when the rain comes down in the summer...

 ...barefeet...in the soggy grass, which needs mowing, to the garden...oh, the tomatoes!  How I wish I could preserve them just as they are today, sweet and perfect, to slice up in the middle of winter.  How I wish I could preserve this whole day, to enjoy in the middle of winter...barefeet, ahh.

We only got 3 or 4 summer squash, but 10 or so zucchini.  The watermelon stopped growing, not sure if they're edible or not.  The pepper plants yielded teeny tiny peppers, not pickable yet.  But we certainly got enough tomatoes!  It's a small garden, not a huge one way out back, like we did years ago, with green beans and snap peas and corn.  

I do love summer.  It seems once you start to settle into it, it's waning, things start crisping up.  There were yellow leaves in the pool filter basket this morning.  The shadows are changing.  

Tomorrow, we are having a pool party for Miss Lydia Eleanor, who turns SEVEN.  The weather is supposed to dry up and be sunny, yay!  Camille and I went shopping yesterday and got her a nice doll, and a doll hair brush and spray bottle to brush the hair properly.  I also have leggings and a top, and some necklaces and headbands for her:).  We have to wrap it all up, I think wrapping paper is more fun than gift bags for little kids.

In the evening, the girls are having the youth group, girls, over for a game night/fire on the deck night, depending on what they want to do.  So today, we clean up the house, after Camille's physical therapy.

We went to the orthopedic dr. yesterday, and saw the NP.  Oh, what a waste of time, to drive all the way up there, and wait in the waiting room just to hear, "Your right knee (the newly injured one) is way more wiggly than the one you had surgery on, it's very likely it'll dislocate again.  Keep the brace on, and keep up with the exercises to strengthen up those quad muscles.  Have a good day and see you in six weeks."  Pretty much, that's what happened.  So hopeful.  Poor Camille.  We are going to be starting a new program here at home, that helped both Paul and Benjamin with their knees, in addition to the physical therapy.

After the appointment, we found our way to Target, where we crawled up and down the toy aisles, looking for the perfect gift for Lydia.  We got some chicken, and some seltzer, and not much else.  We went over to Price Chopper for the $1.49 a pound pork chops, then to Aldi for heavy cream, strawberries, salad stuff, and a new rug for in front of the sink, for autumn.  I do love the FUN aisle at Aldi, it truly is fun.  

This morning, I put the pork chops to marinate in lime juice and Jamaican jerk seasoning.  The chicken thighs I bought went into some lime juice and grill rub, in a baggy and into the freezer.  

This Saturday, Camille and I will be working in the kitchen at church making lunch and dinner for our friends who are working, building a new winter structure (sledding, hot tubs, saunas), and doing general maintenance.  We're not sure how many will be there yet, so I won't do much planning until Friday, when I will go shop for what we need...it's so much fun!  

Anyway, life is good, but it's important to be faithful in the hidden, in the little things.  I can pray for progress in my life, and for God to do a work in me, and for oil in my lamp, but then when trials come, I can't be surprised!  God is answering, giving me the opportunity to work out my salvation!  ..."work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain."(Phil. 2 12-16)

Yes, we will be tested in our faith, and sometimes that can be painful.  Our thoughts need to be pure, and when someone makes a cutting comment, what do I think?  Even if I don't say it, it cannot take root in my heart!  We actually cannot really help it if our feelings are hurt, but we CAN help what thoughts we let stay in our hearts and minds, it's so freeing to forgive and let things go.  

Anyway...rain is coming down in bucketfuls, and off we go to physical therapy...