A Tuesday Update

 We painted our bathroom! That item is crossed off the summer project list. Painting the bathroom was difficult. All those corners and around the shower, the tub, the mirrors, doors made for a long paint job. I was so thankful for Trey's help! He is such a good painter, and he's fast! Painting with a new puppy was interesting.

 Especially when he is your shadow. He follows us, and when we stop he lays on our feet. It really is the cutest.

 We've started sending him outside by himself a little, and this is what he does.

We went home for father's day this past weekend. First we went to T's parents. The boys fished and worked. Mrs. Betty and I went shopping and recovered some pillows. We always have the best time. Saturday morning I went for a run then painted my nails on the porch!

Love this view. Then Trey and I got dressed up for a wedding! One of my cousins was married on Saturday. It was lovely.

My handsome wedding date! 

After the wedding we went to my parents. On Sunday we played in the pool and hosted my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins for father's day. We played in the pool, grilled, played with puppies, and had homemade ice cream. It was a good day, but I didn't take any pictures! #bloggerfail

After the chaos of 20+ people had left, we watched the College World Series and had homemade popcorn. My mom has this new thing (well, old thing really) where she is making her popcorn from kernels on the stove instead of from the bag in the microwave- best popcorn I've ever had. I'm trying it this week. 

I love going home and visiting with family, and I got to see lots of old friends at the wedding. All weekend, I found myself telling people HOW MUCH I was enjoying my summer. They'd ask, "What have you been doing this summer?" And I would excitedly reply with all the things we had been doing! I am so grateful for time to start and finish projects around the house, time to spend in the mornings and afternoons with my husband, time to play with and train Gus, time to tend the garden, time to cook, lots of running and rest,  and a more flexible schedule to visit with family and friends. I realized how thankful I am to have a job where I am given two months off in the summer. 

This morning I dug up the potatoes. Such a cool experience. It's like finding buried treasure.

Gus helped too of course. We planted a few carrots, but they did not do right. I think they stayed the same size as when we planted them. Gus liked them though!

He is such a big help!

I rinsed them off and let them dry for a bit! 

Potato love! Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is off to a GREAT start!

Fighting Okra

Our garden is growing! It had a slow start, and we were a bit scared at first. Many of the plants turned a yellowish color a couple of days after we planted them. We frantically called our parents and grandparents. The consensus was 1: they were shocked; 2: they got too much rain, 3: it was getting really cold at the night the first couple of weeks.  

But look at it now! 

Grow, tomato, grow!

Yeah, we may have planted too many squash. I'm going to have squash coming out of my ears! Time to create a squash recipe board on Pinterest!

Look what I found growing in my garden! He really is growing so fast!

Every morning Gus and I walk to the garden together and say, "Good morning, garden!" Then he tries to eat the marigolds.

 Remember the sweet-and-neat cherry tomato plant? It has done incredible! It has been loaded with green tomatoes for about three weeks. They are finally turning red this week, and I used two in my salad last night! : )

Ok, okra. We've nicknamed the okra the "Fighting Okra" (little shout-out to Delta State). After the plants were in shock and yellow, the okra's leaves had holes in them and were falling off. We didn't see any bugs eating it, but Trey treated them with some bug repellant (does that still make the garden organic?). Whatever the cause, they have fought back, and in the middle you can see tiny okra sprouting! 

How amazing is it that this:

 Began like this:

35 days ago!

When the garden was struggling, we didn't give up hope and call it quits. Through advice, time, and a little pesticide, it has grown and is producing fruit! I love nature and am finding out more and more that God reveals himself to me through nature. I've grown a lot in Christ especially these past few years, but I still have a LONG way to go. I'm sort of like the first picture of the garden, but I am confident that He isn't finished with me yet! I am so thankful for that promise from Him, and when challenges come my way I'm going to take advice from the okra.  

Cucumber curly-q's.

Home Goals

About three weeks ago, I sat down and listed out some summer goals. The list got so long that I had to categorize it. Hoping that posting it here will give me incentive to complete all projects on the list. In no particular order here is the list of goals for our home this summer:

Home Goals

• paint our bathroom
• paint office and guest room
• make curtains for our room & guest room
• make 16x16 frames
• sand & paint frames. Order mats & glass for frames
• hang the gallery wall
• find a swing for the back porch
• find a table for the back porch
• decorate above the sideboard- find a pair of lamps
• get new candles (I'm ready for a new scent!). Thinking a trip to the new Aspen Bay store
• chalkboard for the big frame in guest room
• CLEAN windows  
• stain the front door and clean the door knob
• replace crates with a bookcase

 On Tuesday the windows got cleaned! Found this recipe online and I recommend it. The windows in our breakfast area were filthy. The morning sun comes in through these windows which literally "shone a light" on the dirt. I had been eyeing the dirt with a vengeance for awhile.

