You either LOVE it or HATE it

How do you feel about rhubarb? This plant is an OLD plant having been recorded in China for medicinal use centuries ago. It is known for its sour flavor and is usually green tinged with red...it is not the prettiest food item you will ever eat...yet, its distinctive flavor makes a wonderful pie or ice cream topping.

I have very strong feelings about pie. I truly believe it is an art form to create a delectable pie. Not all bakers are blessed with this pastry/fruit talent. With rhubarb in abundance and strawberry season drawing to a close in my part of the world, my mother took advantage of BOTH and made a Strawberry-Rhubarb pie. Surely one of the many delights that come with summer!

Add a cup of good coffee (or tea if that's how you roll) and you have one of God's simple pleasures!!

Bird watcher!

Killeny Glen is LOADED with interesting birds...we keep identifying new birds all the time and we are really enjoying our bird watching. We bought a Hummingbird feeder and put it on the front porch and we have had DOZENS of new guests join us as we sit enjoying the beautiful summer. Hummingbirds are beautiful...lots of color on their breasts, they are hyper and fight and bicker amongst themselves...and true to their name the loud humming sound their wings make as they zip around announces them every time they come to visit.

I love their silhouette's against the blue sky.





This is Clarice...she is ALSO very interested in the Hummingbirds...maybe as a snack before dinner. She has taken to napping on the top of the porch rail in hopes of snatching one of our feathered friends...NOT A CHANCE!!

My camera is poor quality BUT notice the wise Hummingbird in flight in the upper right corner of the photo.

BELOVED

The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you.
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

~Zephaniah 3:17

Sigh...finally saying goodbye...

When Bob and I moved into our little Cape Cod we were newly married and it seemed ABSOLUTELY enormous! Oh we worked and worked on that house...making it a retreat from our daily work! We could not imagine filling up the space...then...two years later we finished the second floor with two more bedrooms...then eight years later we put an addition of a Great Room and another bedroom...and STILL our family grew...what a blessing that house is to us!

We are saying goodbye to our first home as it FINALLY has new owners. I know it is cheesy but I have prayed for a family that would LOVE it and cherish it as much as we did...I ADORE that house and all the memories both sweet and sad that it holds for my family. I am melancholy with all the memories that each room holds. Our first FUR BABY, MacDugal, a beautiful Labrador Retriever whom we loved SO much! He lived there with us for nearly 13 years and OH, how we mourned him when he died!!The home coming of each of our five, cherished, long awaited babies; many firsts at that house...Nate riding a two wheeler, Mitchell's first lost tooth, Emma taking her first steps, Madeleine shrieking with glee over EVERY THING, Sam's joy at coming home from China and having four siblings to adore him. Selling that house will never take away those memories and the joy those memories bring!

Oh, don't think for ONE moment that we don't love Killeny Glen! I am reluctant to take on change...and Bob is my inspiration to try something new. I am so glad we moved to The Glen. It is crafted just for our family and has been a place of rest and peace to us! Although saying goodbye is bittersweet...we are SO TRULY blessed!!!

Goodbye sweet house...hello future adventures!

Theme Thursday! Summer is now OFFICIALLY here!

As a child my summers were quite idyllic...we had a wonderfully big property with lots of places to explore and play. It seemed we always had friends or even more often family at our house to join our fun. My mom always worked very hard. There was always much to do in the yard, the garden producing tomatoes or some other wonderful vegetable, the cherries ready for picking or some other fruit in season in an orchard my dad had lovingly planted. Then, my mom would prepare a lovely dinner for us which sadly, at the time, we took for granted. A TRUE summer treat was to load up in my Dad's El Camino after dinner and head down the road to our local Jersey Dairy for ice cream. The ride there was a wind blown adventure and then to order one of the MANY flavors of ice cream was my TRUE DELIGHT!! But, I could be sure that one time, at some point each and every summer (or so it seemed) my mom would order a banana split. Oh, that banana split was HUGE and AMAZING with all its rich goodness in my eyes! My mom, who is typically NOT a big eater would eat it with gusto and enjoy it immensely...but just that one time. Then, I would be the lucky recipient of the banana boat that all that ice cream and yumminess was in and that banana boat was a source of great fun whether it be in the bath tub or the swimming pool. The trip to the Dairy was the epitome of summer fun and my mom, my heroine, in this story for thoroughly enjoying her WELL EARNED treat!!

