Garden Update 2012

I thought I would just keep a log of my garden from year to year so here it is. Its already higher than in this photo but it took me awhile to get this post done. This year I mostly focused on a salad garden.

I am not really a radish person but these were pretty good and not bitter.

19 Months

 

I am a little behind on the updates but here is Levi's 19 month picture. He has 16 teeth. He is in size 5 shoe. Favorite words this month: "movie, cookie, apple, eat, bite, tree and walk".  Levi absolutely loves being outside and asks to go for a walk every day. He is running around everywhere. He has become much more chatty this last week. I took him to the park and he had fun watching butterflies. Below he has his eye on one. He loves slides and will often go down them on his own.

 This is a tulip from our yard. I think it is my favorite tulip this year.

 My spinach is coming up in the vegetable garden (see below). I have onions, carrots, radish, snow peas and lettuce coming up nicely as well. I will be planting tomato and rhubarb in the garden this week (not seed, but partially grown plants). I think I planted at the right time this year with all the rain we have been getting. I got the garden in about a month before I have in previous years thanks to the early warm weather. 

 Here are my strawberry plants coming back from previous years.

18 Months & Garden Update

Levi said "love you!" for the 1st time 3 days ago. It was so sweet. He also started running everywhere about 3 days ago. He is almost out of size 5 shoe. Favorite words this week are: moon, mimi, papa, mama, daddy, and woo-woo (train). He says "please" when prompted and occasionally when not. He currently can't get enough of bubbles. He grabs the bubble container and waves it at me and says "bubbles" until I blow some and then he runs around popping them. (see photo below for his amazing bubble roaring face.) He can't get enough of the outdoors and screeches when he has to come inside. Good thing God is blessing us with an amazingly warm spring! He loves to roar when we say dinosaur (and lion, truck, airplane or any other load machine type thing).Levi also is getting better with "prayer hands" for meals. (see photo below) After meals he asks for "Bible". Andrew reads him a story or two from his Beginners Bible. And if that all isn't cute enough, check out the photo below. These two guys are mostly my world. :) Andrew surprised me by tilling up the whole garden this weekend. Thank you Andrew!!! I also just wanted my close family/friends to know that while we were in California, we miscarried. Keep us in your prayers. Here are some beautiful flowers that a few close friends in town gave us to remember the little one. Andrew and I had a beautiful little family service over the weekend.
I took this photo with the chalkboard behind me on purpose. The quote I have written there is, "Let your faith be bigger than your fear." We love you little one, even though you were only with us for a short time. Here is the poem I wrote for the little service:

"You were with us for such a short time,
but that doesn't change my mind.
You are a gift from God for a special purpose.
Someday God will share it with us.
Since I can't keep you from this world's harms,
I pray Jesus holds you for us in His arms.
Love, Mama."

Photos to come soon from my Brother Stephen's wedding.

Halloween 2011

Andrew suggested we pass out candy again this year as church kids like to come over. Levi got to help daddy this year. They both dressed up for the occasion. Levi raided the candy bowl a few times... :)
He got used to the door bell ringing and he started watching for kids. Here Levi is looking at Grandma , Grandpa, Meagan, Uncle Stephen and Aunt Bea. We are learning faces and names. He points when I say a name. We are preparing for Thanksgiving!
Levi is working on his 1st chore. :) I was vacuuming and he showed interest so I let him take a turn. Andrew was awesome helping me harvest and clean all the carrots that were left in our garden.
And here is a photo of some of the tomatoes we harvested before the freezes came. I liked the stages of ripeness. We had a huge mixing bowl of green tomatoes and ALL of them ripened on the counter. We didn't have to loose our crop.

October Fun

2 weekends ago, Andrew, Levi and I went to the Pumpkin Festival in town. This 1st photo is at the park across from the church. These are pumpkin displays from area businesses and organizations.

This is "The Great Pumpkin Wall".Here were a few cutely decorated pumpkins from area grade schoolers. I thought the nieces and nephews might enjoy seeing these: This man carves pumpkins in to funny faces.I also wanted to update you on the garden. We finally got 1 melon. Not too big but oh well, it was edible. The rest of the plant died due to lack of water and then a cold snap.

Bell peppers have survived so far as well.

Roses in September?

All of our rose bushes are flowering again. Mysterious but beautiful!

This carrot had a 2" diameter. We cooked it in vanilla & honey last night in our "all home grown" or "homegrown in Huron" meal.Here is a "last days of summer" photo of Levi. I just thought it was adorable.Here he is watching an airplane. <3Levi grabbed my fudgesicle and licked/ate it. I guess I am gonna have to take a cue from D & H and eat it after he goes to bed. :)

Onions & Carrots & Tomatoes, Oh My!

We have been enjoying the fruits of our garden. We have zucchini, banana peppers, carrots, onions and tomatoes ripening these last few weeks. This carrot was an interesting shape. I think it was trying to multiply. I also did some research on eating carrot greens because they are so abundant and seem a waste to throw in the compost. Here is what I found on eating carrot tops, and also recipes to try. They seem to be very nutritious! and bitter... so they need to be used in something.

I have made 2 loaves of zucchini bread already with this zucchini and I still have 1/3 left!
We also enjoyed a fresh pizza with home grown tomatoes, onions, and farmers market green bell peppers. YUM.

More Firsts

First pancake. He loved it. No syrup needed.Levi's 1st taste of ice-cream.

Levi wanted to try brushing Lucy. Lucy was nervous.

Here is an interesting new lily that opened in our yard. I thought it looked like a bow.