me and the last thing I ever said to him. It’d be the last time we’d see each other.  It was a Saturday night.

“Say goodnight, not goodbye, you will never leave my heart behind.” When I heard this song on the Dawson’s Creek finale years later, I was so glad that our last words had been goodnight.  Not goodbye – that is so final, forever.  My dad had given us the greatest gift that anyone could give their loved ones – the hope of seeing each other again.  To be absent from the body is to be present with Christ (2 Cor 5:8).  Two years before he died, my dad had gotten right with God.    I couldn’t even imagine how unbearable it would have been to go through that and not had that hope that this wasn’t going to be it.  Don’t get me wrong, burying him was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. 

So the point of this post is to encourage you, if you haven’t yet, to get right with God.  Don’t put it off. You never know when your number will be up.  There may not be enough time at the end.  From the NIOSH report, I think there was less than sixty seconds from the time Dad collapsed until he technically died.  I believe that there is a heaven and therefore there is a hell.  Heaven is wonderful, hell is not.  Everyone will go back to the Creator one day.  And you will either stay with him in heaven or you will spend eternity in hell.

No one can be good enough to get to heaven on their own.  Not Mother Teresa.  Not Billy Graham. Not Greg Rodgers. Not even Tim Tebow. Only by the grace from Jesus will anyone get to heaven. It is simple to get.  All you have to do is confess that you are a sinner (the Bible says that all have sinned – have you ever lied? stolen? said the Lord’s name in vain?)  and ask Jesus to come into your heart.  Then turn away from your sin and start living your life for Jesus.  It won’t always be easy, but it will be the most important thing you could ever do.

{He’s here but not here, He’s gone but not gone.}  This line from a song from Ladder 49 is awesome.  My dad is not here on earth physically, but he lives on through the people who’s lives he touched. My dad is gone from this earth, but he is not gone. The part that made him who he was lives on.  Isn’t that amazing?  It really is the best gift.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

32 Goals Update

I can’t believe how fast this fall went. Between my new job and grad school I just felt like everything flew by. I’m going to be taking some time off grad school at the beginning of the year. I need some time to just chill and work on some things.

10. Make a pumpkin pie Done! I did this for Thanksgiving with pumpkins that we grew in the garden. It was ok. Not as good as the apple pie. I might try this again.

15. Do Daily December book – Didn’t get done. I started the month taking a few pictures & remembering things I wanted to write down, but grad school work just got in the way. Will try this again next year.

16. Start Project Life – Got the album and stuff bought. Just need to put the page protectors in and I’m ready to go. Very excited to document 2012. I think it is going to be a great year! I’ll try to share my layouts here as I’m going to try to link up at The Mom Creative every week.

#17. Read 20 books – Yeah! I finished the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’m halfway through LOTR: The Two Towers. I finished the first book with my 4th graders. After the break we are starting on a new book, Among the Hidden. I also bought & read Tim Tebow’s book. It was really good and I’ve since shared it with three other people. It’s great to pass along a great book. I purchased a few of the Grace Chapel Inn books from CBD.com because they were such a good deal and I want to start collecting this series of books (there’s about 40 of them). Well, I think one of them I haven’t read yet so I’m excited to get my hands back on those sisters and their B&B. I’ve also got a couple books I purchased this fall that I haven’t read yet. I also think I’m going to start on The Hunger Games. But I really just want to finished up the LOTR series & The Hobbit this year.

  1. I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp
  2. Middle School Ministry Made Easy (for school)
  3. Courageous (the novel based on the movie)
  4. Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow
  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  6. 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley (for school)
  7. The Castle in the Attic (read w/ my 4th graders)

#18. Watch 20 movies – I’m so excited for Courageous to release next month. I’ve already preordered it. It ended up coming to Zanesville for a couple weeks, but I didn’t make it there. And of course the week that I wanted to go see Breaking Dawn it left the theater. Oh, well. I’ll wait for it on DVD, which should hopefully be in March. I watched the 12 Dates of Christmas on ABC Family. It’s one of the few Christmas movies I actually got to watch this year. Grad school really interfered with that.

  1. The Grace Card
  2. Madea’s Big Happy Family
  3. Little Fockers
  4. 12 Dates of Christmas

#20. Try 12 new recipes – Got the stuff to make Loaded Baked Potato Soup this week sometime….yummo!

