Playing In The Dirt~

Been a bit MIA lately.  We've been busy playing in the dirt!  We recently had my brother resod our backyard, moved our garden and established a new one (that meant moving over 100 of those brick concrete stones used for landscape walls), regraded the side where the stone path was (that meant removing the steppings stones, grading, then moving them all back), moved a few perennials around to make room for more grass (rather than pinestraw beds), sprucing up our planters with new spring/summer annuals, and oh...we had to rebuild our entire arbor over our hot tub due to the feast some carpenter ants had! 

All while under a time crunch...our daughter's graduation party is this Saturday!!

Okay, I won't bore you with words any longer...take a look around.

The new herb/vegetable garden.  We used Greene's raised garden kits from Home Depot.  Super easy!!

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme!

Pizza anyone?  Fresh Oregano and Basil, YUM!!

I purchased plant markers from my local nursery, and using my handy dandy label maker I printed out labels for each herb/veggie and applied it to the marker.

One of my all time favorite herbs to cook with!

Our hydrangeas are in full bloom!

The new lawn!

Landscaping around the pond.  Our hostas are huge this year!!

A view of the pond.

The waterfall feature.

These guys will eat you out of house and home!  They swim to the edge the minute they see us and expect to be fed.

The bar we built a couple years ago. We have plans to paint the concrete posts in the near future.

Our hibiscus.  It is beautiful when it blooms.  However, the darn caterpillars LOVE it!!

Lilies we added this year for Mother's Day.

More hydrangeas.  This picture doesn't do the color justice.  They are the deepest purple.  Funny because the plant right next to them has blue blooms!

Outdoor candelabra.

This year I planted several of our containers with foliage only and LOVE them!

Hope you enjoyed the backyard update!  We are in the midst of getting ready for our daughter's graduation party on Saturday, and it is crazy around here.

Proud Moment~Graduation 2012

Our baby graduated on May 24th, 2012.  We couldn't be more proud of her and her accomplishments.  Despite missing 27 days of school this year (no that was not a typo) due to migraines and the flu, she graduated as an International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate, I.B. Middle Years Diploma Recipient, Honor Grad, Community Service Award Recipient, Principal's Cord Recipient (5 or more AP/IB classes) and with her highest GPA to date!  She is truly AMAZING!!  She will honestly tell you that she owes it all to the Good Lord above.

She will be attending her college of choice this fall on an academic scholarship!  She will be joining an unbelievable group of young men and women, and she couldn't be more excited.

The graduate, her sister, and her sister's boyfriend.

The graduate with my parents (she didn't get her height from them! LOL)

And, our oldest surprised us earlier in the day...she has been accepted to grad school and will be pursuing her Master's in Health Administration (and will be attending her dad's alma mater's satellite school here).

They are both amazing young women and it has been such a joy and pleasure raising them!!

(sorry for the poor quality on the pics...I am still learning how to do everything in Picasa now that Picnik is gone and I have yet to figure out how to use Iphoto on my new Mac so they are all unedited!)

She Did It!

Despite the odds, 27 days of school missed due to migraines and the flu, she will graduate with her highest GPA ever!

The only thing I can say right now is, "I am so stinkin' proud of her!"

She didn't let anything stand in her way, she never whined, never complained, never said, "why me?"

I will try to keep my composure tomorrow night as she graduates as an IB Diploma candidate, Honor grad, with her highest GPA to date!

All I can say is, her university of choice had better be ready for her!!!

Love you baby girl!!

Happy Anniversary~

Happy 24th Anniversary

to the man I want to continue

holding hands

with

as we walk through this thing called LIFE!

Lunch, and Lasting Memories~

The day finally arrived...the last day I would need to pack a lunch for my graduating Senior.  While she still has a few more days of school, none will require her to take a lunch as she either goes in late or comes home early due to testing.

I have packed her lunch everyday since preschool.  I did it for her sister as well, who by the way told me the other day, "Mom, I think I cried more when you stopped making my lunches." 

It was a way of staying connected with them.  Some days they got that extra special treat just because.  Some days it was the note of encouragement when I knew they had a test to take.  Some days just a fun napkin.

I will miss making her lunch.  Just as when her sister went off to school a few years back, I continued for a few weeks to set the table for four...I know there will be nights I will wake up next fall and think, "oh no, I forgot to make her lunch!" Only to realize I didn't need to.

Her University has a fabulous meal plan, quite a few of her favorites restaurants on campus as well.  And, she is a pretty darn good cook herself.  She won't starve. Afterall, her dad said there is always Mac-n-Cheese and good ole Ramen Noodles! LOL

The countdown has begun...one week from today our baby will graduate.  And, just like her sister...she will have the biggest grin on her face and nothing will wipe it away!

Mother's Day Weekend & Lesson Learned~

I hope  everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend, whether you were celebrating it as a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend...I don't really believe it is just about moms, to me it is about the love and support of women, and they come in many shapes and sizes, and with different titles.

I had a wonderful weekend celebrating with my sweet hubby and my two girls.  They treated me to a wonderful dinner last night along with my oldest's beau (he's a keeper by the way).

But what I really wanted to share with each of you today was a card my oldest gave me.  You see, my husband and I are BIG proponents of "your child is not your best friend".  We often see so many parents raising kids and trying to be their BEST FRIEND rather than their PARENT.  It doesn't work.  Let's face it, your kiddos HAVE friends, would you want THEM raising your child?  Think about it...

Okay, fast forward...with that said, we DO believe there comes a time in your child's life that you can in fact be their best friend and they yours.  Yes, you will always be their parent first and yes, you will still not always agree on everything, but your relationship can and will change as they get older.

Our oldest is now 22, a recent college grad, on her own, and working.  That time has come where I can say she is one of my best friends (hubby being one and my girlfriends as well).  Her sister is 18, heading off to college in the fall...her time will come too, but not just yet.

Here's what the card said...I'll let you decide for yourself if it was worth NOT being my child's best friend until now.

My Mom, My Friend

You'll never know how many times your voice on the other end of the line has helped me get through a bad day...

...or how often I'll remember some little piece of wisdom you gave me months before, even though it seemed like I wasn't listening at the time.

You'll never know how much it means to me to share my feelings with the one person who probably knows me better than anyone, and who has become such a wonderful friend.

I love you, Mom.

Happy Mother's Day

And, because I know she wouldn't mind me sharing...she added the following...

I love you so much, you mean the world to me. I couldn't ask for a better mom or best friend!

Yes, the day has come when I can say that I am proud to not only be her mom (or mommy as this 22 year old still refers to me much to hubby's chagrin) but her best friend.



The countdown has begun, graduation is weeks away~

The countdown to our youngest daughter's graduation has begun, hence my absence these past few weeks.  I want to soak it all in and spend as much time with her as possible.  She has a busy summer planned, and the time to drop her off at her new home will come soon enough.

I love this quote by Dr. Seuss...

Congratulations to all of the 2012 graduates!  May God bless each of you with bright futures, and surround you with love.