A Raised Vegetable Garden

For the last four years I have tried to have a vegetable garden! I have only ever produced green beans. I do not know a lick about gardening so I didn't really know what to do. I am not a gardener to put it nicely. I don't like to get dirty and as far as anyone who doesn't know my family history would never guess that I came from a family of farmers! I will not typically be found someplace that a remote chance of a spider being or anything with more than four legs. This is out of my realm but I really am starting to see the importance of eating food that we grow. I don't like the thought of my kids putting things into their bodies like preservatives and whatnot. This year more than ever I wanted to be successful at my own garden and to be able to provide for my family homegrown vegetables without the worry of preservatives and flavors and whatever else these companies are putting into food these days. So this year I did a little research. I talked with my neighbor a bit about it last year before planting and she suggested tilling in some bagged compost into the soil. I did. It didn't work. In fact I don't even remember getting beans last year. My husband and I decided as a last ditch effort that we'd try a raised garden. I watched a bunch of youtube tutorials and we decided on one. He had the frame built with the help of a co-worker/friend in all of 15 minutes.

I laid the frame down and took the backside of a hammer and marked along the inside of the frame then removed it from the area. I took a garden hoe and took out excess dirt inside the lined area and made sure no roots were in there. I leveled the ground back out, put the frame back down and filled with 2 bags of topsoil to 1 bag of cow manure compost. It took about 22 bags of topsoil and 16 bags of compost (I did this like two weeks ago so my numbers could be misleading). I mixed the compost in the soil as well as I could and we planted the seeds and watered it. I went on vacation for a week and when I came back there were plants growing!!!!! I was excited beyond belief! Time will only tell if this will work but here are some pictures in case you are interested in trying this yourself.

Me afterward! I sent a text to my husband saying "no one can ever say you didn't marry a farm girl!"

Before

After all the "yuck" was cleaned out!

After...I ended up adding 6 more bags of soil/compost.

*The frame is 4x8 foot

Found an old Blog Post!

I just found this and realized it was actually written almost a year ago! I thought I'd post it! Must be I got busy...imagine that! LOL

An eventful week indeed!

Wednesday I took Miss Emmalee to the dentist because in her words she "has a hole" in her tooth. I looked at it and it looked like a cavity! Sure enough it was a cavity and needed to be pulled. Thank goodness it was a baby molar! I got to see her adult teeth on the X-ray! That was neat. Come to find out she had an abscess tooth! She never once complained of pain she simply told me that she had a hole in her tooth! So she went on an antibiotic! 

Emmalee's Dentist Visit

Thursday Elizabeth came down with a high fever and was having extreme stomach pains. So I called the doctor and they were able to get her in that morning. She had a viral throat infection which nothing can be done for and she also had a UTI!!! So Elizabeth went on an antibiotic for that! 

Friday, I picked up the girls from VBS and Ellisyn felt warm...her temp was 102. We came home and gave her meds and she was fine. The girls had plans to spend the night with Grandma Friday night and since Ellisyn was feeling better I decided to still let them go with medicine for Ellie! I was planning to babysit for Kevin's sister (I always need a baby fix!) but I wanted to get into the pool alone for a bit and just really have a chance to breathe some fresh air and relax. I had my cell phone out there with me because my sister in law was going to text me when she was on her way. The inside phone rang and I didn't jump up because I figured it was Kevin or something and knew that if he needed something he'd call my cell phone. Well sure enough my cell phone rang. So I hurried out of the pool but still have to return the phone call. It was my best friend Lori and her husband had been in a motorcycle accident....(He's doing much better by the way PTL!!)

After a while Friday I got a text saying that Ellisyn had a fever again. I planned to have Kevin pick her up and bring her home on his way. He didn't because after the meds she was doing fine again and she had insisted on staying with Grammy! Kevin and I went to the hospital to make sure our friend was okay! 

Saturday I went back to the hospital to sit with Lori and keep her company. On my way home from the hospital I get a call from Kevin saying that Elizabeth has red spots on the palms of her hands! So I rushed to get her to make sure it wasn't a reaction to the antibiotic that she is on. I took her to Kay's house to have her take a look to (she always makes me feel better) we decided to keep an eye on it. (it ended up being nothing. Didn't itch or hurt and progressively got better). Ellisyn got a fever again and I gave her meds and held her for a bit. I figured since I wouldn't be going anywhere else that day that I would hop in the shower quick. I took about 10 minutes or so and came back out to see how she was doing and her eyes were extremely swollen. I thought she was going into anaphylactic shock and immediately took her to the ER. My friend Michelle and another friend Kathy came to save me from the emotional break down I was then having. 

When we got into a room in the ER

Come to find out it was PINK EYE!!!! I'm so thankful that it was not anaphyalactic shock but I had NEVER seen anything like this! Emmalee and Elizabeth had never had pink eye and I had no idea it could do this to your face!!!! I left the hospital at I think around 1am and was up at 7:30am to start preparing for our annual Father's Day Picnic! Ellisyn stayed in her room during the party she didn't mind because she also had an ear infection and needed to rest! The party went good and the eventful week was over and high hopes for a better week this week continue!

Ellie getting her rest

Latest event is that Ellisyn is allergic to the amoxicillin that was given for her ear infection!

Honoring My Father

On Father's Day for the last 8 years my husband and I have hosted a Father's Day get together. My husband and I both come from broken homes so we have step parents on both sides and then there are the grandfather's who we of course don't want to leave out of this day of celebrating our father's! So we invited every father from all sides over and we cook out for them all!

