Well worth it.

Another great day down - glad to be finished, too tired to type...

Jared did some climbing...

Daddy and I did some browsing...

An admiring...

And more browsing...

And more admiring....

.

And more...

And the boys did some hamming...

And some more...

We did get all the herbs into their new homes and more mulch for the garden - it smells like a poop festival in our front and back yards - but it a good way if you can imagine it!

The house is a little messy and tomorrow night I will be busy getting things straightened up, but we spent a productive weekend together making our home and our hearts just a little better...

Satisfaction Saturday

I love a day like today.  Busy all day, to and from and everywhere in between and all done with my favorite guys.
Trip to the Herb Farm

A family who seems to share our VW love...

A work in progress

A dress rehearsal

My hard working men, even long after dark

And my dirty little man, way past bedtime

A long and productive day, now it is time for some well deserved rest...

Progress

My oldest son, my potential lawyer, the boy of a many arguments and very little attention span.  Who is forever perplexed as to why we make our beds when we are just going to mess them up each night and why do we clean the house if it is just going to get messy again?  This perpetually confused young man walked in to his room last night at bed time and immediatly turned back around - "Mom?"
"Yes son"
"Thank you for making my bed"
"Your Welcome"

And thank you for noticing and realizing it is something to be thankful for.

Pride

My husband and I are attending classes in order to become Texas Master Gardeners - I was a little surprised he agreed to go, but it turns out he is really enjoying himself!  That said, last night was our turn to bring eats and drinks for snack time - and in a class where even at 34 and 28 we are the youngest folks I was rightfully nervous.  I have to admit, sometimes i still feel like I am just a punk kid still in my early twenties so my need to prove myself was great.  Without going in to too much detail, and without admitting to spending an hour at World Market "mocking up" my bowls, napkins and mats and another 30 minutes at home doing a full dress rehearsal - I have to toot my own horn and say that it went off without a hitch!  Not only without a hitch, but swimmingly, absolutely swimmingly.  All of the older folks, whose disdain I feared - had nothing but good to say!  In fact when our fearless gardening leader asked for volunteers to sign up for the weeks to come someone said, "I volunteer whoever brought the snacks tonight!"
I know it's silly, but that young punk kid inside of me really needed all the reassurance and kind words from my "elders" last night - it really was good for my soul.

 On a different note - yesterday was also our anniversary - 3 years of marriage, although we've been together for more than twice that.  We didn't go out to a fancy dinner and he didn't buy me a dozen roses, we went to gardening class together to learn about herbs and he grinned with pride at how well received my "meat-cicles" were and laughed at me for going through so much fuss and I remembered why I love him just a little bit more with each passing day.

If at first...

Tonight I was reminded of some things I have started in the past; fads, life changes, whatever and I was reminded of my failures in these endeavors.  Although I know it came from a place of anger it has not stuck in my mind because of hurt feelings or painful regrets.  I am thinking about these things now because I am proud.  I am proud that although I don't have it all figured out yet - I still try.  I am proud that although I still make mistakes as a mother daily - I am trying to learn.  I am proud that although I have failed in the past, I am not afraid of failure in the future.  I am still trying to learn and better and grow and lose (in some cases) and I am not afraid.  For every failure I experience - my eventual success will be that much sweeter.

Just sew...

So I cleaned out our computer/junk/storage room yesterday and somewhere between forcing the door open against the piles behind it and finding the long since forgotten floor – I discovered my sewing machine.  I bought her about 6 years ago, I had great intentions and visions of flowing curtains and as per usual a desperate need for instant gratification.  Did I mention that I could possibly be described as impulsive, that sometimes I just buy things, and then I have these things and then I abandon these things?  My self control in that area has improved somewhat with age, but the sewing machine came during a particularly weak period.
The timing is great, due to the inspiration of an old dear friend, my interest in my sewing machine is renewed.  I really feel the itch to make and create and try my hand once again.  That said, I don’t remember how to sew.  It'not like i've forgotten the art over these 6 years, I didn’t really know how to sew when I bought the darn thing.  I took a class once, 1 semester – in high school – to fill an empty slot.  I did enjoy it, heck I even made a dress – I still have it – I couldn’t get into it – not even on a dare. 
I am hoping that sewing is akin to riding a bicycle, that with a little refreshing, some steadying, maybe a push or 2, I can get right back on.  We shall see.

Weekend Winding Down

What a peaceful reprieve this weekend was.  Jared lost his football game, but we shared breakfast with a old friend for his "28th" birthday.  I swallowed my pride and we welcomed a weekly visitor and  my family has a clean home for the week.  We labored and sweated in the backyard, but soon we will have a whole crop of cool weather veggies.  My big guys headed out to prepare the land for the upcoming deer season and Luke and I stayed behind and found the "floor" of our office.  It was tedious and tiring, but we are organized once more and have made plans to tackle our next mess.
Everything we did this weekend had purpose and payoff - and that feels so very good. 

I am still working on the cable plans...Gabriel is having a little trouble imagining life without cable.  I think we will have to start with some compromise, maybe a little more progress after football season.  I can already see so many changes with the squawk box just turned off.

New week ahead, going to be a super busy one!

Shawn Phillips

A million years ago, when my mother still believed she was beautiful and her heart was still open and the only thing that weighed her down was an excess of love beads - she found Shawn Phillips. She found him and she kept him in her heart for so many years. And she played his music and danced to his rhythm and sung his praises..and I, I rolled my eyes and threw my head back in disdain and asked her to please, PLEASE put something else on.
Then one day I met the love of my life, and eventually I decided to marry that love and when that beautiful day plays in my mind I hear Shawn Phillips in the background. I don't even think a single Shawn Phillips song was sung that day, but in my head it streams in the background, just under all the other sounds and it lifts up my heart.
On days like today when my heart is heavy and my breathing deep. When I am anticipating change and beauty and strife and celebration I am drawn to Shawn Phillips and I thank the beautiful, love-filled hippie that my mother once was for carrying that in her heart and passing it on to mine.

Television, Schmellevision

Yesterday, before football practice, Jared took me outside to pick zucchini and water all the plant babies. Luke fought him for the hose and there were some wet practice pants last night and there are some hyper hydrated tomatoes today, but we smiled and laughed. When he and daddy left Lukers and I sauteed the Zucchini, threw in a little corn, topped it all with parmesan shavings and shared a plate, at the big table, in the tall chairs, covered in corn kernels after he decided to feed us both himself. Then we just went about our night, folding clothes, reading books, doing dishes. When Jared and Daddy got home I fed them too, we talked about all the guys Jared tackled, sent him off to brush his teeth, snuck him a cinnamon almond to completely deface his clean teeth and sent him off to bed. Gabriel and I sat up and discussed the potential, upcoming cutting of the cable cord and then went to bed. All this with only Classic Rock streaming in the background. It was one of the best nights I've had in a long, long time.