Some Things Found in My Backyard

A dragonfly displaying its bejeweled wings of gossamer...




Luscious, ripe blackberries ready to be picked...



And GRASS!! My husband has worked very hard rototilling the tough Pacific Northwest clay soil, he lovingly sowed the tiny grass seeds, he faithfully watered every day and finally yesterday, he got to mow the backyard. This week the boys will definitely be playing in the sprinkler out back!

Addicted to Weeds

My husband is addicted to weeds.


He is obsessed with their complete annhialation. The only other kind of homeowner blight that garners the same level of fervor are ants. But weeds are easier prey than insects...they can't move.

I personally don't mind the weeds on our front lawn. They are green and look quite similar to grass, so why not run with it? Oh he does, he goes at them with his little weeding fork. Which is quite comical really because there is a huge expanse of unwanted flora...it's akin to eating a woolly mammoth with a toothpick. But he valiantly fights on. It is probably because he knows that our neighbors are yard pros and could spot a weed a mile off. Blindfolded.

He endures the cramping calves, blistered palms and presses onward and downward...to the roots. Those persnickety, tenacious tap roots. Our yard has weeds with tap roots like a mosquito's proboscis, sucking the nourishment from the defenseless grass blades. But have no fear blades of grass...the Terminator has arrived!

With spray gun in hand he fires with deadly accuracy. The little water suckers don't stand a chance.

I think my husband enjoys weeding because it appeals to the testosterone in him that has urges to go out and kill something. The defender in him rises up and since this is suburbia and there aren't invading hordes to fight, he battles the weeds.

It is a bloody war and he has suffered several battle wounds. With knees stained green and fingers aching, he returns from his crusade, victorious.

My weed whacker. My dandelion slayer. My purslane predator. My clover killer. My husband.

Father's Day Honors..

THE BEST DADDY EVER!

He is everything I never knew I wanted, or needed, in a father for my children. And the little misters and little miss adore him!

I love you Querido...thank you for everything you do as a Dad. You are so important in the lives of our children. And you do such an awesome job of portraying the character of God to them. Thank you for being there through everything. Thank you for loving my dearest, most precious blessings. Happy Father's Day!

Terribly Trying Tuesday and Other Thoughts

Did I mention that my hubby is going to night school to acquire his GED? This is a tremendous sacrifice as he goes to work at 6:30 am and doesn't come through the door until 9:30 pm, two days a week. He came home tonight and told me that they studied writing today. Now for those of you who know him, Querido hates to write even the smallest of notes. So imagine my surprise when he said that he had to write an entire essay! He asked me if I wanted to see it...OF COURSE! :) So here I post my Querido's first essay... (the topic was: If I could have any job I wanted, what would it be and why?)

If I could have any job in the world I would want to be a preacher. I want this job for the following reasons:
First, I would be a spiritual leader to others. Secondly, I would help them solve their problems. Thirdly, I would like a large congregation.

As a leader my goal would be to learn how to pray, in order to lead a congregation. Also, I would like to learn how to communicate.
In order to help people in the congregation I would need to know what kind of problems they have. Also, I would need to have the time and money at my disposal.
A large congregation is always better, because you will meet people from different cultures that speak different languages.
In conclusion, this is the job that I wish to have some day. As a leader I would really enjoy leading people. (Here I snickered..couldn't help myself...when he asked me why, I told him that he was kind of repetitive and obvious with that sentence. I showed him how he could have written it and he said that the teacher never said anything about that sentence!) Also, I would have the satisfaction of helping other people with their problems. When I have a large congregation, I will be fulfilled in life.

Can I just state for the record that this is the first time he has EVER written anything longer than two sentences! He did so great! And he thought that he would never learn to write well... He even had a nice enveloping close at the end. Wow, he still amazes me after almost six years of marriage! :) I am so proud of my Querido!
This brought up the discussion of him wanting to be a pastor. He either wants to be a professional musician (get paid to play) or a pastor. Since he is still learning the bass guitar, I am guessing that he is striving toward becoming a pastor. Not so sure I want to be a pastor's wife, but it's a little late to change husbands...lol! Just kidding! If that is what God has called him to do, then He will give me the grace to be a pastor's wife. For now, I will be Querido's wife and JM, IE and AJ's mom.
It is amazing what you can discover about your spouse when they are given the chance to express themselves. I wonder if he feels safe discussing his dreams with me? How interesting that the eHarmony marriage exercise was about dreaming today... You have something You are trying to tell me, Lord? I have known that we don't tend to discuss really deep things at all, for quite a while. It is a part of my marriage I long to improve. Perhaps this night school will nudge him into thinking about his feelings more!

My oldest son, JM, is sick today. I had him and his brother, IE, cleaning their room and JM started to complain about not feeling good. Being the compassionate and caring mother that I am, I told him that he was faking to get out of cleaning and that he had better move it or else. Imagine my chagrin when I see him a little later and he is BURNING UP with fever. *here is the sound of me trying to crawl through a hole in the floor from utter SHAME* I pray with him and by now it is bedtime, so I read to the boys and send them off to sleep. JM is still awake at that point because I can hear him coughing quietly from his room. My poor baby! I hope it is not contagious...we already went through the flu a couple of weeks back.
Now he is finally sleeping peacefully. Thank God. His daddy prayed with him and that always makes you feel better :) No really, after Querido prayed, JM's fever broke within half an hour! Wish my prayers had that kind of instantaneous effect!
Another fun thing I had to deal with today was my teething AJ, almost six months. Poor girl! She (and I) was miserable today. I love those homeopathic teething tablets, but today they didn't seem to be doing much good. Praise the Lord for Orajel! Numbed up my baby's gums and all with the delightful berry taste! :) She was still SUPER FUSSY and I had to carry her everywhere. My arms are going to be toned come summer...LOL! I do an excessive amount of reps with a 20-lb weight that is my daughter...DAILY! LOL...who needs the gym!!
The pottytraining took a back seat and a step back today. My three year old IE seemed to lose all recollection of peeing in the toilet rather than his pants. We went through FOUR pairs of pants today! AAAGGGHHH! So much for smooth sailing, I am hoping tomorrow will be better.
These are the days that TRY my patience (was I even born with that?) and sanity...lol! At least I still have my sense of humor!