The FInishing Touches

This weekend was beautiful and we were able to seize the moment and fill in the final plantings to complete the backyard.  Well, at least we are down to 95%.  Trying to coordinate 84 varieties of plants and find them at 4 different suppliers has been a challenge.  Next weekend will be the mulch/compost.  One of my new favorites is this Virginia Sweetspire.  This is in full bloom right now and has these long drooping white cone-shaped "flowers".  Another interesting one is this Jerusalem Sage.  It's not at all what I expected!  Cavett's sunflower seeds have even sprouted!  We have also gotten part of our new patio furniture set.  The rest is still on order and I am crossing my fingers that it will be here by the 14th of May. (I'm having a little girls reunion of sorts.)   

Will they survive?

Mother Nature has lost her mind!  Snow, 7 inches deep in Allen on Saturday night.  Here it is Monday morning and it is still lingering though melting quickly.  Question of the day.... Will my plants make it?

Spring Is Springing!

Found this lovely in my yard today.  It's my Japanese Maple in the nook between the garages.  I can't wait to post more pics of what is to come.  Maybe I'll have one each day this week of Spring Break!  I love Spring!

Before and After

We began on Thursday morning with a trip to a wholesale nursery.  Stephen borrowed a 16' foot long trailor and completely filled it stacking plants on it and filling the inside of the truck.  By lunchtime we nearly had it unloaded and positioned.  We did as much as we could with two kids running around the backyard and sometimes "helping."  But we decided it best if we hired an additional pair of hands to work on Friday.  The three of us worked hard until 6:00 that night.  Saturday, we completed the planting of all the perinnials that we had and did a good clean up.  We still aren't finished.  We are still missing several shrubs and all the flowers, but it looks so much better and I can't wait to see all these tiny little blooms spring forth with leaves.   

We enjoyed the view from the hot tub and watched Kendrick swim without a life jacket for the remainder of the evening.  Couldn't have been a better weekend. 

Creation

It is a wonder, this world and how it was created.  His creations are just amazing and he is as well.  I was blessed today to see not one ultrasound, but two.  Two different babies, two different wombs, both of which will call me aunt.  He thought of it all--down to each and every eyelash.  I can't wait to meet both of these precious children of God.

In addition to human creation, I was able to dig my hands into the earth for the past two days.  It felt good to scrape it out of a hole, squeeze it and break it apart with my hands.  Adam was made of this stuff.  Awesome. 

The dirt in this neck of the woods is called caliche.  It's a mess.  When wet it is a sticky, glue-like substance.  When dry, it can be as hard as a rock.  And when tracked into my house leaves white footprints everywhere.  We had the flowerbeds made for us back in the fall, but we wanted to plant everything ourselves.  They mixed in good dirt and mulch, but as I labored with my trowel I couldn't help but worry about the rest of God's creation--the shrubs, the trees, the flowers.  How were they to grow in this "gumbo" dirt?  How were the roots going to find enough nourishment?  My mind/the Holy Spirit kept taking me to Luke 12:27.  "Consider the lilies." 

I knew this meant something and I was to discern what He was trying to tell me. 

Typically, I am not a worry-er.  I know it does no good.  One of my earliest memorized verses was "Cast all your cares on Him, for he cares for you."  But, maybe my "worry" comes in another form of second-guessing myself, being to critical/analytical or obsessing over things letting them consume me.  I'm a little "all or nothing." 

There are a couple of issues which have surfaced lately, that I will have a blog for later and that I'm not ready to talk about.  But, I guess I took my hint.   I'm going to stop second guessing, worrying about what I should have done differently or blaming myself.  I'm going to be disciplined but yet with an ease of spirit.  And, I am going to place all of my cares in His hands. 

The work is done.  I'm going to sit back and watch Him work wonders in our lives and on the branches of these little plants whose buds are just waiting to pop out at the right time.