find joy in the journey

happy may day!

I just love May Day.  It's a little known and little celebrated holiday which I think makes it even more special because the gift of a may day flower cone on your front door is an unexpected surprise!

Thankful for Trader Joe's flowers, people who design cute tags, and a day free of school & work so that we could zip around the area delivering some happy in the form of bright flowers. 

Happy May Day Printable Tags from Skip to My Lou

Market Basket from France 

take joy in what your body can do

I spent the last week in Utah while my kids were attending EFY and soccer camp at BYU.  Let me tell you, the weather (while still warm) was so refreshing.  Especially those beautiful mornings and cool evenings. Ahhh.  Just delightful.  I love being outside and I love exploring (when it's not 100+ degrees) so when I picked Anna up from her camp on Thursday evening I already had plans for us to go on an adventure early Friday morning.

We pulled away from my brother-in-law Randy's home at 6:30am and made our way up Little Cottonwood Canyon.  We drove past the ski resort where Anna officially gave up skiing a few years ago (ha!), stopped at a pay booth, exchanged $6 for a day pass & a map and made our way up the gravel road.  

Then . . . . the beauty unfolded before our eyes.  Wildflowers everywhere!

We stopped on the road so I could take a video from my car window. I could not believe it was real!  Surely someone had come along and scattered wildflower seeds - this doesn't happen naturally, I thought.  But, oh yes, it does!

We parked at the Albion Basin Campground at 7:30am and began the short 1 mile hike to Cecret Lake.  All along the trail I was amazed over and over again by the colorful display of wildflowers, the towering mountains, the trickling streams . . . so many times I paused, let me eyes soak it all in, and let out a "wow." 

We found the hidden lake and sat down on a jetty of rocks and enjoyed a snack of fresh cherries.  Such a wonderful, peaceful view. On the return hike I made it my mission to snap a picture of every variety of wildflower that we encountered.  I warned Anna of this on the hike up, so she was fully prepared and patient with me.  What a good girl!

As we walked I found myself filled with so much gratitude for this beautiful, natural world.  It filled me with such joy!  I was also overcome with gratitude for my body and what it enables me to do and experience.  I know that a healthy, strong, capable body is a wonderful gift and treasure.

Without any effort, my thoughts turned to my mom

... how much she would have loved these sights

... how she would have stopped to take pictures of every wildflower, just as I was doing!

... how she would have found joy in the adventure -- I can picture her smiling face, encouraging us to look there or imagine this or challenge Anna to a contest of some sort.

It also made me think of the times when an adventure was out of the question for her, because her body was so broken, beaten down, and frail.  I remember when she longed to visit the ocean or the cabin, but good days were rare and the process of getting her in the car and keeping her comfortable on the long drive was an impossibility.

Watching her go through that, and seeing her unable to satisfy her appetite for exploring, doing, and moving has really changed my perspective on this physical body.  It has given me so much appreciation for it.  

And it has given me a great desire to use it.  To do things that will

... strengthen it

... bring me happiness & joy

... provide experiences & memories

... and help others

This body, my health, my strength, my ability to walk, jump, run, explore is such a gift and I don't want to neglect it.

Being out in nature, moving my body, taking in all of this beauty and thinking of my mom's exploring spirit . . . my life, her life, the wonder and gift of it all -- it brought me to tears.  And Anna was right there to hold my hand. I'm so glad that I have her.  I feel like I honor mom when I enjoy life and when I use my body for all it was intended -- to do good and to feel joy.

Let us take joy in what our bodies can do and all they allow us to experience.

 

may day

Happy May Day!

When we lived in Oregon I was pretty good about remembering this lesser known holiday and would take the time to anonymously drop off flower goodies on the doorsteps of friends and neighbors.  But, ever since we moved to Nevada I have completely dropped the ball!  Every single year May 2nd rolls around and I realize - shoot! - I forgot again!

Well, not this year.

Yesterday I did a quick look at Pinterest for some inspiration and then scavenged my cupboards for something that would make a good "basket". I came across these french fry boxes that have been sitting in my paper/party supplies for ages (a gift from my mom, of course - she had all the best paper/party supplies).  They were little & cute & perfect!  Here is a link to something similar.

I simply punched a hole in each side and added ribbon. Inside, I placed a snack size ziploc bag with a folded paper towel and added enough water to soak the paper towel.  Then all I had to do was snip, snip, snip away at the flower bunches I picked up at the grocery store and create a super simple flower basket!