  1. Loaded Baked Potato Soup
  2. Homemade bread
  3. Apple Pie
  4. Pumpkin Pie
  5. Pumpkin Fudge
  6. Buckeyes
  7. Homemade Pop Tarts – for Christmas Eve brunch

#23. Make an apple pie – Done! Man, I’ve been craving another one of these!

#25. Build craft armoire – I have about 85% of it primed. Just need to sand a spot and finish up the priming then it is on to the paint. It is going to be so nice to have all my crafting stuff in one spot & behind doors.

#29. Start living room makeover – I painted my living room during Veteran’s Day weekend. It is Wild Turkey by Martha Stewart (brownish). I love it! I also painted the crown molding as it was in serious need of some help. I’m going to have to get some new lamps now as both of mine were knocked over during painting (only one by me), breaking the bulbs and now one won’t turn on at all and the other is hard. I can’t wait to finish spray painting frames and getting them up on the wall (with some B&W pictures).

Friday, October 14, 2011

How did it get to be the middle of October already?

It seems like just yesterday was my birthday.  But I guess we have been a little busy around here.  My brother was home for three weeks following his graduation from EOD school. So there were lots of family meals & just visiting time in there. We just shipped him off to Texas a week ago.  And for this past week we’ve had our aunt & uncle visiting from Omaha.  I love my family and have enjoyed all the extra time we’ve had together the last month!!  I’ve got a few posts to do about those times, but that will have to be for another day as it is already after 1 a.m.

But here’s a little progress report on my goals so far:

#17. Read 20 books – after not having read a Christian fiction book in a long time I thoroughly enjoyed Courageous.  Jeremy Camp’s book was long awaited.  I remember praying that he would write his story.  It was very transparent and a great reminder that even Christian “celebrities” are traveling down the same roads as all of us.  And I haven’t touched the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring since I finished the first chapter, but I have next week off of grad school so I am hoping to squeeze in some LOTR time.  Oh, and I’m also reading The Castle in the Attic with my 4th graders. 

  1. I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp
  2. Middle School Ministry Made Easy  (for school)
  3. Courageous (the novel based on the movie)

#18. Watch 20 movies – hopefully going to go see Courageous some time this coming week!

  1. The Grace Card

#20. Try 12 new recipes – so we had some of our family come over to watch the OSU game so I made Loaded Baked Potato Soup, tried to make homemade bread and I also made an apple pie.

  1. Loaded Baked Potato Soup  {so yummy}
  2. Homemade bread

#23. Make an apple pie – Done!  Complete! And it was yummy!  We consumed it straight from the oven with vanilla ice cream.  Wasn’t completely happy with the crust, but for my first time it was great!  G’pa Jim sent apples up last night so I guess I’m supposed to make another one for our cookout Saturday. 

#27. Do 10 things I’ve never done before

  1. Be a Gym Teacher – I had to sub one afternoon for the gym teacher. It was a scary prospect for a girl who almost failed gym in junior high. But I got through it and learned a fun, new game.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

New Goals

 

My 32nd Year Goals

1. Save $1000 – I’m hoping this is possible this year with actually having a job, but I am only working part-time and Bean is currently laid off.  So I do realize that this might not actually happen, but I’m hoping I can do this. 

2. Donate blood – I really can’t believe I’ve never done this before.  I don’t even know what my blood type is.  I’m totally not scared of needles.  I’m scared of the possibility of passing out afterwards.  Crazy, huh? 

3. Read the entire Bible – This keeps getting put on my list so I think this year is the time to check it off. 

4. Weigh 150 lbs. – I’m being more specific than just saying “lose weight”.  I’m hoping that starting to train for the 5/k will help me with this. 

5. Dress more girly – With my new job, this is starting to happen.  I need to add more pieces to my wardrobe.  I actually love wearing my new pair of black flats. 

6. Finish my bedroom – Several years ago, I completely gutted my bedroom down to the studs, removing all the old plaster.  All the major stuff is done.  It just needs some finishing touches – pictures and shelves on the wall, a new bookcase, the ceiling repainted and a rug I’d like to make are on the list.

7. Finish Oh! Shoot class – I started this photography class right after Emmy was born.  It just wasn’t a great time with a new baby in the house, working full-time and taking a full load of classes.  So I want to finish this to better my photography skills.

8. Finish Portraits class -  I bought this class because they fill up so fast. I had the intentions of finishing Oh! Shoot before this one started, but it didn’t happen.  This class will help me take more awesome pictures so I can bless others.

