Gardening 101

Maggie, Morgan, and Daddy at Walmart picking out seeds for our garden.

Getting busy preparing the soil...picking out rocks and wood chips.

Measuring and laying out the third row of corn (the first two are to the left...) hoping that they will provide some shade for the rest of the garden.

Morgan on her "Knee Pad" playing in the nice dirt. Thanks Jay, for bringing in the "good dirt" and setting up this great plot for us!!

Maggie had just tugged the hose to the backyard and is now poised and ready as soon as she is given the command...she tried to jump the gun a few times! :)

Fred getting the first "mound" ready for planting.

Morgan is SO excited about helping in the garden!!

Zucchini seeds...it's hard to look because of the bright sun!

The girls are using the tools God gave them to push the zucchini and squash seeds into the mound! Notice the discarded gardening tools...thankfully they were only $1!

Standing back to admire all of their hard work today and ponder what is yet to come!

"Thank you God now that we have a job to do in our garden..." ~Morgan today in her prayers at lunchtime

...and the fun had only just begun! These items will (hopefully) NOT be on the Grocery List in the coming months...the girls will be gathering them from our garden!! - corn - carrots - peppers - watermelon - cantaloupe - cucumbers - zucchini - tomatoes - green beans. Fred really wanted them to see how it all grows. We are "praying without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:16) over our "little" family project!! I will be sure to keep you posted on the progress over the new couple months!

Thank you Grandpa Jake for sharing your time tested wisdom on what seeds to grow and how to plan/plant our garden! We can't wait to see what the seeds you sent us produce!! Glad that it all got planted before the rain comes over the next few days...

Dancing Queens

We have had so much fun this year at Destiny Dance Studio in the factory! We have made so many new friends and the girls have really learned a lot of ballet moves and terms! We are looking forward to their first performance on Wendesday, June 10th!

Men's Retreat Weekend

This weekend was the Men's Retreat at Church...the girls had some fun pampering on Saturday while Daddy was gone. We were pleasantly surprised by how cool the new chairs were for the little girls! As if they didn't already love getting their nails painted! It was priceless though when Morgan looked over at Mommy's tub of water and wondered aloud, "Where is my water?!?" ...maybe someday...for now, the cute polish with flower is plenty!

Monday afternoon Lesley, Ty and Alex all flew back from Arizona and then spent the night. We missed them and were glad to be able to have some "hang time" before they headed back home to Wilmington! It is hard to believe that Alex is almost 4 months old!!! I see teeth coming in his near future...! :)

Strawberry Picking

We had such a good time with some old friends and new friends this year at Vollmer Farms! We ended up going straight from dance class on Wednesday and brought Brookelyn with us! (Thanks for sharing her with us, Rebekah!) :) April came along from dance too. We met Lindsay there who had gotten a jump start on the picking...or at least the eating!!

Praises In the Storms...

Well...it isn't always easy, but I try to have the strength to praise the Lord in all things...especially in the storms.

I was talking with the girls tonight about how we have to trust God and know that He promises "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) Tonight's dose of Morgan's Pink Eye drops (where I had to "papoose" her with my third and fourth arms) was a prime example that they could understand. The drops are something "nasty" (Maggie's word!) but are working for their good. They get that...they trust Mommy to know that although the drops are horrible, I wouldn't do anything to hurt them...they have to hang on to that trust in faith to get to the other side of each and every dose.

I hope that one day they will be able to look back on this teachable moment and realize that if they can trust their sinful imperfect Mommy, how much more they can trust their infallible Heavenly Father who loves them infinitely more than I do. There will undoubtedly be times in their lives full of doubt and pain, but I hope and pray that they cling to the truth of God's promise to them that He is always working things for their good. No promise of all things BEING good, but WORKING FOR their good...two totally different things, but I think that even my young daughters have a better grasp of what now lies ahead for them in life.

This post wasn't supposed to be all about my girls...but it is funny how it all runs together when we are all connected! I have been following a "Caring Bridge" site that I found out about through a friend at church...here is a short video of how far reaching and all encompassing God's plans are...how truly "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" (Isaiah 55:8-9) The second half of the video is a song by Casting Crowns that pretty much sums up my modus operandi. May God give me the courage and strength to always praise Him! Amen.

Universal Landing: Day 2 and 3!

Soooo much fun! Enjoy all of the pictures! Saturday we spent at Islands of Adventure and then went to the Nascar Cafe for dinner where we were able to see the Kentucky Derby on a television screen right at our table! Sunday we got up with the intentions of going to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, but unfortunately they were unable to accomodate our group of Mavericks with the late notice...we ended up eating breakfast at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe (eventually...note the boat ride necessary to the other side of Downtown Disney!) and then headed back to the hotel for naps so that we were all rested for a special group dinner at Pastamore (where we celebrated Eli's birthday one day early) and then the Blue Man Group Show. Morgan loved it!! Maggie didn't...! :) What a fun weekend...too bad we had to leave and Fred and the rest of the Maverick Gang had to work the conference!

090501 Universal Studios:Day 1

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090408 Maggie's 5th Birthday Celebration

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Maggie's 5th Birthday Celebration(s)!

Gramma and Grampa scheduled a quick visit for birthday celebrations of Gramma and Maggie. Alex was able to make an appearance, too! On Maggie's birthday we celebrated with a "Princess Tea Party" at the Von Canon Castle! Lots of fun was had by ALL! We had fun party games like pin the princess on the castle, a scavenger hunt for royal treasures and of course a delectable afternoon tea with lots of friends!!! Thanks Lesley and Ty for sharing the pictures that you took also...you captured so many sweet personalities of our little friends...and of Maggie actually blowing out the candles on her cake!!