Hello Long Weekend

 

 

 Target pants, sandals & sunnies, Gap vest

 

I'm going to say what everyone else is saying, "Goodbye August.  Hello Long Weekend!"

Can you believe that tomorrow is the first day of September?!!!  I am not upset one bit, either.

Fall....you are soooooo close!  I can smell ya!

 

Enjoy the last few weekends of summer.

Have a picnic.  Take one last swim.  Wear shorts.

Drink lemonade.  Have a candlelight dinner in your backyard.

Go to the fair.  Go minigolfing.
Options.  Options.  Options.

Just do anything that you can, to take in the last few weekends of summer!

 

Love..........Tiff

Bold & Blue

ANA Blouse, Target Flats, JCPenney Skirt, Gifted Bracelet

 

Three Words:

Bold Blue Blouse

 

How have you been bold in style, lately?!

 

three hours

This summer, James and I have accomplished many things together...MANY things!  But, every once and a while, we have the opportunity to surprise each other with something that we accomplished on our own.  We like seeing the expressions on each other's face, more than anything.  Maybe the other would be please in the surprise and smile...maybe they wouldn't and frown {but James and I both like taking chances on each other}.  So far, there hasn't been any frowns or upsets with surprises.  But if there ever is, James and I are going to tell each other to "Turn that frown upside down".....'cause that works, right?!  I guess we will never know, until it happens.

 

I decided a surprise was in order for James.  He had gone to play league softball and then had a meeting for church.  This meant I had a good three hours!!  So......I hopped to it and let me tell you..........I love how it turned out! 

 

I planned on just weeding the front garden and make it look spiffy!  It was desperate for some good TLC.  So much so, that I didn't even take a before picture out of embarrassment.  This is what the front garden looked like after I weeded and raked the lovely dirt: 

 

I still had 2 1/2 hours before James was home, but I didn't know what to do next?!  I thought about it for a bit, and then it came to me...I'm going to cover the lovely dirt with "black garden paper" {I called it that because I didn't know what it was called}and then fill it with rocks! Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!  So, I went to Lowe's and picked up the "black garden paper" and got to work.  This is what it looked like after I was done rolling and cutting and "masterpiecing" {you know what I mean}:

 

Of course, I couldn't leave it looking like that! By this time, I had 2 hours left still! I would have everything done by the time James got home.  All I had to do was pick rocks and relocate some that we had around our house.  Easy!

Ha! Right!?  I was mistaken! I didn't realize how hard and time consuming it was to pick rocks.  I thought our wheel barrel would assist greatly, but the tire was flat! So, I grabbed a pale and began the lengthy process.  I would walk up the hill, pick the rocks, and then walk down the hill with the heavy load that it was.  These rocks were going to be more of a hassle then I even knew. 

 

Nine Loads later...............{yes, nine} I had picked and picked and wished I was done! I still had at least 2 more loads to carry and then I hear James' car coming down the road. NO!!!!! I hadn't finished my project and then it was going to look like a mess and he may have a frown on his face. Ooooooh nooooooooo!  He pulled in the back of the house, so therefore he had not seen the process yet.  All he could see was that I was covered in dirt and sweat {no glistening here....it was SWEAT}, carrying a pale full of rocks.  He may have questioned what I was doing, but then he knew what was up.  I brought him to the front and revealed the 85% done project!

He was smiling!!! No frown in sight, even though it wasn't complete! I was happy that he was happy, but wasn't happy that it wasn't complete.  That was when James surprised me and took the bucket from my hands and went back up the hill.  He was going to help me.  We were going to work to complete this project: together!   In the end, he was proud...I was proud....and we both saw something beautiful in the front of our house home!

 

 

I've said it before, and I will say it again: I love how it turned out! 

Now, what should I fill those empty flower pots with?!....They will not be filled with more rocks, that's for sure!

 

 

The Land of Milk & Cheese

This post is FULL of photos from our trip to Wisconsin: the land of milk and honey cheese! 

I can't begin to tell you how much fun we all had. 

It was so good to see the whole family (minus James Leonard-we missed you)!  The smells of home and the country, I just love it! 

As Julie Andrews said in the Sound of Music...."these are a few of my favorite things..." 

I could go on and on about what went on, but I'll just let you take a look. 

 

A beautiful driveway Rainey and I saw on our morning walk & run

Sleepy-eyed Asher, wake up! It's time for breakfast!

I love Mom's smile...she's beautiful...

At Tep's Root Beer Stand with the family:  James is in awe of all the wonderful selections of burgers, Beth is looking fabulous, as always, and we had to show you what we got!!

Okay, stop right here!  The last picture you saw on your right is of the newest addition to the family: Micah MacDonald...Steph's husband of five months!  There were a lot of firsts made for this city boy and youth pastor!  He saw a tractor and then bolted over to it to take a ride {he had never seen a tractor, seriously}!  The first picture of the tractor, you see Micah driving.  The second picture you see Micah looking all tough with Matt Damon's look-alike {don't you think that guy could be his twin, or brother, for that matter}!! 

