The last harvest from our garden.

The top photo is the sunflower seeds.

The top photo are dried flowers... will get seeds to plant flowers for next year.

The bottom photo are the actual flowers, still blooming even now, while the weather slowly turns colder and fall like.

Still beautiful in all seasons. Even me pregnant and swollen, but beautiful in growing a child within me.  At least thats what my husband always tells me. ;)

24 weeks and counting.

happy and upset....

I am feeling upset today. Well first I felt very happy, but now I am upset, angry and confused. I am 19 weeks pregnant, and had my ultrasound today.... and yes, I am having a little baby boy! So I am beyond trilled, even though we knew we were having a boy long time ago, but its always nice to see your baby on the ultrasound as well. The doctor said everything looked great and that he will see me back for a follow up ultrasound visit in 8 weeks, and I drove home in a happy mood. Its pretty hot today, almost 97 degrees. When I got home, my doctor called back and said that he forgot to mention that my varicella test came back showing that I got re-infected with chicken pox, if that is even possible and that the baby may not grow as well as he hoped, and that he my develop a heart problem or an infection, and that I should come back in 2 weeks for a repeat ultrasound and to monitor the baby's heartbeat. I got mad, "what??" what percentage is there that baby will not grow normally? a very tiny percentage. What percentage is there that baby can develop a heart problem, or some kind of infection? A very tiny percentage. So why in the world am I supposed to come in earlier, and get all worried about this. I guess I am feeling irrational, and not thinking clearly. But what he told me made me upset. I wish I didn't have to think about this, but just concentrate on the beautiful healthy baby growing strong every day in my belly. Knowing that he will be OK, because he is in Gods hands. To trust God that everything will be just perfect. But it still makes me pretty upset. So there. I vented. I feel better now. The weather is still pretty hot, makes me sleepy. The girls are playing in the backyard, running under the sprinkles, enjoy the last days of summer heat.

So I feel happy like that pretty pink flower, and sad like a rocky shore by a cold lake.

Summer bounty.

I love growing my own garden, full of vegetables and flowers.

Blessed bounty from the garden.

Our trip to the ocean.

We took a little summer vacation last month. It was nice to get away from the big city life and breathe some fresh ocean breezes...

Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, al of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ' (Matthew 11:28)

We have hope.

Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in  you alone. Psalm 33:22

...the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11

...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19

~~~~~Wild aloe/cacti plant blooming in late May, early June.~~~~~

3rd year of gardening.

This is my 3rd year of gardening, wow, time flies, it seemed just yesterday we moved here, and now this will be my third gardening experience. The first year we only had one little spot for gardening, where we grew tomatoes, and some dill. The second year, I realized that there is an amazing world of seeds out there, so I bought a whole bunch of seeds from Bountiful gardens, which I really liked. We had 2 spots where I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, a lot of different herbs, sunflowers, and other veggies. This being my 3rd year, I couldn't wait for spring, to order new seeds, to get my hands into dirt, to see the miracle of plants grow from tiny seeds. This year I ordered from Rare seeds which I love the catalog, it has a lot of colorful pictures, and all the veggies are heirloom, which are rare, and more natural.  So here is what is growing in my garden. Some onions. Everyone loves onions, they go with everything, in salads, into soups, into casseroles. My dear hubby loves to eat them raw....:)

Some early red beets, which we will use for salads, for Russian red borscht.

We have lots of different types of tomatoes, red, yellow, black, and others.

Beautiful cucumber plants. I love a salad made with cucumbers and onions, and some olive oil, salt and pepper. Yum.

...and zucchini plants.

Have you ever tried a french sorrel?

Also strawberries, cabbage, lettuce, Chinese mustard, and radishes....:)

May storm.

Its storming up a summer storm. Or still a spring storm. Its raining, hailing, windy and gray. Feels like winter. We need all the rain we can get here in CA. But it is scary to watch your garden and all the plants you planted get drowned with hard rain and hit by icy hail. I hope it survives. Only God can protect everything.

I do hope you are having a great spring, almost summer. And I hope all the plants will survive the wild storm. :)