9. Visit a new state – I’m hoping that this one will be easy.  As of right now, it looks like I’ll have my summer free.  So I’m hoping a trip to somewhere I’ve never been before can happen – even if it is just a weekend in that state up North.

10. Make a pumpkin pie -  I’m planning to use one of the pumpkins I grew to make this.

11. Take 10,000 pictures –  Calculated, this is like snapping 27.4 photos a day. But I’ve probably got a pretty good chance of doing this.  So far I have two senior shoots to do.  Mom wants a family picture.  Got a 3rd birthday/family shoot possibly this week.  I’m also doing the Daily December & starting Project Life (see below) this year. 

12. Learn song on my guitar – So I had myself convinced that I couldn’t do this on my own, but I could never find anyone to teach me.  But I recently got thinking that if I can teach myself to quilt using only the internet, I can probably learn a song on my guitar as well.

13. Fix supper 2x a week – This will be a challenge as we don’t have the habit of eating supper.

14. Finish Emmy’s 2nd year book – I want to have this done by Christmas. She so enjoys looking through the books I made of her 1st year.

15. Do Daily December book – Ali Edwards has this challenge of making a scrapbook that details something about celebrating Christmas every day during December. I’ve wanted to try this for several years now and I’m going to do it this December.

16. Start Project Life – Another scrapbooking project I’ve always wanted to do is Project Life.  It’s by Becky Higgins and it is all about documenting your everyday life.  It likes like a very interactive process and I’m excited to finally be committing to it.  I had trouble deciding when to start it, but settled on making it all about the year that was 2012.

17. Read 20 books – I actually have two in progress already – Jeremy Camp’s book and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (inspired by last year’s movie goal).  I have two more books I’ve ordered to read plus I’m sure there’ll be some books for school.

18. Watch 20 movies – One of those WILL be Breaking Dawn.  Another will be Courageous after it comes out on DVD.  I also have The Grace Card on hold at the library.

19. Complete 5/K – Have all intentions of completing the Brad Harper 5/k later next month.

20. Try 12 new recipes

21. Daily prayer time – SO looking forward to this!!

22. Go camping – did not happen at all last year.  This fall would be a great time, hint, hint.

23. Make an apple pie – from scratch, of course.

24. Sew a skirt – carried over from last year.  I have a job where I can wear skirts so this would be nice (& more girly).

25. Build craft armoire – I need some real storage behind doors for my sewing and other craft supplies. Got the plans. Just need to borrow the saw.

26. Make 10 crafty things – I’m on pinterest and have been pinning things I’ve liked.  Must make some of these things.

27. Do 10 things I’ve never done before – always a fun little goal to work towards.

28. Mani &/or pedi – didn’t happen this year but will definitely happen this year.  Hey, I didn’t have anywhere to go last year to show it off (:

29. Start living room makeover – This is kind of a vague goal, but I need to leave it that way because of finances and not knowing if the money will be there to do everything.  What I would like to do is paint the walls, put in a ceiling fan, replace the carpet (may have to have the bare wood for a while again), hang photo gallery and look into slipcovers for the furniture (I have found this place that sells really discounted slipcovers from places like Pottery Barn – it’s just deciding if they’ll fit my furniture). 

30. Be intentional with my time – It was hard to name this goal…basically I just want to be a good steward of the time I’ve been given, which could mean a lot of things.  I just want to intentionally do that.

31. Clean/organize the basement – Christmas break project, maybe??

32. Clean out the garage – I want to take everything out, hose it out and then only put back the stuff we’ll actually ever use (Mom – you better start thinking about what to do with the trunk).

31 Goals is over

It’s that time of year again…my birthday.  I actually just finalized my list of goals for this year tonight.  Some of the goals are going to carry over from last year, ones that didn’t get completed or even started that I’d like to accomplish during this new year for me.  I’m thinking that after this year I might follow my friend and fellow 9/25er Lyndsey in setting more goals but for a longer time period (she’s doing the three years before turning 30).