Cleaning solution:

1/4 cup of white vinegar
few drops of Dawn or dish washing liquid
water

I made a big batch, so I used more vinegar and Dawn than what is listed above. First, I dusted the shades, took the screens out, and vacuumed the window sills. Second, I scrubbed the windows with the cleaning solution. Third, I rinsed the window with clean water because they were soapy. Finally, I dried the windows with a microfiber towel. Steps 1-3 were repeated on the outside of the windows.  

These windows needed more than just Windex. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Windex fan; but these windows needed really cleaning. I did Windex them once they were dry. Now the windows are spick and span, and it makes me smile when I look at them. One home goal down! I enjoyed this project more than I thought I would. I blared Pandora, Gus followed me around, and before I knew it I was finished! As I was cleaning the dirt from the windows, I couldn't help but think what an illustration it was of what Jesus asks us to do on a daily basis- if we confess our sins, our "dirt", he is faithful to make us clean. 


Now I'm off to the paint store! Happy Thursday!

Us and Gus

Remember Creepy Jenny and the little bet we made? Welllllll, as you can see Creepy Jenny is alive and well, so we got a puppy!

We picked him up yesterday and are in love!

He didn't want to ride anywhere but on the console. He'd be in my lap then he would walk over to Trey's lap then right back over to mine. Finally, he settled for the middle and slept on the console.

Look out Hernando here comes trouble!

His name is Gus. Short for Otis Augustus Estes. Say that five times fast! ;)

Gus the Goldendoodle. He's 8 weeks old!

Gus like Gus-Gus the little mouse from Cinderella! Kidding. We both liked the name Gus. 

Those eyes....

This is my favorite picture!

First family pic!

Then he crashed.

Family pic re-do.

We think he likes his new home. 

 10:00pm on the first night home. Mission "sleepy puppy" was a success! He had a really great first night in the laundry room. We took him out late before we went to bed then got up really early to take him out. I've spent today whisking him outside every 15 minutes, but it's totally worth it! Stay tuned for more of Gus and us!

Montana Dreaming

In 3 hours it officially will be summer break for this high school English teacher.

Trey and I celebrated this morning, and as I walked out the door I said, "I bet there were some days you didn't think I was going to make it to this day." 

Not going to lie- there were some really hard days this year. But there were some really great days too (like today! Just kidding, there were others). Seriously, teaching is the hardest yet most rewarding thing I've ever done. I can't think of any other job I would want. I get to invest in little minds God made every day and hope something I say sinks in. As I sit waiting to be saved by the bell, I am reflecting on what I would like to do differently next year. 

The first thing that comes to mind is to have a better attitude each day. There were some days when I would have given my right arm not to come to school. I grumbled while getting up and grumbled while coming in the door at the end of the day. So I'm praying for a more enthusiastic spirit and better attitude toward work because I want to invest my best into these kids. I might be the only Jesus these kids see in a day, and "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength."

Second, I want to get up earlier and have my quiet time in the mornings. 

Thirdly, be less selfish with my time. Maybe it was the newly-wed thing, but most days I wanted to go straight home after work and spend time with sweet husband. Whatever this entails, I'm praying God will show me where I can invest my time. In Ann Voskamp's words, "whatever He puts in front of you do it with great love. This is what makes any day, anybody, any life great." 

So when September rolls around and I'm grumbling and pushing snooze 3 times, y'all remind me of this last day of school post, please.   

Sorry for being sappy this post was supposed to announce our summer/1 year anniversary trip!

Trey and I are going to Montana! We knew we wanted to go out West this summer and have had Montana on our list for awhile. Trey has been before, but this will be my first time!

 

We are staying just outside of Bozeman in this darling cabin. That view.... We used VRBO. Try it if you haven't. I love staying in homes/cabins verses hotels. It leaves you the option to stay in and cook or go out! I have this strange obsession with going to the grocery store especially when we travel.

 

We'll be fly-fishing, running, and taking in the sights of Montana! 

 

I couldn't resist this picture. Seriously though, Trey has seen this rock. It's called "Brad Pitt Rock". How original. Trey has two fishing days planned- one without me and one with me!

 

And I'm running in the Madison Half Marathon while we're there. More on the marathon to come, but there was talk of bears, wolves, and sheep dogs in the race packet. Want to know what they said about the sheep dogs? Don't run if one starts chasing you. How are you going to tell a runner in a race or anyone being chased by anything NOT TO RUN! Apparently, the sheep dogs will try to "herd" the runners. The dogs are wild and don't respond to any human commands. The thought cracks me up. Oh and let's not even talk about the bears. 

I'm super excited about the race! It's really well organized; lots of people are signed up; organizers do patrol the road for wildlife; and there is support along the way. I love running, and I love running in new places. It is the best way to see a new city, area, or in this case- the mountains!

We are thankful we get to take this trip, see more of God's beautiful creation, and celebrate being married a whole year! Woo-hoo!!