Weekend Hero's

Two weekends ago we (DH, Son Chris, and moi (that is me in french) did some serious yard work. I finally got my camera out and started snapping some pretty cute pictures! Here we go!

Enjoy

My precious DH with a machete! Oh my gosh .. that is a testosterone thing I am sure because of that pose!!! Directly to his right is a huge oak tree sitting right on the south side of our home. I have plans to build an English garden right around that tree... What do you think? We have been so busy for the first three years that we have been here on other peoples homes and now it is our year! YEAH!!!! I will take pictures as we go...


and this would be my son Chris!! More testosterone and holding another machete! They have been in the woods to their left cutting down so tough underbrush and some poison ivy!


We have 10 acres and if you look right behind Chris is the south end of the property..Chris is talking abut building a split level house on the top of the south three acres.. They are clearing some of the years of neglect...( Not us, the people before us.. We have been here three years and we are trying to work out from the middle! Whew ! what a job..




This would be little mother as she sits and watches as we move from the south end of the house to the north end where her and Dad live... It was a bit cool but she was so excited to see what we were doing.... I got her a beautiful quilt out and wrapped her up good...



This is what DH and I were up to... We built little Mother a garden. It is 4 foot by 16 foot landscape timbers two high... We thought this would be easy for her to work without walking in the garden.. We drove rebar about 18" long in each end and four on each side to keep the timbers stable. We laid landscape plastic to keep the weeds at bay as best possible.

Now we are looking from the edge of the new garden back to Mom. You can see the plain jane yard and house.. But give me just a minute and keep looking!

Just to the left of their deck between their home and our home is an Iris garden that I planted two years ago. Mother and Dad lived in the same home for 40 years in a small town about 16 miles from where we are now. She had a white plastic pot sitting outside her back door with her Iris growing out of it every year. When they moved I picked up that plastic pot and brought it to our home. I planted it right under a small grove of trees to the north of my house. Now I have some of her mothers Iris bulbs that my cousin has given me and I have them planted there also. I have an old 4 pane window and an Iris stencil on my back porch and I am going to stencil an Iris on that 4 pane window and at the bottom will paint Mom's and Grandam's Iris Garden. What do you think? I will take a picture as soon as I get it hung.

Here is the their Iris garden with my old wrought iron bench. It does not live there but am not sure what to do with it right now... What do you think about it being white?

Now here is little Mom last weekend (it was much warmer) We had gone out to the local nursery and she bought herself some flowers!!! Her and I planted her little garden with some tomato plants right here on the end closest to us (the plant in the foreground is a barberry and does not stay there, it was just sitting there for the time being, it goes in the ground this weekend)

She bought some Gerber Daisy's and lots of other little plants that she is tending over like a hen over her chicks.

We have to watch her pretty close or she will have them growing web feet.! We have well water and I can turn the pump off inside the house... Bless her heart , her short term memory is going and she forgets that she has watered once today...so I just turn the pump off and she runs out of water.

In the background you see the north end of my house.. so you see we do not live very far at all from Mom and Dad.... That is a good thing most of the days!

ahahhahaha

She has on her too cute little straw hat... She is in her element and she is one happy little camper. It is so wonderful to see her out here and smiling. Makes it all worth it....

She is still watering!

Now comes the hard part.... Me and DH landscaped the house... Remember how bad it looked? Well it looks like a new house now....

After we finished with the larger plants Mom went out and put some Marigolds between each of the larger plants.... She has her own hoe now... :) She is standing on the north end of their little house right under the computer room ( they both have computers) , Dad is the blogger but Mom just goes to jig zone to play jigsaw puzzles... We have her computer where she cannot get out on the Internet except to that one site... No telling the mess she could make!!!! Thanks goodness me and my DH has some computer knowledge!

Now there is a shot of the week.... She outworked me!!!



We bought her two more roses that are climbers and put her a trellis on the side of the house between their computer room and her kitchen window.. They are more yellow/orange than yellow. She checks them every day to see if they are running up the trellis yet?

She is a hoot.. Here she is planting some more Marigolds.