Before I list the new goals, I’d like to take a moment and reflect on last year’s goals.  I’m not too disappointed in the goals that didn’t get completed because I did actually start most of them.  I’m very excited about the ones I did complete.  Reading 20 books was awesome because I read the Twilight series.  So excited I did.  The 20 movies was great because I watched some great movies, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I probably would not have watched had it not been for the challenge of watching 20 new-to-me movies.  Mom & Scott were thrilled with their quilt, which was the 2nd quilt goal I had set.  Although late to start, my new job requires me to dress up.  So dressing more girly has kind of been happening. It’s weird to have a job where you actually have to think about your wardrobe (Genesis was either scrubs or a Genesis tee and I worked there for 6 years). The hosting the dinner party was awesome because it was actually a life goal of mine I sat years ago. Do you know which goal I was most excited about checking off the list?  Growing the pumpkins.  Yep.  After two years of failure, they finally grew.  They now decorate my front porch, my Mom’s house, my aunt’s house & my school library.  I’m hoping to at least get a pumpkin pie from them, if not canning some of the pumpkin as well. 

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Here’s our harvest from a couple weeks ago (we may actually have more waiting for us):

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Are you ready for the new goals??

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Why I Have a Crush on Tim Tebow

It’s true.  This Scarlet & Gray wearing girl has a crush on the Archie Griffin of the Orange & Blue.  Gasp! 

But this blog post is not really about Tim Tebow.  It is, but it isn’t.  It’s really about what I’m looking for in a husband.  I’ve wanted to write down something for years, but I’d start and I could never finish. I’ve had well-intentioned friends & family try to fix me up men through the years and it’s hard to explain what it is you are looking for.  A couple weeks ago, I thought why not share why I have a crush on Tim Tebow.  Then maybe people would see the man I feel that God has laid on my heart to wait for.

1. Must be a real Christian.   I don’t think anyone would doubt that Tim Tebow is the real deal.  He’s never shied away from sharing his faith and testimony.  I want a husband who will be the spiritual leader of our home.  I want to pray with my husband and grow in Christ together.  I can’t wait to be my husband’s helpmate.  I want to encourage my husband in his ministry just as I hope he does with mine.  Ever seen the movie “Facing the Giants”?  I want what Coach Taylor and his wife have.

2. Must be willing to be the leader of our family.  Whether it’s just me & him or us with a hoard kids, I want my husband to be our leader.  It’s a Biblical principle that the husband is the head of the home.  I don’t think Tim Tebow would have any trouble stepping up to that role.  As quarterback for many years, he knows how to lead.  And I’m sure he’d be a very strong leader.

3. Must respect purity.  A couple years ago, a reporter asked Tim if he was saving himself for marriage. Tim answered honestly that he was.  That was really the first thing I ever learned about Tim and what sparked my interest in him.  I pray that God continues to give him the strength to do this.  It’s not easy.  Believe me, I know.  I don’t live under a rock so I know that in this day and age, the likelihood that I’ll marry someone with the same amount of {physical} experience as me is pretty slim.  However, I would love someone who respected why God called us to be pure and at least was practicing purity in the present.

4. Must be a family person.  From what I read in his book, I think Tim’s pretty close with his family. He also seems close to his brothers.  That’s important to me because my sister is my BFF (much to her dismay, I’m sure).  My sister and I have been through everything together – from birth to death and everything in between.  My husband would have to respect this relationship.  I love my family, too.  I love just hanging out with them.  I’d want to be close to his family as well.  I was lucky to grow up with both sides of my family getting along and joining together for celebrations. 

5. Must like kids.  Tim tweeted this picture of his nieces. It was Valentine’s Day and he called them his dates or something like that. Talk about melting your heart.  It is absolutely imperative that my husband were to like kids.  We may or may not be blessed with kids of our own.  But I’d want to be an active part of my niece’s life (& any future nieces and nephews – including from his side).  I absolutely love being an aunt. It was thing that ever happened to me.  And I couldn’t bring anyone into my niece’s life that was less than worthy.

6. Must be employed.  This isn’t about money.  It’s about providing for your family.  Call me old fashioned, but I believe it is the husband’s place to provide financially for the family.  I think the wife’s focus should be more about creating a beautiful home while supporting her husband and meeting his needs so he can focus on his responsibilities.   I think Tim has this job thing covered.

7. Must like college football (or at least tolerate my viewing).  Let’s see, Tim played for this college football team down in like Florida so I bet he likes college football.  I’ve been following the Buckeyes since the mid 1990s.  I love to watch college ball.  There’s nothing else in the world like it.  I used to only watch Ohio State games, but in the last couple years I have been watching other games.  Football also makes me feel close to my dad.  My husband would have to understand that.  It’d be great if he cheered wearing some Scarlet & Gray, but that’s not a necessity anymore (yes, it once would have made my list of must have husband qualities…I have grown).

