♥ Lovely Porches ♥

I love porches.  To me, porches give a home an instant cozy and welcoming element.

There are memories made on porches.......in days gone by especially.  In those days when times were simpler and folks weren't on the go constantly running their children to extracurricular activities, they would gravitate to the porch in their rockers, swings, or benches, and watch the kids play in the yard during the day or catch fireflies after dark, while they enjoyed simple conversations ,sipping their lemonade or coffee.  Porches were actually just an extension of their living space.  Families LIVED a great deal of their lives on porches.

I love the appeal of porches.  Every house I could or have ever dreamed of living in or imagined in my life has ALWAYS had a porch.  And I admit that I will slow down and take a closer look at porches when I drive by them.....whether they be large meandering wrap-arounds or cozy small ones......they all draw me in!

Wanna take a stroll with me today as I stop by and visit some pretty and inviting porches?  We can imagine who lives there and what it would be like to visit for awhile on these cozy welcoming porches!

Okay, let's go......

I just love that last one!  Whoever lives there would have a hard time getting me to leave!

And mine seems so simple compared to some of these, but I worked with what I have.  :)  Here's our front porch this summer.....

Thanks for taking a stroll with me today.  I hope you enjoyed the porch tour! I bet you had a favorite that you could imagine yourself on right about now!  :)

Take time to grab you a cool glass of lemonade or a cup of coffee in the morning and enjoy YOUR porch.  Enjoy the simple moments!

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ Handyman in Training ♥

Our Luke is definitely an outdoor kid.  He loves playing in the sandbox, digging in the dirt, hauling stuff, building stuff, riding bikes.....anything that has to do with outside.  And even when he's inside, he's still building constantly.

And he loves to help....always asking, "Can I help?"    So I figure we better train him well so one day he will be a handyman like his daddy.   His future wife will be most thankful I'm sure.  :)

Pop gave him water and a brush to practice his painting skills first.....

Then he helped me paint the deck some....... and he wasn't too bad at it either.

Learning to handle the tiller.....

He handles this mower like a pro....My daddy (Pop) taught him.  He's pretty proud of him I think.....of how fast he caught on...especially for the type of mower it is.  Pop set up cones for him to maneuver around and everything.  Lol!   I venture to say he could mow our lawn by the time he's 8!

And he loves to help water stuff....but what boy doesn't love handling a water hose?  :)

It takes more time to stop and allow him to help and show him how to do something, but it is so worth the smile of satisfaction on his face and knowing that we're training him for the future....hopefully a wonderful handyman one day  :)

Wild hair man....that's what hard work does!  :)  

Thanks for stopping by today!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ A Trip to the Zoo ♥

While my nephew and his wife were here last week, we were on the go all week!  I have several things to share here but it would be picture overload to do them all in one day, so I'm starting with a few highlights from the zoo!  :)

Last Thursday we enjoyed a beautiful day at the zoo!  It was overcast and breezy.....just THE perfect day for the zoo!

Luke had never been to the zoo before so it was fun watching him.  When we were in China, we went to a safari, but he doesn't remember it.  He was so excited, but since he walked all the way through (no stroller for him), he was ready to go home towards the end!

There is a special exhibit going on where the kids can pet stingrays (Stingray Bay).  That was a highlight!

Joy and Luke enjoyed it....

So did the big kids.....Colt, Amber, Trey & Shauna!

Luke with YaYa, the panda......

Jason and I doing what tuckered out parents do best....sitting on a bench catching a rest.......  :)

Joy and Luke rode the camel....Joy says it's so rhythmical that it just about put her to sleep!

At the farm petting zoo.......

Love this one......it totally sums up the relationship of these two!

We caught Luke sitting (resting) "China style".  If you've ever been to China, you'll total get this one!  You especially see the men sitting this way on the sidewalks in China....even the older ones!

Luke enjoyed dippin' dots compliments of big sister.....

It was a fun day!  We headed to CiCis pizza afterwards before calling it a day.

Lovin' these summer days!  :)  Hope your summer is wonderful so far!

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ Summer is Here! ♥

I thought I'd better pop in here and let you know that I haven't abandoned my blog!  I'm here!

My nephew and his wife (Trey & Shauna) are here for a week, so we've been busy.

But to catch you up on a few things.......

Our mini vacation turned into a stay-cation, which turned into work around here....imagine that!

What was supposed to be a spray-the-deck-and-be-done-in-a-day didn't work out that way.  But does it ever work out like planned?  Nope.....we're having to roll it all on....the entire BIG deck!  And not just one coat....but two!  So needless to say, we're not even close to being done.   Why do we start one project before we are finished with another?  :)

But the kids are enjoying the pool in spite of the deck painting. 

Alot of swimming has been going on around here.  We got the pool opened and ready last Friday and the kids swam in 66 degree weather.  Not this girl.

We've had friends over.....

School is over for awhile....and we celebrated because Algebra 1 is finished (and we're trying not to think about Geometry and Algebra 2).

Oh and Joy and I got new genuine cowgirl boots......we've wanted some for so long!

And Mr. Luke has been practicing his casting skills getting ready for fishing......which he has been talking about doing for some time now!  :)

The next few days will be busy as we have a trip to the zoo planned, a homeschool book sale, and a wedding, but I'll be back as soon as I can!

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ A Little Work Outside ♥

While we have plans to do much more, we've barely scratched the surface of our to-do list outdoors. 

We did create a new landscaped area and planted strawberries there.  It looks pretty and is close by so I can keep a watch on them because have lots of little rabbits hopping around here, and I'm pretty sure they'll like nibbling on those.

Jason and Luke planted potatoes and Luke loves helping tend to them!

We're really hoping this little nippy weather that moved in doesn't hurt any of our plantings so far!  We still have plans to at least plant tomatoes, onions, and squash as well. 

Oh, and this little project was purely cosmetic.  :)  I've wanted something along the sidewalk that leads from the carport into the sunporch.  We've gotten this far with the stones and dirt.  Got to get this project finished up next weekend hopefully!

Always something to do.......but always so worth it in the end!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

Beware of Snakes

Luckily neither of my boys have ever asked for a pet snake. I have to admit that I've always worried that day might come.   Colt would be the one looking for a snake, but only to shoot.  And Luke is probably just as scared of them as Joy and me.  This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned  :)

This is the sign I found in the yard the other day designed and placed by Luke. 

That's my boy!  :)

Luckily, we haven't run cross any snakes yet this year in our yard yet.  But then, the chances are pretty good that we will........that's just part of country living. 

Have a great weekend!  :)

♥ A Little Birdie ♥

Well it seems like we've found favor with birds lately.  :)

Or maybe God just wanted to make us slow down and enjoy another one of His creations!  I love it when He provides a little nature lesson for us to enjoy!

Tuesday after we came out of gym (our homeschooling co-op meeting), this little birdie was sitting right on our windshield wiper peering into the car.

Nothing scared her.  We opened and shut doors, talked to her, and came closer and closer.  She just sat there and stared in the window at us, almost intrigued with us.

Maybe she wanted a ride?

Or a new home?

She let me get this close with my phone to take a pic and just turned her head whichever way I went to take her picture.

Then she just down right posed for me.  My phone was literally inches from her.

She made me smile with her cute little dignified self.  :)

We had to leave for home, so we finally got a stick for her to sit on and she sort of stood on it a second and then flew away up into the tree.

It gave me the perfect opportunity to stop and discuss with my kids about how God provides for the birds, and at how much more He loves us, His children, and how He surely takes care of us! 

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:25-26

 

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Thanks for stopping by!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