Mountains and Photos

It has been hot here (really hot), so when the weather turned unexpectedly cooler, we headed up the mountain!  Blowing Rock, NC, is a great place to go!  It is always beautiful, with it's flowers, cottages, and park.  We had a great afternoon strolling down the sidewalks, enjoying the coolness, and eating some 75¢ popcorn!

I am glad I took my camera along for some snapshots...

(Note: For all the professional photographers out there...these pics have not been edited and "Photoshopped."  :)  I am not a pro...I just love taking pictures!)

This one is my favorite!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of Blowing Rock!

Beach to Home

"Ah...the smell and scene of hay bales scattered over the rolling hills...a familiar sign of the country.  Just to gaze at the serene, gentle picture brings peace and tranquillity to my heart.  The scene I love so dearly, encompasses the road that beckons me home.  Home...there is no place like home."

TKC

We arrived home, Saturday, after a wonderful week of rest at the beach.  My family (Daddy, Momma, Me, and Leah), along with my momma's mother and father (lovingly called "PawPaw and MawMaw"), and my uncle and his family (Uncle Bubber (Kevin), Aunt Pam, Katy, Kandace, Andrew, and Clara), enjoyed sharing a house at Holden Beach.  This beach is a family beach...very quiet and family oriented!  (Which I love!)  Along with jumping the chilly waves and walking on the sandy beach, we enjoyed playing card games, singing, preparing meals together, and just enjoying the family time.  There were severals rounds of "I'll Fly Away" sung during these special moments.  (It just so happens that this family loves to sing and will break into harmonious notes at any moment of the day!)  :)  We, also, started each morning with a "word" from the Word, as our fathers led the familes in study.  It is always nice to go, but it is also nice to come home!  Again, "There is no place like home!"

My garden seemed to fair well while I was gone.  (Thank you, Lord, for the rain showers!)  The beans are really sprouting up, as well as the tomato plants.  I look forward to a good harvest!

The kittens are big, now!  They will soon leave the comforts of our basement and have the adventure of the outdoors.  We have grown to love them!

Well, you know I can't end without a picture or two!  :)

My sweet cousin, Clara!

Andrew, playing in the sand on a breezy day!

 

Talk soon and many blessings!

Taylor

Home Grown

Have you ever had "kilt" (or "killed"; both terms are correct) lettuce?  If you haven't, you are missing out!  Kilt lettuce is fresh lettuce, with finely sliced spring onions, drizzled lightly with hot bacon grease.  It is out of this world!!!!! 

Here is my freshly picked and washed lettuce...now it's time for the onions!



It is so satisfying to eat something that you have grown!  (Especially when it is this good!)  :)

Just wanted to share this sweet little picture of Theo!

The kittens are almost two months old!

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalms 118:24



Catching Up

It has been a while since I have blogged...where do I begin?

In a previous post, I told you I was making a dress.  It turned out so pretty...except, the back.  Something about the pattern made the back very, very blousy.  Have you ever tried on a dress and at the bottom where the zipper ends, there is this big poof?  (I have.)  Well, that's how mine looked.  I altered and altered it, but it still wouldn't look the way I wanted.  Needless to say, I was disappointed...but you never know until you try!


When it turns spring, my sister and I always want to go fishing!  We went about a week ago and had the best time!  It is "catch and release," but we just enjoyed being together as a family!  Here are some photos of us enjoying the day...

Can you say buggie glasses?  :) 

My sissy!!!

Every April/May and December, Leah and I and our cousins have a night where our grandparents come to our home and see the things we did during our school year.  We call it PTL...Praise the Lord!  Along with showing our bookwork, we also have a mini concert!  Here are some pictures of us playing our instruments...

I am playing my psaltery!

Leah playing her banjo!

I know you are probably tired of seeing our little kitties...but they are so sweet!  They are getting big!

They love to cuddle up to each other and sleep in a pile!

I have finally planted my garden!!!  I am wanting to plant some herbs (I am going to have to order some specific kinds I want), but for the most part, everything is in the ground!  

My lettuce in my raised bed!

I hope you had a blessed Easter!  We had a wonderful morning service!  My daddy preached the "Cross" and actually built a cross!  It was a very powerful message!  Thank you, Jesus, for dying so that we might be saved!

Getting ready for church!

We have been busy practicing our instruments!  4ever His has had several opportunities to sing this month...

We sang at a local church while Daddy was in revival.

We sang last night at Chick-Fil-A's Family Night!

Please pray for us as we sing at another local church tomorrow night!  May the Lord get all the glory!

 So, I think you are caught up with the happenings!!!  :) 

Many, many blessings!

Taylor

"Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."

Psalm 25:4-5 (KJV)



Birthday Supper



Tonight, I had my birthday supper!  My birthday isn't until the 13th, but for various reasons, we had my special supper tonight.  I had the honor of choosing my favorites!  We had parmesan-herb crusted baked chicken, peas, and stuffing.  (Not to mention some sweet tea with lemons!)  For dessert, we had Angel Food cake and homemade strawberry ice cream!!!  Can you say delicious???  Ah!  So, so good!  This is the first year I haven't had a "party"...I am just too old!  :)  Even though I didn't have a party...we had a great time just celebrating with a good meal!  (My mom is such a good cook!) 

Every year, since I was born, we took a picture of every birthday and made a bouquet of the pictures on the window.  After several years, we ran out of room to put the stems.  (Now, we just put them on the window without the stems.)  Here are all my pictures...(they are a little blurry because I took pictures of the photos)...  

Leah is in this one...though you can't see her...she's in Momma's tummy!

Taylor-16 years old

A beautiful bouquet of real flowers!

I thank the Lord for my sweet family and for making my birthday supper special!  I love you!

~Taylor~

Dresses, Kittens, and April Joys

Are you tired of the "cherry blossoms" yet?  Ha!  I have been really, really busy with no time for blog posts!  (I am sure everyone thought I had fallen off the face of the blogging world!)  :)

Anyway, I am working on making a dress...my first one at that!  I have made children's clothes, women's skirts, and nick-nacks, but have never attempted a dress!  It is an interesting experience.  (Just to get things straight, there may or may not be "after" pictures!!!  We are just going to have to wait and see.  As of now, things are going fairly well.)  :)

I chose an angle that you couldn't see all the details...I have to keep some surprises...right?



On the gardening side of things, the lettuce and onions are coming up!  It is so rewarding to grow your own food.  I have also started some basil in a small pot on the window seal (it is still too cold to start it outside). 

Onions in the raised beds...

I cannot believe it is April!  April is my birthday month!  (Along with several other family members!)  It is such a glorious month...everything starts to bloom and you get to wear all the spring clothes you have been longing to wear!  (If you are like me, you are tired of socks, coats, and closed-in shoes!!!)  

I love, love, love my bleeding heart flower...it gets bigger and more beautiful every year!



I have to give you an update on my precious little kittens!!!  They are doing so well...just getting too big, too quickly!  We love them all so much!

Theo (yellow), Darla (black), Levi (white), Amos (black), and Annie (black)

Theo

Levi has a gray nose, gray ears, and gray paws!  He's a cutie!

Which one...Amos, Annie, or Darla???  We are just now starting to tell them apart! 

What are you all enjoying this time of year?  Even in the busy times, let us pause and "Be still, and know that I am God."  (Psalm 46:10)  Why won't we just go back to horse-drawn wagons and buggies?  :)  I would love that!  Ah, the joys of the olden days! 

Many, many blessings to you and your families!

Taylor