My latest endeavor has been the planting of a vegetable garden. I guess that nuturing something and watching it grow just makes me smile. I decided to start on a small scale and went with some green beans, cucumbers, melons, peppers and zucchini. Happy to report, all is looking good!

The only harvest to date has been a few green beans which I have been breaking up for my salad and hope to soon have enough to fix for a meal. Tomatoes are getting bigger but still green and I think that I should have about 12 peppers ripening soon.

My educational moment came when I was concerned about my zucchini and how the flowers were blooming beautifully then drying up, falling off and leaving nothing behind. I visited the local nursery and asked about why this was happening and was informed that my plants were doing exactly what they should be. Apparently the male blossoms come first for the first few weeks and then the females come second (how backward, old-fashioned and archaic) blooming and bringing the fruit. Of course, I ran home spoke kindly to my boy buds and then anxiously awaited the arrival of the ladies, whom would reward me with offspring. Low and behold some of the gals have appeared and they are topping the beginnings of some nice looking zucchini. Let's hear if for the girls!!

Working in the garden has been a form of therapy, helping me take care of something and I do believe even after the compost, plants and fertilizer it still is gonna be a lot cheaper than $60.00 per hour spent getting therapy in a couselor's office. And the sunshine and fresh air can't hurt either!

Each time that I water, weed, add fertilizer or harvest, my thoughts are on just how beautiful God has made the process of life. And we reap the wonderful benefits whether it's with the harvest of well-cared for food or the fulfillment of loving children!

Wether caring for your vegetables or your family ~ HAPPY GARDENING!

The Joys of Motherhood

It's May and we just celebrated Mother's Day. With my three gone and out of the house I got to thinking about how much my mom has endured. She watched her girls leave and settle in other cities, one as far away as New Jersey for a time and another in the northwest in Portland. I wonder if she ever imagined that her daughters would venture and eventually settle so far away from her. If she is saddened by this aspect of her life, she doesn't show it. I guess when measured against the loss of one daughter completely from her life, distance becomes a matter of perspective. She has taught me so much, things that I'm sure she isn't even aware of. I just know that through her example, I too have been able to try and make distance only about miles, not about closeness or connection.

I feel so fortunate when my family is all together, my girls traveled home to celebrate Mom's Day with me and when we share such quality time together it's like they never left. It doesnt' matter if they live 5 minutes or 500 miles, the comfort, the ease, the laughter and the happiness is as strong as ever.

We have a dear friend, I like to refer to her as my "other" daughter and I've been thinking about her. She flew off to New Zealand following the calling that God placed in her heart. I know that she is spending day after day away from many things which brought her comfort, warmth and joy, and this weekend I hugged her in my mind time and time again, knowing that joy has followed her on her path. To her Mom and her who didn't get their Mom's day together... hugs and more hugs to you both!

I looked around this weekend and saw sisters who are mothers, daughters who are mothers and friends who are mothers and thought I am part of this wonderful group, part of something bigger than one single mom and sharing it with others especially fantastic people, makes the journey that much more special.

Spring is here ...

SPRING IS HERE AND ALL THE BEAUTY IS AWAKENED!

Well, so much for my determination to be a better blogger... just like everything else it's hard to make the time, but once a month is an improvement for me, so I'll take my successes even if they are in small doses.

What's new, well lets see ... earlier in March my youngest daughter and I had the opportunity to visit my oldest daughter in beautiful San Diego. We had such a great time and enjoyed getting to see her new apartment. Wow! what an accomplishment, she's living all alone in her own place, has a lucrative job and enjoys the beach life as she is but steps away from the sand and surf! It's wonderful to watch your childrens lives unfold, it's so fulfilling!

I remember that someone once told me of a quote referring to giving our children wings, well I'm so grateful that my oldest daughters wings have landed her in a beautiful spot and even more grateful that the landing has been safe!

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter celebration with family and our son was able to join us. As he is the only one of our children who lives close by, he get's to be persuaded into tagging along to all the family functions, lucky kid! He never says that he would rather be anywhere else and smiles, laughs, hugs his mom and always says 'thanks, it was fun!' God Bless him for whether or not it is truly his idea of fun, he knows the way to warm his Mama's heart!

Early spring has brought longer days and the first flower of the blossoms ... I know that beauty lies inside everyday if you just look... and for me I just take a look at three smiles on three very special young adults ... and just like the beauty of the season ... it renews my spirit!

New Year's Resolution - Better Blogger!

Happy New Year! As we begin the new year I decided to give up on setting resolutions, cuz if you break that down it becomes, re-solution and that implies needing a redo of solutions to what else but problems and I would like to believe I am not problematic so instead I am setting GOALS, things I want to GO After Longingly! One of those goals is to be a better blogger... and as this is my first post for 08, looks like I'm more problematic than I thought!

The holidays were full of fun, family, friends and fantastic blessing! Having all of my children within a few miles and especially within a few feet for large amounts of time was beyond wonderful! It's the greatest gift I could have received! We all shared many laughs, thoughts and even some tears (especially when they had to go!) My oldest daughter Kristen, was able to stay a few days longer than had been expected and she said she'd do so only if I promised not to cry when she left.. right! So I made that hollow promise, please forgive me Heavenly Father, and I know that she knew in her heart it was one impossible for me to keep. When she headed out after those two extra special added days, there were tears in my eyes and a swelling in my heart... tears that flowed harder and a swelling that grew painful shortly as she drove out of sight.... boy goodbyes are hard!

One of my younger sisters has had that "goodbye" feeling as she has watched her daughter head off to her first year of college. I remember those days and somehow now I wish that was all I was doing was saying goodbye as they headed back after a break from college. But not so, these goodbyes are my life, I have come to the realization that my daughters will probably not make their homes near me, they will have their careers, their families and their lives away from me, not just away in another home, but away in another location. They are not off only to finish a semester or to get a degree, they are off to make their life!

It's a hard thing to swallow and as I think of it each time, that swell in my heart is beyond explanation ...

Welcome to my blog...

It's beginning to look a lot like autumn... and I was putting out all my fall decorations and realized, why do I still do this? My 25, 24, and 23 year olds have now moved on to homes of their own and all those stuffed scarecrows, plastic skeletons, foam pumpkins, glittered masks, creepy music tapes had their day in the sun or should I say full moon, back when my three kids lived at home. I remember really decking out the house for Halloween, using dry ice for fog and making the porch a spooky place. Today, I wonder will they carve their own pumpkins? Wear a costume? Make some fog and play eerie music? I will have to check with them and see, maybe they want some of those old decorations to start their own fall collections!