Sunshine Through the Windows

This was my inspiration for naming my blog. Only about half of the windows in my house have curtains on them that I leave closed. Several windows don't even have curtains on them at all, and several of the ones that do, my mom talked me into. I love open windows, and I love to see the sun shining through the windows to light up my home and mood. Natural light is so healing, don't you think?

6 months!

My little guy was 6 months old yesterday! It doesn't seem that long ago that my friend and I were both newly pregnant and wondering what little persons were growing inside of us. Now, her little guy is 7 months old and mine is 6 months old. Where does the time go?









On another note, I cannot believe how different Hudson is than Libby. She would never have just laid on the floor like this, playing with any random thing.

Sweet summertime

After a big rain shower cooled things off a bit the other day, we went outside to play in the wet grass. We have been enjoying everything (except for the mosquitos, who send out a memo and have a feast as soon as I walk out the door) about summertime. There's wet bottoms after playing on the dew covered swingset early in the morning, and running through the cool damp sheets that are freshly hung on the line, and gathering fresh food from the garden for dinner, and playing endlessly with the boys next door, and taking walks with wonderful friends who live right around the corner, and enjoying all of the goodies at the local farmer's market (which even Libby loves going to), and having a refreshing lunch with more friends who live down the street. Summertime is about playing until you are breathless and sweaty. It's about the stingy itch of bug bites. And it's about filling your cup so full of love from friends and family that it will last you all through the cold winter months.





And, as it inevitably does, it's about taking a much needed break to lighten moods and reenergize bodies.

Yay, pumpkins!

I am just completely amazed at how the one pumpkin seed that I left in the garden is growing. This picture was taken two days ago. I think it might be just about done growing, or at least it hasn't been growing as prolifically as it was before. I don't know if you can tell, but it goes down the little hill and then comes back up. There are several little pumpkins growing on it, but there's one that is growing as quickly as the plant itself grew. This picture was taken 7 days ago.

And this picture was taken 2 days ago. In a matter of 5 days (5 days!!) is grew from that little thing to this! Since the seed planted itself earlier than it is recommended to plant pumpkins, I am assuming that these guys will be done well before Halloween time.

Once I gave my cucumber plant a little space to breathe (you can see it dwarfed just in front of the pumpkins in the picture at the top, right along the side of the garden) it started producing itty bitty cucumbers, although the few that are there are growing quite quickly as well. I can already taste them soaked in vinegar, just like my grandma did them!

Garden bugs

Well, I am finally posting about the garden bugs that I came across last week. It's time for audience participation time(assuming that there is an audience, of course), because I have only a slight idea of what these bugs are. If anyone out there knows, I would love the insight=) Here is the first big ol' bug. I'm thinking maybe potato beetle?







And here are the other ones. I've heard of June bugs, but have never really seen what they are. Is that what these are? They sure are pretty, but as you can see on the flower leaves, they do some damage. We will assume that the two on the right are fighting to get to the same spot on the leaf.

I also came across several pretty ladybugs, which I learned are good. I have seen quite a few honey bees, too, which is encouraging compared to the last few years. They make me nervous, though, with Libby and me running around barefoot. This has been a big step for me, because I am very squeemish around any type of bug.

Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July! A day to be so thankful for what men and women have done and still do for our freedom. We spent it fairly lazily. The babies and I are still getting over our yucky colds, so we didn't feel like doing all that much. Plus, it was a rainy day, so we didn't even get out to watch the parade. We spent the afternoon at Mamaw and Papaw's (my mom and step-dad) and that's about it. Here are some pictures.


These are two of the most beloved blankies that ever got drooled and chewed on.

So, how did you celebrate your independence?

More garden thoughts

Here are a few things that I discovered in my garden today. The picture on the top is of my poor cucumbers. This is after I dug up the potatos that were hogging their space, so hopefully with a little room to breathe they will survive. The second picture is of my biggest suprise. I still have carrots! I thought that all but the two that are hiding in my marigolds (right and down)got eaten, but there they were, trying their best to do what they were put in the ground to do. The carrots that somehow got in between the marigolds are doing great. I just hope they don't taste like marigold. Between the marigold carrots and the mysterious potato plant that is growing right in the middle of my garden, I swear I'm not going to plant at sunset again.


More to come, including garden bugs and...wait for it...

I have pumpkins!!