Life in the Garden

Ok.  Kelley has shamed me by updating her blog before I got to mine.  I know I have not been blogging like I should lately, but we have been growing a garden.

It is amazing how much time and effort goes into a garden, but the rewards are so worth it.  Brenna loves going out each morning to look for "treasures".  It is a great learning experience to see how nature works together to make things grow.  We thank the Lord for the buzzing bees that pollinate our plants.  We see the praying mantis, and thank God that it is eating the bugs that would harm our garden.  We watch the plants' flower and the flowers turn into "baby veggies" that grow into vegetables ready to pick.

I also love sharing the things I learned at my Nana's knee with my kids.  Things like how to know when the vegetables are ripe.  How to can or freeze them for later use.  And most of all.... snapping beans!  I can remember sitting on Nana's front porch in the evening.  We'd watch the cars come and go, sing songs, and snap green beans.  It has become such a calming and therapeutic activity to me - full of wonderful memories of summers with Nana and Granddaddy.  Now I can sit on my front porch, watch the cars come and go, sing songs, and snap beans with my kids.  All while giving them memories to hold onto when they are older.

This year we added a much larger garden to our small kitchen garden.  We always end up with more than we can eat or put up, and give the extra away to friends.  Since I'm still job-hunting, we decided to plant more and sell all the extra vegetables.  God has truly blessed us with a plentiful harvest, and just enough customers.  We have some customers that have only come once, but many more who have returned.  We are getting to know some of our neighbors better.  We are meeting neighbors we had not had a chance to meet.  So many from our church have blessed us by coming by, as well.  It has been such a blessing.

I am thankful for the work that keeps my mind and body busy.  I am thankful for the time with my kids and the memories we are making.  I am thankful for the hard work my husband puts into the garden each evening, and the time we get to spend together as a family.  I am thankful for the provision of food that I don't have to buy at the store.  I am thankful for the new friends we are making and the friendships that are growing closer and deeper than before.  I am thankful for a God who had this as His plan for me this summer, and who has the rest of my days in His hands.

So, how does your garden grow?  Check out ours on facebook at Huffman's Fresh Vegetables!