Ten things you're just dying to read

I love the trees in our front yard. On the other hand, you love my sexy shoes, right? 

1- Daniel was arguing with Sarah in a different room. As he stomped away in frustration, he retorted, "This is  how I appreciate you: Thpthpthptpt!" Nathan and I laughed so hard tears filled our eyes and we have quoted this line ever since. "Ever since", means a whole 4 days.

2- I spent hours relocating limestone blocks from all over our property to construct an outline our little garden plot. Now my garden looks so nice and edged.

3- We ignited our massive weed pile while the children danced in glee . For a moment I worried the jumping flames would spread to our 3 feet-tall dead weeds that densely populate our pasture from last summer. It was a perfect tinderbox waiting to explode in flames. Luckily I fetched the hose quickly enough and doused the area well enough to prevent burning down our neighborhood.

4- Sarah has been in heaven in our garden this week, determinedly digging through the dirt searching for earthworms to add to our home made vermicomposting bin. Each time she finds a worm, she exclaims in delight as if she's struck gold. She cradles them tenderly in her fingers and places them lovingly in their new home.

5-  I hosted our book club group in my home for a night of treats and stimulating discussion. The book I chose was Lies My Teacher Told Me. Look it up. Seriously. You'll be shocked to find out what you always thought was true was...well....a lie. I know you're asking, "How do we know?" Historians actually read the journals of historical figures like Christopher Columbus to discover what they say about their own experiences. The journals do not match what textbooks teach. Sometimes they tell a story drastically different than the ones we've been taught. If you are an American reader, I highly recommend you check this book out on your next visit to the library. It just might make you decide to home school your kiddos.

6- My darling built me a grow light and set up an area in our garden shed to start seedlings. I planted hundreds of seeds this week in little planters I folded out of paper (more on that later, whenever I remember to post pictures of it). We have little sprouts showing now! I'm looking forward to our spring crop of New Zealand Spinach, Malabar Spinach, Mignonette Bronze Lettuce, Red Cinnabar Romaine, Muscovy Carrots from North Africa, Parisienne Carrots, Flat Egyptian Beets, Red Wonder Beets, Sugar Snap Peas and Wando Peas (for you gardeners who care to know which varieties we are using in our Texas gardens).

7- Matthew's scout pack hosted a Blue and Gold banquet to celebrate the scouting program. The theme was Wild West, so they arranged for an experienced rancher to come demonstrate lasso techniques. The boys had so much fun running around pretending to be sheep for the rancher to catch.

8- A dear friend from Estonia sent us a surprise box of gifts this month! She is an author so she included a copy of her recent book (but it's all in Estonian, so I'll have to wait for my brother-in-law to come visit and read it to me. He volunteered to serve a two-year mission in Estonia and is fluent in the language.) The box was full of gourmet Estonian chocolates and exotic fruits and lovely letters and necklaces for Sarah and me. It was like opening a pirate's treasure chest! It was such a delightful treat. We love you, Merike!

9- We invited our adopted granny Nana Precious come over last night for our Family Home Evening. If you ever feel the need to be humbled, invite a friend over for FHE. The kids are pretty much guaranteed to be at their most contentious, least polite, least obedient selves. Oh boy, last night was tough. Sarah slammed Dan's fingers in the door during an argument, so he was wailing during dinner. Ironically the lesson for the night was all about LOVE. We salvaged the evening and wrote dozens of beautiful Valentines to each family member, then hung them up all over the house so our home is literally filled with love. We carefully packed a bag for Nana Precious stuffed with love notes from all of us so she could hang them up at her house. She was delighted and said it's been years since she had a Valentine.

10- I'll explain the super-sexy shoes in my picture. I have falling arches so my feet always hurt unless I wear certain shoes. I have some really nifty, super-expensive metal inserts in those tennis shoes that help my feet feel better. Sigh. No more high heels for me, ever. Now I look just drop-dead-gorgeous at church when I wear old-lady dress shoes. Ah well. I needed more character anyway, and this is a good serving of Humble Pie.