A Long Lost Soul Sister?!

So I was reading a blog I often read and stumbled on a link to this lovely blog!  The title of her post today is "I Heart Yellow!" From her photos she chose I can tell we have the same deep burning passion for yellow.  I bet she eats a lot of corn and drinks a lot of lemonade too!!!  She also loves teacups and herbs and ginger beer!!  Should I email her for a DNA sample?!?!  I also LOVE the name of her blog sooooo much!  "Love Made Me Do It"  Isn't that amazing?!  I had to roll up my tongue after swooning over these yellow cabinets!  Everyone that knows me knows if I had the sole decision all of our cabinets would look just like this and we would have a kelly green fridge.  I am content with my yellow island but isn't all this yellow dreamy?!?!?!?!?!  

A few more photos I found I am obsessed with on her blog! 

What If?

What if we stopped worrying about getting ahead or being more successful and focused on being whole?  This question was asked on Oprah a while back--ironic I know because Oprah is one of the most successful people ever but it is something I have thought about a lot lately.  Don't worry...this isn't an Oprah post...

In my quest to figure out my new roles in this world I have been confused several times...but lets go back a step further.  In high school and college I remember the most constant prayer I had.  I would beg God to tell me what my calling was.  I was (am) smart, knew I would go to college, but had NO idea what I wanted to be.  I always thought about law school or being a principal or high school counselor *did I ever tell you that, Janet?!  But nothing was especially clear.  I went to college, made good grades, loved my college job at the bank but didn't see a future there and then landed a pretty amazing dream job weeks after graduating college!  Ok, God...maybe you didn't let me into your grand plan but at least you had a plan!!  Thanks!!  So I just figured sometimes He puts it in black and white and sometimes he just strings us along awhile for a good laugh...but at any rate, I was happy and so glad I found something I loved and was really good at!  It still didn't seem like a calling though....

Twenty months ago, my world as I knew it would change forever.  I became a mom.  Although I have never been the "stay-at-home-mom type" and had no intentions of doing such a thing, the minute Dr. McDreamy put the little squirmer in my arms, I could feel it in my heart and soul...this is what I am meant to do--even though I have no idea how to do it. 

Over the next few months we tossed around staying home/going back to work over and over and over.  Fortunately for me my job gave me 6 months leave to be home.  Obviously the main discussion when discussing giving up a salary is "can we afford it?" I remember telling Tyler, sell my car, sell the house, sell everything!  I cannot leave her with someone else!  We all know how the story ends, I resigned to be a full-time mommy and have never looked back.  Although I have felt the need to somehow "earn my keep" or keep my resume up or just feel like I am contributing to the family. 
After a VERY brief stint doing a contract job from home, I realized I AM contributing.  I get no paycheck, but I definitely do more than my fair share of "work".  I am raising our daughter, making sure she is shaped into the kind of woman she should be.  Showing her so many things, spending this time I can never get back with her, volunteering, helping those less fortunate than us, helping out our families when they need it, spending time in fellowship with other mothers who share the same value system I have.  Snuggling, home cooked meals, homemade gifts, holiday learning and crafting, baking...There are so many things we do that I know Paige will be so thankful for as she grows up.  After preaching to Tyler the whole time we dated and after we were married that he wasn't marrying a Suzie Homemaker so if that was what he wanted, he better look elsewhere!  Well, I had all of those conversations for lunch and I am so thankful my husband embraced me being a stay at home mom/wife and I don't think he could imagine it any other way now! 
As I reflect on the day Paige was born, looking into her eyes, I realize that God was answering that prayer I prayed so many times since I was a little girl.  "Please show me what you want me to do with my life!"  I NEVER dreamed of being a stay at home mom and LOVED every second of my big, fancy career and still am so thankful for being so blessed at such a young age, taking private jets around the country to make deals.  Although this gig is less glamorous, I can't imagine my life any other way and have never felt more content! 

I hope this doesn't come across as a Power to The Stay at Home Mom Protest.  Most of my mom friends work and I intended to work.  A happy mom is a happy home.  If mom wants to work, she should definitely work!  If mom wants to be home, I hope she is able! This is merely a display of a 25 year old prayer that was answered LOUD AND CLEAR!  I love stories of answered prayers and hearing God speak and this was a big moment in my life so I thought I would share it! 

