Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Again we plant a garden.

So, I cracked the whip again a couple weeks ago and all those within my grasp were forced to slave over the garden.

We spent a couple of hours one day weeding and turning over the soil and another hour another day planting and setting up the drip line.
Now we get to see what grows!  Hopefully we can keep on top of all the weeds that spring up!
Someone swiped my camera when I was not looking and this is what I found later...

A great picture of Jeff on the computer!
Visiting with my visiting teachers.
 Trenton holding down the couch.  (It's a very important job.  Don't want that couch to float away...)
Hmmmm I wonder who could have stolen my camera?
The Mookster

This little independent girlie is so much fun (at least that's what I keep telling myself).

On Sunday she wanted to put bows in her hair herself.
Not just one bow, but several on a head band.
Every morning it is a fight to get her dressed.  She always wants to dress herself and she really doesn't care if it matches or what the weather is!  On Sundays I really put my foot down and demand she wear tights and Sunday shoes, but to keep her happy I let her make the choice of what to wear in her hair.
So, this week she got to choose the hair bows and it made her very happy. She loved it!

Just so you know, she has a closet full of clothes, shelves full of shoes, and plenty of winter coats and sweaters. But, more often than not I let her make her own choices and often she looks like a street urchin. 

Hair bows are the least of my worries!

Oh well, at least she is happy! 
Grandpa Jonesy

We love it when Grandpa comes into town!  He usually gives us a couple of days notice before he swoops in and stays for a day and then swoops out!

 He's always good for some great hugs, stories at bed time and ice cream.
Love you, Dad!  Glad you could come!
Musings on rose bushes...
Pruning rose bushes is pretty harsh.  They are super thorny and it's not any fun to try and reach in with a pair of pruning shears and lop off the branches.   I usually get scratched and often end up with a thorn or two imbedded in my arm or hand, and when I am done it doesn't look very pretty for a while.

As I was pruning my rose bush this year I was thinking about what a hard job it was.  Then I thought about the rose bush...imagine what it feels like for the rose bush!  To have all your branches stripped away, all the greenery cut off, and be left as a bunch of little thorny sticks no more than 12 inches long.

As hard as it is to prune a rose bush, it is so much harder on the bush.
BUT, the pruning of the rose bush makes the blooms so much larger and prettier.  It keeps the bush healthier and stronger.  Without being pruned a rose bush grows spindly and too tall and doesn't produce any blooms and is often susceptible to bug infestation and disease.  It's amazing to watch a rose bush change from a few thorny sticks into a lush bush with beautiful blossoms.  The transformation is remarkable.

Sometimes I feel like a rose bush.  It's not fun to be pruned and I feel awfully bare and thorny sometimes.  But, I know that with pruning comes growth.  It makes me stronger, healthier, and can make my life even more beautiful than it is.  Even though I may not like it, it is good for me and I can grow from it.

Huh...that got pretty deep.

Who knew yard work could be so enlightening?