A Little Harvest is Better Than Nothing

I've had mixed emotions about our garden this year.
First, we planted it differently than last year - as far as where everything was planted, and how much. Del did most of the planting with me helping with the big stuff.  And then...the rains came - and came - and came some more.  Our potatoes rotted in the ground - our strawberries were overtaken by grass and weeds.  The tomatoes flooded and our green beans looked hopeless.  I lost interest in all of it when Del had to prematurely dig up the potatoes - and we had a poor showing for so much work put in to it.  The onions then got dug up - the peppers never really gave us anything more than 2-3 green peppers - the chickens got to our tomatoes before we could - squash never produced - and now, the green beans are finally starting to come on.  But even our several rows of green beans had several plants that never even grew - so the rows look very sparse and spread out unevenly.  But, we've had enough for me to share two nice pickings of potatoes and green beans to give to our neighbors and to members of the ward -.
And now that I have finally promised Del I won't give away any more of our garden, I finally saved up enough pickings to can some green beans tonight!!!  YAH!!! We didn't can ANY last year, so I'm pleased with anything this year.  I'm hoping to get maybe even one or two more pickings to actually can another night.  I would be thrilled with that.
The rest of the garden is lost - weeds and grass have over taken the whole thing.  Between Del and I, and our busy schedules, we have not had the time or energy to keep up with having it look nice...it's embarrassing -.  Still producing, but embarrassing.
But...I have green beans up on my shelves.
I call it a successful year.

Ten Second Litter Box and Kitty Cottage

How do I even begin to explain this??
Del has started a business with a man in our ward, Micheal Jackson - (yes, really his name).  Mike had this idea of a kitty litter box, Del had the funding and the smarts for putting it into a business...and now, 5 months later, they officially launched their new product on the fourth of July.
It is a disposable kitty litter box - and it's brilliant.  And everyone that has tried it out, literally LOVE it - and so, they have a website, a place they can be ordered - and they are placing it into certain stores.  Of course,, we're hoping it make us millions...but I would be happy to just have my husband back. It has taken literally hundreds of hours to get this adventure up and running - and he has been more than extremely busy.  But it's been very important to him - and I'm trying to be very supportive and helpful when I can.  But I have mostly been in the background watching everything come together.
I hope it's everything Del wishes it to be...and more.

Fourth of July

Mike and Kylie hosted a family barbecue the night before with shishkabobs.

Emerson loved watching t.v. 

Our Patriotic Madison

swimming fun

getting ready for the fireworks

Emerson wanted to help his daddy light the fireworks

front row view

sparklers!!

She's adorable 

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"I Scratched My Heartbeat But I Didn't Die!'

The other night, Del and I were over at Kylie's house while Mike was out of town.  The kids were playing outside and doing fun things, while Del and I were inside talking to Kylie.  We heard Preston start to cry/scream and so we ran out to see what had happened.  While coming down the stairs from the trampoline, he had scraped the front of his chest on the corners of the stairs and it was bleeding a little and looked pretty sore.  We brought him into the house and gave him a bath and carefully cleaned it up.  Afterwards, we fed the kids dinner.
While they were eating, Kylie took this picture of Preston's 'owie' and sent it to Mike, knowing he would call within minutes to ask what had happened.  When the phone rang, we all kind of laughed and Mike quickly asked Preston to tell him what had happened...Kylie put the phone on speaker and Preston across the table...' I scratched my heartbeat, but I didn't die!'.  Del and I laughed and laughed, thinking how clever Preston's description had been to his accident.
I've thought a LOT about what Preston said over the past week .  'I scratched my heartbeat, but I didn't die'.  Over the past few weeks, I have observed in our world, some pretty terrible things that have truly, 'scratched my heartbeat'.  The Supreme Court of the United States passed a law that legalized same sex marriage; something I thought would never happen.  Something that, in the past, has been considered immoral, disgusting and unnatural, has now been passed as legally acceptable and encouraged by many citizens in this country where I live.  It has truly 'scratched my heartbeat'. There have been a few other things happening, in the ward, between ward members, that once again, scratch my heartbeat....But through all of this, I haven't died...and it will get worse.  This world is actually going to get worse.  I can't imagine it - but it will.
There will be many more moments in this life, when 'LIFE' will scratch my heart...but I can't let it kill me.  I need to continue to stand for Truth and Righteousness and in keeping my covenants with my Heavenly Father.  This world will get ugly.  But the church will continue to stand for what is morally right.  The first presidency made a statement that has now been read throughout the church in every ward.  God's Law does not change just because the law of the land approves of something contrary to God's law.
Another scratch of my heartbeat....We have had the passing of two apostles over the past month - the first, was Elder L. Tom Perry and the second, was our beloved Pres Boyd K Packer, who died just this past Friday. Knowing some of his family personally, has made it just a little sadder for me, knowing they are mourning his loss.  It's sad how they found out at the same time the rest of the church finds out - kind of.  They have very little privacy to mourn or plan a funeral - but they understand all that with having him been in the public eye for so long.  I just pray for comfort for them.