Sunday Snapshot

Good Monday morning, my friends!  I'm joining in Sunday Snapshot a teensy bit late, since we had such a busy weekend of catching up and getting the house "back on track" for summer break. Today begins our first "real" week of summer time, as last week The Boss and I took off for three days to re-connect, refresh, and relax alone together. My brother and his wife and their cutie patooties moved in for those three days to hang with The Gang, which allowed us to enjoy our time together, worry-free! I was especially proud of Li'l Empress: this was the first time since she's joined our family that both The Boss and I were away overnight, immediately on the heels of Momma being away for two nights for a women's retreat. It was a big unknown, how she'd handle that, but thanks to her big security blanket named Shaggy, she really did quite well.

Today's snapshots are some of the beautiful flowers I have growing in my yard. You might remember that last year The Boss, Dr. D, and Shaggy took on the huge project of cleaning up, over-hauling and re-landscaping our gardens.  This year, I'm so grateful for their hard work - the gardens look so inviting and lovely.  I still need to spend some money and time to get some color out in the pool area, but I think I might actually be able to get to that this afternoon. If I do, I'll share those pretties, too!

Tucked in here...

and here...

are several bunches of these lovely ladies.

So pretty and dainty,

yet so hearty - surviving some pretty serious rain

and even hail earlier this month. 

These exuberant gals greet folks

at the end of our driveway.

They are so vibrant and enthusiastic!

They seem to be cheering on these little ones.

"Dahlias, come on out to play!"

It looks like very soon, the dahlias will be

joining their enthusiastic friends across the sidewalk.

I'm especially proud of these beauties

(just slightly past their peak).

I found 6 pots of salvia, withering away and forgotten

on the clearance shelves of my local L*wes.

For $1 each, I grabbed them up last summer,

fed them, nurtured them, and prayed for them to

root strongly and surely. (Yes, I pray over my plants.)

They've grown so much this year, I may need to

trim them back and split them in the fall!

OH! And remember this beautiful urn,

filled by my dearest friend in all the world?

Well, it has really taken off and now greets our guests

at the front door, looking lush and full.

And showing no signs of slowing down.

There's something so refreshing and rejuvenating about a lush garden. I love how it forces me to slow down and notice the intricacy and detail that God has wrought into each bloom. I can't help but wander around the spaces with a heart full of thanks and adoration, for a God who loves me so much that He created all this. For a God who KNOWS how beauty recharges my spirit. For a God who knows ME so well that He made all of this beauty accessible right here in my own space.

Go, wander around a garden today. Yours, or maybe even a community park nearby. Drink it in. And be grateful. In the craziness and chaos that often is our busy world, I'm pretty sure you need it. I know I do.