PFC Downer

We are back from graduation. It was a very nice trip. We weren't able to spend a great deal of time with Aaron but, what we did spend was good. We heard nothing but good from his drill instructors. He was promoted to Private First Class and was Iron Man of the company-basically 400 other recruits. He has 10 days off and them goes to Camp Lejune, NC for 52 days of intense training.

Graduation! Semper fi

Tom and I are off to SC for the whole weekend! We are really looking forward to getting away. Aaron is to graduate the 29th from Marine boot camp. They say it's quite the performance. I know the Naval graduation was quite impressive! We'll see who out does who! A bit of rivalry between the 2.
We'll spend 2 days in Yemassee, SC-about an hour from base, then after graduation we'll head north to Congaree Nat'l. Park for some camping and relaxation.
This past weekend we spent in Dayton and visited John Manley's church. It was very good and we had a nice time. On the way home we stopped at Menke park in Troy and had a nice picnic lunch. A nice end to a nice weekend.
I would encourage you to take any burden to The Lord--He truly is our Rock and strong tower! He has proven Himself so clearly recently-I'm humbled and so very grateful to see Him working!
You all have a good weekend and enjoy your times together!

A tomato eating dog?

Well, yes. You've heard of egg sucking dogs--meet Joey--our tomato (and almost anything else) eating dog. AND----he leaves the stem! When Tom and I were peeling the outer leaves from the cabbage the other day, I had 1 nice size tomato laying on the ground also. When we were done and I went to pick up the tomato--right--it was gone. Joey could be seen a little ways off chowing down on it and by all indications, was enjoying it quite well! He didn't even seem to realize he had done a bad thing! We're just glad they know not to go into the garden!
Tom and I are working on the final plans for the Mexico trip and also for a trip to TN. in March. We're hoping Hannah, Andy and Chastity can come and spend some time with us there. We think we're gonna like being able to go a few places.
Life has been extremely stressful lately but, I would like to report that God has given definate answers to prayer and has over and over proven Himself real and mighty to deliver! Not only that, He has been so gracious in showing us how much He loves us. I do not know what I would do without Him. I, for one, need Him very much!
Next week we will be heading to SC for Aaron's graduation from Marine boot camp. That should be a thrilling time. We want to make a mini vacation of it since we'll already be that far--we'll see how that goes.
I hope you all have a wonderful day and find something special in it today.

My adorable husband is taking me to Cozumel, Mexico!! I know you're all jealous-what can I say?? I have the best! (even without the Mexico trip!)
We're planning a November get-away- won't that be fun! While you're all chilly here, we'll be enjoying the white beaches of Mexico for 4 days and 3 nights. We're so excited! We've never done anything like this before so it will be a very neat experience.
We'll be doing the final planning this week and then counting down the days!

Best get back to work--I just had to share that news!

Kraut time

This morning Tom and I did our first batch of kraut from the cabbage in our garden. We harvested about 21 heads and fit all but 6 in a 15gal crock. Mon. I'll do the rest in a smaller crock- once I get it from my sister!
We still have about 25 heads left in the garden--do you think we wanted plenty of kraut this year? Some of it we'll eat as fried and in soup- the rest will also become kraut.
Anyway-harvest time is fun---work--but, fun/

Farmer's market

Thursday night was the first farmer's market for Ada. It's a trial run to see if people would be interested next year. Tom and I participated with what little we had and actually did well. We came home-(we left early) with only 1 each of zucchini, cabbage and pkg. of rhubarb. From our small fare we earned 54.50 in less than an hour and a half. It was kinda fun. Here's a pic of our table.
The farmer's markets are a good way to get that fresh-and sometimes chemical free- produce that you can actually feel good about eating and spending a bit extra on.

We'll see how it goes for next week-by that time I think we can add tomatoes to our fare.They're slowly starting to ripen. I think they'll all ripen at pretty much the same time- making putting up tomatoes a really fun job!

Ok- my computer has cooperated and I can finish ny original post on babies and flowers!
I think they have a lot in common, such as:
they're fragile,unique, pleasing to be around, lovely to look at, smell good, are soft, a wonder to watch grow, offer lot's of beauty and enjoyment...
I'm sure you could add some things. I know we're enjoying our flowers, in fact, I've harvested lavender flowers and clover, as well as yarrow to dry for later enjoyment.
We certainly enjoy getting to see Chastity via Skype, too. Makes us want to give her a good squeeze!
I hope you find some simple, everyday things to enjoy. God has given us a lot of simple things for our relaxation and enjoyment if we stop to see them.
Have a great day! A thought from my reading today-God is faithful-how encouraging!

A sleeping beauty-Chastity Ruth




I had to add this- Tom has conditioned the fish to come up to eat by tapping on a rock-yesterday they practically ate out of his fingers.




this flower has neon green inside-it's quite unique




wild flowers for the bees




water hyacinths in our pond-they only last about a day but, they're gorgeous- a true masterpiece of God's handiwork

The Babies and flowers post is undone- due to technical difficulty!!!!! I'll finish when the computer decides to cooperate!

Babies and flowers

tomato blossoms

cosmos and bachelors buttons

hollyhocks

squash blossoms