Happy Birthday Papa & Jan!

My Aunt Jan & Papa- their birthdays are only two days apart.

We all met at Papa's to celebrate their special days. Roy climbed the big 'ol oak tree out back. The girls were instructed in this case not to follow Daddy's example at this time! :)

There is a special section of the tree... a training post of sorts, equipped with a rope to prepare them for the big climb one day!

This visit was an educational one too. We were able to show them what the egg sacks of a black widow look like . If you haven't ever seen one, click on this picture to see the nodules all over the eggs. They are quite interesting.

Click on this one to see the black widow up close and the famous "red hourglass" shape on her abdomen.

Happy Birthday Papa & Jan!

It was a wonderful day we all shared together. Many thanks to Kevin for the awesome lunch he prepared for us all!! It was great to see you Laura :)

A Time To Sow...A Time to Plant...

We are ready to plant the seeds...and a couple plants too! We were all so excited for this!!!

Bill & Sheila blessed us with the seeds and the plants...God is so Good!! We have 11 rows and here is the list of what we expect to reap and receive in our harvest...

Heirloom Cantaloupe, Radishes, Sweet Potatoes, Cucumbers, Carrots, Wax Beans, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Sugar Peas, Green Peppers and three rows of Sweet Corn.

Mia is planting wax bean seeds...they were the coolest shade of pink!!

Madeline is planting a row of sweet corn seeds. :)

Mia taking her turn with the sweet corn too!

This was the coolest thing to do together as a family!!

Daddy's Little Helper!! :)

What a blessed evening and a beautiful way to end with the sunset.

Here is an update...just two days later!! Can you tell we are excited?!! :)

A Garden...It Has Really Come To Pass!!

We have been in our house for five years and have always talked about planting a garden. We have a large area on the top of the hill in our backyard, even big enough for a pool. We had even thought about a nice putting green up there!

Since we've met our awesome neighbors Bill & Sheila, that desire became even greater within our hearts. They have a wonderful garden and come from a family of farmers. The stories they have shared with us have truly been a delight; especially when you have a daughter who wants to be a farmer! Our friend, Bill blessed us by bringing his tiller over and tilling up what you see in the picture above. He insisted on doing it himself and we were grateful & amazed how quickly the weeds of many varieties and the deep roots of some were gone. This picture shows the cleaned up version of what was done. :)

My Hubby is really in his element here!

He is starting to put the rows in!! :)

Mia's First...

She lost her first tooth!

The second one followed less than a week later and she even pulled that one out on her own! :)

Resurrection Day Moments...

On Resurrection Day the girls & I looked through their closet and we were delighted to find these dresses. The girls are reading some of the American Girl books right now and they wanted to dress like their favorite characters. Amelia was inspired by Samantha and Madeline by Felicity.

Later in the day they enjoyed a hunt for eggs in the backyard. They have always loved this, they even do this throughout the year inside our house!

We did the Resurrection Eggs for the 12 days leading up to this joyous day. While watching them in all their excitement, it reminds me of all the hidden treasures that surround us each & every day woven into the many seasons & circumstances we travel through and the joy we receive in seeking and finding HIM in all things!

Our sweet girls are growing up... so soon!

What a blessing it is to see their love for each other. :)

Caring For a Little Bit of His Creation...

Our resident squirrel was hanging out in some different places the other day. He started off at the BBQ grill.

This day we enjoyed watching him relaxing up on top of the girls swingset...

...then he decided to switch directions. We are fascinated by the simple beauty of God's creation in our backyard.

Molly is such a sweet puppy...she has definitely found her home in our family. :)

We are feeding our neighbors bird for a bit. The girls love Tweety although Mia wasn't too sure about her being this close!!

Madeline loves almost all animals :)

You would almost think there was a pet store in our future from seeing these pictures, right? LOL!!!

Finally, these are the sweet little ducks they couldn't wait to take care of...

...we were assured they were very sweet ones!!! :)

A Moment to Break Away...

We had to some errands to run after already being out at a doctors appointment the other day. So, we decided to stop at our favorite store and enjoy some family time since the girls would be missing the Easter activities they had going on over the weekend at Bass Pro Shop.

One day this picture will have the woods in the background!

Two camo cutie pies :)

So much work...so many vehicles to choose from to get it done!!

This is one we haven't seen before.

What good choices of color for spring too...lol!!

This is Mia's favorite fish at BPS...Mr. Catfish!

Timeout for a snack...an old-fashioned moon pie :)

I love this man so much, he is so dedicated to his family. I am so blessed to have such a caring, loving & giving husband. I love you honey!!!

The girls love & adore their Daddy :)

Some training tips for the future hunters!

We always have fun here and while we are there we feel like we are away on vacation too!

Happy Resurrection Day!

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." Matthew 28:5-7

Hope you had a blessed day celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord & Savior with your family & friends!

New Background: Check!

Well, I think I am finally OK with this background. They added some new ones today and I was ready for something more simple. I just wasn't satisfied before...through the many changes over the past month or so! :)

Hope you all are having a great week remembering & celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior & Lord.

West Coast For A Day...

Our van was being worked on so we rented a very fuel efficient loaner for the day and headed for Crystal River. It was a nice drive over there and we really wanted to see the Gulf in this remote region. This is one town we passed through called Inverness. Such a neat old building!

They had the old mixed with the new.

For some reason the girls really enjoy riding in little cars compared to our spacious van! :)

What it started to look like getting closer to the coast. Lots of tall grass in the water (even though it was dead looking) it was still beautiful.

This is the one LITTLE beach we found...yeah, we can see the water!!!

It was a bright & sunny day...

...a perfect time for a healthy snack! :)

It was worth the drive over and the time we spent in the car!!

I really like this shot and imagined visiting this area in a boat!!

Molly loves to ride in the car...

...and was so happy that we brought her along!! :)