independence day

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

 Sporting accessories sent by Meme in care packages we opened this morning.

Patriotic wagon ride...

We got a little pool time with friends before the rain came. Again. Rain, rain, go away! This is getting to be ridiculous. As Hannah asked me yesterday (in her constantly-asking-questions-obsessed-about-rain-and-thunder-and-storms phase), "Why does God need to water the flowers again?" Our vegetables and herbs are drowning. My Dad moved out to the Pacific Northwest, not me! He follows the weather here and joked on Skype yesterday that I needed to come out there and dry out. And then he sent me this gorgeous, clear-blue-sky picture below (that's Mt Baker) from his bike ride a couple hours later. Thanks, Dad.

That really is beautiful, though. I just read a Rick Warren devotional this morning that talked about God's amazing creation and how you can learn a lot about God's character by looking at nature. He's powerful, creative, organized, and likes variety, for example. I've mentioned that I feel a stronger connection to God while being connected with nature (which is probably why I stare out my window oftentimes when I'm talking to Him), but I've never analyzed it as a judge of character traits. I liked that.

Back to the Fourth and independence, I thought I'd share Joe's bulletin piece for this upcoming Sunday:

We like the idea of being independent. Just the term itself seems to agree with our sensibility. The more you think about being independent, however, the more you realize we are not as independent as we think we are.

If we counted how many times during the day we relied on someone else, we would begin to appreciate how much we depend on others. I depend on my wife to love me and help me feel wanted and cared for. I depend on the church to pay me, provide me and my family with a place to live, and to work with me in ministry. I depend on the state and federal governments to protect me and my assets from criminals and enemies. There is a lot of faith involved in dependence, because we are trusting others to help take care of us. Earthly powers don’t like the idea of faith and trust, so there is an emphasis on the “self” which is at odds with God’s plan.

Ken Collins challenges the American pursuit of individualism by comparing the following terms: autonomous—submissive; independent—dependent; proud—humble; free—obedient; self-reliant—relying on others (trust); master—servant. Most people prefer the former terms, but Collins says, the spirituality of the Bible emphasizes the latter terms. It is not that those former terms are negative, but the pursuit of them directs all of our attention toward ourselves. That is not a part of God’s plan for us.

So, as we celebrate independence from political tyranny this week, let us not forget our dependence on God. God wants us to be dependents. We are to have faith, rely on God, and trust our brothers and sisters in the faith. If our identity is found in God above all other things, then we will truly find freedom and salvation.

Speaking of God, this is what He looks like...according to Hannah:

"He has crazy hair."

She's been drawing this same picture a lot lately. I've given her no artistic direction.

{In my rambling post, I just realized I started with the Fourth, moved on to the rain, God, and creation, went back to the Fourth and and connected independence and God with Joe's piece. How creative of me...unintentionally.}

Two videos from today, one appropriate to the Fourth and one not having anything to do with it, just a song her Meme taught her while on our recent trip to Savannah.

 Pledge of Allegiance and "We Love Our Flag"

 "Cotton Fields"

Happy Birthday America!

fernandina beach

We spent a few days with our friends, Wade and Anna, in Fernandina weekend before last. Joe raced in an olympic/international distance triathlon that Saturday, and the rest of the time we spent hanging out on the beach, dodging rain storms, and eating good food.

After dinner one night...

...following a fun day at the beach, despite a little sleep-deprivation.

{Joseph had an adverse reaction to the scopolamine patch our first night and was up all.night.long. So were Joe and I. I took a nap sometime after 6 the next morning, joking that it was my first all-nighter since graduate school. I called his pediatrician, concerned because of his odd behavior. He was wired, playful then panicky, calm then climbing the walls... Hallucinating at times. She's never had a patient with that kind of reaction to the patch. It was not fun. He crashed in his cereal later that morning. He recovered just fine and we lowered the dose and took precaution the next time. The little guy gets carsick very easily and, because his sister has also been known to get carsick, we have motion-sickness patches on hand.}

We love Nana Anna and Uncle Wade:

Race Day, 7:38 a.m.:

The course consists of a 1.5k (.93 miles) swim, a 40k (24.7 miles) bike, and a 10k (6.2 miles) run.

Kids in the stroller, ready to go...and excited?

Possibly my favorite picture from the weekend:

Waiting for Daddy...

swim finished, 8:01 a.m.:

Off on the bike. {We missed him coming out of transition. Apparently it takes him less time to put on bike shoes, helmet, and get on his bike than it does for me to push a stroller up the beach to the transition exit.}

Joseph and I went exploring. Rather, he ran around the dunes while I snapped pictures. He did not like when I put him up high.

Coming into transition, all smiles for his fan club, 9:09 a.m.:

Coming into the finish! 9:51 a.m.:

Total time: 2:12:40.

Hannah ran to meet him at the finish line, but Joseph fell asleep on my little run with the kids (during Joe's run).

Daddy's #1 fan:

They even hydrate at the same time:

The family.

Again with his girl...

Her t-shirt says, "My dad runs faster than your dad." As was the case for a lot of the field that day. Joe finished third in his age group (a very competitive and fast age group in the race circuit). Go, Daddy, go!

One more day to play!

It is a beautiful place. I could move there tomorrow. Thanks friends for a great time!

time to plant and prune

At the end of April we were out in the backyard cleaning things up a bit. We aren't responsible for regular yard maintenance; the church pays a landscaper to do that. However, there is a hole right in the path of a child running to the swing set. Many have tripped and fallen. Joe, with Hannah and Joseph's help, filled it in a bit.

Hannah also helped Daddy plant basil and parsley.

Now, nearly two months later, the basil is doing great. We've already enjoyed plenty of homemade pesto.

