Glorious sunset

I'm continually in awe of God's handiwork!  This is a sunset we saw while in Canada. Amazing!

A Long Drive

Driving home from Canada this year I had the bright idea that we go back by Mt. Rushmore again  .Because everyone knows that that's a direct shot from Manitoba to the Gulf Coast of Alabama, right??  NOT!!  Driving from our town to Manitoba, Canada was 1900 miles.  Driving home through Rapid City, SD was 2269!  That's almost 400 miles out of our way.  Honestly...it was so worth it and I'd do it all over again.  

 We'd been to Mt. Rushmore about 6 years ago but Emma (our youngest didn't remember it).  The morning we were going to visit this time was so very foggy.  You couldn't see 100yds in front of you.  We had to visit early because we had to get on the road.  After all, we still had whole lot of miles to drive that day (we didn't end up stopping until 3am in Joplin, Missouri).  Before leaving the hotel parking lot, we prayed for our traveling safety and that God would open the clouds so we could see the mountain.  I knew God wouldn't have let us drive this far to not get to see Mt Rushmore-our only reason for going off track.  Even as I parked at the mountain, the fog had not cleared.  I still kept the faith that God would give us a glimpse.  Walking through the corridor of flags to the mountain, the clouds parted and the sun shone down in all it's glory.   Seriously!  It did!   There, ahead of us, was the amazing mountain carved so many years ago.  We had tears in our eyes as we gazed at it.  We stood in awe of this man's gift at carving the stone but more importantly at God's goodness in moving the fog and letting us see it once again.  God is so good and sweet like that!

We stayed longer than we should have, but we wanted to see and experience everything.  I didn't care how late I had to drive.  God had opened the heavens for us to see this and we were going to totally absorb it!  (I failed to mention that the whole time we gazed at the mountain, the fog was still thick as pea  soup behind us.  We literally could not see the car in the parking lot!)

Now we had to drive all the was across South Dakota (it's a really wide state, in case you haven't noticed).  It was such a beautiful drive.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  We went on through Iowa, Missouri, a little bit of Kansas and back into Missouri again to stop.  The next morning we drove on into one of our favorite southern states, Arkansas.  We cannot possibly drive through Arkansas without driving by the Duggar's house.  They are on our favorite reality show.    After stopping there we were energized to drive home.  (we arrived about 1:00am). 

We saw a whole lot of this beautiful country that God has created, felt His protection and watched as He performed a miracle...just to love on us!  One long drive turned into a trip of a lifetime!

Early morning

It seems that the older I get, the less sleep I need. I'm usually the first one up at our house. I cherish the time alone in the quiet. Some mornings I wake a little earlier than I'd like. :) I hate to sit in bed and waste time. If I can't sleep, I get up and find something to do. On this particular morning I was awake about 3:30am. I caught up on email and blogs, did some laundry and cleaned in the kitchen, patiently waiting for the sun to come up. I'm a big chicken and don't like to go outside in the dark...alone. At daylight, I headed to our dock at the creek to mail a card. The view I was presented with caused me to slow down...to look around...to listen...to praise our wondrous Maker!

I was in awe of the beauty! We've had this property about 12 years and it never gets old. I sat on the dock and watched the fish jump, saw the blue herons hunting their breakfast and listened to the frogs sing. I was also frightened by an alligator making his way into the water. I remained still observing this magnificent place God has placed right at my door.

When I finally walked up to the house I was blessed once more. This time by numerous hummingbirds fighting over my feeders. I stood still, listening to them buzzing over my head and watching with awe as they hovered around me.

As I entered the house I was filled with so much happiness. There's no other word for it. So I missed a bit of sleep. God had blessed me ten fold with the richness of His creation. I would rather experience this than sleep till 9:00 any day!

My Garden

There are many things in my life that I'm passionate about. I enjoy my hobbies-keeping my hands busy. When I was growing up my parents always planted an incredibly large garden. We picked peas for hours! I recall hating that part. LOL! On the other hand I thoroughly enjoyed all the jars of green beans, peas, butter bean, pickles, etc that we had to eat all year long. One problem was that although I worked in the garden days on end, I never really learned what it took to raise a healthy garden. Therefore when I grew up, I had several gardens fail (not always totally). This year I decided to change things. I started out reading this magazine. That was a good first step. Then I decided that maybe what I needed to do was take baby steps-start with a tiny garden. It is really small! But, when I look at it I don't feel overwhelmed. I feel content. I can do this!