Here is the corner right by the ramp and it is planted with petunias and mums and various little purple flowers that she wanted... They have really taken hold and doing great.

Going right up the North end of the deck is some natural wood lattice and at the bottom we put two yellow climbing roses... She is so anxious to see them come up that lattice... They will grow pretty quick and I will take pictures as they climb. Right to the left of the deck you can see a Hydrangea. It will love that north side. We planted dwarf Nandina's with phlox between each Nandina. Oh it looks so pretty....

Here is a view looking from the North end to the south .... their little home faces due west but what you cannot see is a grove of trees about 40 thick about 25 feet from their deck... What beautiful shade they have most of the day ... The yard gets the sun till about 3 and then the shade moves over the house but the deck is in the shade all day with the covering... how nice is that!!!! You can just see the bird bath in the front of the picture.. I took an old milk can and took the lid off and put an old bird bath that had the base broken and walla! a bird bath.

You can just barley see to the north end of the house some plants in the shade. That is their A-Robic Septic Inc.system. We could not put in a septic system so we went with the A-Robic Septic system. The only trouble with that is it has three large lids and a control box sitting next to the front lid. It is not very pretty ..so we took some of the natural lattice and some 4x4 posts and made a three sided fence . Now you can only see the lids and control box from the other side.. We will be able to get to it with no problem. It takes about 3 gals of bleach a month. Anyway we then went back and planted honeysuckle on the lattice .. It will grow pretty quick and cover the lattice. Now was that a smart idea or what!

Hope you enjoy the tour.. I am getting better with the camera...

More landscaping today.... My house this time... YEAH!!!!!

So I leave you with this thought..

Conflicts are inevitable, combat is optional.

More Than Conquerors

..........We are headed to OKC tomorrow for my third shot in my back........ We have decided to try the third shot and see what it will do.......... I have promised to take it real easy on Saturday and Sunday and let the medicine do it's thing........ I made that promise to my DH with tongue in cheek!... But I will take it easy........... We have also decided to postpone the CT scan with dye for a while and see if rest and the third shot will do it's thing........ We are also considering a chiropractor......... I have to give that some thought....... I have never been crazy about them but I have heard some good things from a few ladies here in blog land............

.......... I did go outside yesterday and I did work in the yard for about 4 hours........ I did work in my shop today for another 4 hours and so far I am not in terrible pain........ so I am encouraged...... I know it is the prayers of the saints............ I will be gone most of the day tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday we have yard work that we have to do so it may be Monday before I get back here........... I have a post about finished regarding the Oprah issue of which I have some strong feelings and thoughts concerning that....... I am still listening to the Lord about that before I post......... I do not want to offend anyone but I must speak the truth as I hear it from the Lord............ It is too important to dance around........... ( I can't dance very well anymore anyway)

.......... I have also had an answer from the Lord on a very very important issue........ I blogged about it several months ago and I have to share that with you next week............ My faith is increased and my head is lifted up................

...........The design for the Tee shirt is finished and color separated and ready to print........ I have had a couple of ladies email me and ordering shirts............ I am glad that I have waited......... but I will get those printed and out to all you wonderful ladies sometime in the next couple of weeks...... I have decided not to tell you that they are coming so it will be a surprise...........

......... Have a great Friday and for the weekend I leave you with this thought..............

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:35-37)

You Are All a Part Of My Garden

..... this came from Mary over at Mary's Writing Nook....... she is such a talent and such a gift .... Isn't this pretty..........

MY LILY WHITE...... ahhahah

........ Here's the skinny.........The Dr. wants to do another test a week from tomorrow.......CT scan with dye..... Ok .... they want to know exactly where the nerves are at that are pinched off....... Ok..... They want me to go and get the third shot and see if it gives me any relief at all. Ok....... Then I see the surgeon on May the 20. Ok............ I can do all of that.......... but........... You knew there was a but coming didn't you? While headed home I made a decision............

