Balancing Bliss

sweet pink love...

what a day to bring home a baby girl...

                                           welcome to our world Phoebe Annette...

my new bliss...

 i used to pride myself on being a crafter... now my craft is my garden.

since the fall of 2009 i have planted 100+ bulbs, perrenials by the 10's, tried some seeds here and there, and the birds have planted their share of sunflowers too.

this is where there was once a 40yr old japanese maple... we promptly cut it down and removed stump along with it's 10+ azaleas that went neglected for decades. it's been a slow process of tilling in yards of compost and was even once a pumpkin patch which so far was my favorite.  i've recently wanted to start a gardeners journal but i speak through photos so i thought i could just add details on photos instead of the basic journal.  so here we go.

 i think only a gardener can see 2mo ahead and vision the height of this cottage like area with 2ft phlox, 4ft lillies,  and 6ft hollyhocks and sunflowers. it will be a garden of light colors and height mixed with shrubs and even some rhubarb (which we harvest all summer for rhubarb sauce on vanilla icecream and rhubarb strawberry crisps.. mmm).

my favorite place right now that is really colorful now but will be amazing when it's 50 buds open to be 6in layeres of blossoms drooping to the ground.. i check everyday for the first petal to break free. this coming week is my guess. the lupine was a surprise. i had a pack of seeds with a variety in color. i planted three small plants, 2" maybe and gave the others to a friends. what are the chances that mine came back 4ft tall this year and all in purple! my chair sits in this corner now..

oh and the wildlife in my yard is amazing now... wink

oh so 2...

                                                         from that to this ;

      so quickly.. world is ending to so angelic i can't believe God gave her to us...

 

little bit proud...

 i know we shouldn't be boastful... but i think this boy needs someone to be a cheerleader for him since i was sharing our struggles here before... 

 this kid has turned everything around. so proud of him. mind you he had a push.. i enrolled in a parenting class for difficult to parent kids, took him to the peds to get medication (which i've always been against but made the biggest change in him yet with school) and hunted down the best counselor in the whole wide world... but HE had to be the one to change. he did. our family life is better, his school life has had a complete turn around and he is happy... which makes me happy..

i love you g

(picture after his solo he earned in choir)

making memories...

 still here.. just making memories and rolling on with everyday life..

tidbit of easter...

there is quite the story once again about a holiday in our home.. clue.. it's much like minas 1st and 2nd 'unbirthdays'... yes, we had an 'uneaster'... story to follow..

until then here are a couple cute tidbits..

spring sunshine...

literally soaking up the sunshine... i've worked in my yard so many times that my back is just about out so today i will just be soaking it up and enjoying my flowers from my chair..

wishing...

wishing i were back in the cottage window enjoying peace and bliss .... facing reality.. trudging through... still blessed every day.. even the hard ones.. my new mantra for 2013 is "i can do hard things" ... by looking into the storm in the early months of this year, i did just that.. we have worked hard and changed many obstacles.. i deserved that window bliss.. that felt so different than just escaping.. it was deserved.. now, off to finish up some must do's before deserving some down time during spring break.

little moments can make big memories...

 she will most likely not remember these early years quite yet but i will forever hold them in my heart. cheesy? yes. but it's true. i made her a priority today and these moments that i used to take for luci came flooding back. they bonded us. she may not remember them but she will feel them for many days/weeks to come.

so when your day starts out like this;

add some pink polish...

and some;

it's amazing what an impact of an hour of being in the moment can make.

because ....

because my heart speaks through photos...