The final touch was a simple "Happy May Day!" tag that I printed on my computer and then cut & attached with a mini clothespin. Isn't it darling?

Ready for deliveries!

Anna came with me and was the runner - which she is more than happy to do!

And can I just say how happy I am that my jasmine is finally blooming?  It smells ah-mazing!!

Anna's job was to carefully hang the basket on the door, knock, and run like crazy back to the car!

I hope that it added a little brightness to to everyone's day.

Flower bunches like this get my heart every single time!  

I must have flowers always and always.  -Claude Monet

Okay, I'm pausing in writing this post right now to put May Day on my calendar so I do not forget in 2019.  This day is just so much fun, I do not want to miss out again!  

daffodils for mom

In October we visited the cabin and planted several dozen daffodil bulbs, adding to the large planting my mom had done 2 years previous.  

Since the new year, I've been planning to make another trip to the cabin during spring break.  Oh, how I hoped that by some miracle of chance the daffodils would be blooming during our visit! The weather at the cabin in the week before our visit was cold and snowy.  So I lowered my expectations.  But there was still a glimmer of hope.

Monday afternoon we pulled up to the cabin and what did my eyes see . . . . 

Daffodils!  They weren't blooming yet, but to see the green stems working their way up to the light filled me with such a thrill!

On Wednesday morning I woke up thinking about mom.  It was exactly 6 months since her passing. At the cabin it is easy to think about her.  Everything you see, feel, experience there . . . it just feels like a big hug. And she gave some really good hugs.

I went out to the daffodil garden and clipped the best buds I could find and gathered them in a mason jar.  Later that day we cleaned and closed up the cabin and made our way toward's my parents house.  But first, we stopped at the cemetery to visit mom's grave (my first time there since the funeral) and leave her with some daffodils.

The kids and I ended up sitting on the ground around her grave . . . the grass is still making feeble attempts to grow in that spot.  A simple marker bears her name as we await the completion of her headstone.  We talked about Christ.  The resurrection.  We talked about miracles and healings.  Payton, who had prepared our Easter devotional that day, shared the story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead.  We talked about trials and testimony and growth.  I also remarked on what an amazing circumstance this is that we would be visiting California on the 6 month mark of mom's passing, we would get to visit her grave on that very day, the daffodils were blooming, AND it was Easter week.  So many milestones and connections pulled together at once.

This Easter week really has been a meaningful time to think about the purpose death and the HOPE that is possible because of Jesus Christ. I believe and hold onto that hope with a firm grasp.

At the same time I will not hesitate to tell you how much I hate the fact that she is gone. At times I get frustrated because in my mind she should be here with us. I still need her. I miss her terribly. But I also cannot mistake or disregard the fact that I have personally grown and learned by leaps & bounds and my testimony has been strengthened & built in ways that may not have been possible, with such intensity, had it not been for this.  

Life is so hard and beautiful at the same time.

I'm trying to work harder on finding the beauty.  To seek out the happy & delights as she would.  Everyday I get on my knees and pray for her influence & example to guide me, and I pray that I might be so blessed to have the gift of feeling her presence near.  

Our Father in Heaven is kind and aware.  And I am so grateful.

the backyard project - before & after

Our BIG house project of 2016 was to completely gut, redesign, and install a brand new yard. I spent months thinking about it and planning what I wanted it to look & feel like, what plants to include . . . I drew sketches and spent time googling plants that could live in the desert while giving me that green, lush look I was craving and missing from the Pacific Northwest.

In January I got together with our friend and landscaper to really plan things out and set it all into motion.  Come April it was demo time and this thing was for real!  I loved watching the daily progress and was overjoyed when they jack-hammered away our random cement patio (the alien landing pad) and I did cartwheels when they hauled away all of the awful peach colored rock.  Yuck!

In the end we had a beautiful, GREEN, well-designed, functional space that I couldn't be more happy about! We worked with the basic framework that was already in place (cement, pool, gazebo) but pretty much everything else was ripped out and replaced.

Check out this video which highlights the before, during, and after photos of this big project.

It is absolutely amazing how much MORE useable space we have in our yard now.  The huge paver patio, the space around and behind the gazebo.  All of these areas were eye-sores before this project and really, unaccessible.

As soon as the yard was finished we let the kids loose on the new turf and Anna was simply overjoyed that she had all this extra space to run around in. And even dribble a soccer ball in.