So that’s kind of why I have a crush on Tim Tebow.  He (seemingly) meets the criteria I want in my future husband.  Single girls, notice what’s not on that list.  He’s looks aren’t (although you have to admit that the guy looks like he was chiseled by Michelangelo).  Guess what? People grow old.  Every day.  The outward beauty fades and it’s really the beauty inside that matters anyways. The fact that he makes good money doesn’t matter either.  Money doesn’t buy love or happiness or security.  Stuff won’t fill the holes in your heart. 

I hope that kind of explains what I am looking for in my future husband.  Although growing up I had always thought I’d marry and have kids young, I’m glad that God allowed for this expanded singlehood.  It’s allowed me to develop a Biblical view of marriage and not one based on worldly expectations.  I also know that I will cherish my husband even more because he will be an answer to my prayers.  I pray that I will also be an answer to his.

***And don’t worry, people.  I am not delusional and think that I’m going to marry Tim Tebow.   I’m like 8 years older than him (though age doesn’t bother me) and I’m more likely to win the lottery (if I actually played it) than ever meeting him (even though I have actually met Archie Griffin).*** 

Monday, July 25, 2011

i heart faces–water shot

 

 

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This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – http://iheartfaces.com

i heart faces

Friday, July 22, 2011

31 Goals…Two months to go

 

1. Get back into Church.  In a new small group @ church – I’m leading the next lesson series. 

2. Read the whole Bible.  This will probably not happen with starting grad school back in May. Lots of reading to do.

3. Make an apple pie.  I thought about doing this for Easter, but I think I’m going to go a different route.  But definitely something I want to try soon!

4. Sew a skirt.  I need to go fabric shopping because the warm weather is almost here :)

5. Finish my bedroom. 

6. Make a 2nd quilt.  DONE   I’ve actually finished one more and have two others waiting for backs.

7. Take 20,000 pictures. 

8. Sell something on my etsy store.   

9. Host a dinner party.  DONE

10. Get a mani &/or pedi.  Not yet…

11. Weigh 150 lbs.  August is going to focus on this.

12. Save $1000.  Probably not going to happen since I haven’t been employed in like 11 months.

13.Visit a state I’ve never been to.

14. Read 20 books.   Completed this last weekend.

  1. As Young As We Feel
  2. I Heart Bloomberg
  3. What She Left for Me
  4. Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest
  5. Let Them Eat Fruitcake
  6. Spring Broke
  7. Spring is in the Air
  8. Amazing Gracie
  9. Three Weddings & a Bar Mitzvah
  10. Twilight
  11. New Moon
  12. Eclipse
  13. Breaking Dawn
  14. Christmas Homecoming
  15. Refuel
  16. when God writes your love story
  17. One Thousand Gifts
  18. Free Book
  19. Who is My Shelter?  by Neta Jackson
  20. Million Dollar Dilemma  by Judy Baer

15. Grow a pumpkin.  There are pumpkins growing in my garden right now. 

16. Build something.  DONE  Though I plan on building an amoire in the next couple weeks.

17. Get published (article or picture) in a newspaper, magazine or reputable website.  

18. Try 10 new recipes.  

  1. Broccoli Chicken Casserole
  2. Creamed Corn in the crockpot
  3. Flag Cake for the 4th of July

19. Go camping.   Supposed to be going this coming weekend.

20 – 29. Do 10 things I’ve never done before.

  1. Hair professionally dyed.
  2. Ran a tiller. (Technically… I planted onions & potatoes for the first time, but I’ll wait and see if I need anymore new things at the end.)
  3. Spray painted flower pots.
  4. Enter a photo into the i heart faces contest.

30. Watch 20 movies.   

  1. Letters to Juliet
  2. The Bounty Hunter
  3. The Love Guru
  4. Diary of a Mad Black Woman
  5. The Last Song
  6. Date Night
  7. Madea Goes to Jail
  8. The Pelican Brief
  9. Eclipse
  10. Play the Game
  11. Dinner for Schmucks
  12. A Christmas Carol
  13. Charlie St. Cloud
  14. Letters to God
  15. The Switch
  16. Life As We Knew It
  17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
  18. Toy Story 3
  19. When In Rome
  20. How Do You Know
  21. You Again
  22. Easy A
  23. One Week (An awesome movie with Joshua Jackson!!)
  24. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  25. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

31. Dress more girly.  Still working on this one.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

i heart faces…prop challenge

Ok, so I’m entering a photo for the very first time to I heart faces.  This challenge requires a prop. 