I'm happy to say I have lots of baby squash growing..



And some grape tomatoes...

I have dill, rosemary, onions, carrots, chives, garlic, lettuce and cucumbers (my dream is to make dill pickles!) . So far the bugs have stayed away, except for some nasty black grasshoppers. I found a tea to brew to keep them long gone.

I'm not just growing veges though. Emma and I started a small flower garden. We have a rose bush that was once just a cutting from my Granny's bush. It's moved three times now. Every year when it blooms I can just see my Granny. She was a wonderful gardener. One of the reasons I garden is to be more like her. She was (and still is) one of the most special people in my life.

What's funny about this lily is I know someone gave it to me...I just can't remember who! Isn't it beautiful?

Emma has 2 Gerber daisies of her own planted (one white and one pink). We have a bleeding heart that was a cutting from my great aunt, some pretty red petunias (my Granny's favorite), sunflowers that are really getting tall and of course lots of zinnias. Even on my worst days I can't help but smile and feel God's hand upon me when I walk and gaze at my garden.

Happy Spring!

Here in the south it has looked and felt like spring for a while now. In fact, my 7 year old keeps asking me if it's summer yet. :)

I love spring. To me it means new beginnings, freshness, freedom. We started Spring with a nice time at church (isn't it cool when you've read a verse over and over then someone else reads it and points out something you've never even 'seen'! God is so good that way!), followed by a fabulous meal that my husband made. I then spent the next few hours outside, alone, with nature. I started reading a really good book (which I'll post about later) that managed to change my outlook and mood in just a few pages. Next I went for a kayak ride. When I got back I was ready to face my family with a whole new attitude. We ended the afternoon with a family bike ride-stopping to talk and admire the blooming flowers, catch up and connect.

The first day of Spring could not have been more perfect for me.

September 1

Even without looking at the calender I could tell it was September. The weather is so much nicer-at least in the early morning and late afternoon. The humidity has dropped (well at the moment it's still 90 %). There's a gently breeze blowing that just pulls you outdoors. Walking in the morning is so nice. Each evening I look forward to sitting on the back porch, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the peace around me.

Today, especially, I caught myself daydreaming of fall. Sweaters, soup in the crock pot and pumpkin pie. My favorite thing about fall is our annual trek north. I miss my Canadian friends so much.

Summer on the Gulf Coast can't be beat. I always look forward to it. Right now, fall is on my mind. It's nice to have something to look forward to.

Nature Day

Some days are just too beautiful to stay cooped up in the house. This was one such day. The girls and I got out and walked, visited the animals, worked on our nature journals, read and breathed in the fresh air. What a special, simple time.

New stuff...kind of! LOL!

Why does it always seem that I'm trying to catch up? I like to think that it means my life is full. Full of love, family, friends and so many blessings! Never a dull moment here. So...now I try to catch up. Sweet April wanted pictures from Canada. Maybe I can post these without crying. Those friends there are so precious to me. Wish I could see them more than just once a year.

I love these old grain elevators! What is it about them that draws me to them? Honestly, I want to print black and whites of these and hang them in our house. They are just lovely to me.

Farming is such a big part of the area we visit in Canada. It seems everyone is connected to it in someway. Usually by the time we arrive in the fall all the crops have been harvested. This year was a bit different. Farmers were still staying up all night trying to harvest their crops. It seems that this summer had been very wet and cold. We were fortunate enough to get to ride in the combine with our buddy Firmin. I realize that doing this day in and day out must get old, but for us it was so much FUN!!

He and Sharon are so dear to us. I wish we had many more hours to spend with the two of them.

