“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”
Lillia: Last night you were really sad because you had a mild argument with one of your friends on Minecraft. Then you told us that one of your favorite online friends from Chicken Smoothie had left the forums. You were visibly upset about both situations. I know how hard it is for you to find kids that are share your interests and can appreciate your idiosyncrasies, and I can see that you are frightened of losing the special friends that you have made. But, actually, friendships change over time. I didn’t realize that until I was an adult, but it’s true! In fact, most close relationships have an ebb and flow to them; sometimes you won’t be in sync and sometimes it will work like magic. You just have to ride the wave.
Zane: All this rain has been kind of a downer, huh? You’re the type of guy that needs to be outside, a lot. I’ve been trying to keep you entertained, but mostly you’re just upending coffee tables and tearing apart the couch. If we had a bigger house, I would just fill one of the rooms with old furniture and let you go at it! The highlight of your week was definitely visiting Daddy, and opening a savings account, at the bank. You really love to chat with grown-ups, and you’ve recently started telling “tall tales.” Thankfully, I think drier weather is on the horizon so we’ll be able to run around outside again soon.
I’m pleased to say that, despite the trials and tribulations involved in getting everything set up, our vegetable garden is doing great! We purchased plants that were already started, but even after just a week I can definitely see a difference. Some of them have grown a lot! We have both beds planted now and I’ll include a garden plan in my next post so you can see what we planted and where. I ended up putting some chicken wire over the tops of the plants (I cut holes for them, which was a huge pain) because we have so many free-roaming cats around here (5 of them!). I don’t want any kitties to think my raised beds are their personal toilets. So far it’s working great and the cats haven’t bothered my veggies. If anyone local has the same problem, I have a ton of chicken wire leftover and you’re welcome to have some of it.
I never really saw it coming, but it turns out that I love gardening. I’m no expert, but I’ve managed to keep what was already here alive, plus I’ve added some things over the past couple of years. Flowers make fantastic photography subjects, so I have lots of inspiration right in my own front (and back) yard. They’re particularly interesting to shoot with a macro lens (which is what I used for these photos). Currently we have rhododendron, salvia, allium, and several species of iris in full bloom. It’s beautiful.
“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”
Lillia: You did it! You earned your brown belt! I am so proud of you. And, yesterday you did your Spring MAP test and your math score went up 15 points since the last test. It’s amazing how much you’ve improved in math this year. We got a little behind while we were homeschooling, but you have caught up and then some. I hope you have a blast partying with all of your friends tonight!
Zane: [those cheeks – I’m dying! ] Phew! What a week! Although our garden plans were temporarily thwarted, you were so patient and it all turned out okay in the end. You have really enjoyed tending our little vegetable plants, and I know you will be so thrilled when we can harvest the “fruits” of our labors, so to speak, later in the summer. Thanks for being such an awesome little guy, and for being so excited about everything we do (even when it’s stressful). You make it all worthwhile.