09 25 10_3081 copy

i heart faces

Saturday, July 16, 2011

garden update

Scott & I went to the garden {very early} this morning to do some picking and weeding before it got too hot. 

The corn is growing nicely despite the wicked winds that have knocked some over. Should be ready in a week or so. You can see the difference between the first planting and the second planting several weeks later:

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Here’s the tomato plants. We’ve also got some nice banana peppers growing. And cabbage!  Last year the bunnies ate every single cabbage plant.  This year we have one bunny who jumps the fence and just today was the first signs of a deer being in the garden.

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Do you see that little white speck in the middle of the next picture?  Guess what it is!  It’s one of my Boo Pumpkins growing.  I’ve had a goal for three years to grow a pumpkin. Container gardening didn’t work. Last year’s garden crop didn’t work.  So excited that it is growing this year!  I planted Boos, Jack Be Littles and I think Connecticut Field Pumpkins.

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Here’s some of our cucumbers to make pickles with:

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Not sure if this is a pumpkin or a melon.  Their vines have kind of intermixed.

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One of the melons we have growing.  And there’s a lot more blooms, too (:

 

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We’ve also got potatoes, onion, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, cantaloupe, green peppers,  butternut squash & spaghetti squash growing, but I didn’t take any pictures of those. 

Here’s the loot we took home today: a lot of banana peppers, 2 bags of cucumbers, a couple spaghetti squash, a couple cabbage heads and some broccoli.

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Monday, June 13, 2011

Strawberry Pickin’

So apparently Elli had never been strawberry picking.  So Scott & Julie promised to take her sometime this year.  So Scott arranged for us to go picking…on one of the hottest days of the year at a time when the shade on the patch was gone!  Then he ended up not going b/c he got a tow job to Massillon.

So Mom, Rhett & I took Elli and Emmy Jo to the garden so they could pick for the very first time.  Elli said she liked it.  She didn’t like getting a hold of the mushy ones. 

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I didn’t think Emmy would pick any, but she ended up getting a couple.  This is her first one:

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We managed to get four buckets:

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Then Julie treated us to Whits:

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And before we got home Emmy & Elli were asleep:

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Memorial Day ‘11

This year Memorial Day was so hot!  The day began with our first strawberry harvest of the season (actually, ever).  Mom, Scott & I picked three buckets of berries.

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We had a really nice cookout for lunch. Then we all hit the pool for the first time this summer.  Emmy loved it. 

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Thursday, May 26, 2011

A Busy Weekend

My busy weekend started on Friday when Bean, Emmy & I headed to the Columbus Zoo.  It was our first trip of the year.  Despite the LARGE amount of school children on a field trip, it wasn’t that bad. 

We started in the aquarium…

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Checking out the new gorilla…

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It’s a baby!!

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Checking out the orangutans…

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The kangaroos were the 2nd favorite animal this time.  I taught Emmy the night before how the kangaroo hops.  Right after this picture, two of these took off to the other side of the exhibit.  She said, “They boing.”

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Here’s the #1 animal so far of every trip….a “duck”.  Emmy still thinks anything with feathers larger than a bird is a duck.  Where we like to eat lunch there was a family of geese… “baby duck”, “mommy duck” and “daddy duck”.  Emmy was in heaven.  Anytime she’d spot a duck, goose or swan, she’d say, “I see ducks”.

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This “duck” really wanted her lunch.

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The baby elephant was asleep…I hope!

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Still loving the polar bears.  Even though it was apparently time for a nap…they’re just so darn cute!

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Checking out Brutus & Buckeye, the brown bear brothers.

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The bobcat.  Emmy thought it looked like our cats… “meow”.

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Finally, a decent bald eagle picture for Scott.

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There was hardly anyone at the otters by the time we made it to their exhibit. I got some good pictures, but this is my favorite.

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So that was Friday.  Saturday was spent at the garden (see the post below) and visiting with my brother and his wife in the evening. 

Sunday after church I went on an impromptu road trip with my Mom, little brother Nick & Bobby B.  At first, Mom was going to treat us to McD’s and eat it on their back deck.  But as we headed there, she was like, “KFC sounds good.”  So we headed towards Coshocton. We took the KFC to Lake Park for a picnic.   Afterwards, we walked around the Lake and then stopped for a Frosty on the way home.  We stopped at Emerson’s, too, for some flowers to plant.  I did a little rehab/craft project later on, but I’m saving that for it’s own post.

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