Gardening

My dad and I planted a garden in my backyard for the first time ever. Jonathan and I live in his grandmother’s old home, and we had been told by lots of family that our backyard was the perfect “garden spot,” so Ted and I decided to give it a shot.

We started with the basics: turnips, collards, and mustard. Turns out, growing greens is fairly easy. From there, we planted radishes and rutabagas. The radishes proved to be both hearty and prolific; a few of them are the size of small apples and are still not pithy. The verdict is still out on the rutabagas due to the fact that we planted them to think, and I have neglected to thin them out.

From there, we decided to become adventurous with our growing by adding broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and cauliflower to our inaugural garden.

This became...

...THIS

And this small cabbage plant became...

...THIS. Can I just say that I never realized how beautiful a cabbage plant truly is.

I was particularly proud of our broccoli plants. Turns out once you cut the first head off of the plant, it keeps multiplying, and I swear it taste better than what you buy in the grocery store.

Our radishes are out of control.

And this is what it is all about- a green salad that is full of vegetables grown on feet from your home.

I am looking forward to our next gardening endeavor. The almanac planting charts say mid February is the time to plant!

one of those songs.

I first heard this song during the fall of 2008.

I was coming off a summer spent in a children’s home in Manila, Philippines, and I was adjusting to life after college (read: full-time job and adult responsibilities). It was track 04 on a CD that Jaimee Jones made for me. The CD was a compilation of songs that had ministered to her during an attempt to get over India and the people she fell in love with there, and she hoped these songs would do the same for me. I can’t remember any of the other songs that were on that CD, but I must have listened to How He Loves Us no less than 1000 times (that is not hyperbole) during that first semester back home. It was my anthem of sorts – a reminder that where ever we are in the world – truth never changes; His love never changes. The lyrics brought great comfort during those first few months as I accepted being home, and the Holy Spirit continued to use it as I prepared to return to Manila a second time.

We sing this song from time to time at church, and it still stops me in my tracks every time. It’s one of those songs that becomes more relevant each time I hear it. Perhaps it is because I am continually becoming more and more aware of my humanity and shortcoming while I catch greater glimpses of who the Father really is. Regardless of status, location, title, income, past, present, or future, He loves us.

If you have never heard this song, take a minute, actually eight minutes, forget where you are and listen.

2012 is here.

This past two years have been busy to say the least. I moved to Manila, Adam got engaged, I came home from Manila, Mom started a new job, Adam and Lauren got married, Dad started a new job, Jon and I finally started dating, I started a new job, I got engaged, Jon and I got married, I started another new job, and Adam and Lauren found out they are expecting a baby girl this April. The past few years have been years of transition, change, and growth. They have been years that have challenged me to look beyond myself and strive towards those things that truly matter.

~

This was possibly the quietest New Year’s celebration of my life, but it ranks as one of the grandest for sure. Since my brother and Lauren are visiting family in New Hampshire, me, Jon, mom and dad took advantage of the empty condo Adam and Lauren left behind in Shalimar, Florida.

We spent a little time on the water, Jon and dad did some fishing, we saw some fireworks, but mostly, we did nothing. It was glorious to say the least.

As we ring in this new year with cabbage and black-eyed peas, my prayer is that 2012 will be one full of laughter, joy, love, and maybe, just maybe, it will be a little quieter than the past few years.  

 

 

 

Jonathan caught the strangest fish

Zoey was terrified of the water!

 

Happy New Year's from Zoey