For MORE summer fun go to THEME THURSDAY!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys?

Photos by Emma

Find more WORDLESS WEDNESDAY photos at Five Minutes For Mom

A place of peace

My Dad very kindly built this potting bench for me a couple of years ago. I just love it! I put it on our back patio at The Glen and it has been a constant source of pleasure for me. I just keep finding little flower and plant treasures that need to be potted. I LOVE to garden and work outside and having this nice little work area makes it ALL the more relaxing and pleasurable!

Thanks Dad!

A BLESSING and a Curse!

Oh, folks...it is Monday...I hope you had a wonderful weekend of rest. We had an excellent weekend and now I am faced with "getting back on track!"

Please meet my BLESSING and my CURSE!!!

Can I get an AMEN?!?!?

A little story of great JOY!

Seven years ago on Father's Day...in a country called China...a country that we love so very much...a tiny, little ten month old girl was handed into the arms of my Sweet Hubby...the best Father's Day present he EVER got...that little girl is a PRECIOUS gift!!!
Madeleine two years old:

Madeleine seven years old:

Oh HAPPY Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all fathers visiting The Glen!!! Special wishes to MY Hubbie who is a most excellent Daddy to our five kiddos, MY DAD and to my father-in-law Bill! I hope your day is VERY special!! We have some goodies planned for you!

AND...GUESS WHAT?!?!?! It is MY birthday too!! Oh how I love my birthday and the fact that it is in summer!!!! YIPPEE!!


Please sing with me: "I'm gonna partay!
Like it's my birthday!!"

Forgive me will you?

With the onset of summer and the outdoors constantly calling to me I have been distracted and inattentive to my bloggy world...oh trust me when I say I love to blog so very much...yet...the sun calls...my world has been filled with wonderful summer activities for which I am so very grateful!
Strawberries...fresh picked...eaten right from the vine or in a delectable shortcake!

We have an amazing bike path and we are doing our best to burn it up this summer...

Our days at the pool have been glorious! Nothing like basking in the sun while floating on cool blue water!!!

I love to read in summer...on the porch, at the pool...late at night...

I love cooking on the grill...it is just so delicious!

Oh, I WILL be checking in on you from time to time so look lively okay?
What are YOU doing this summer?

Theme Thursday

In summer...I prefer NO ROOF at all!


Pop on over to Theme Thursday to see what creative things are rippin' the roof off this week!

Wordless Wednesday

Pack Mule? OR Pack Mouse!

Sam wanted to help with our lawn chairs at Cousin Micah's graduation party...

HEAVE!!!!

HO!

HEAVE! HO! HELP!!!!!!!!!

He may be little but he is MIGHTY!!!!
I love the "pained smile."

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Mitchell is a boy of few words...but when he talks it is always worth listening to...his observations of life are oftentimes deep and profound. He enjoys God's beautiful creations and has the most infectious giggle. He oftentimes grabs my camera and takes pictures and I have no idea that he has done this until I down load photos. Here are three things Mitchell finds beautiful.

He adores Lizzie (the neighbor's cat)...and finds her to be irresistible when sleeping on our porch.

These are our Million Bells...Mitchell loves the color and how many blooms appear each day.

Mitchell is always entranced by sun rays coming through the clouds...he says it is God reaching down to us.

~photo NOT by Mitchell...only the observation

Sunday greetings...

Sweet Ame from For Such A Time As This wrote an amazing post about hate...she concluded with this wonderful quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.