The parsley, though it was nice and full at first, is not doing so great:

...Given a little too much lovin' from Joseph. He watered it everyday, filling it up to the top again and again. I've nursed it, and it's coming back. S-l-o-w-l-y.

And then there are the vegetable seeds that Hannah and I planted at the beginning of May. They came in an egg-carton kit my mom gave Hannah. This is what they looked like at one week old:

Please disregard the labels. They are incorrect, thanks to a little helper named Joseph. The carrot and green bean are swapped for sure. I'm not sure what else is off...

When it was time, we planted the seedlings at three weeks old. Because of the sunlight we needed to plant in a certain spot in the backyard. The more appropriate places for a garden would not get enough light, and so we used cheap laundry baskets and filled them with mulch from our compost pile, and lined the baskets along the ivy off the back patio. Keeping them well watered, we have watched them grow:

Today, at six weeks old, they look like this:

 {cucumber on the top left; watermelon on top right and bottom}

 {radish on the top left and bottom (not looking good); cucumber on top right}

 {squash on the top left and right; carrot on the bottom}

{green beans}

While my mother-in-law was in town she correctly identified them. Thanks, Gran Gran.

As for the lemon tree:

It has been moved from the ivy to a temporary home in the patch of dirt (discussed above) where grass doesn't seem to want to grow. But our lemons are growing:

 And new ones just came up in the last week or so!

The main "crop" will be ready a little later in the summer, and I'm not sure about these new ones. The Meyer lemon tree is an interesting thing. The fruit grows big and stays green for a while, looking like - you guessed it - limes. As the lemons mature, and have fully ripened they are bright yellow, almost an orangey-yellow.

I haven't mentioned the fig tree in a while. About five years ago, my mother-in-law took a sapling from our beloved fig tree at our old house in Savannah. We nurtured it and kept it in a pot until we moved to Sandersville, where we planted it in the ground. The placement was the best we could find in the backyard with full afternoon sun. Our fig has not thrived as much as we would like, but it's doing ok.

And today there are 13 little figs growing!

We had lots of yard work done this week. We had to wait a while, but it is beginning to look a lot better. The joys of living in a parsonage include having to go through different people and committees before being able to have anything done. This can be frustrating at times, but it's easier when you have a good trustees committee - and more importantly, a good chair of the trustees. Right now we are fortunate to have a great one. Still, the process is the same: before any exterior - or interior - work can be completed, the trustees have to approve it. And so, as ridiculous as it sounds (and may be), our bushes could not be pruned without permission. And the bushes both in the front- and back-yards were a little out of control. They got a good haircut and now they look like this:

{That's my little girl on the front steps. And talk about resurrecting plants, below are my geraniums from last year that were as good as dead a few months ago...more victims of J5.}

Yes, I realize how unattractive they are, and will be for a little while, but that's ok. I'm just thankful we got to this point. Most of the bushes along the sides of the house and in the back are azaleas, which grow back easily and fill in nicely. These along the front of the house are a variety of the yew family, and might not come back as well. In that case, we'll plant new ones all together.

The main purpose of all the landscaping work was not for looks. That was secondary. The main goal was to make the yard better for our family - as we are out there playing as often as we can be. Herbicide to kill the sticker-weeds (lots of "owwies") and fertilizer to help grass grow in the holes was sprayed all over the yard. Soon we'll be able to run around barefoot in the sprinklers! Pine straw was laid and other bushes trimmed.

In the back of the yard amidst the trees and along the side of the yard, poison ivy is growing rampant.

The landscaper sprayed and is diligent about getting rid of that. {Joe is very allergic, I'm allergic, and we don't know about the kids but assume they are probably allergic.} The ivy off the back porch where Joseph likes to throw and dig for toys was sprayed and will be removed and grass laid in its place. I am so excited about this! The ivy makes me nervous, both because poison ivy has been found growing in there too, and because with ivy always comes a higher risk of snakes. I don't like snakes. And, quite frankly, the ivy is just not attractive.

There are a couple trees (small and large) that need to be removed and I'd like to create a border along the back of the yard (mainly so the kids can't get back there), but also for aesthetics. I'd love hydrangea bushes or something similar and maybe some other flowering plants like lantana or zinnias, shasta daisies or sunflowers (my favorite)...but I am happy with the progress we're making.

On a final note, this year I bought all the fixins and made my own hanging plants for the back porch. I'm told that that is the less-expensive way to go and I like that I have more control over the type of flowers. This first year with having to buy the baskets themselves, it really didn't end up being any cheaper, but it was a good exercise, a little project for the kids to watch, and next year I won't need to buy the baskets. It was my mom's suggestion (a former and knowledgeable florist) and I'm glad I took it. Definitely a skill I'd like to hone. I chose petunias, impatiens and marigolds. They turned out ok.

And, except for the marigolds, are holding up pretty well.

daddy's day

The children were a little more cooperative today than they were on Mother's Day after church...

I stress, a little. Joseph was ready to go eat lunch and not happy. It would definitely have been better timing if we could get a picture before church, but for obvious reasons (ahem, Daddy being the pastor), we can't.

Not a lot of celebrating happening on Evergreen Drive today as Joe is not here and has quite a full day. But, we gave him his cards and small gifts earlier... I think he knows how loved, and needed, and appreciated he is in this house. I don't know what I'd do without him, truly. Hannah and Joseph are incredibly blessed to have such an amazing man to look up to. And, don't think for a second that I don't realize how blessed I am too. I can't imagine a better partner in raising our children.

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, Poppy, and to the other dads in my life...you know who you are. Thank you for what you mean to me. And to all the men out there who are lucky enough to be called daddy: happy day!