Picket Fences and other ramblin'

When you close your eyes and think of a picket fence what do you see?? For me it is the quiensentential cottage garden - a place to linger - to think of past, present and future. A place where flowers bloom in wild abandonment and spill out over the fence and buterflies and hummingbirds dart around sipping on Gods necter. I have ALWAYS wanted a picket fence enclosing a cottage garden - dreamed of that from my childhood days in Kansas City where there was one on the side of Mom's garden. She has all the beautiful cottage flowers growing there - hollyhocks, larkspur, zinnias, batchelor buttons, peonies, cosmos - it was beautiful. My grandmother had one that backed her garden on the farm where I was born. Well good things come to those who wait and this January with the loving hands of my wonderful husband I now have my picket fence. He literally built it from scratch - cutting every picket and shaping every post. It is beautiful - it is my dream come true.

When I stand on my porch and look at the cottage garden I now see my past, present and future - the past where Glenn first built the raised beds our first summer here as we started to put our mark on our place - the present where plants are planted there in his memory and the bench that bears my message to him and the future - the fence that encompasses it all just as Tom's arms held me close and gently helped me to step into the future. A garden mirrors life with birth , nurturing, growth, death and then renewal each new season - thats is what my garden and picket fence mean to me.

On another note - Life here had been going along fairly smoothly till last Sunday when we had to get Mom to the emergency room with chest pains. After many tests, monitoring and more tests she is back home with no major problems. She was anemic so was given 2 units of blood but her heart checked out OK for a 91 year old. She is tired now which is to be expected and I expect it will take her awhile to bet back to where she was at Christmas. We thank God again for watching over her while she was in the hospital and for letting her come back home. Keep her in your prayers along with Bobby who is doing OK for now with his battle with cancer.

The rest of the family is doing great - boys are fully involved with "Upward" basketball - a church based basketball league and having a great time. Celeste is starting to talk and is doing pretty good with baby sign language and gets her point across. She is ALL over the place with her walking - keeps Mommy and Daddy busy.

Thank you for stopping by - spring is just around the corner so start looking for God's signs of renewal and rebirth - it is everywhere around you.

Lynne ~~he who plants a seed believes in tomorrow~~