How Does Your Garden Grow?

We have life!! As we pulled in the driveway yesterday afternoon Braxton told me he wanted to go "check on his garden". I let him in the gate and was getting my stuff together and he stopped dead in his tracks and just stared. I thought for sure he had come up on a snake and heaven help us all if I was going to have to go down and rescue him with a snake right there. Fortunately, there was NO snake but when I asked what it was he pointed at and he said "a plant". His first plant bloomed yesterday. He was so proud and when I wouldn't let him water it he asked if he could water "the bugs?" He had a good 10 minutes of playing with the hose before I convinced him the puddle was big enough.
Today when I got home I saw that a few more had sprouted. Not sure if we have enough to feed us through the winter but for a first time garden I think we're doing pretty well!

A Reason To Celebrate!

I can still remember my very first Mother's Day without my mom. I've written about this before and how sad it was. Yesterday was our first Mother's Day without Grandmama and a first for my dad and his sister without their mom. After spending the morning at church my dad decided he wanted to go to his mom's favorite restaurant for lunch. It was fantastic.
As sad as the day was I couldn't help but reflect on her life and celebrate all that she gave to our family and to this world. For starters, what a wonderful lady she was. Always willing to help in what ever capacity she was needed. It could have been giving advice, holding a baby, or cooking in the kitchen. And even if the advice she gave was unsolicited, it always made you think.
She was a beautiful woman inside and out and graced any room with her presence.
But I couldn't help but think about the bigger picture. She raised a wonderful boy that grew up to be my dad. He respected and loved his mother so much. He would have done anything for her and couldn't wait to retire to spend some quality time with her. It's exactly the way I want my son to be when I'm older. Although his time these past 9 months have not been spent with her, my son has had some quality time with his Grandaddy. I laugh at the stories he comes home with and chuckle at the ones that begin with "Well Grandaddy said..." and I'm so thankful for the opportunity that Braxton has had with him and the opportunity to build a relationship with him.
A sad Mother's Day because she wasn't here with us but I'm so thankful for the mother that she was to my dad. And for the gifts that my son is receiving because of her hard work!

The Farmer and the Dell

The boys are trying the garden thing out this year. Brandon and his dad constructed this cute little raised bed and Braxton is SOOOO excited about planting. I do have to tell you that Braxton helping with the planting lasted about as long as it took me to take these pictures. Hopefully, the interest in what grows will last a little longer.

And This I Know Is True....

It's not a secret that for years, many years actually, I was angry and hurt that my mom "left" me. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't take care of herself better and how she could just give up. I always heard that you can't begin to imagine a mother's love until you become a mother yourself. I now know how true those words are. I've been thinking about all of this lately because of the new baby on the way. One thought leads to another and like many things my mind always goes back to my mom. I'm reminded that the path was chosen for her and she didn't chose the path. I want to cry when I think about how angry I've been at her. When I think of Braxton and my love for him I feel confident that the love I have for him can be compared to the same love she had for me. Greater than life. Bigger than death. It's taken over 13 years but I think I'm finally at peace. I would never choose to leave my children. I don't think she would have ever willingly left us. I know the choice wasn't hers and if it were she'd be here with us today.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

Our little Violet was in desperate need of a hair cut. Her winter coat wasn't falling out quite like it should and it was clumping. She had huge knots all over and we decided she needed to have it all shaved off. Poor Cat.

Brax keeps asking when she'll "get big" again?

Request= Granted

Okay I guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag. I'm pregnant! Braxton started asking for a baby back in November and come the end of September his wish will have been fulfilled. When we first told him a few weeks back he had a sudden change of heart. He told us he wanted to be the "only baby". But if you look at the picture above he's trying NOT to smile. He's coming around and occasionally he'll ask "when's September?"

I'm 15 weeks today and MUCH bigger at this point in this pregnancy than I was with Braxton. I was very sick this time for about six weeks and am so glad that all of that is behind me. We went back to the doctor yesterday and everything sounded great.

Wanted you all to know. I'll keep you posted!

March Madness

Since Grandaddy and Uncle Steve have decided to go to the beach for the entire month of March( this is where you groan) we decided at the very last minute to head down for a quick weekend visit. You would have thought by the amount of bags that we took that we were going for the week but that wasn't the case. I actually didn't pack outfits "just in case" the weather changed and once I got down there I remembered that you should ALWAYS do this no matter how short the trip. I packed for an 80 degree weekend and when we pulled into the condo's paking lot the themometer in my car showed 61 degrees!

We had a great quick little visit. We were able to spend a few hours on the beach on Saturday (it was 80 degrees then) and we were able to take Braxton to play putt-putt for the first time. Good thing kids under 4 are free!! He played (his own version) for about 11 holes and then decided he wanted to keep score and told me I could play his turn!!

Although it was quick it was nice to get away. Only 5 more weeks until my own spring break!!