How does your garden grow?

My neighbors and I are really great gardeners.  You should come spend some time in our front yards during the warm months.  We are all out there talking about our gardens.  Intending to tend the gardens but we mostly just talk.  Sometimes for better (and most the time for worse).

But we love our neighbors.  They are so interesting and caring and present.  Seriously, none of us seem to work.  Let's see here, 3 work from home, 3 go to work, 2 don't work, 2 are stay at home moms.  So that makes for a lot of togetherness around these parts.

And, we love our garden.  It has provided us with hours of activity.  Everyday we water and weed and admire and pick a pansy.  And now, it is giving back to us.  We've eaten the first fruits of our labors.

Eloise actually picked a green bean from the plant and ate it raw.  Yes she did.  Little Miss Carbo Lover ate something green and asked for more.  Brilliant!  (Another way to get Eloise to eat is to have a picnic.  Yesterday we ate lunch outside.  Today we picnicked inside because of rain.  Something about eating on the floor that frees the girl to eat.  Whatever it takes, right?)

Sunflowers about to bloom.

Tomatoes (Is that how you spell the word?  I'm forever confused.  Thanks to Moxie, though, I will always remember that "a lot" is 2 words, not one.  :-) 

And our prize of the day.

I took a photo of this beautiful green bean.  Then I ate it.  Delicious and satisfying.

And to think this used to be a small seed in our bathroom.  Remember?

Watering Flowers, Lessons from Preschoolers

Eloise loves her garden.  She shows all our neighbors and asks them, "Aren't my flowers beauuutifulll?"

Yes, they are, we all answer.

And they really are.  The flowers are vibrant.  Our vegetables are growing taller.  And our pet rock is staying sedentary.  It's a nice garden.

Thank goodness pansies are forgiving.

Eloise loves to water her flowers.  She takes the watering can and makes sure each petal gets drenched.  I try to direct her to the roots and soil, but of course, she'll have none of it.

We all know who's in charge around here.

So after she goes to sleep, I sneak back outside to water the soil.  To get to the roots.  And ensure the plants are healthy at their core.

When we first moved here, I was exhausted.  I had nothing to give anyone.

I was exhausted physically.  Unpacking the house.  Arranging and Rearranging.  Learning to navigate the worst traffic in the world.  Learning to hate parking meters.  Learning how not to get lost.  And doing it all with a 18 month old in tow.  I was spent and had nothing to give.

Emotionally, I mourned the loss of magnificent friends and a place that I love dearly.  I was lonely.  I experienced culture shock.  (People in the coffee shop here don't just pick up conversations with you about the snow fall last night or the awesome ski conditions or the great band coming to town that night. No, people here don't talk to you at all, actually. :-)

I had no energy to reach out to make new friends.  I was too overwhelmed to get involved at the church. My colors were not very vibrant to say the least.

My roots were dry.

Before:

After:

(The tough transition was felt by all of us.)

In time, praise God, my roots have been showered with love and support.  I have been encouraged by the people I least expected.  And my cup is full.  It's overflowing in fact.

I'm busy volunteering and leading Bible study and reaching out to new friends and encouraging neighbors.  I'm busy loving 2 daughters and not just one.

The fruit is practically falling off the tree.  And it's a great place to be.

And that is why we have to always water the root.  Why we have to always extend God's grace and love.  It's not a video game where you have to unlock one level to get to the next and the next. There's no progression.  It's just about staying in place (like our pet rock) and receiving the water.  Drinking it up and enjoying it.  The fruit will come and the flowers will bloom if the roots are watered with the "sweet sweet love of Jesus."

Preschoolers really to have lots to offer this world.  Thanks, Eloise.