I've decided to stick with Love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Oh, this memory just makes me smile.

This image conjours up the most wonderful memories!

And THIS song!


Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Well it's you girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it

Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You're gonna make it after all
You're gonna make it after all


How will you make it on your own?
This world is awfully big, girl this time you're all alone
But it's time you started living
It's time you let someone else do some giving

Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You're gonna make it after all
You're gonna make it after all
LOVE IS ALL AROUND ~ Paul Williams

Theme Thursday is SWINGING!!!

I visited MY FIVE MEN and discovered Betsy doing a Theme Thursday which then led me to THEME THURSDAY ...it looked like so much fun I thought I would join in!! Go take a look at some of the other SWING photographs!

When the going gets tough...

Sam was throwing a fit about sharing with his sister and decided that the BEST course of action was to slug her. I know, I know...you are thinking...HOW can that cute little Sam EVER hit his sister??! YEAH RIGHT! Well, that sent him directly to TIME OUT on the stairs...and he was NOT HAPPY!!!!!

So, when the going gets tough...the TOUGH go to sleep!!!!
Little stinker!

Please don't turn your eyes away.

I don't usually post twice in one day but my friend, Ohilda, posted this short film that is TOO IMPORTANT not to share.

Ohilda wrote:

Please don't turn your eyes away. Instead allow the things that break Christ's heart to break yours.

Happiness is...

...a VERY, dangly, crooked, loose tooth in a seven year old girl...

...a visit from Alice Spoondinger...the family tooth fairy...Madeleine stayed up until after 11:00 hoping for a glimpse of her!!

...a gaping hole in your 1000 watt smile!!! Oh, this girl is pure joy!

...undying allegiance to Alice, whose magic is absolutely THRILLING!

How was your weekend?

I am rejoicing this MONDAY as it is our first Monday of summer vacation and we did NOT, I repeat, did NOT have to get up at the crack of dawn! In fact, the kids had friends over to spend the night and were up VERY late so they are all STILL SLEEPING as I sip my first cup of coffee.....AHHHHHHHHHH!!! SUMMER!!!

The weekend was filled with summer activities...a movie Friday afternoon, dinner out with the whole family, swimming at our lovely pool down the road, some GOOD QUALITY sleep time, my mom's fried chicken and potato salad (this is a small slice of heaven on earth!) and LOTS of time spent outdoors loving this weather!!

Sweet Emma took this photo of us...she said we spend a GREAT DEAL of time on the porch and it is TRUE and such a wonderful treat! One of my FAVORITE things to do!
OH! Look behind the swing and you can still see the last blooms of my wonderful Nana Boo's climbing roses...they were such a pleasure to see and smell this year!

Have a great week!!

Simple pleasures

It is this time of year that we are regularly visited by the Swallows. The Swallows are one of the many pleasures of nature here at The Glen. They are beautiful birds with blue in their feathers and a uniquely shaped wing span. They come to visit 8 and 10 at a time especially when Bob mows the glen. As he mows and stirs up the insects in the grass they soar and swoop and catch the insects. It is an amazing site to watch and it truly looks like a beautifully choreographed dance as they cross each other but never collide. I tried and failed MANY times to capture a photo of these amazing creatures but my camera cannot keep up with their swift flight. We so love to watch the Swallows dance.

WAH! WAH! WAH! Okay...I'm done!

...indulge me while I whine for a moment will you? I often think of myself as pretty TOUGH when it comes to most things but with THIS I am a complete and utter WIMP! I have my annual attack of POISON IVY!! I am NOT celebrating! The vicious stuff finds me/stalks me/attacks me no matter what!!

I am told that some people are just prone to get it and then there are many who are virtually immune to the nasty business. I would like to have our state flower changed from the Carnation (which really is NOT a great choice in the first place in MY opinion) to POISON IVY! If I am going to have Poison Ivy every year could I please look like THIS after enduring it??

I promise to use my powers for GOOD!!