Green

Things are really getting green around here.  The radishes look great, and the broccoli, brussel sprouts, and spinach are doing fine despite the absolute deluge we had a couple of days ago and continued rain yesterday and today.  The trees we planted all look great except for the cherry tree.  It looks ok, but something snapped off the top of it, and some leaves are missing.  Deer?  I'm not sure what happened.

The big garden is still not planted at all, and the small garden is less than half-full.  Nathaniel was trying to get the tiller to work, but it won't start.  Since it was such a late spring, I haven't been in a hurry to get the plants in the ground yet.  I do plan on getting more in soon, though, as soon as this rain gives us a bit of a break.

Malachi brought home some petunias from garden club, and he was very happy to plant those in the front flower bed with me.  Lydia enjoyed planting seeds for some marigolds, too.  So we will have some flowers this summer.  Right now, we have only a few tulips, but they are really beautiful!  I have 3 bright orange ones, and three bright yellow.   It's nice to see the little splash of color amidst all the bright spring green.

Fun Outing

We were out and about this weekend.  As you can see from the pictures, the boys had a soccer game, and then we went on a boy scout field trip to a nature/wildlife preserve.  My parents joined us for the weekend, and we had a great time!

Family picture time!

Malachi and Lydia enjoy pretending to be baby eagles in the "nest".

This one turned out pretty good, too.  It's hard to get the kids all looking and smiling.

Easter Pictures

We had absolutely perfect weather here for Easter weekend.  We enjoyed spending time outside.

Since it was our anniversary, I made sure we got a picture together, too:

He is Risen!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Cold Snap

I was surprised yesterday to wake up to snow again.  It actually hung around into early afternoon, and it has remained quite cool.  There are signs of spring everywhere, though.  The redbud trees that line the roads on my way to work are looking beautiful.  The Bradford pears are blooming, and my neighbor's pink dogwood looks fabulous.  I know we have a little white dogwood, but it's not blooming yet.  Every day there is more green, though!

Book Review - For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

Today, I was home from work due to sickness, and it was a good thing because I could not put this book down!  I read For Such a Time by Kate Breslin.  It's the story of Hadassah, a young Jewish woman who finds herself saved from a death squad to become the Terezin camp commander's secretary.  There she is a position that may allow her to effect her people's fate, but every decision is fraught with danger and helping other Jews could endanger her own life.  I have long read many books, both fiction and nonfiction, about the Holocaust and World War II, and this is among the best.  I was surprised when I read that this is the author's first novel; the writing is excellent.  The characters are not only believeable but also have depth.  The conditions in the camps are described with heartbreaking accuracy.  The entire book is inspired by the book of Esther, and although I wondered how that would work in a Holocaust story, it really does.  I highly recommend this book.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my review, but all opinions are my own.

Hyacinths and Seedlings

There are several hyacinths blooming in my front yard.  Yesterday, the downpour we had flattened a couple, so I was happy to pluck them, and now they are making my kitchen smell amazing!

They are beautiful, too, with vibrant colors that I just love.  It's good to see spring!

Speaking of spring, my seedlings are coming along.  Now most of the tomato seeds have sprouted, although some got washed out of the pots with over-excited watering when they were just seeds, so not all of the pots have tiny tomato plants in them.  The pimento peppers look good, and some of the other peppers are just starting to sprout.  I had them too cold; once I added the clear lid, they have started sprouting.  I need to plant some more seeds this week, including herbs.  Oh, and all of the radish plants outside are now growing and looking really healthy.  The few spinach and broccoli plants I had put outside look fine, despite the deluge we got yesterday.

And in very exciting (for me) news: we got 4 big fruit trees from a local nursery.  All are beautiful and healthy.  Elijah helped dig the holes for the peach and pear trees, which I planted Saturday and Sunday.  The plum and cherry are still in their pots, but they are doing fine and will be planted soon.  We also bought two blueberry bushes for the front, but I haven't planted those yet, either.  I'm bound and determined to have fruit grow here!

Spring Break

Well, it's the end of spring break.  We're back home, but we had a wonderful visit with family for most of the week.  The kids enjoyed dyeing Easter eggs, and they got to have an egg hunt with their cousins as well.

Happy Kids with their dyed eggs.

I got to spend lots of time kissing those chubby cheeks!

The boys helped Pa remove some invasive weeds.  Malachi LOVED his green work gloves.  He's worn them for at least a while every day this week.  He brought them home, too, and he's worn them working in our yard now as well.

Lydia wanted a job, too, so I got her started on sweeping the gumballs off the sidewalk and driveway.  She loves to sweep, but it's best to let her do it outside!