In this garden of mine

We have been waiting for our garden ever since we bought our house!  We have learned patience – as nature always has a way of demonstrating – since our yard is literally under a canopy of trees.  Yes, shade can be great…but I find myself envying full-sun yards!  Oh, the grass is always greener.  Haha.  But, we eventually found a good place – were able to use our own “homemade” compost – and even used our old fence posts as the sides of the garden bed.  This year is an experiment…if all goes well, hopefully there’ll be two more beds in our little side yard.

Putting the garden in…

What a crazy…who let him out???

Post compost and your land’s actual soil…every garden needs some miracle grow!

Planting those seeds!  We’re trying tomatoes, zucchini, spinach, lettuce, chives, green and red peppers, etc.  We’re so excited!

 

She made me so proud…abi and her worm!  (She really liked him/her!)

And patient, patient, patient…they emerge

We’re pumped for lessons learned / money saved / and some good ol’ fun on the farm!

The adventures of our kitchen

We love food.  Potentially too much – but that’s something to explore more of later…

A few snapshots of the wallace kitchen as of late:

Applesauce the good ol’ way!

My sweet helper and #1 taster.  Always quick to put on her apron…(bad picture, but she’s handing me my red apron too – which is a daily occurrence – she wants us both to have one – and I can’t get a good picture – stop moving, Abi!!)

Mmmmm, making pizza!!

(I said the #1 taster)

FALAFEL!!!

Wonderful hubby doing wonderfully hubby things…

Abi was helping…and got a little over-zealous.

But, always ready to lend a hand!

“It is not necessary to have expensive food on the plates before they can enter the dining room as things of beauty in colour and texture….Eye appeal as well as taste appeal should be remembered…A plate can be thought of at times as a kind of ‘still  life’—not a lasting one, of course, but lasting in memory…a thing of beauty. Not only does this give interest, atmosphere and pleasure to the meal, but it gives dignity and fulfillment to the one who prepared it.”   -Edith Schaeffer

Meeting Caedmon

Last weekend, I was given the amazing opportunity by Lauren’s momma to fly for free to NYC to shower sweet Caedmon in real hugs and kisses!  Not just the sent-via internet/mail kind!  OH MY GOODNESS!!!  It was just such an amazing long weekend.  Filled with thankfulness for people’s generosity, love, laughter, the goodness of community.  It is a treasure to have dear friends; and I am thankful.

There we are!  On the first leg of our journey.  Lauren, myself, and lauren.  Please excuse my double chin and over-excited smile.  We had all been up since 3:45 AM.

What made all of that traveling SOOO worth it.  Delight.  There is something just so beautiful about meeting the baby of loved ones.  It seems so awe-inspiring and yet comfortable.  I don’t think that Caedmon was out of someone’s arms except for sleeping and when we felt that he really did need some wiggle time on the floor!

Central Park = Love.  Ultimate irony:  We traveled thousands of miles north to enjoy 75 degrees and beautiful sunshine.  What we left was 4 inches of snow.  Awesome.

The point of our trip – the lovely Rose family of 3!

To pay tribute to my daily fix – The Today Show!

Ohhhhh, the food!

(I by no means mean to imply that we ate katy…we were sitting in a cafe by their apartment that we went to literally every day and I forgot to take a picture of our favorite drink…the caramel marvel!)

I was able to see my dear childhood friend Caroline!  She was ran a 1/2 marathon on Sunday and did great!!

One of the most crazy-cool moments I’ve ever had in NYC.  Watching elephants march down 34th street with LB.  We braved the streets from 12-2:30 AM to see the elephants walk through the city on their way to Madison Square Garden for the Circus (their trailers are too large to fit through the tunnel, so they walk them into the city!)

For a weekend that was filled with laughter and sweet memories – for cherished friends.  I am so grateful.

A little color on Lanshire…

After a rainy day, all of a sudden the sun came out in a beautiful display of WARMTH!  Abi and I threw on our shoes and rushed outside in anticipation.  And we weren’t disappointed. 

And they vanished (it was a double – my pictures don’t capture it) so quickly.  A beautiful reminder of our faithful God.

One of our most favorite things about our house.  Our neighbors.  Blessed is an understatement.

(are they not the sweetest?  Ellie is the most darn-cute little school girl I have EVER seen!)

Reflections of the Eternal

 

“Homemaking is a career that demands considerable expertise, may encompass decades of our lives, and has the potential to spread the gospel to our families, churches, communities, and future generations.” Girltalk

Reflections of the eternal…

One of my all time favorite websites girltalk recently posted on the idea of how the mundane can be amazing.  Their words are more eloquent than mine, it hit such a chord within me.

Today we’re excited to launch The 52home Project here at girltalk.
Every weekday for the next 52 weeks, Janelle will post a picture of ordinary life—our ordinary lives—as seen through the lense of her camera.

Ordinary is where we all live most of the time. And yet our mundane, repetitive days are full of enduring work. Homes are being built. Families are being knit together. Little souls are being shaped for eternity.
The tedious is, in fact, momentous—when done for the sake of Christ:

“…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10).

This truth can get lost in piles of laundry and dirty dishes. We need help to see the glory peaking out from behind the ordinary.

Our hope is that you’ll see your own ordinary, yet glorious life in these pictures. That you’ll glimpse the faithfulness of God that undergirds his faithful ones. That you’ll see reflections of the eternal in the everyday.
“So teach us to number our days that we will get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

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I don’t really know why I had taken this picture one night after the house was clean and I was waiting for my donald to get home.  I just was moved to.  It seemed to capture my day in a snapshot.  I think the idea of the 52home Project is phenomenal.  I’m going to think of something to call it for the wallace household.  Probably for abi too.  To see reflections of the eternal…

One Day – Voting Day - Tuesday

So, Dallas started this thing.  “One Day” in regards to having your trash and recycling picked up on ONE day only during the week (we used to have trash picked up two days a week, but recycling every other week – YES, very silly – but this is my experience with the city of dallas in general).  BUT, I don’t like it!  I mean, the “one day” makes sense.  But,I had to lug my trash can out front (and they brought everyone a new one – seems wasteful) – and then it just sits there.  Blah.  Makes our quaint street look kind of ugly.  I know I should be thankful.  I’m trying.  Dear friends have to lug their trash up and down stairs, others in the world don’t have access to NEAR the sanitation levels that I pridefully expect…but I’m coming short.  I’m just bummed.  Plus, I don’t like that it’s an advertisement as to who is home, and what time everyone returns from work.  Oh, and I don’t like change either.  So, here’s to my annoyance.

(why is my recycling bin not out, you ask?  I who love all things recycle?!  Well, it won’t fit through our gate in its current state…so, it’ll have to wait until next week or until donald gets home to help me lift it over the gate!)

P.S. Go Vote!!!