Gratitude

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Twilight on the homestead

This is my favorite time of day…

Just as the sun is setting…

All is washed in hues of gold…

 

I even find golden hope for a few last tomatoes…

And the hammock begins to beckon me…

Who am I to resist?

Just a few stolen moments of quiet rest refresh me…

And I know I must still tackle those pesky dinner dishes.

Someone had a birthday this weekend!

How is it that my firstborn is 9 years old? Precious time passes so quickly these days…

He’s poised to make his birthday wish and blow out the candles.

He told me he got EVERYTHING he wanted. My sweet boy. I do love you, so.

Slip and slide fun!

It’s tradition. We do this crazy thing every year. No one complains.

My precious parents. Mom and Dad, thank you for everything... I appreciate you so much more now that I am a mom myself.

I caught my Dad and brother sneaking a cast or two. Can you blame them? Nope.

My oldest and dearest friend, Kellie, came with her husband and sweet niece Carly. She and Sara Lynn were fast friends.

A good time was had by all!

Today’s Catch

 

We spent another gorgeous evening on the pond.

It makes me happy to see these two together. Their activity of choice these days is fishing.

Looks like a big one!

Poor Cocoa desperately wanted to help.

Daniel really got in there and checked this guy out.

3 lbs. 13 oz.

Sara Lynn wanted touch it, too. Fearless little girl.

Catch and release. Yep. That’s how we do it most days.

 

Sweet Sammy. She really irritated me by laying in my newly planted flowerbed yesterday.

I planted roses (on the far side, hard to see them here), marigolds, and purple pincushions (above).

Thankfully, Sammy didn’t squish many of them. And I’m happy to report my tomato and rosemary seedlings are doing good.

I still haven’t started any more peppers or ground cherries since these were lost. That task is at the top of my to-do list.

All in all, we’re doing pretty good around here. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The Perfect Easter Weekend

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend around here… Bugs were caught, examined, and then released. Long walks (and runs) were taken around the pond.

The lavender smelled soooooo good. Sunset picnics were had on the pier (tuna salad, vegetable soup, corn chips, and fresh fruit – Yum!)

A new play set was erected, and fun times were had on the swings and slide. More seeds were started (red milkweed, bee balm, chamomile, dahlias, and more.)

There were baskets of treats and lollipops, games in the living room floor, lots and lots of good food, and a spectacular Easter egg hunt.

 

Those little egg hunters worked so hard… Sara Lynn really stood her ground when one of her eggs was stuck in a pipe.

  

And she wouldn’t rest until another egg was rescued from a hole way up high in a tree. A good time was had by all this Easter weekend.

Even my cousin’s sweet babe would agree. That’s him with my brother, and again with my Papa, and then with me. What a cutie!

       

We’re so blessed here… have I mentioned to you that most of my family lives just around the corner from us? That’s my Papa’s gorgeous house and grounds in the egg hunting photos, then my aunt, uncle and cousin live next door to him, and my mom, dad, and brother live just down the street. The rest of the bunch lives within easy driving distance (the furthest is 30 miles) from my grandfather (Papa). God has truly blessed our family. Our Easter worship service at church on Sunday morning was very moving. One of Daniel’s long-time friends was baptized, and it has prompted much conversation here at home. It is my greatest mission in life to raise children who are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else I do pales in comparison to that one goal. Great Christ-centered discussion + my good hearted boy = a slightly weepy mama (tears of joy!) And I’m pleased to tell you that mama was able to find her way to the hammock (more than once) this weekend.