Scattered to Serve

Our church did a really neat congregational-wide service project a few weeks back. One Saturday morning, almost 600 congregation members scattered in different directions across the triangle (and beyond) to help over 40 organizations in need. I took Collins with me to help harvest crops for the Society of the St. Andrew non-profit group. They go to area farms and glean vegetables that cannot be sold and take them to the Interfaith Food Shuttle and homeless shelters where they can feed hungry people.

I was eager for Collins to learn a good lesson about helping others, but I have to say I took a lot away from the project as well. It was such a neat morning! We drove all the way out to Efland to this beautiful farm and spent the morning gleaning the most gorgeous lettuces you have ever seen. Spinach, romaine, bibb, iceberb- we harvested it all and our group took 900 pounds of it back to Raleigh to help feed hungry people. We also met some new church members and got to get our hands dirty on this farm. The whole morning and project was really fun!

I love the farm look Collins put together. She can never not be fancy- not even on a farm. :)

Knee Surgery for Brian

Brian had knee surgery on May 1st. What his doctor thought was tendonitis, was actually something much more serious. He had a hole in the cartalidge which required Microfracture knee surgery. He had to have four holes drilled into his bone in hopes that the bleeding would create tissue and eventually new cartilidge to replace what he had lost. It was a pretty invasive surgery, but the doctor said that it was very successful. 

Hours later, he was up and moving around with the girls...Collins took excellent care of her patient feeding him lots of chocolate chip cookies and making him lots of pretty pictures and a special garland necklace. 

And something you don't expect to see right after knee surgery...a patient chopping down a tree. Can you say stubborn?!? 

Because he did so well initially and because the doctors told us he might be off crutches in a couple of days (originally he was told it would be six weeks), we were surprised days later when he was in so much pain and not anywhere ready to get rid of crutches. The next two weeks were really tough for him- just lots of pain and swelling with the knee- and trying to go back to normal life (going to work, walking up stairs, etc.). 

I have learned that taking care of three people is not as easy as I thought it would be. He has done a good job of being self sufficient, but there are some things you can't do if you're on crutches (like carry the girls, drive, carry a plate, cook- you know important things!) so we have all had to adjust. 

Two and a half weeks in to surgery, he was able to drive which was a game changer for him and me. He also was in a lot less pain and slowly things have been getting back to normal around here. He cooked two fabulous meals for us over Memorial Day weekend, and we finally got out of the house for a date night! 

The hope is that the surgery will allow him to run and return to his normal fitness routine by Fall. He has been out of F3 for 5 months now which is really hard on him. He has been a trooper, but he NEEDS to work out. Hopefully, this surgery will get him there!

Our Garden

We have lived at 809 Blenheim Road for over six years now and have never been able to successfully grow anything green in our yard (including grass). So when Brian had the idea to start our own raised-bed vegetable garden, I thought he was a bit crazy. But we both want freshly-grown vegetables so badly that we talked ourselves into it being a good idea. Brian did a ton of research, went and gathered the supplies, and went to work on our garden. 

The first spot we tried was right inside the back yard fence. Then we realized it never got full sunlight there, so we had to consider other options. 

We ended up planting the garden in our front yard at the top of the driveway. Not the ideal spot for me (aesthetics-wise), but it got it got the most sun (except for a bit lower down the side of the driveway which would have been an even bigger eye sore) so we went with this location. Brian got us a bunch of dark compost, and the girls and I went to get the plants and seeds. We planted cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, thyme, basil, rosemary, and green beans. And then we waited... 

We had to get the garden planted before this happened...knee surgery! But a major knee surgery did not slow our master gardener down...

We planted a combination of seeds and plants, and we were really excited to find one of our green bean seeds sprout up a few days later...

We are all now on a daily garden watch, and are a little obsessed. I guess this will be our summer project, and who knows? Maybe we will actually grow a vegetable?!?! Only time will tell...but so far, we have progress.

If we only get fresh herbs to grow, I will be happy. We have already accented so many meals with fresh herbs, and it has been wonderful!

 I don't know that we will ever have green thumbs, but how fun it has been to watch our garden grow!

No Tutu?!?

Not so sure that Addie is going to share in her sister's tutu obsession...she couldn't get this cute thing off fast enough! Maybe our second is not going to be quite as girly as our first? Only time will tell!

Perfect Spring Days

I normally feel like Spring comes and goes in a flash here in North Carolina. You get that first taste of warmth during the day, the crisp-coolness at night, and then in a matter of days it's hot and humid and feels like Summer. But this Spring has been different. It has felt like a full season of glorious Spring with more perfect days than not. Here's how we have been living these Spring days to the fullest...

Collins impressed me by riding her scooter all the way home from Lacy! This was her longest ride ever and has inspired her to complete the neighborhood loop easily and without complaints! :)

Normally while Collins is in dance class, Addie and I run a quick errand that never ends up being fun. So the last two weeks we have tried something different. Since the art museum is a quick walk from the dance studio, we have spent the hour picnicing instead! Much better...

Isabella Cannon park is one that Collins requests to go to...you will see why!

We both were in awe of this tree...

 

Our drama queen wasted no time in getting on stage...

or climbing to the top of the rock.

Not good that Addie found the sled in the shed...a new favorite backyard activity!

In addition to this...

And Collins was excited to plant something of her own.

We had our first hot and sweaty day this past week so I have a feeling our perfect Spring days have past, but they were really good while they lasted!