birthday pictures

When the kids were small we had a wall phone with a long cord...of course when I really needed to talk on the phone the kids were always loud and interrupting. I would take the phone out into the garage to talk. Rebekah reminded me of this with this card. She said I would go out there and talk and sweat.

gifts from Connie

The kids got me a $100 gift card from Home Depot and these other things. They have a knack for getting the perfect gift!

My chocolate cheesecake from Bethany. Joseph helped her with the topping.

My friend Vicki cooked my birthday dinner. I was so surprised I didn't think to take a picture of it. It was wonderful~! Donald also gave me a neat gift. He gave me three hours of yard work. I already know what he can help me with!

berms and ground cover

Yes, I'm still around. Since basketball is over I had to find something else to do! I have been working in the yard every chance I get. I didn't even cook a meal last week because I was outside or trying to catch up on what had to be done inside.

Our front yard needs so much work. I had prayed several times for soil. We can't grow grass underneath the sweet gum trees and soil had washed away and tree roots are all over the place. Since we had rather eat than buy dirt, I finally just prayed for it. Our friends, Rick and Pam, had a huge pile of dirt in their backyard that they didn't want. They gave it to us! I am so excited about it. (You are probably thinking I get excited over strange things, and yes, I do.)

Connie and Eddie loaned us their truck and Donald and the boys spent Saturday hauling soil. Three truck loads to be exact! I went for the first load and spent my time in the back of the truck leveling it out and pushing it to the back. It was HOT in the sun. So I opted to stay behind in our yard for the next two loads and work in the shade. I spent much time praying for the guys (and Rick) who were sweating it out in the hot sun.

I LOVE Pam's back yard! It is perfect! I told the guys to look closely because that's what I want someday. They probably rolled their eyes behind my back, but it is so beautiful. Then we were at Jon and Barb's Saturday night and I decided they could probably build a deck also! My ideas always mean work for them.

Anyway I sorta kinda have built a berm. I have decided I want to be creative and not just have a flat yard, thanks to ideas from Barb and Pam. I'm just going with the tree roots, high places, the existing ground cover, and adding to it. I'll have to get pictures when I've made more progress. It is going to be wonderful!

Earlier last week I bought some St. Augustine sod and the boys helped me get the ground ready and lay it. It's only a start, but it will look good in front of my ground cover. It gets sun there and I've been watering like crazy, so hopefully it will live.

The switch from watching basketball to yard work has been quite a change for my body. I have plenty of muscles that are protesting my strenuous labor.

mulching around

This has been such a wonderful day. I have been outdoors for almost all of it! The weather has been perfect today and I got some yard work done. Hannah and I did a project outdoors this afternoon and it was great to spend time with her. We came home and I hopped in the shower while Ben started dinner for me. It is such a blessing for him to be such a good cook!

Now I am in pajamas eating dinner and blogging. Multi-tasking I suppose. Hopefully there will be a basketball game on tonight. I am so going to miss basketball once the season is over. I really don't like baseball; it's too slow for me. The only time I like it is when they show the reruns. Now we are going to a game in Houston this summer on our family reunion, but that will be different. If I get bored in the game then I can people watch. My sister-in-law got a great deal on the tickets also! It will be great getting to spend time with Donald's brothers and sisters and their families. All our kiddos are going also.

Just so you don't get too impressed..........the picture above is NOT my yard. It looks like something my friends Susan or Barb would do though. That ought to count for something.

town crier, sort of

My children know me too well. I have ventured out with yet another past time. I have planted tomatoes in pots and squash in my flower bed in the back yard. I went out to check on them

this morning and I HAVE TOMATOES GROWING!!!!!!!!

I immediately ran inside and yelled to whoever was around, "I HAVE TOMATOES GROWING!"

Thankfully it was lunch time and everyone was home! Donald even pampered me and got up to see. He agreed they were a sight to behold and congratulated me on my success. Hannah came out with her camera. I had just told Donald that Hannah would have to take a picture of them for my blog. She knows me well. Each of the kids have gotten to view them; while showing Rebekah she actually bowed and said, "Hail the Garden Goddess."

Now the thing that is so exciting is that I usually kill stuff. When we were studying adjectives Daniel gave me an example of "dead plant." When I bring in a new plant the kids laugh and say something along the lines of "another one for her to kill." Rebekah had a plant die and I told her she had my green thumb, but she decided it was more like a brown thumb. I am not noted for growing things although I do have a lot of other great qualities.

I had already decided I want a vegetable garden in the back yard. We have mostly weeds anyway so I won't have to worry about killing the grass. These green tomatoes have definitely whetted my appetite for a garden. I can almost taste my success.

kitchen can be used for cooking

I'm still tired. Daniel's birthday was a success. His caps arrived at 4:00, just in time for the festivities. It was the perfect gift; you would have thought he had picked it out himself! Trying for a bit of sarcasm here, if you read my blog you know he did that very thing. Nevertheless, he was thrilled. Rebekah took pictures for me, but I don't know how to download them from her camera. I'll try to post those later.

I started off the day by making his cake. He requested a strawberry cake. My mom's recipe is so yummy. Then I made homemade yeast rolls and while those were rising made the icing for the cake. After they were baked I made Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter cookies for the Home School Enrichment Class Open House tonight. Baking cookies take forever. My oven is small and I only bake one tray at a time. Let's see 72 cookies, a dozen a tray, at 8 minutes 10 seconds per tray, well, you get the idea. After that I had to run an errand and buy a birthday balloon and coke in a glass bottle to tie it to. I ended up finding an old Clint Eastwood movie in the $5.00 bin at Wal-Mart which I decided to buy for another present. Then it was back home to make the lasagna and steam the broccoli. We all ate together, which actually happens occasionally (large family, different schedules) and then Daniel opened his presents. We had cake and then watched an episode of Psych. The kids have been getting them through NetFlix and they are so funny!

By now, I'm sure you see why I'm still tired. I used to cook like that every day. Maybe it's because I'm older or smarter, probably both, but I don't do it anymore. Just on birthdays and special occasions. Bethany's birthday is next week so I have to get rested to do it again.

birthday shopping

I've been birthday shopping. Daniel's birthday is next week. We just ordered civil war caps, expensive civil war caps. They are the kind they wear when they do the reenactments of the battles. He was going to buy one and really wanted one from the confederate and the union. Bingo! A birthday present that he will really like. I'm not telling a secret; he knows what he's getting. He picked it out. I'm not about to pay $55 for a cap he doesn't want or like. That's what I consider being wise.

Bethany's birthday is coming up shortly also. My birthday shopping isn't over yet. It's nice to shop in my comfy chair in front of the computer. I'm rather enjoying it. Or I will until the bill comes!

Donald got quite a bargain when he married me. He doesn't have to birthday shop. He just has to pay for it.