Busy Days

Dear Friends,

Happy August to you! We are still trying to believe that the summer will be coming to an end soon, since it seems as though it had just begun. With August comes the yearly realization that all the things we had hoped to accomplish in the summer are probably not going to come true.

It is with a sense of urgency that we begin harvesting herbs and greens in earnest, and enjoying as much time outdoors as possible, since we know that fall is just around the corner, and with it, six months of boots, gloves, coats, and hats. Summer is the mother's friend, an easy time of bare feet (no socks to look for or wash), living and eating out of doors, with lots to eat from the garden and from the wild.

Last weekend we enjoyed visiting with cousins, both the children's and mine.

My niece Andrea (middle) learns to enjoy swimming in green pool water :).

My cousins Natalie and Aubrie, who were my closest friends growing up, were up from California visiting other relatives. They stopped by with their children at my mother's house for a bit. I hadn't seen them for eight years, so it was a real treat to catch up a bit.

Natalie, Aubrie, and Me

Natalie's girls loved playing with our kittens.

Meanwhile, the chickens have been enjoying the summer, too, when they can finally wander about the place without scratching up seedlings!


And WE are enjoying the sunflowers that the fairies planted, both the tall and the small!




May you and your family be blessed today, and kept in the hollow of His hand.

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"Let love, peace, and the Spirit of the Lord, kindness, charity, sacrifice for others, abound in your families. Banish harsh words, . . .and let the Spirit of God take possession of your hearts. Teach to your children these things, in spirit and power.. . .Not one child in a hundred would go astray, if the home environment, example and training, were in harmony with. . . the gospel."
~Joseph F. Smith