Then, poor Steph got stung by a bee. 

Micah came to her rescue, though, with..........mud. Yup, mud does the trick! Soon the pain had gone away. 

That's Micah, taking care of his bride!

Then, we sang as a family at the Bluegrass Festival.  We normally would have Dad drumming, Jim on bass, and Steph on the piano, but when we got there plans were changed for us.  It was a huge shock and threw us all for a loop, but in the end singing together, with or without instruments, is what we enjoy most.  We have always enjoyed singing a capella with 3 part harmony, anyways!  Dad even came up and joined us for our closing song.  I must say, I really enjoyed singing as a group, again. 

For Sunday lunch at Grandma B's, Dad couldn't help but down the pickle juice.  Chug it!

James and I snuck in some time, as we left, to stop at an orchard. 

It is another one of "my favorite things."

One more photo of a tractor.....{just for you, Micah}!

Driving away is always hard. I love you all so much! 

"May the Lord watch over us when we are apart." Genesis 31:49

 



First Glimpse

Here is our first glimpse of Fall.  I know...I said it.. FALL!!!

My favorite part of this coming season is the changing of colors.  The transition in nature is beautiful.  Plus, I don't mind having to pull out the scarves and big, chunky sweaters! Can you believe it is almost here {so, so, so excited}!?

 

P.S. James and I hope your weekend rocked! Our weekend did!! 

I will post pictures of the trip soon! 

But, for now, I would love to know what your favorite thing about Fall is?!

So.......if you want, post a comment and let me know!

   

Home Sweet Home

 

 

James and I love our home.  LOVE our home {and I think Rainey does, too}!

We both have come from our homes that we grew up in, and now have our own place.  It is really exciting for us to make this place our own.  We have painted, torn down walls, ripped up carpet,...you name it!  It is coming together, but we both know that we don't have to rush it.  We are realizing that projects will ALWAYS be there, and things will always break and need to be replaced. 

 

What's important to us is that we look at what we have and know that it IS enough. 

We also know that what we own is not what makes us who we are.

We are a family.  We are eachother's love.  We have a faithful God who never changes...who IS all we both shall ever need!

He has blessed us with a home that we can call our own.  I am thankful for blessings like that.  What are you thankful for? 

 

 

 

 

P.S.

This weekend, James and I get to go back to the home I spent much time growing up in.  We get to spend time with family, and even get to sing at a Bluegrass/Gospel Family Festival!  Sing! Yes!...We all sing and play instruments {and totally love it, by the way}! 

It's going to be just like the "old days" and we are quite excited!  

Wisconsin.....here we come!   

Blushing Pink

JCPenney-blouse & skirt, Target-heals, Charlotte Russe-pearl bracelet, and gifted bracelet & earrings

 

I have fair skin.  We've talked about this before. But if you weren't here when we did, just notice in the picture above. :)  The best thing about having fair skin is that when you blush, everyone and their mother can see you! It's okay though! I don't mind. But, when I'm embarrassed or flustered, you will certainly notice because my face turns a BRIGHT, blushing pink.  The good thing about this is that I don't need to spend money on blush, and I'm frugal.........so, this is good news!

 

 

Popsicles.

Converse Kicks, Banana Republic Cropped Pants, Target Sweater & Sunglasses, American Eagle T-Shirt

I know I've talked about loving summer days, but I love summer for evening walks and popsicles!  Last night, I was kinda sad though. 

You see...we only had one more tangerine popsicle left!!  Crisis!!.......Well, maybe not.  But, I sure do like my popsicles.  I offered the last one to James, being the good wife I am.  But, he was so sweet and declined...and said I could have it! He's the better husband.  That's when I looked further into the freezer to find a whole box of Sour Patch Kids Popsicles! James' favorite!  Duh! Of course he didn't want my all natural, no sugar added, fruit on a stick.  He'd rather go for the sugar-packed, artificial color, with a hint of cavity. 

I should have known.



Sunday at The Nelson Farm

There's just something about spending a Sunday afternoon at The Nelson Farm. 

We love a summer day under the sun and eating a home cooked meal: meatballs & gravy, garden green beans,

mashed potatoes with dill, and Grandma Emilee's famous peach cobbler { AH-MAZING }. 

There was no time to take pictures of the food, because...well, we all kind of couldn't help ourselves and dig in {if you know what I mean}!  There was time after lunch to rest, visit, and catch some photos of little one's having fun.....and the scenery---beautiful scenery! 

I hope you enjoy the views and I sure do hope you haven't drooled all over your keyboard, thinking about Emilee's peach cobbler!

Yes....it was AH-MAZING {like I said}.

No....I'm sorry, but there is none left.

Happy Monday to ya'll!