Stayin' Alive

My dad is pretty handy at a lot of things. In fact, as my mom pointed out recently, he and MacGyver would be best buds.

While I was home, he moved a king size mattress set to my sister's house over 40 minutes away in his little truck.

See?

Impressive.

Something that both my parents are really good at is gardening.

Their flower beds are amazingly beautiful.

There secret is watering. They water these flowers every. single. day.

Every. single. plant. and flower.

The girls had so much fun watering the flowers with Grandma before bed.

Yes... impressive.

But...

the most impressive thing about the flowers is the one hidden inside, away from the flower beds.

This flower is special.

A flower my dad, Mr. Macgyver, has kept alive since Christmas.

A poinsettia. Stayin' alive in my parents' house. 

Have you ever seen a poinsettia alive on Memorial Day?

Have you ever even known someone to try and keep one alive that long?

My dad said, "Most poinsettias die a long, slow death of neglect. You just have to water the thing and it will stay alive."

Yes... my dad is pretty impressive!

And, if you'd like something new to pin (other than my cute Just Add Water picture... really, how fun is that?) I used some of these flower pictures to create encouraging pins you are welcome to use.

 
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It ALWAYS Happens

Every summer we plant a garden for salads, BLTs, fresh salsa and homegrown veggies.

And, every summer, the first ripe vegetables come due when we are gone.

It ALWAYS happens.

A full plant of little green grape tomatoes will be fully ripe while we are away.

So, we give free reign to the neighbors to come and take whatever they want.

And we hope there is some still coming ripe when we get back home!

Hot Peppers

Jeremy loves all things hot. Learning about and tasting new hot peppers is one of his many hobbies.

Last summer, he even entered a hot wing contest and came clost to winning. (there is a video in that post... amazing)

The man loves peppers and spicy seasoning.

Can you tell why his chicken kabobs are on a different plate than the rest of the family's?

2 Reasons:

First, that bottle with the red cap? Yeah, that seasoning is his very own blend of pepper powder, grown from his own garden. It is so hot that your nose burns just from smelling it one room away. No kidding. He puts it on his FOOD.

Second, see the little additions to his skewers?

Two tiny jalapeno peppers, the first fruits of our 2011 garden. He was so happy. But those peppers are seriously nothing to him. He can eat a scotch bonnet raw. He is a machine.

Can you eat stuff that hot? or know someone who can?

I can absolutely, 100% NOT eat stuff that hot.

Miscellany Monday - Our Farm Yard

It's no secret that we are country, farm-loving people living in a neighborhood.

A neighborhood with fences, close houses, manicured lawns, flowered beds and paved drives.

But, when I step into our backyard, I see past the neighborhood-like things and see lots of country things.

1. Little girls who love garden plants.

2. A few green tomatoes appearing on the plants.

3. An impatient farmer who chose a different plant to be "hers" because the one she originally chose had yet to produce a tomato.

4. A little girl with a pink watering bucket.

5. Flower beds made into garden plots.

6. Mushrooms growing up from freshly manured soil.

7. Homeschooled girls who decided that the topic of mushrooms should be our next library book study.

8. The oldest clearing the mushrooms out with a stick.

9. And Daddy's woodpile, piled high with logs and sticks. His chopping block a proud focal point with onions growing beautifully just beyond.

10. Mommy praying that this woodpile isn't too much of an eyesore to our neighbors. We do HAVE neighbors after all.

11. Tiny mushrooms discovered growing on the woodpile. Three very excited little farmer girls.

So, instead of our back yard... I should call it our farm yard.

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And, one last non-farmlike miscellany thing... Did you see my new social media buttons? Click on them to visit us in other places around the web or receive our posts in your email!

Some Flower Fun

Ok - I'm going to pull a Pioneer Woman post on you all.

Because I don't know very much about flowers at all, and I know some of you do, I'm going to post some great flower pictures from our trip to the park the other day and ask you all to guess the names of the flowers!

And... whoever emails me the most correct answers first will win a $10 Starbucks card.

mommygoodwin3 (at) yahoo.com

Even if you only know a few, send that email... who knows? You might know more than anybody else!

