County Fair

One of my favorite times of the year growing up was fair time.  Seriously, what could be more fun than being at the fairgrounds for hours on end, showing animals, winning prizes, and hoping beyond hope that you'll make some good money in return for all of your hard work.  It was a rewarding time where hard work payed off.  Nate hasn't been able to take part in any fairs as a contestant, but he is able to experience the magic of the county fair.  The small home town feel and eager anticipation of watching the cowboy's stunts brought a sparkle to this little boy's eye as he jumped out of the pickup Saturday night.

The End of Summer

I look ahead and see that summer is coming to an end.  I can't say I'm sad, but there is a melancholiness to the end of things.  Having two college students home for fall semester is fun.  Of course, Nate is here (age 10).  We're all getting re-aquainted and used to living together.  These two kids of ours are breaking away.  Our conversations center around challenging them to live Biblically, business entrepreneurship, relationships, future plans, marriage.  Conversations with Nate are all about honoring Christ in his deeds, small jobs he can do to earn a buck, how to treat others respectfully, what he needs to accomplish today, and friends.  Hmmmm...not so different are they?  I am always getting this feeling that things don't ever really change.  Marriage (loving and serving my soul mate), mothering (getting each child through the in's and out's of life,  homemaking (creating a clean, comfortable environment to do all the above), and desiring to do it all in a way that glorifies God and not me, is what my life is made of.  Things don't change much over time.  The process starts over again with the grandchildren....yes Lord, this makes me happy.  This is contentment to me. Summer coming to an end? That's nice.

Nate and Lisa at The Battleship of Texas, Houston, Texas

Fall Gardening (in August)

We spent our morning in our own "Mr. McGregor's Garden."  The dogs, Joseph, my Mom, and I worked hard in the morning (which was swiftly turning to hot day) to dig up the last of the summer garden and quickly work up the soil and fertilize it with our very own compost.  I kept having flashbacks from old golden books Mom used to read to us about kids doing gardening throughout the summer, rabbits handling big hoes, and the farmers who harvested much food for the winter.   Boy is it fun to do it yourself though!  I think any food that comes out of there over the next few months will taste 100% better after this morning's work :)

Our autumn garden begun.  Tomatoes and cucumbers planted.  We'll definitely be adding potatoes, lettuce, and spinach in the coming weeks :)