Fruits.

Howdy y'all.

First, it's going to be my sister's birthday in a little over 3 hours.  Happy birthday Cathy.  I know I made you a little crazy when we were younger, but...I didn't think it would stick!  Haha!  (That was what was in the card I sent her!  It still gives me a chuckle thinking about it.)  Very glad to have you as a sister, Cathy.  God has blessed me with you!!

Here are some of our first fruits of the garden.  Those of you with bigger gardens might laugh at my small yield, but for a city-girl-turned-country-girl who has had naught but containers to "garden" in most of her life, these little jalapenos and tomatoes and lone squash are the highlight of her day.  She simply cannot wait to go out into the little patch of earth each morning to visit the produce.  :)

I planted the tomatoes too close (although I was told that in the hot Texas summers, it's good to plant them fairly close so that they get shade and are less likely to split.  But the plants are getting HUGE and crowded and I'm not sure what to do about it.

The summer squash are definitely way too close.  I was told my little squash "mound" was just fine when I planted it, but I had no idea they would get SO BIG.  I've never grown squash.  I think the roots are probably too deep to do anything about it now, but I bet I won't get the yield I would have if I'd spaced them out by 4'.  Boo.

In other news, a little possibility has sprung up that might afford us the opportunity to move out to my dad's family property sooner rather than later.  It would mean living in the old double-wide home out there, which will need a bit of work to be comfortable to live in, but it's certainly LOTS better than it was a few years ago when my dad started work on the place.  Definitely not ideal (I'd much rather have a house built first) -- and quite honestly, it would be a drastic change in our standard of living (not that we live "high on the hog" currently anyway in this dinky small town).  It would require an abundance of patience, fortitude and perseverance.  It would also require lots of work, not just to prepare the house for living in which is do-able, but work to start cultivating the land for long-term usage.

It would also, however, provide an opportunity to prepare for the harder times that are coming that we wouldn't otherwise be able to do if we had to wait to have a house built.  Not that we won't build our house, because we still plan on that.  Economic circumstances may delay the process, but we still intend to settle permanently out there sometime.

So, friends, I ask that you remember us in your prayers.  It's one thing to move from one place to another, but it's something else entirely to down-grade your standard of living on purpose and find joy in that.  It's scary.  But if God wants us out there, I believe whole-heartedly that He will make the way for us -- even if it means finding a different job for Keith.  Or putting that patience, fortitude and perseverance in my heart.

I thank you, as always.

Love,
Amy