Family Garden & Birthday Memories

 This past weekend, Kent and Hughes started our family garden.  Granddaddy Brown is allowing us to use his land behind his house for our garden.  Kent remembers a garden being on this land for as long as he can remember.  Kent and I talked about having a garden in our yard.  However, space is not really on our side.  So, we asked Granddaddy Brown if we could use his spread of land!

Hughes and Kent planted only one row this weekend.  We hope to plant more in the coming weekends.

Hughes helped plant the tomato plants and arugula. 

We are hoping to teach Hughes many things through this garden:

1.  Work Ethic.  Very important and something that must be taught.

2.  Cause and Effect.  He will see the outcome of hard work.  Even if the "cause" gives a negative/dead "effect".  :)

3.  Pureness of Food.  The best food we can eat doesn't have preservatives all throughout.  Hughes will hopefully learn that raw pure food provides the best taste and health benefits.

4.  Time with Family.  Together we can create quality time together that hopefully Hughes will appreciate.  I know Kent and I will cherish this time.

Really, we just wanted to do something fun and old school.  We firmly believe that children should romp and stomp in the dirt, make mud pies in old green bean cans, and stay outside until dinner is ready! That's not to say that our children won't have PS3's or Wii's, but we do want them to enjoy the outside also.  (Kent and my addiction to Angry Birds lets you know that we are NOT opposed to tech games!)  Warning:  Angry Birds is addictive....FUN...but highly addictive!

Enjoy the pictures of the boys in the garden!

 Brandy, my dear friend that lives in Nashville, sent the boys a gift in the mail yesterday!

Hughes enjoyed opening the gifts!

I just LOVE the stamped names on the presents!  Great idea...so personal...and adorable!

Brandy also sent me a birthday gift!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

(It was La Mer lip balm....AMAZING!...feels like satin on my lips!)

Something else you should know:  My computer has locked me out.  That's right.  I can't even open my computer!!!  I am using a laptop Kent brought home from the bank.  He brought it home to work on a few things for work last night.  And, thankfully, left it here.  So, I'm sure he will take it back tomorrow.  So, we may not update the blog for a while.  Just warning you! :)  Kent said the other day, "I'm going to come home one day and you are going to be sitting in front of a 27 inch Apple computer!"  Yeah, right...like I'm going to load up the kiddos, drive to Jackson, and purchase a computer....!

If you would have seen the steam coming from my ears when my computer rebelled against me, like Kent did, you would know...that the above scenrio is ENTIRELY possible! ;)

I can do ALOT with my iPad...but blogging via iPad just won't work! :)

How else will all two of my readers...Ma'Lyn and Gran...see the pictures of the boys growing right before our eyes? 

Hope you all have a great day!

P.S.  Today is my birthday! 

I am 28 years old today!

I'm a 1983 model!

That's right, I grew up with:

Coca Cola T-shirts, a great barbie-ish cartoon that featured "The Jems", Alvin and the Chipmunks (I always wanted to be Britney), the Original Nintendo that came with Duck Hunt and Mario Brothers (which I think is still the best...next to Donkey Kong, of course), Tiffany, the song Toy Soldiers, Paula Abdoul and that cool cat in the video, JELLY shoes...in every color...EVERY color!, Popples (the great stuffed animal that rolled into a ball!), and lots of other great things!  We had a great childhood filled with tons of play...outside...inside...and LOTS of imaginary play....especially since I was the only girl...smushed in between two brothers...one six years older and one six years younger!

The best birthday parties were spend-the-night parties!  Bless my parents...bless their pea pickin' hearts!  Oh...how I loved a birthday party!  Cake.   Ice Cream.  Presents.  Friends.  Family.  Can't beat it. 

Then when I turned 16, I had evolved into a ROYAL brat. 

Bless my parents...bless their pea pickin' hearts! 

I thought I would get a new car. 

I mean, it was my 16th birthday! 

Who doesn't get a new car for their 16th birthday? 

Me. 

That's who. 

Heart broken. 

Lesson Learned. 

Don't expect things that you know WILL NOT HAPPEN. 

Life is not a fairy tale. 

All children don't wake up on April 13th, get ready for school...in a new outfit, of course, eat a hot breakfast with biscuits, sausage and Golden Eagle syrup mixed with butter, and walk outside to a BRAND....NEW Car...with a big HUGE larger than LIFE...red (or hot pink would have done) bow on top!

Needless to say....again...

Bless my parents...bless their pea pickin' hearts!

I needed a spankin' for my 16th

birthday, go to school in an old DIRTY outfit,

with an empty stomach and

...WALK my rear to school...or even worse Mama should have dropped me off...while everyone was standing outside on the school sidewalk!. 

They should have taken the car keys I had away. 

But, they didn't. 

Because they are nice.  And it WAS my birthday.  Thank goodness.

AND...I grew out of that stage. 

HALLELUJAH!!!!

(As I read over this confession, I am super tempted to delete it.  My behavior is very embarressing to admit.  Wouldn't it be nice to erase all bad memories/attitudes/years we're not so proud of?  But, maybe, at least, ONE person will comment and say they, too, have a bratty moment (or two)?   So I don't feel like such a bad person, here, 12 YEARS LATER!)

-------------------------------------

I was also born on a Wednesday!

Only two more years left in my twenties!

What else should I squeeze in before hitting the big THREE-OH!?

AND....

The ONLY way I was able to update the blog to this length...

Hughes is hanging out with Ma'lyn for the day...for my birthday!

I miss him, but the quiet time is nice.  Looking forward to seeing what all he gets into today!  Thanks Ma'Lyn!

Happy Day to you all!