5:55 am - Dylan comes to my room.

Me: "It's too early, go back to bed." (I walk him back to his bed)

6:05 am - Dylan comes to my room.

Dylan: "Mom, I can hear the birds chirping and they are awake. Why can't I wake up if the birds are awake?"

Me: "Ok, but play quietly in your room." was my response as I laid in bed with a big smile on my face. :)

Life lessons through trash can

Say hello to my new compost trash can. I picked it up at the dump at the City of Phoenix. They have a recycling program where they take broken or graffitied cans and drill holes in and cut off bottom for composting. When I arrived I was bummed that the only one they had available was one covered in graffiti. I was thinking that maybe I could paint the whole can or something to make it look more pretty.

But...leave it to Mark to teach me a great life lesson from it. When he saw it he thought it was so great that it had graffiti all over! That something that was messed up and no one wanted any longer has now been created to be something of new use. That not only is it to be used for a new purpose but that the thing that happens inside the can which is smelly, gross & messy when put in is one day transformed into a rich soil that will be used to sustain growth and life.

I printed the above picture and taped it to my bathroom mirror. To remind me constantly that the things that happen to me in life aren't always pretty...and that I'm not always pretty. But I have been created with the beautiful gift and ability of not allowing what others say or what my circumstances are to define who I am on the inside.

I'm thankful for the transforming power of grace.

Care free!

Last night was a carnival at Dylan's school. We had a great time! There were all kinds of little games to play and bouncy houses but all Cadence really kept asking to do was to dance (they had a little area set up with music and chairs around for a dance recital earlier in the evening). She was the only one in our group who was brave enough to go on the stage area and dance by herself. For being the shy one of the kids, she had no thought or care of anyone else. I loved it! I enjoyed watching her so much!! I hope her care free attitude stays with her as she gets older.

For "Grandma B day" this week we went to the little carnival at Maggie's school.
The girls got their faces painted...so cute!

They had some craft tables set up, so they made bracelets & sticker picture frames.

Cadence & Maggie

Reward in Gardening

Today while my mom and sister were over we dug a bit in my sweet potato garden bed to see what we could find. I was a bit disappointed at first because I kept pulling the vines up and wasn't finding anything. Finally I dug down a little and found all kinds of potatoes! It was so fun to keep finding them!!

This is what I pulled up for them to take home (along with some banana peppers). They took home about 6 or 7. I could see a bunch more while I was digging but I wanted Dylan to be able to pull them up, so I covered them back up and waiting for him to be done with school.



When he got home he got to digging and was so excited about it. :) Cadence helped out also, we kept finding potato after potato and earth worm after earth worm in the soil. He thought about feeding them to the chickens as a "treat" but decided they were better for the soil. I love what he learns by us having a garden & chickens!

This is the biggest one we pulled up.

You can see the area that we dug up...still have lots more to go. :)

This is how much we pulled up (plus what I gave to my family) today!
By far, my most rewarding gardening experience so far!! :)

Radio Play Time!

It doesn't sound the greatest (because of my camera & car stereo :)) but Israel's band, The Alchemy Heart, had his song "Ghost" play on the radio yesterday morning. Super excited for him and his band! :)

Congratulations Israel!

She would swing all day if I would let her :)