Thank you Lord for answered prayers.  Thank you for showing me each and every day the plan and path you have for me and my family.  Thank you for Heaven's greatest gift-a child.  Thank you, thank you Lord for a husband who loves us, provides for us, is such an incredible father, has a heart of gold, doesn't get mad when I don't clean the house perfectly because we decided to play all day and didn't feel like it! Thank you for leading me to be a good mom, wife and friend. You are everything and we are so thankful and grateful. Amen

The Herb Garden!!

I am so excited about my little herb garden project!  This particular flowerbed is in the middle of the back yard, lines our porch, has a bench in an L-shape on the inside and used to be HIDEOUS!  From my last post you can see there was a gross tree in the middle of it.  Not only was the tree ugly but it cut off our entire yard because you couldn't see anything around it...especially our lovely hot pink crepe myrtle! 

Most of the things I planted get quite a bit larger so bare with me on trying to use a microscope to see them!

  Mini and me getting all of our goods into the ground! 

Right behind Mini's hand is an English Lavender bush.  It will get about 36" tall and wide!  It will also flower.  Near that I have two varieties of basil-purple ruffled Basil and regular Basil.  Since most of these don't flower, I have spuradically placed some Electric Pink Grass. 

Top line the front of the flowerbed, I used magenta Petunias and Yellow Bells They should both trail into one another and produce lovely flowers all summer!  From the picture below you can see the lime green Sage plant and the Rosemary.

Last but not least, here is the Oregano.  It is sooo pretty although hard to tell in my horrible photo skills.  It will also get about 36" tall and wide. 

I have wanted to paint this bench for a long time!  Last year I hinted I was going to paint it turquoise and Tyler did not approve!  It can't be white or in the tan family or yellow since my patio set is yellow or red since all the brick is red.  Hmmm...yesterday I started considering a smokey, greyish blue.  We painted our master bedroom that color so I may have some extra I can "test"!  If you have an idea, message me!!! 

A Flashback To the Past on our backyard Jungle...

Tyler and I were looking through some pictures from two summers ago and were in utter shock at how crazy our backyard looked!!  Here is a walk down memory lane...

Well, this is the home of the new herb garden...scary isn't it!  I hated this weird shrub/tree thing.  It had lots of little babies that were growing all inside this flower bed and they were brutal to rip out!  Tyler finally got all the gross stuff ripped out and I had tree guy cut down the tree last fall.  

Here you can see our old fence which was being held up by cynder blocks and weeds.  In this second picture is the flowerbed Oscar loves to graze in.  It is a half moon lined with shrubs in the back and monkey grass around the front.  The alien growing out of it had sunflowers and lots of HUGE weeds.

This wasn't so bad but included it so Tyler can see all his hard work!  This is along the house.  I have a couple ideas for this area. 
 

Oscar's Pine Tree jungle...thankfully there was a tree disease that swooped the area last year and ALL of this is gone.  It is a clean slate.  We have sod coming next week where we haven't had grass and my magnolia shrub will be planted basck here in the blank slate!  We also have a dream of a playhouse for Paige back here soon! 

 

The Herd...

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27

This verse was at the end of the sermon notes from today's a service a few weeks ago and it really spoke to me!  I have read it over and over again and keep thinking of so many more ways it applies.  My first thought after reading it was Paige and Oscar (my sheep).  Those two can be like herding cats sometimes!  As I read the verse over again and thinking when I take a patient, loving, authoritative approach to my "sheep" they listen to my voice and they follow me.  Then I thought of our herd as me, Paige, Oscar following Tyler.  I will go ahead and speak for him and say I can be like herding a bobcat or a wild horse sometimes but he always follows through and guides our family in the right direction.  Then I thought about following Jesus and sometimes He must feel like he is herding a bunch of cats with us!  But he keeps calling, patiently pulling us to follow Him.  Then I thought about our "herds" in life.  Different groups of friends, co-workers, family, etc., and how I (we) influence others and herd them in directions. 
Right now I am working with both my little sheep on respecting flowers!  Paige is doing very well and understands that we smell them and don't touch them.  Oscar is a little more difficult.  He roams the empty flower beds in the backyard and has since we moved in.  We have spent the last couple of years really cleaning out a lot of old, overgrown stuff from the previous owner.  We stumbled upon some old pics I will share soon!! 