Worth playing for?

I know, I know... It's not an ipad or anything like that but I know how much some of you LOVEEE your Starbucks. And, I suppose... I'm not the Pioneer Woman either...

So..... here we go!

Isn't that last flower just too cute?

So, email me with your answers. I'll announce the winner when I get back from Kids Camp (sometime next weekend). You have until then to get your answers in!

All right, get googling!

Our Garden, Camping and a Quiz

Yes, we are doing a garden this year! Last year, we planted a little more than we did this year but this summer our peppers and tomatoes and onions are doing great!

We still have them planted in our "flower" beds and it's working for us! Who knows what the neighbors think...

We have one more week at home and then it's off to Kids Camp!! Remember these pictures? Well, you'll be seeing more of us in those costumes I'm sure. When we get back from Kids Camp, we are taking our family camping for a few days. We are all excited about that, yes, we are! As long as we don't repeat these Not Me's from last year.

Kids Camp 2008
Kids Camp 2009

Kristin @ These Little Girls of Mine did a post that looked like fun. I am just supposed to finish the sentences... feel free to join in!

Maybe I should take a nap. This recent cold is making me very sleepy...

I love my growing relationship with God and my almost 9 years with Jeremy and my precious 3 girls!

People say that I look like Word Girl... well, my friend Julie said so anyway...

I don't understand my husband's many hobbies...

When I wake up in the morning I try to do my devotions.

I lost lots of things: Jeremy's swimsuit and swim shirt is the most recent.

Life is full of struggle, fun, love and growth.

My past is full of many learning moments.

I get annoyed when I loose my keys in my purse. Seriously... where do they go?

I wish I had more time. Time is always flying away!

Tomorrow I am going to church and then our church picnic.

I have low tolerance for loud things.

I'm totally terrified of people in my family not turning to God before His return.

I wonder why the toys in this house seem to explode all over everywhere every single day.

Never in my life will I love hot, spicy food like Jeremy does.

High School was something to get through... I really couldn't wait to grow up.

When I'm nervous I feel sick to my stomach and get all shaky. I am working on that though.

One time at a family gathering my brother-in-law, Jason, and Jeremy hand-cuffed me to be funny with hand-cuffs that did not have keys. My twin nephews had lost the keys and supposedly Jason and Jeremy did not know they were lost. It ended up not being so funny. I think they had to cut them off me. A story to remember though...

Take my advice and dig into God's Word. It will change your life.

Making my bed is something I do every day. I hate climbing into a messed up bed at night! The sheets must be spread out right so I can sleep. Weird, I know.

I'm almost always listening to worship music. In the van, on the computer, in the kitchen... I love it.

I'm addicted to well, blogging, of course. I truly love the fun record of our lives that my girls will have one day. And, I love meeting all of you!

I want someone to clean my house. That would be perfect.

Would you all hop over and read about little Cailynn? She is just a few weeks old and has some major health battles ahead. Feel free to follow and pray for this precious baby! Her family goes to our church and we love them very much. I'll try to get a picture of sweet Cailynn at our church picnic tomorrow for you all to see her.

Some Green, Some Shoes and a New Friend

Our plants are taking off!

Not sure if they are supposed to be quite that long and skinny...

But, the jalapeno peppers look great!

I was waiting for a friend at Caribou the other night and so I took a short stop in Payless... I'm so glad I did!

I walked out with 5 pairs of shoes for the Goodwin girls for $28! (5th pair not pictured... tennis shoes for Elayna next fall)

Yes... Annalise has socks on with her sandals. She said they fit better that way.

Then, tonight, I got to spend 2 wonderful hours at Olive Garden with a new blogging friend!

I enjoyed every minute! We talked about everything from giving birth to husbands to kids to church to cloth diapers to growing up in Michigan to summer camps and so much more! Made plans for a summer play date at a local sprayground. Looking forward to it. Especially holding her sweet new baby girl that is due to arrive anytime in the next month.

Lastly, I am thoroughly loving every Wednesday's Walk post! I'm learning some great things about some great women! Thanks for linking up!