Sunny Day

So here I sit on a blanket by our pond in the shade and sunshine. The girls are running around checking everything out. I don't think we'll have many more days like this before Oklahoma summer catches up with us. The blackberries are in full bloom and it won't be long before I'm making preserves and freezing them for pies and cobblers. Mmmm....
There is a mocking bird above my blanket singing his repertoire, so pretty.
The neighbors have a pair of turkeys and they are separated from where we, by our pond, by a section of their pond, but the Tom keeps walking out in the water and gobble gobble gobbling at us. I'm not sure if he wants to be friends or attack us. I'm glad he can't swim!

Alexandra found the first turtle of the year this morning and the girls spent most of the morning trying to get it to eat celery and lettuce and just plain annoying it.
When I was a kid growing up, my family owned an Irish Setter named Babe. She was a retired coon hunter and in her retirement she became the best turtle hunter in Ottawa County. Her record of turtles found in one day was 24. Yes, 24. She would just keep bringing us turtle after turtle and sit there with her big pink tongue hanging out of her big doggie smile. We loved that dog. She was the kind of dog books are written about. She was very protective of us. I can recall several times she would catch wasps or bumble bees in her mouth if she thought they were too close to us kids. She would snap her jaws over and over again to kill them, getting stung repeatedly in the meantime. She was devoted and we adored her in return. I think of her often. She is a much missed friend.

I have decided that school is pretty much "out". We will continue to do review over the summer so we stay fresh but a daily schedule isn't really needed now. I would like to say I'm relieved to not worry over schoolwork but, I think I shall always be concerned with the job I'm doing as teacher. What the girls have learned and need to learn is always present in my mind. Thank goodness the Lord leads me. I couldn't do it without Him.

Shaun starts his spring schedule of working 4 days a week for 10 hrs. this Tuesday. I always like having him around an extra day a week. Our weekends will be Sat. Sun and Monday.
That makes Monday so much better.

Round Up Club is in full swing and the girls will be chasing cans and flags this weekend. They are so excited. Morgan asks me everyday, "Is it round up day yet?" I don't like the late nights but it really is fun.

I think I'll sign off and take a little doze.........

Tiny Offerings

Every spring and summer my kitchen counter is blessed with an abundance of various sized cups, saucers and vases that hold flowers and sometimes weeds that my daughters bring me. I love to look at these sweet little reminders of my blessings when I'm doing dishes and cooking in the kitchen. These tiny offerings are precious to me.
Often, I am my busiest when the girls bring me these flowers. I will be in the middle of cooking supper, getting ready to milk and have laundry and bathtime waiting, and they will pop in the door (repeatedly) to offer up these gifts. I am usually just getting ready to holler at them for "running in and out" when a little hand excitedly thrusts forward it's tiny offering. My frustration melts away and my heart is immediatly softened.
I can remember quite clearly, even though I must have been very little, a day when my twin sister and I brought my mother such a gift. It was a pair of tulips we picked for her from our own front yard. Tulips my mom had been waiting all winter to see bloom. I can remember her face when we gave them to her, it was a mix of pleasure and regret. She loved that we had done something for her and yet wished we hadn't picked THOSE flowers. She very lovingly accepted our gift and gently asked us not to pick those again.
This memory made me think about how my heavenly Father must feel when His children make small sacrifices or tiny offerings to Him. We don't always get the timing right and often miss the mark completely, but I know His heart is softened immediatly and He is always ready to gently correct and instruct us on how to get it right the next time.
I'm glad He accepts "tiny offerings" too.