Coming Home

Last night I cried. I know, shocking news! DJ was outside with the dogs and I curled up in the bed, feeling very alone, and cried. When he came back in and saw me there (looking quite pathetic, I'm sure) he set down his water glass, crawled into bed next to me, and held me close. I rolled over and sobbed into his chest - soaking his shirt and my pillowcase.
At first, I was mad that he didn't say a word. He didn't ask what was wrong. I felt like he was annoyed by my tears and was just doing his duty as the husband of a crazy lady. But as I cried more, I realized something powerful.
I was home.
Laying there in his arms, crying out my emotions of the day, I'd come home. So I cried because I missed my Waco family and friends so much it hurt inside. I cried because babies were growing up and I wasn't there to watch. I cried because it takes four years to build the friendships I had back in Waco and we'd only been up here for a year. I cried because of a rude comment a random stranger made about my current job. I cried because my husband has to work graduation on Sunday - our one day together as a family. And then I cried because I was home. Because there in my sweet husband's arms was all I needed for that moment. He didn't need to speak. He didn't need to ask me what was wrong. He just needed to let me cry. And somehow, without any words spoken, he told me everything I needed to hear.
"Welcome home."

Oh, the irony!

Yesterday, I shared with you my complete lack of gardening skills. Yesterday afternoon, when the mail arrived I had a letter that made me literally laugh out loud! Let me share with you the highlights...

"Congratulations on your nomination!" My nomination to what, you ask? The National Home Gardening Club. Specifically, the Minnetonka, Minnesota Club.

"It's no secret among your friends and neighbors that you are an outstanding gardener. As someone who is passionately devoted to your hobby, you're exactly the kind of person our Club is always looking for."

"[The Club] is not for beginners! Only serious gardeners are nominated."

I swear folks, I am not making this up. I got a free pack of seeds and timed release all purpose plant food. It feeds up to 4 months! (Then it says 14-14-14 underneath. As the experienced, master gardener that I am - I have no clue what that mean!) The best part is, if I return the RSVP card, I get to be a member of the club and get free seeds. That I have no clue what to do with! Do flowers grow in a yard full of dandelions, buttercups, and dirt so dry it's literally cracked? We also have our very own puppy-sized sink hole. Can I put the seeds there? :)

Can I just say?

I've inherited a lot of traits from my mom. Some of them I am thrilled that the Lord passed them onto me! Like my mom's ability to talk to any child at any time anywhere. Or her passion for family and education. Or her smile. Other traits, I could have passed on. Like the small bladder that I'm sure will be an added "blessing" during pregnancy! And the complete lack of any musical talent whatsoever. At the moment, I'm really wishing I hadn't inherited her complete lack of a green thumb. She always said it was a black thumb. At least she can grow ivy. I quickly killed the ivy I tried to grow...

DJ inherited several traits from his mom. Like her passion for teaching and family. And, luckily, her green thumb. It is DJ's loving care that has coaxed fruit out of our little fruit plants in the backyard. (Even though all three of our raspberries have been eaten by the birds!) I am trying my best to learn from him. Therefore, I am super duper discouraged to look out the window and see this:

The dandelions and buttercups are in full bloom and spreading like wildfire. The grass is dead. This is after TWO applications of weed and feed. It's a sad sight to see. And then there's the geranium. Just two posts ago I was telling you how wonderful and beautiful it was. Now the blooms are gone and it's full of dead sticks and smelly leaves. Can I just say that my black thumb from my mom is just not my favorite trait today?

I'm loving it!

I have recently fallen in love with sewing. I'm seriously addicted. Now I know why my mom wanted me to learn so badly. It's wonderful! I keep showing the hubs all these projects I want to make and his response usually involves something like the following: "That's cute! I know you can do it! Can you find a coupon?" He's really very supportive of my new-found addiction! :)

A favorite blog of mine is hosting a giveaway for a hand-sewn table runner. I get an extra entry if I blog about the giveaway. I'm going to leave you the link but I'll beg you not to follow it simply because I want to win! :) HA! If you do follow the link, tell Melanie that if you win, you'd like to send the prize to me! Is that allowed? Go here for the seriously cute table runner! (But know that if you win, I'll totally steal it from you!)

Spring

God is so creative! I'm always in awe of His creative genius! About the time we get tired of one season, He surprises us with a new one. When we simply cannot stand the death and desolate winter months, life springs out of nowhere and flowers appear. Plants produce color and food that nourish the body and the soul. It makes my heart soar to think of what the Lord does for us each spring. On top of the world around us springing forth life, three of my friends gave birth to absolutely beautiful babies in three days time. Two of them have the same birthday and gave birth to babies on the same day. It was a delightful surprise! So, before I go any further - congrats to Leslie, Brandi, and Rachel! Riggins, Jacob, and Caitlyn are precious and amazing and a beautiful example of God's grace! Enjoy your new blessings as your family grows by two feet! :)

Do you remember the post where we went to the farmers market and then bought several fruit plants? We planted them in the backyard and I have been faithfully watering them daily. This weekend, we discovered something new. I won't bore you with words - I'd rather show you pictures!

Our geranium is growing and still blooming! Given my lack of a green thumb (it's really more black than anything else) this is really quite impressive!

Here is our blueberry bush. It's looking more like a bush every day. The internet says when it's fully grown it'll be 8x10 feet! I hope there's enough room in this corner of the yard.

This is the most important (and exciting) part of the blueberry bush. If you look closely you can see that there are little bulging blueberries. They're more green than blue right now, but that's not the point. We have blueberries!!

And this? This is a raspberry. It's actually turning pink and looking like it should. I'm just praying the birds will leave it alone so we can eat it.

Look - more raspberries are growing! It'll be a great summer in the Hammond Home!

Our grapevine started as a twig with three pink blooms. It was around 8 inches tall. It has already outgrown the first trellis and will soon outgrow the one we bought on Saturday!

I'd never seen a grapevine in person. The leaves are huge! The best part is that they appear out of nowhere and grow to this size within a day or two. We have loved watching the grapevine grow!

This is, by far, my favorite part of the entire grapevine. It literally reaches out and grabs onto the trellis. Within an hour of us putting this trellis up, the grapevine had already wrapped itself around several times. We are continually amazed at the Lord's creativity! And do you see that little red stick with the green spikey things coming off of it?

Those, my friend, are teeny tiny grapes. We're still placing bets on what color they'll be when they're ripe.

In keeping with our spring theme, here are the Hammonds on date night after getting caught in a surprise spring thunderstorm! Isn't my husband a handsome hunk? We had a fantastic night at Olive Garden...

And these gorgeous tulips? These were waiting for me when I came home from work on Saturday. My table looks like the very definition of spring! My heart smiles every time I see my sweet spring surprise. (Thanks sweetheart!)