Besides farming we did lots of visiting, tons of eating and even a little pumpkin carving at Auntie Cheryl's house. I never imagined I'd have so much fun.My favorite thing to do in Manitoba is visit Mrs. Phyllis. She's Cheryl's neighbor and she's just adorable. This lady should have been born in the south. Talk about southern hospitality...she's got it down to a perfection! Over the years, as we've sat at her kitchen table, we've had many cups of hot tea, perogies, homemade cakes and lots of homemade cookies. Oh! and I can't possibly forget the homemade sauerkraut! Talk about delicious! I love, love to visit with her and learn about her life. What a precious lady she is.Now everyone knows the real reason we get to go to Canada, right? It's to hunt, of course! Never will you see so many geese and ducks. Our dogs (and my husband) are in heaven!
I can't imagine anyone visiting here and not falling in love...with the prairie and with the people.Heaven just has to be a little bit like Shoal Lake.

A rainy day

Rainy days aren't exactly strangers here on the coast. In fact in the summer they're daily. It's been a while since we last got any rain. It's been pretty dry. Still, rain is not something I always look forward too. One of my friends and her daughter stayed in all day (actually in bed till 10!). Honestly, I thought about it. Unfortunately I like to stick to a schedule. The girls and I were up early and at co-op. Then we had dance this afternoon. Emma was left with me while the big girls danced. She feel asleep in the car during the drive over. That left me with my thoughts...and the camera. I drove down to the bay and admired the beauty...even in a rainy day. God continues to amaze and bless me daily.

Time to renew and refresh

Life seems to always be moving so fast. It's easy to get overwhelmed. When I feel like I'm being pulled in all directions I like to take a step back and stand still. Nature has a way of cleansing my mind and my soul. What a magnificent pallet God has put before us. How many times have I looked right past it in my busy-ness?

So far this month, I've failed to visit a friend with her new baby, I missed another friend's birthday, I don't have the 3rd school term schedule completed...the list goes on and on. Instead of trying to get caught up, the girls and I took an hour and went to the beach (on the bay). The weather was perfect-upper 70's with a gently breeze. The promise of not just spring, but summer was in the air. We took our shoes off and dug our toes into the sand. We watched a guy flying a huge kite. Grace and Emma practiced their recital dances right there in the sand with the waves for an audience.

It was a blessed, peaceful hour. It was like God had used the wind and waves to just wash away all the stress of my life. I left a new person. Who would have thought something as simple as a trip to the beach could actually be so meaningful. I think we need more beach days.

Spring...almost

(Emma admiring a cutting from the Bottle Brush Tree-Callistemon rigidus)
One of the funny things about living in the deep south is that Mother Nature loves to tease us-especially this time of the year.
(these are camellias from my father in law's bush)
For example, for several days the weather was gorgeous-blue skies, light breeze and temps in the upper 70's. Flowers are blooming everywhere and you can just smell spring in the air.
We even planted some seeds in pots outside (thankfully I've learned to keep them covered with plastic for a while). Then we wake up the next morning and it's 30! I realize some of my friends have a lot colder weather right now so 30 doesn't seem so bad. For us, I think it's the 40 degree drop in about 12 hrs that makes it so hard to handle. Regardless of the temperature, the promise of spring is everywhere. That makes the little drop in temp tolerable for a while longer.

(Emma picked these azaleas. I love the vase-it reminds me of an old milk bottle. )

Good Morning

I would love getting up early every morning if I could be greeted by this-sunrise in Manitoba.

Pictures from the prairie

We recently went for our annual fall trip to Canada. We've been going now for about 7 years yet each time I'm still in awe of the beauty. I don't have the words to effectively describe the scenery. These pictures will have to speak for themselves.

We woke up to a light snow our first morning. Emma was thrilled!

Butter Cookies in Pixie Hollow

Friday is our favorite school day because we have the least amount of work to do. That means we have time for other interests.

Emma has been studying her alphabet with My Little Primer. For "B" we were supposed to make Ma's Butter Cookies but didn't have all the ingredients at the time. I finally remembered to purchase everything and Emma and I were in the kitchen cooking. This little girl loves to cook! I measured and she mixed. We both rolled them for the cookie sheet. Then I was left alone to wait for them to bake while she ran off with her sisters.

Mary and Grace know how interested Emma is right now in stories about fairies. Well, it seems they found some fairies for her at the Pixie Hollow Tree. She was so excited! They even helped her to make houses and beds for her imaginary fairies.

As soon as the cookies were done, I jumped on my bike and took them to the girls. What a perfect afternoon it was for a 4 year old with butter cookies and fairies. I think even her big sisters had fun.