Fireworks!!

 So I am a little behind on last weeks activities, as Faith and I were down in Indiana at a wonderful conference.   Now I have to catch up on all the exciting events, starting with Fireworks!

The Saturday before the 4th Fireworks were scheduled at a lake only 2-3 miles away from us.  John and Mandi (who were up visiting for a week! :), Mr. Reiche, and our friend Daniel were coming along, so Josiah, Faith and I hopped on our Bikes and rode down ahead of them.

It was a lovely evening for a bike ride and thankfully all the big hills were down:)  We had decided to ride back in the van so we didn't have to worry about facing the hills the other way ;P

 When we all arrived it was still quite light out and we had some time to kill, so I had an impromptu photo session with my new/old bike and it's fancy horn (a gift from Mr. Reiche) 

As the sun set and the darkness deepened some people sent out little glowing balloons into the air.  They showed the direction of the wind, as well as just looking beautiful.

Then without much warning the show began!  Thanks to a friends loan of their tripod I was able to catch quite a few of the spectacular colored, noisy bunches of gunpowder.

Kaboom!!

Fireworks are beautiful to look at, but they are really nothing without the tang of smoke in your nostrils, and your heart jumping with the report of the explosion.

When they sent off a bunch of lower bright fireworks you could see all the boats sitting on the lake watching. I am sure it had to be deafening that close.

I think everyones favorite firework was the smiley face.  Awww!!  They shot off about 3 of them, but 1 didn't know where to look, and ended up staring off upwards into space.

This shot reminds me of the song "Starry Starry Night!!"  I am not sure if this is the leftovers or beginning of a firework :)

And I will end this post with my favorite picture from the evening.  I am not sure why, but something about the bright glitter, curly sparkles, and warm fervent color intrigues me.

I hope you all enjoyed this little fireworks show!

~Chs

In the Gardens

The garden is verdantly green now.  In fact at the time these pictures were taken (about a week ago) it was almost completely green, now there are peeps of red, yellow, and pink, as well as purple and white, hidden in and amongst the green.

We are so thankful to God for our gardens, and how he makes things grow, and also for all the hard work put into it.   Especially Mumsie dear, who practically lives in our gardens, weeding, weeding, and weeding.  So here are some pictures, and fitting quotes to honor those who work in our gardens, and Him who makes it grow.

"Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration."  ~Lou Erickson

"Weather means more when you have a garden.  There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans."  ~Marcelene Cox  

(This is so true!  The first thing that came to our mind when we woke up one night to pounding rain on the roof, was "Thank you God!  Our garden is getting watered.")

"When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.  If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant."  ~Anon  :)

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts"

Little Tiny Baby Yellow Zucchini 

"Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes."  ~Author Unknown

"If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden."  ~Robert Brault

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.  Genesis 2:8

~Chs

The Hot Spell

"Early in July the weather turned very hot,
    'Ain't had a spell like this in Fourteen years,'  Eli Scaynes said happily.

Each day it was hotter.  Julian and Portia felt proud of it.

'The thermometer say 95 degrees,'  Julian announced one morning; and on the next he said triumphantly, 'It's 98!'

And then one day it was 100, and the children were overjoyed, though the grownups were not."

~Return to Gone Away Lake~  By: Elizabeth Enright

(So our really hot spell came in late June instead of early July, and it still is reaching in the 90's every day.)

~Chs

Summertime is for...

 .... Impromptu picnics under the willow tree.

Complete with Hot Dogs roasted over an open fire (despite the 90 degree weather)

 And delightful thirst quenching lemon water with lots of ice.

 Grapes and Crackers.

 Yummy!! 

 We had two very attentive furry friends. 

"Anything you don't want, huh?" 

 After lunch we had an impromptu grass blade concert and Sadie Rose wasn't quite sure whether to join in or not.

 Baby, our elegant and elderly reigning queen.

 The chickens joined us for the crumbs after lunch, and our handsome rooster Yankee Doodle Dandy decided to pose for a photo.

"The faces"  (minus the person behind the camera of course :)

~Chs

Ladies Luncheon

For the past 4 years Mom, Faith and I have been blessed to volunteer at our local Pregnancy Resource Center, and while there we have worked with some wonderful ladies.  So this past week we decided to host a luncheon for all the ladies that we work with.

We just happened to pick a day that was right during Strawberry season, so dessert was Angel Food Cake or Biscuits piled with sliced strawberries and finished with fresh whipped cream, and for the chocolate lovers we also had a plate of gluten free brownies. 

Our Sweet Peas had begun to bloom, so Faith and I picked a large bouquet to grace the table.

Strawberry Lemonade and Ice Tea for beverage.

The main menu included Cream puffs filled with Chicken and Tuna Salads, with sides of Pasta Salad, mini stuffed eggs, and fresh garden veggies.

Each lady had a sprig of Sweet Peas at her plate to take home.

It was a delightful time of fellowship chatting, exchanging stories, relating incidents of days gone by, and of course eating!

Dessert!

After finishing our conversation and cleaning up, we headed outside to conduct a tour of the farm.

We are very blessed to have our golf cart, and were happy to be able to drive some of the ladies around so that they didn't have to walk.

It was a lovely afternoon, and we were glad to be able to host the luncheon for the wonderful ladies who we work with.

~Chs