This has to be one of God's most beautiful creations...careful attention to detail, color variance, fragrance, texture...purely for the enjoyment of His children. Don't all of us as parents love to give gifts to our children purely for their enjoyment? And because we delight in their pleasure?





An unpredicted beautiful Memorial Day....


Kevin wanted to do a bike ride run-through for the Pigman triathlon this Sunday at Palo. So he loaded up his Trek Hilo and our kayaks on Memorial Day morning.




Here he is coming in...first place! (of course, he was the only one)






Kevin paddling.






...and Penni paddling. (Listen to those frogs in the background.)

It looks lovely...and it was great, but the bugs were so unbearable that we left after being out on the water only a short while. But the whole day was wonderful. It was supposed to rain, but the weather men were wrong. Kevin went for another bike ride and I made cookies, then worked on my garden (mostly potted tomoto and pepper plants outdoors). Prayed for a bountiful harvest.

Moving day for Steve, Marti, Zeke....

This is the day many of us have been praying for. Marti, Steve, and Zeke feel so blessed as God has given them this lovely home to live in. They want to share this blessing and use it to honor God. (Sorry, no pics of Steve and Kevin as I took these while they were enroute)

This is the front. It is a pale yellow.





Marti unloading the car




She's going up the steps that go into the huge living room. The dining room is in the foreground and the entry is down the stairs.




Marti talking with her new neighbor who is dismantling the swingset and removing it from the backyard. See the nice in-ground pool?




This is the master bedroom (with gas fireplace) in the lower level




A huge living room with another gas fireplace




Zeke in his new spacious bedroom. He likes the blue ceiling fan his mom picked out for him




And here is the dining room with oak hardwood flooring




Ta-dah!!! A spacious kitchen with new hardwood cabinets (Kevin thought maybe birch) and hardwood flooring.

My indoor herb garden.
The deer seem to think that I grow my flowers just for them. For weeks I watched my flowers come up from the ground, then bud, and just before the buds opened...the deer sneak in for the kill. So, I've planted an indoor garden out of harm's way. I even potted some tomato plants and sweet red bell pepper plants in pots outside, but put deer netting around each of them so that Kevin and I can enjoy the harvest.


Parsley, sweet basil, stevia, cilantro

The Marion Arts Festival...
A warm, sunny spring day. We made our annual visit to the local arts festival. Always so much fun to visit all the artists' booths. They vary from the bizarre to the exquisite.


wandering from booth to booth, savoring all the flavors





This artist's work was one of the exquisites...her compositions look like photos...or maybe detailed paintings. But each piece was done on silk with colored silk thread. She learned the art form from her mother and grandmother. It is hand sewn embroidery. Her name is Karen Shi.




This artisan is watching the people looking around in her booth




...watching from behind the scenes





an enjoyable and relaxing morning outdoors




This was one of our favorite booths...filled with raku ware.




Here is the potter holding Kevin's favorite piece

bored...waiting on mom

This little girl caught my eye...she must have been bored, waiting on her mom who was chatting away.

Abby with her daughters

I ran into a friend I've not seen for years. It was a huge blessing to run into her at the art festival. I saw these 2 cute girls and stooped down to take their picture, when I hear someone say, "Penni!!" It was their mom, Abby. She actually graduated from
high school with Jesse. It was so wonderful to run into her

Kevin's early birthday gift

Kevin was drooling over the Raku at this booth at the Art Festival. As we slowly walked away I asked Kevin if he would like to pick out a piece for his birthday. His eyes lit up and he asked, "really?" So we turned around and he picked up a few pieces and pondered them before selecting the one below. The lines in the pot are from horsehair used in the firing process. For those of you who are not aware, Kevin's master degree is in studio art.

Bleeding Heart...
but I think they should be called "Girls in Ponytails". Does anyone have any other suggested names by which they should be called? Possibly "Puffed Sleeves"?



And speaking of bleeding heart....Kevin had another profound quote after lights went out the other night. Understand, he's been experiencing a lot of pain in his shoulder and neck the last 2-3 weeks. He finally went to see our D.O. (Trey would be our D.O.-in-progress, but he lives across the ocean). Kevin did not have any relief from the pain that first night, which is when he said, "It's just going to hurt 'til it gets better."

Think about it....

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!


Kevin and I enjoyed spending Mother's Day with Mom and Maynard in their home today. After church, we prepared dinner consisting of fried chicken breasts, potatoes, gravy, corn, yams, homemade bread. Then later in the afternoon, we shared tiramisu for dessert, which Mom and Maynard tasted for the first time. It was delicious!




It was supposed to be a rainy day, but God blessed us with sunshine and warmer temperatures. Mom and I went for a walk, but this lily of the valley flower is from their yard. They are so fragrant.





Mom and Maynard have just redone their kitchen. It looks beautiful!




More of the new kitchen




Kevin and Maynard put up the new mirror in the dining area.




Mom and me enjoying a walk around the house, looking at all the flowers and being in the sunshine.




Waving goodbye...but due to the over-exposure of the sun on my camera lens.....




...here is the re-enactment.



Indulge me here...one more mushroom picture. Just showing you how difficult it is to spot a mushroom. And this is a fairly close shot. One has to be almost on top of them to spot them. We enjoyed a delicious sampling of them Saturday at lunch.

Ta-Da! Kari's 60 min bread recipe...

This is the 2nd time I've made it this week, only this time I added some wheat germ and doubled the batch. It's delicious and I encourage you to try it. (But it took me probably 90 min rather than 60. But if you read "60 min", you'll be more likely to try making it.)

No bluebells....



I didn't see a single bluebell flower this year in the timber. Actually, I don't know that I saw any last year either. I remember them being so common....kind of sad. I miss them.

This white flower is unknown to me. This week was the first time I've ever seen this flower. It's growing wild among the ferns, Dutchman's Britches, May Apples, Umbrellas....









This fern was so pretty with its contrasting greens




The harvest....


Mental lapse...
That is the end of the fun for a couple of days. Kevin came home today suffering miserably from a cold. Symptoms started yesterday, plus he had an appointment with a doctor that lasted most of his afternoon, and was exhausted from the whole day.
So when we finally got to bed, we're laying in the dark and he lets out a big sigh. Then complains, "I'm just having a bad week today."
I guess maybe he is.

A hunting we will go....



Kevin and I ran to Palisades right after work yesterday to go mushrooming...but in our hiking through the timber, there are always interesting (i.e. pretty, colorful, delicate, unusual) wild flowers to be found.


After almost 2 hrs of futile hunting:




Continuing....

The weekend for good-byes :o(



Boys will be boys..."Hey, Jesse. I'll give you my red for your orange."




Jesse and his friend since elementary school, Pat




Julie and her brothers (Michael, Tim, Scott)




Julie's family




Julie, Jesse, Renae, Penni, Kevin




Julie, Jesse, Renae




Jesse and Julie asked us if we wanted to put Renae to bed. Of course we did!!!
Good night, Little Peanut.




The two grandpas (with Taylor and Renae)




Julie and Renae standing at the door saying goodbye to Julie's brother and his family. A very hard good bye.





These two pictures are still hard for me to look at without tearing up. Julie is standing at the door, crying and waving good-bye to us....

...and Jesse and Renae are waving good-bye, along with Julie's dad.

We love you guys!