I can now go out in my yard and I feel happy.  So so happy.  And I have plants!  Like over 120 plants to be exact!  Maybe I went a little overkill, but I needed it and the yard needed it and now we have this beautiful space to ENJOY. 

For Las Vegas Locals : Showcase Landcare was amazing to work with!  He made I was happy every single step of the way and got exactly what I wanted.  

 

happy may day

"A flower doesn't worry about being better than the flower next to it, it just blooms . . . . even if it is only a weed."

Bellagio Spring Gardens - April 2014

Flower wisdom from @wendys_hat.  Loved it.

embracing the cactus

Day one of Spring Break I decided to take the kids to a cactus garden.  Since we're living in the desert we might as well embrace the cactus!  (But not literally, because that would hurt.)

This place claims to have over 300 species of plants.  And it was next to a chocolate factory.  Score!  You can be sure that we took advantage of that.  But first, the cactus garden . . . 

It was a beautiful day (as always), just a bit windy.  We took the paths slowly, observing & talking about each new cactus, taking photos, and learning about this desert vegetation.  Every few minutes a large airplane would flly directly overhead (on approach to the airport), so that was pretty fun too.

Prepare yourself for a whole lot of cactus pictures.  But I promise there is beauty even in these pokey desert plants.  You just have to look closely.

First off, we had to get a "pretend you're falling into the cactus!" picture.

Aren't these amazing?  I love them!  I told the kids they should pose just like the stick cactus/trees.

Ahhh, the Beaver . . . the state animal of Oregon.

And here we come to the end of our walk around the cactus gardens.

Next up, a tour of the chocolate factory.

our backyard: formerly known as "the pine cone mine field"

remember this?

Yes, it all started last spring when the two giant trees went timber!  Then in August the sod went bye-bye with the help of a rented sod cutter and a lot rolling, hauling, and dusty, dirty little helpers.  September brought the sprinkler system of Scott's dreams and brand new gorgeous, green sod.  In March my dad worked mow strip wonders around the flower beds.  And in April & May I have been busy planting away.

I wasn't planning to have a reveal for a while longer, until we brought in the bark mulch to make it look more polished.  Scott said he wasn't planning on doing that until the fall (september-ish).  So, imagine my surprise when I came home from the fabric store a few Saturdays ago, the truck was in the garage, the boys were just home from the father-son camp-out . . . . I walked in, everything was unloaded, everyone was bathed and clean, and . . . . I had beautiful bark in all of my flower beds!  What a great surprise!

So without further ado . . . . 

Even though the plants are still small, I can "see" their potential in my mind.  I find myself just tickled looking at the window, imagining what it's going to look like in another year.

Here are a few more angles:

along the back

by the patio (dogwood and lavender)

the back of the house (blueberry bushes in front of the A/C, my garden!, and hydrangea bushes - one is struggling to survive)

And a few close-ups:

Last year we had pine cones on top of, embedded in, and under (yes, under) the grass.  The kids had to wear shoes when they played outside because it just hurt to much to walk on the grass.  But this year we can finally enjoy barefoot bliss.

now we can run in the sprinklers

lay in the grass

and generally have a great time in comfort.

 

 

in the dirt

1 - red sunset maple
1 - bradford flowering pear
2 - newport flowering plum
2 - himalayn birch
3 - el dorado california liac
4 - green mountain boxwood
1 - zuni crape myrtle
3 - double knock out rose, red
1 - miss kim lilac
1 - corkscrew willow
3 - daylily, 2 pink, 1 yellow
3 - autumn fire sedum
1 - stellar pink dogwood
4 - aurinia capacta "basket of gold"
3 - provence lavender
2 - hydrangea - nikko blue and sister theresa (white)
3 - scabiosa - pincushion flower
1 - lady orchid peony
1 - midknight blue agapanthus

also

1 - cucumber

1 - zuchini

2 - peas

2 - pole beans

1 - tomato

2 - blueberry bushes

bell pepper seeds

finger carrot seeds

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

zinnia seeds

african daisy seeds

cosmo seeds

hopefully my trips to the nursery are over, everything will bloom & grow (I gave all my plants a little pep talk as I nestled them in the dirt), and I will enjoy a beautiful yard this summer.

let there be trees!

We picked up 5 trees today for our backyard (with more to come) and I couldn't be more excited!  For me, it takes trees to make a home. 

 

1. Red Sunset Maple  2. Golden Corkscrew Willow  3. blossoms from a Newport Cherry Plum  4. Pink Flowering Dogwood  5. Newport Cherry Plum