....... I have been moping around kinda since December when this all started. I have quit a lot of things in order not to hurt my back any further......... I have stopped walking 2-3 miles a day to help with my weight loss, I have quit using my elliptical or my total gym. I have not spent a total of 6 hours in my yard (and that is my passion) this spring! I have let a lot of things go in my house. We have worked and worked the past three years for other people and their houses and now it is time for our house and here I sit............

............... Soooooooooooooooooooo I have my tennies on and I am headed out the door for a long walk, and when I get back I am going to clean and redecorate my living room......... this afternoon if it does not rain I am going OUTSIDE with my rake and my hoe and work around my house...... and If I have time after that I will do a few minutes on the elliptical and do several stretching exercises on my total gym. I have decided not to let this slow me down to the point of going backwards...and I am an over comer and not a victim........... so there..... That is my mood today and the devil can kiss my lily white tush!!!!!!!!!!

'I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!'
I like that!

HAVE AN OVERCOMING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE SILVERSMITH

Worth the Read

Some time ago, a few ladies met to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver"(Malachi 3:3). One lady decided to visit a silversmith, and report to the others on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling him the reason for her visit, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver. After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?" "Oh, yes ma'am," replied the silversmith; "I must sit and watch the furnace constantly, for, if the time necessary for refining is exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." The lady at once saw the beauty and comfort of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." God sees it necessary to put His children into the furnace; but His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure. Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "How do you know when the process is complete?" "That's quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished." -

Author Unknown

Mal 3:3
And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

..........I am sure that many of you have read that story many times. I remember reading it many years ago and never forgot it. I have wondered over the years about the tribulations of the righteous and tribulations of those not of the household of faith. I can say that to this date I still cannot understand it all. I cannot tell you why people suffer. I have seen people that have great tribulations that have great faith and I have seen people that seemly had no faith at all just skate through life with no smell of smoke.....

........As I have read my bible over the years I have yet to find one single person in the word of God that skated through life without trials and tribulation.

........When we go through times that we just do not understand we are in good company. Open you bible and read about Moses, and Jacob and Abraham, and Noah... Read about Job...mercy... the three Hebrew children will give us pause to wonder what God was up to in their lives...... Take time to read about Paul... My gosh if anyone went through tribulations he did........ My point is not why does God allows these things in our lives but that through the "fire" He is keeping very close watch.

Rom 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
2Cr 1:4
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Psa 34:19
Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

.....The verse in 2 Cr 1:4 above states that we are comforted in our trials so that we might comfort others when they find themselves in the midst of the fire. Take time to read that scripture again.... It is a powerful verse..........There is going to be tribulation.... I do not think we can escape that... However we as believers can be watchful of others that might be going through the fire....... We need to know that we are human and we need the strength of others that will pray........ I have met women here in the blog that I know will pray....... I know that if I find myself in the fire I can call upon them to pray the prayer of faith that will bring comfort into my life........

.... I have learned through the years and it was always hind sight that when we come out on the other side of the fire we can look back and see the hand of God keeping us..........

.... I have been in some tribulation that I thought would take my life, I have been in the fire so long sometimes that I felt that my flesh would melt from my bones...... but this one thing I know that I know that I know............. He has promised to deliver us from them all and if He has promised that, He will deliver...........

...... I struggle through my tribulations as does most of us, but this one thing my trials by fire has taught me...... He is there and He is watching......... and He will deliver me............

........ I pray for each of you that are in the fire ..... I pray that the Father will keep close watch and deliver you without the smell of smoke........

All the Blessings

Thank you each and every one that has sent emails and posted here.......... Dad is fine and up and around again........ I am headed to the surgeon tomorrow.......... Those of you that have ordered TEE shirts please be patient with me.........they are in the works........... the design is colored separated and ready for the screen process......... Most of the shirts are here and ready to be printed... I am not sure you each understand the process but it is fun to do but time consuming...... but.......... I am almost there.......... I waited a while until I knew everyone that wanted one was able to order............. You can still order one if you want, you still have time.................

So......... ladies the shirts are coming but be patient....... Life is a winding road and sometimes when we turn a corner there is a bump.........


Love you all..........you are all living breathing blessings in my life...............

Denise