The herb garden going in last weekend!

Content with laying next to the flowerbed instead of inside!

So far Oscar is staying out of my herb garden but the next two will be VERY challenging!  Here is his FAVORITE spot in the yard...

"The Grounds Keeper"

He has taught Paige to love it as well. 

Enjoying smelling the flowers!!

It is so much more fun working outside when I have these two to "help"!! 

The "Project Manager"

Let There Be Blooms!

If you read this blog sometimes, you may remember my ventures of gardening last spring/summer.  I was very excited and geared up to get lots of perennials going in our 500 flower beds...wait for it....from seeds!  It was a little bit of a heartbreaking/bittersweet endeavor.  A) I am a cheap-o when it comes to certain things and there was no way I would have been able to afford to put in big, luscious plants in ALL of our flower beds...plus, I wasn't certain  I would take care of them if I did say win the lottery and plant a whole bunch!  Well, I patiently checked on my little precious seedlings every day!  Weeds would start poking up and I would scream patiently ask Tyler not to pluck it just in case it were one of my flowerlings!  I think 8 flowers budded they were no more than 1 inch tall.  I planted probably 9 different varieties and 8 Johnny Jump Ups trickled through. 

It was a fun and cheap experiment but in the meantime I have read several books...what nerds do when they want to learn how to do something really well.  My favorite being written by a native to my state about what plants will thrive here!  I am obsessed with it and have been cultivating a plan for each and every one of my flower beds!!  There was a lot of thought that had to go into it...where to put annuals, how much will I spend on each bed, how much will the annual bed cost to re-flower each year.  That sort of planning is what I am good at--from the olden times when I had a paying job:)!  I didn't realize so many of those skills would come in handy in my new career! 

To date, I have two beds c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e!!  My front annual bed and my herb garden!!!  I am so excited and cant wait to move on to the next.  Here are some photos of the annual, front flower bed! 

These were taken Day 1 of planting so I promise some day in the hopefully near future I can snap a photo and there will be huge, luscious plants to photograph!!  Here's what I decided for this year:

The very back is lined with three Hydrangeas-which bloom all summer and are Perennials-so DO COME BACK EACH YEAR!!  I actually killed some 50 year old shrubs that once grazed this location but I started feeling surrounded by shrubs, I needed more COLOR!  I kind of feel like I have three new babies--did you know that the color of your hydrangea is determined by your soil?!?!  So exciting!!!  I keep waiting for the ultrasound first bloom so I know if its going to be pink or blue!!  And I don't care which, I just want to know!! 

 

The center of the bed is filled with Dahlias, Impatiens and double Impatiens and a few coleus (the purple leafy thing and the hot pink and lime green leafy one).  My Coleus were HUGE last year-even taking a hit by hail, left to smithereens and came back bigger and stronger!  The Dahlias are very sturdy and have withstood our wind VERY well.  I have had decent luck with Impatiens as well so we will see.  Tyler loves white flowers so I gave in to a little of his sweet heart's desire.

The front of my bed is lined with hot pink Verbena.  It is a trailing flower so it should be lovely in a few weeks!  I wanted purple but it turns out this will be perfect since I have an adjacent bed that is long and skinny and I have Ice Plant-which blooms hot pink flowers all summer too and trails.  Hopefully that Ice Plant will come back!! 

Stay tuned for the next edition of Gardening with Heather where we will discuss planting an herb garden to make your backyard smell fresh and not like a 90 pound dog uses it as a bathroom! 



A Heart Like Mine

I heard Jesus, He drank wine

And I bet we’d get along just fine

He could calm a storm and heal the blind

And I bet He’d understand a heart like mine

Oh, yes He would!

~Miranda Lambert