what a week

The week draws to a close and I'm glad.  It was a busy week.  It was a tough week.  It was an exhausting week.  But it was also such a great week that now that we're here at the end I think, 'Wow! Thanks God, for all of this.'

Austin has been in Alabama all week with his rifle team, competing in the CMP Nationals.  He earned the 7th spot in the nation.  7th!!  Beyond that, his team earned the recognition of 1st in the nation.  I'm proud of my boy and the rest of the shooters on his team, and thankful for their great coach.

Blake spent the week at a wrestling camp and got to meet the college wrestling coach of the year, Ohio State's Tom Ryan.  I don't think he'll ever forget it.  While the man is a wealth of wrestling knowledge, he is also a Christian.  He impressed Blake in a way that I've not seen before.

Also this week, Aaron closed on his first sale as a real estate agent.  I'm so proud of him for how much he's learned.  This man, he amazes me.  He works two jobs, is very supportive of his sons, is patient and kind to me, strives to help others out in any way he can, takes care of finances at our church, leads singing in services, and still finds time to walk on the beach with me.  I love and admire him.

Last year a tiny little poppy plant sprung up in the least likely of places.  When the petals fell off I kept the pod, hoping to plant the little poppy seeds in the garden.  This year, when I planted the garden I opened up that little pod and it was empty!  Strangely enough, a plant that I didn't recognize began to grow elsewhere in the garden.  It grew and grew and grew and now stands over 3 feet tall!  Just yesterday a beautiful pink poppy opened up at the very top.  There are plenty more buds getting ready to open too!

This is the poppy I didn't plant in my garden but grew anyway.  I love it.  And I know that it's a gift from God.  He works that way sometimes. 

Have you ever seen the flowers that a potato plant produces?  They are delicate, similar to bleeding hearts but unique to themselves.  Here are the flowers from my potato tower:

 

I pretty much live this quote everyday:

picture plethora

It's summertime!  The weather is gorgeous here.  Yesterday we had a good soaking rain and today is sunny and warm.

 

I don't have much to say but I have a lot of pictures to share. 

 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

 

These wild iris were spotted while on a canoe/fishing date with my husband.  He fished.  I rowed and took pictures.  We ate Cheetos.  It was great fun.

 

The lily pads on the lake that day were gigantic. 

The lake is beautiful.  It's a smaller size but a favorite fishing hole of many bald eagles.  One time we got caught in a heavy downpour on this lake and took shelter on the far side under trees. 

 

On a separate evening we took a nice long walk on the beach five minutes from our house.  The waves rolled gently, the sun was warm.  And I found these wildflowers.

A few days later we went back and I found the same patch of wildflowers to photograph again.

 

 

Blake participated in a spring football camp (as a freshman!).  The camp lasted two weeks and culminated in a scrimmage with a school an hour away.  Our team is in the white and purple jerseys.

 

Aaron and I went to our local ballet's production of "Frozen".  We have a couple friends with daughters in the ballet.  It was beautiful and skillful and wonderful.  I'm amazed at the athletic ability of a ballerina coupled with grace and control. 

My 37th birthday happened.  My sweet and thoughtful co-workers surprised me with blueberry cake.  I ate two pieces of this beauty.

 

 

And balloons!  And a card!  And a coffee gift card!

I must confess that in addition to the two pieces of blueberry cake I enjoyed, I also delighted in a generous piece of ice cream cake that night at home, thanks to my husband.  Yay for cake!  Yay that birthdays only come once a year!

 

 

I pulled these beauties from the garden today.  Pretty purple beets.

 

 

 

The first wave of peas is flowering.  I planted a second wave for a longer harvest but they are just 2 inches tall now.

 

The sunflowers run the entire length of the garden.  They have grown quite tall and provide excellent shade in the early evening.  No flowers yet but I'm beyond excited at the prospects.

The cherries are just now ripe.  The branches are laden.  Hopefully we get more than the birds this year.

 

 

 

The chickens are a wonderful hobby.  There are drawbacks, such as early morning wake up calls and poop mines all over the yard but I adore them.  I love listening to their conversations with each other and love when they walk right in the back door looking for a treat.

 

Here is Pearl.

 

 

 

Until next time!