Summer Vacation

We enjoyed a trip with Tyrel's family to Rehoboth, Delaware in June! 

The weather was perfect! But the best thing was the secluded beach we found that you could drive out on! 

We enjoyed flying kites, playing in the waves, and soaking in the sunshine, but we came back the next day to take family pictures. I am in love with how the pictures turned out!

the boys love their Aunt SumSum!

"Mamaw and Grandad"

We had already taken the big group family pictures, but I drug everyone together for one more family picture when the sky changed and the clouds were these beautiful soft shades! Hehe, it's all about that lighting! 

Zane and Summer 💗

Little Link stinker!

 

-MarLeahJoy

September 17, 2024

We have been doing homeschool PreK for 6 weeks now!

It has been so fun and good to add that kind of structure to our days! At first, I worried how we would fit one more thing into our days, but after some adjusting and learning the routine, it goes quite smooth.

Here's a poem Rhett memorized in the first two week:

The Swing

By Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

   Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

   Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

   Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

   Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

   Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

   Up in the air and down!

It is so cute to hear him say "pleasantest thing" ;)

 -MarLeahJoy

 

August 3, 2024

As a little girl, I was always fascinated with going fishing.

So much that I begged my dad enough times that we finally bought our licenses and went when I was a teen. We didn't catch anything, but I do remember sitting on the dock in the rain. I remember that my daddy took me. :) 

So last year I took the boys about this time in August. Link stayed in the stroller some of the time, other times I was wrangling him and putting worms on hooks all in one. We caught several little fish that we released back, then Kaitlyn and Eddie joined us and we got to take the boys out on some kayaks on the water. :)

But on this particular day, last Saturday, I was un-usually tired... I tried laying down for a nap while Link was napping. But sleep wasn't coming, and I suddenly had the thought to take the boys fishing and I completely didn't feel tired anymore! Ha! 

So I snuck around and gathered our gear while Lincoln continued to nap. And we headed down to one of the little fishing lakes in our county. Tyrel was occupied with prior plans this evening, so it was just me and the boys... me trying my best to figure out what bait the fish might bite! 

They caught a little salamander first :)

Rhett was all into the fishing this year and loved doing it himself! 

Sadly, he didn't even hook anything. But we sure enjoyed the outing!

-MarLeahJoy

 

Post Camp Meeting Life

I thoroughly enjoyed the Monark Springs camp meeting we got to be in this year. As a family we missed out on going last year because we wanted to go to another meeting in July, and then living in West Virginia just makes traveling to Monark a bit more challenging. 

When I left for the trip this year, I committed to God my seedlings that I had already re-seeded 2-3 times. I knew that if they didn’t survive while I was gone, then it would probably be too late to try re-seeding after that. Plus, I was growing weary of constantly misting them with water, dusting for them for bugs, (or whatever was eating them), and setting up little protective barriers around them.

And I was very happy with what plants not only survived, but the huge growth everything had taken while I was gone for close to 2 weeks. It was really the break I needed from the garden to get some renewed motivation to keep going at it! 

I had enough flowers bloomed to set up several bouquets through the house, and that has made me super happy!

Rhett made a little money helping me spread out some mulch in the front of the high tunnel. We are hoping to replace the sun-plastic on the high tunnel in the next couple years so we can utilize the extended growing season it provides.

This is the row of zinnias that I have had to re-seed the last half of it 2-3 times! I'm not sure what little critter kept eating the sprouts, but thankfully I think the whole row should be filled up with flowers at some point!

Some Procut sunflowers. They create small little sunnies on the bottom of the stalks that you can cut to put in bouquets!

I fought for my tomatoes last year and lost big time to a whole bunch of rats that I couldn't terminate in time. I am still fighting them this year, but I set so many spring traps and have taken out about 30 rats that way... not to count the ones I killed in the chicken coop before planting season.

Anyway, I'm sure hoping for a bunch of tomatoes this year to preserve!

My handy dandy helper! 

The pumpkins shot up and spread all over the place while I was gone! I had to move multiple vines around to keep them contained to one area. I sure hope to get some pretty decorative pumpkins off of them!

Rhett wanted watermelon this year. Without the high tunnel plastic, we don't have a great growing season for watermelon, but I told him we could sure try! So we planted a sugar baby watermelon!

 This is my other garden plot right next to the high tunnel that we planted corn and potatoes in. The corn shot up like crazy the 2 weeks I was gone. And God kept it watered for me! <3 We had been watering with a sprinkler every night before I left because we were in such a dry spell here. 

My front flowerbed doesn't look exactly how I envisioned it, but it is starting to fill in a little more. :)

I will share the link here to messages from Monark Springs camp meeting I attended, so you can get the blessings from the services as well! :)

Blessings! MarLeahJoy