This year, we happen to truly, accidentally, be gone on vacation over Father's Day! Oops!! We never have much money to spend on our father's for the simple fact that there are four of them! So we normally get them something small and call it good. This year the Lord put it on my heart to do something special for my father. I had already ordered gifts and am keeping my fingers crossed that they get here before we leave for Mackinac Island (my heaven on earth)! I racked my brain trying to think of what this man who has everything could possibly want or need that would be meaningful! I had nothing. God told me to write a letter to my dad to tell him how he has impacted my life. I started writing and before I knew it I was done writing and I had to reread what I wrote because I didn't really even realize I had written anything. I believe this handwritten letter from a daughter to her father will be a treasured gift for my dad. You see, I am an introvert. This means for me to express how I feel out loud to someone is so far fetched that even my big eared dog wouldn't believe it if it happened (no really her ears are huge see bottom for a picture just to prove that I'm truthful). God helped me to get my words down on paper which is a huge step out of the normal for me. I decided to share the letter with you because these words are heartfelt and true. I hope that you will find encouragement in it. Here's my letter:

Dad,
On this Father's Day I've had time to stop my fast paced world of feeding, giving baths, cleaning, kissing boo boos amongst many other things, and take a look back.

I decided to write you and tell you just how much you mean to me and the impact you've had on my life.

Back when I wanted to move in with you I felt extremely lonely and unloved. In the years after I moved, you showed me time and time again that I wasn't unloveable. You are a walking, breathing model of unconditional love. Even though there were many times I'm sure you shook your head and thought "what in the world am I doing this for!". You always showed the love I'd been lacking for so many years.

You showed me what stability was and the importance of hard work.

You consistently provided for me above and beyond my needs, giving me all I could want.

You always had my best interest in mind and always let me know how you felt even when you knew I'd roll my eyes or just walk away.

You instilled in me honesty and integrity. You taught me to stand up for what I believe and to always do what's right. You instilled great morals and showed me through your consistent love that family should be valued.

Today, I look back and see you in myself, and there's a gratefulness in me. I remember those times we talked and the times and subjects you probably didn't want to talk about but those uncomfortable moments impacted the way I live my life and how I am raising my own daughters. Those times showed me that I had value to you and it gave me a great confidence to move on and push through hard times as an adult.

So back to all those times you thought to yourself: "what am I doing this for?" or "Is it worth it?". The answer is you were raising a daughter with love, patience and kindness. With a firm but gentle hand and yes, it was worth it because without you, I wouldn't be me.

Thank you for being more than a father to me.

Thank you for being my Dad.

Happy Father's Day



This is a verse that really reminds me of who my dad is:
A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Proverbs 17:27

Dad and I at my wedding!

Dad and I at my wedding!!

Dad and Ellie Rose!

Dad and Elizabeth at her preschool graduation!

My Dad and I while I was going through chemo before my hair loss he let me dye my
hair bright blue! 

Dad, my brother, and I!

Dad and I!

Told you she had big ears!!!

Wanted to share...

On my morning stroll through Facebook I seen that a friend posted an article "How to Avoid a People Hangover" I was intrigued considering I am an introvert and I thought that this did a good job of explaining that not all introverts dislike people. It's just that being around people too much can be stressful and draining. I decided to share the article with you in case you deal with similar struggles.

How To Avoid A People Hangover

Donald Miller

Just a couple weeks ago I woke up on Monday morning with what felt like a hangover. The only thing is, I hadn’t so much as had a beer in days. Still, I was groggy and sluggish. I took the dog for a walk and hardly wanted to make the block. Normally on Monday, I’m eager to get to work. I try to get two days worth of work done on Monday to give myself some grace for the rest of the week but this Monday was obviously going to be a dud.

What in the world was wrong? I wasn’t sick, just out of it.

Then it hit me. I’d gone from meeting to church to coffee to lunch to dinner all weekend long. I had a people hangover.

As an introvert, I really have to watch how much time I spend making small talk. I know it sounds strange to those of you who are extroverts, but time with peopledrains me and I hardly know it’s happening.

Sadly, though, I really like spending time with people. It’s not that I don’t like people, it’s that social time drains rather than recharges me.

*Photo by Shaun Krisher, Creative Commons

So I decided to manage my people time the same way I’d manage exercise or eating or drinking. I knew everything had to be kept in moderation.

Mostly, for me, though, it’s less about managing my social calendar and more about managing my rest time. In my mind, if not on an actual physical calendar, I make sure I get plenty of alone time each week. I make sure I have till 5 every day completely free to write. I don’t have a single meeting or coffee or lunch. That move alone frees me up to spend quality time with people in the evenings.

Then, on weekends, I make sure I get several hours alone, regardless of my plans. Mostly this takes place in the morning. I won’t get together with anybody till after noon. Then, between events, I take my dog to the river and I try to do that by myself. Those couple hours work great to recharge me between a lunch meeting to an evening with friends.

If possible, I try to take Sunday evening off. Say, after 7pm. I read, watch television or clean the house, but I do it in a way I don’t have to make chit chat.

Of course if you have a significant other “alone” may often mean with them. But the idea is you don’t have to be “on” all the time. Introverts don’t want to have to be “on”.

So, the trick is to make sure you’re getting your alone time, then fill in the social stuff once the alone time is nailed down.

No more people hangover!

I hope that you could find help in this article and if you are not an introvert but you know someone who is maybe this will help you to understand them a little better.