What is it About Five?

My baby girl turned five yesterday. I hope she remembers the day for her whole life. I wonder how is possible for a child to be sweeter, more innocent, and yet so communicative and entertaining all at the same time! It is the perfect bridge between baby-hood and childhood.

It was an all-Molly day starting with presents from Matty and me as soon as she woke up. Her godmother then came at 10:00 and whisked her off to Build-a-Bear Workshop to, well, build a bear, but she built a horse. With wings. And a party hat. And a regular outfit and a dress-up outfit. And mary-janes. And blonde hair that you can comb and style. Amazing. Then Miss Kim bought her candy, which she consumed in its entirety. Then Miss Kim took her out to lunch and she chose a big girl lunch of sesame chicken and rice--definitely not McDonald's. (That's my girl!) Then when she came home we had a lovely dress-up tea party with four of her bfsf (I know you're wondering what that stands for, but grammatically it's correct!) Then, after we took the pooping cat to the vet, we went out to Panera for broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl, which is what she requested. Then home for cake and ice cream with the family and Daddy's big announcement that WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD next week!

Lettuce, aka LeTUCE

My lettuce never really decided to grow.  I'm very sad.  I harvested a meager amount of lettuce...it should have been a whole lot more, but for some weird reason my seedlings never progressed much past that...seedlings.  I had a couple of plants flourish, but they weren't enough for a salad, so while waiting for the other lettuce plants to grow, they bolted.  Huh?

I got a soil test kit.  It says my pH and my fertilizers are "ideal."  Okay.  Then what could it be?  Did the cats pee on them?  Did something eat them from the roots? (I don't think so.) I'm stymied.  So I've decided to harvest my lettuce (pronounced le-TUCE in this house) and plant something else in those squares until fall rolls 'round and try again.  hmph.

Garden Update

We have been working every weekend in the garden since early April.  I am so excited to see tiny heads of broccoli forming, cabbage looking like a cabbage plant, peas growing up the trellis, potatoes going crazy, onions and herbs and peppers, oh my! are planted and taking root...I'm looking forward to the harvest this summer!  These photos are the progress so far, as of a couple of days ago.

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  Wherever you are, whoever you are, please pray--for our world, our country and its leaders, our states and localities, our families, ourselves.

II Chronicles 7:14
"If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Few would argue that our land is in need of healing.  Few would argue that it is hard to humble ourselves. Few would argue that we are firmly entrenched in our wicked ways.  Let us turn our eyes from ourselves to our maker and use this day to cry out to God for mercy and healing.