On This Memorial Day

**I planted a pumpkin patch this morning. Yup, I sure did. We weren't able to finish the garden on Saturday or Sunday because . . . um we have *all* these kids now and can only get so much done at a time. :) Lol! But really Mr.Mace will only tolerate sitting in the stroller for so long before even he gets a little cranky with the arrangement (he's such a good baby).

 This morning I was inspired to get up early to get a little something done in the garden. Actually, I was able to get a quite a bit accomplished between 6:30 a.m and 8:45 a.m. I found last year that part of our weed problem was that the whole garden wasn't planted. I would have loved to have bought more tomato and pepper plants to fill it up but this time around it was easier and cheaper to just finish out the space with seeds I already had sitting around. The whole gang was thrilled on Saturday when I planted four hills of pumpkin seeds, so I decided they'd be even more thrilled if I planted a whole patch. ;) They are already dreaming of pumpkin bread and pumpkin pancakes.

Pictures of the garden progress to come at some point.

Gardening alone this morning gave me a chance to reflect on this holiday. It was a good exercise. I thought (and prayed) a good deal about my sweet nephew who gave a year of his life serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I know his sacrifice has been more than that one year. It has been much more than that. I am guessing that many of these guys leave a piece of their youth on the battlefield. I think I would mourn the loss of the innocence of youth myself. Just a stab in the dark at what these vets daily face. I'm sure as with many burdens you really can't begin to understand until you've been there.

Thank you men and women. America wouldn't be America without you.


**Nutmeg is sick on this fine day. Poor dear. She caught a nasty cold. She is just miserable with her watery eyes and faucet nose. She's had her fair share of PBS today.

**I made some cinnamon bread for Nutmeg's pre-school "B" week.  She watched while I baked. Perhaps when she heals up, she can help make another batch.

**Doug had the day off from work but spent the day working on  his 25 page paper. Phew!

**The three boys and I went on a short hike. Basil caught two frogs!

**The boys and I read another chapter of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I couldn't hold off on The Chronicles of Narnia any longer. The adventure has begun!!

**A gargantuan fire has been burning in my home state this week and even now. I've been quite concerned for the Kenai Peninsula this week. I mean this is RIGHT in my family's backyard! I've been following the updates on Facebook this week. The local authorities there have been doing a good job of keeping people up to date there. This morning the fire had been up to over 150,000 acres! But I am encouraged as I see rain the forecast for the rest of the week. So ready for this to be over!

**We had a delicious dinner. "Iowa Girl" does it again with Key West Grilled Chicken.


Hugs to you all, loved ones!!