Trees

I learned something about trees yesterday. But before I tell you, I should give a quick background. One of my neighbors came over about a week ago and asked me if we wanted a couple of free apple trees. All we had to do was dig them up. We asked how big and she said they were about 8-9 feet tall and fairly new trees. (planted about 3 years ago) So we said yes. Well, yesterday was the day. We planned to go over to her sister in law's house about 5 minutes away and dig up the two trees.

All started out great. We got there with two shovels in hand ready to get a couple of new trees. Turns out one was newer and one we never should have begun to attempt to pull out. They are both yoshimoto cherry blossom trees. There is even some cool cherry like fruit on them. The newer one came out no problem. The established one that was about 25 feet tall and HUGE took almost 3 hours to get out. Greg is a BEAR! He never gave up. He really can do anything. I can't believe we were able to dig it up with a pick ax and two shovels. Although, we had to chop the life out of some roots that themselves were the size of small trees. So I'm praying it will re-root and survive in our yard. So yes, we had to come home and plant the tree right away to try and preserve what was left of the root system. So last night about 9:45 p.m. till around 11:00 we furiously dug a new 2 foot hole in ROCKS (gotta love Puyallup) to replant the tree.









All that to say, I learned something yesterday. I was reminded of the beauty and perfection of God's creation. I was definitely reminded to not take nature for granted. And mostly I learned that strength comes as we grow. The tree was practically impossible to move in the environment where it had been growing. It was strong and ferocious. But, now in my yard it will have to be braced and taken care of a lot till it regenerates and grows again. God has been challenging me through the beginning of this summer to grow. He has been reminding me that I need strength and to gain that awesome strength I have to be growing in HIM.

The other delightful insight I got into growing came with my kids! Greg and I have been out of the baby stage for a couple of years. Although we miss parts of our kids baby years we also love moving forward. Yesterday was one of those fun moving forward days. Our kids actually accomplished cleaning thier bathroom ALL BY THEMSELVES. I had to grab my camera because I was in shock and wanted to savor it for days to come. There was no whining or complaining. In fact, there was a little fighting over who would get to clean the toilet and the bathtub and when would it be their turn. MUSIC to my ears.









And lastly, a little garden update. I haven't posted pictures since they began to sprout. The pumpkin leaves are getting bigger. The corn is raising higher. The tomato plants are out of control and the carrot tops are so beautiful.











We also had some encouraging leaves pop out this week on a rose bush. This isn't just any rose bush. Greg and the kids got to take it from Marie's garden (Greg's mom) before his dad's house sold last month. We transplanted it and it all but died almost immediately. So we bought some transplant stuff and hoped for the best. This week it started to get some leaves again and is showing signs of strength as well. We are so thrilled. Now we will have our rosebush and our blueberry bush (which someone gave us when she died) to fill our hearts and remind us often of the woman we look forward to being reunited with in Heaven.