Our Hero

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. -- George Orwell

Come Home Soon

Take Care Son...

...we are so proud of you.

Our son Sam surprised us last month by coming home for a visit during Easter vacation. He hadn't planned on coming home until sometime mid-deployment so we were thrilled to be able to spend some time with him. He ships out to Iraq in the next few days and tho we've known about it for months, I find myself in tears at odd times during the day lately....a good country song will do it every time, or a commercial that features a soldier, or a random memory about him that a friend posts on Facebook. Nothing in particular and everything in general reminds me that our son will be in harms way for the next 365 days. When he walked in the door last month, our world brightened ...and for just those two weeks our worries subsided.

Playing our favorite family game....

....that's not a word.

Wilson and Sam playing with the toy gun...

...and thankfully shooting at targets, not my glass candle holders.

(oh yeah, they can't ....he shot them all when he was 7!).

Easter lunch at the other Garvers.

Laurel and Brad.

Never too old for an Easter egg hunt!

Annie and Abel.

The Garver Men.

Playing Rock Band...

...fixing an old bike...

...and sitting on the roof.

We miss you already Sam.

Container Gardening

Ignoring the mess...this is our back patio/slab that we poured many years ago so the kids would have a place to play basketball in the winter and where we set up our pool every summer. The hoop has since been retired but a smaller version of the pool will be up and cooling us off in a few weeks time (replacing the mound of one-gallon tomato seedlings in the center of the photo) .

The slab has become somewhat of a negative as we look for more growing spaces around the Garver homestead. Because it is one of the sunnier spots in the yard, and we don't want to jackhammer it out (just yet) we've been doing a lot more container gardening and are always on the lookout for castoffs that we can use to pot up a couple more tomatoes etc. The wooden box pictured above was a garage hutch that I spotted going into the neighbors truck headed for the dump. Placed on it's back with a few large drainage holes in the now bottom....ta da...a raised bed! Tomatoes in the deeper back section, peppers and butternut squash in the front/lower half.

On a side note ~ I found something to do with all those used canning lids I've been washing and saving. I've forgotten where I saw this idea or I'd give them credit:)

Where I need to be....

In The Palm Of Your Hand"

If I could have the world and all it owns
A thousand kingdoms, a thousand thrones
If all the earth were mine to hold
With wealth my only goal

I'd spend my gold on selfish things
Without the love that Your life brings
Just a little bit more is all I'd need
'Til life was torn from me

I'd rather be in the palm of Your hand
Though rich or poor I may be
Faith can see right through the circumstance
Sees the forest in spite of the trees
Your grace provides for me

If I should walk the streets no place to sleep
No faith in promises You keep
I'd have no way to buy my bread
With a bottle for my bed

But if I trust the One who died for me
Who shed His blood to set me free
If I live my life to trust in You
Your grace will see me through

I'd rather be in the palm of Your hand
Though rich or poor I may be
Faith can see right through the circumstance
Sees the forest in spite of the trees

If I could have the world
If I could have the world and all it owns

In Which I Send you Elsewhere.....again.

I've decided to stop writing a blog and will hereafter just keep sending you here...she says what I'm thinking but infinitely better and definitely funnier.

Thank-you Aldra....again.