veggie garden

i swear, i've been trying to snag some final pictures of the completed bed, but it's been raining on and off for the past few days!!

come out sun!

here is a little about the process:

i used all cedar and bought it all at Lowes

4-2"x6"x12's

1-2"x6"x16' cut into 4 pieces

6-2"x2"x48" balusters

as i mentioned before, i was inspired by Miss Mary Mary's cedar bed, so i pretty much just followed along with her plans.

i dug out holes for the posts, and then my mom and i carried it over to it's spot.

i put down a thick layer of cardboard first, 

because there were lots of weeds back where the old garden was.

and then it took a lot (i mean A LOT A LOT!!) of dirt, manure (i used sheep manure) and peatmoss to fill it up.

the one thing i would change if i could do it again is that the screws i used were 3" so the ends stuck out a little, which meant that i couldn't put the screws in from the inside... for some reason i was really worried that the 2.5" screws wouldn't be long enough, but i wish I would have used them because then i would have been able to hide most of my screws.

also, because i had my end pieces cut at Lowes, they were slightly off, so while i still always wish i had my own saw at home, it worked well enough to be happy with the finished product. i probably could have asked for more specific measurements if i had been super concerned about the final product.

once that sun starts a shining, i'll get a pic of it and the rest of the gardens my mom pretty much did all on her own!!

Thanks Mom!

a veggie garden in the works!

so, when we looked at our house for the first time, Eduardo-our friend and real estate agent- looked out in the back yard and said "what do you think that is?"

my eyes sparkled as i replied: "that is a raised vegetable garden"

when we moved in to our house, the "raised" veggie garden looked like this:

well, 

it kind of looked like that, 

that is actually from October, my mom had transplanted a lily back there because there was no where else to put it, and there is also some fresh topsoil in the back left with some newspaper under it to try and ready it for the next summer.

and when we moved in, it was even more full of weeds than this:

and truthfully, when we did our final walk through, the weeds out back were probably taller than my waist.  

no exaggeration.

last weekend i attempted to make the current beds work for me.

first i thought I would just stack the smaller rectangles and make 3 smaller beds, but then i decided to take them apart and make 2 square beds. 

i got to this point:

and then i had a little huff and said to Thom: "i'm sad"

the wood was a little to rotted and ant infested to carry on.

but, being recently inspired by Miss Mary Mary's new cedar bed,

and after chatting with Thom, 

he told me get some cedar boards for Mother's Day to build my very own cedar bed!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

the building break-down to follow

it's been a week of needing an extra measure of grace.

for myself, for my girls.

we are dealing with teething and first tempers and tiredness.

it's been a week of reminding myself that i can use all my own strength,
                                                             but it probably will give out at some point.
my strength to be patient
my strength to be kind
my strength to choose my words carefully and
my strength to show love

  have all given out at some point over the past week.

today as the sun is shining through my window, i am reminded of this scripture:

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, 
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Isaiah 60:1-2 (NIV)

and this one:

This is My command: be strong and courageous. 

Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, 

and I will remain with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (the Voice)

Thank you Lord. 

Thank you for your Holy Spirit and your strength in me. 

Thank you for second chances and new beginnings.

Thank you for your forgiveness and for your never-ever-ever ending love.

Thank you for being with me and
Thank you for choosing me to be the mother of these 2 little ladies.

Amen.