Grow Little Ones, GROW!

Grandpa thought it would be fun to make a mud puddle, saying

"Kids always love playing in mud". They did.

Braylyn just hung out by the pool-

Looking cute and clean-

We survived the weekend of the 4th with rain and clouds and then sunshine and lots of food and fireworks and a slumber party in the tent. We even got a ballgame in there. The grandkids were here all day Sunday, shooting fireworks, riding the 4 wheeler, swimming, swinging, and playing in the mud. Lots of showers, lots of water, lots of mud and laundry and towels, and food and drinks every few minutes. (Tired but blessed)

Softball is almost over for the season. June had at least a million games, lots of traveling and laundry, I got one continuing ed class in, sang at a wedding, attended another, did a few scrapbook pages and I painted several murals. We tore down the stairway, and I am still cleaning up plaster dust and working on painting and papering. Marissa turned 16, I took up exercise again after a few years off, so I hit the gym, the track or the gravel road when I can.

Also in June, Dave and our son Brandon and his boys planted tons of pumpkins, gourds, cucumbers, squash and sweetcorn. They went out and checked it every time they came over and were so excited for the harvest. Dave used to do that with our kids when they were small and thought the grandsons old enough to enjoy it this year. It looked like a bumper crop! Brandon, Brittany and the boys made trips out to the patch on the 4 wheeler, and Brandon made a path for me so that I could go out and get cucumbers whenever I wanted. They just went out last weekend and pulled out all the corn to be sure the precious plants were not robbed of moisture. The boys planned to set up a little stand in town to sell pumpkins, and Brittany had many customers ready to purchase some at her job.

As quickly as we got our hopes up, those hopes were dashed when it was discovered that the crop did not survive the spraying of the surrounding bean field. It was a miscommunication, a misunderstanding, and apologies were very free flowing.

It was very upsetting to all of us.

It is not the seed.

It is not even the time.

It is the hope for that which is to come...and the disappointment of that which will not be.

A father felt the disappointment in his son, and that son felt the disappointment in his sons....

We will not be known as master gardeners...but we must remember our true calling....

We are in the business of growing kids here....blessed-

We are in the business of growing grandkids here....blessed even more-

Everyone is well and healthy and the big crop is fine-but still there is disappointment-

July brings heat and a few more softball games, welcoming my brother Tom and his wife and family home from South Carolina, 3 more classes, trying on all my clothes and trying to weed through those I don't use. I am in charge of decorating the set for Bible School and I am helping with the crafts, I have a couple more mural projects, need to finish up some projects at our house, clean drawers and cupboards,and get ready to go back to school. I am very blessed to have some time to switch gears and rest up a bit. Teaching teenagers has its own challenges, but again, I count it as a blessing to have such a wonderful job, one which allows me to take a very active role in my kids' lives and now, my grandsons will begin preschool there next year. I may even get a hug or two during the day and it will be legal!!!!

Well, here we are, hanging out in July, nurturing our little garden....the bumper crop of melon and squash and cucumbers and jack-o-lanterns is not to be, the disappointment will linger for a while, but we do still have our garden and we are willing those things to grow, we have been given ample rain for the REAL crops, AND we are thankful for the kids and grandkids we have been entrusted with. They continue to grow. We are blessed!

Hanging out in the July heat-

Grow Little Ones, Grow