old katie would never understand

if you knew me a few years ago, you would think that this post is a complete fabrication. heck, even last year i was so disgusted with dirt and bugs that i forced my mother-in-law to do most of my gardening. now though, i'm a certifiable green thumb. is that right? isn't that what you call gardeners? see...i'm still trying to figure it all out. i've been reading a couple books and am working on the lingo.

when we moved into this house last summer, there were some disgusting looking gardens with overgrown everything (mostly weeds) with random borders. so random. like bricks on a couple, then some of those cheap-o black plastic borders, then a couple with a little more pricey stone edging. it made no sense. oh, and the mulch. don't get me started on the mulch. like three different UGLY colors. it was as if our backyard was a community garden that was rented out to like six different people. six people with very bad taste and apparently bad backs who refused to weed.through it all though, i have so much hope for this garden and am confident it will eventually be amazing. so, i'm starting to weed. i've been weeding for the last three weeks, little by little, and there is still so much more that needs to be pulled. today, i saw a spider and didn't even jump or scream. i may have let out a "ugh-a-ugh-ga-ga-ga" (i think that's how to best spell the noise i made). point is, i'm doing it. i'm gardening in spite of the huge obstacles in my way and the fact that i think i'm weeding the same spots every time i go out there with my gloves on and trowel in hand. my only glimmer of hope lies in a few random tulips that have started growing through all the junk, bricks, weeds, and yuck. and the trees have started getting colorful. we have a purple tree in the back. i didn't know they existed. it's gorgeous outside.
i actually find getting my hands dirty a little relaxing and therapeutic. i'm getting in touch with nature and with how things used to be. i can't wait until we get to plant the seeds and hopefully get to eat some of the things that come out of the earth. the same earth that i spent so many hours tending to. the earth in my very own backyard.

totally still dependent

do you ever call your mom with a problem and just want to talk and scream and freak out and to just vent and get the anxiety from eating you alive? and then mid-conversation, she giggles and tells you to relax? and then she has the audacity to tell you a solution that makes complete and utter sense and that you probably should have been able to see for yourself- i mean, seriously, o-b-v-i-o-u-s? does that ever happen to you?

it happened to me a couple weeks ago, and my mind is still spinning and a little confused as to how i didn't see the answers myself. if there's a problem, she will fix it.

my newest addiction

yesterday, i got a hand-delivered package from the trendy owl. it was my very first purchase from etsy, which was followed immediately by my second purchase. i think i'm a little worried about where this may lead. if you haven't been on etsy.com, it's an amazing site that allows people to buy and sell handmade items. well, anyways, i bought a couple clips that can be put on a headband or just clipped onto whatever. they are pretty fantastic. best part, it came in a cute little box that was wrapped in cute little paper. i wish i would've taken a picture of it all wrapped up, but i quickly ripped into it in the car ride home. i just couldn't wait. oh etsy, you'll bankrupt me for sure.

mullet hackin' time

after hearing "wow, finn's hair is long" and "look at that crazy hair" far too many times but never hearing "i like his hairstyle" or "that kid's a trend-setter", i knew it was time. with a sniffle and a tear, i placed my baby boy into the annoyingly cute red sports car salon chair and allowed the woman to cut away his beautiful golden mullet. while he didn't mind a bit (in case you wondering, he's staring at a tv), i couldn't stop giggling and hot flashing as my emotions were teeter tottering between being proud and being nauseatingly sick that my son was becoming a man before my very eyes. i know i know, i'm getting a little carried away. but it starts with his first haircut, leads into going to preschool, wanting to sleep over at friends houses, then soon enough, he's knocked up his wife and doesn't need me. today was a big step in letting my baby go. he's a boy now. a real boy.

introducing the new and improved finn

lawn privileges reinstated

after having his freedom to roam about the lawn stripped away after the bunny incident(s), this dog has been liberated from his chains and is unrestricted in his pooping/peeing canine ways. i like to think his incessant barking is his over-joyous proclamation of freedom. he paid his dues for the murders and is being given a second chance. don't blow it brody. you ruthless murderer, you.

perfect surprise

today at work i heard a giggle coming from behind the customer i was trying to hurry out of the pharmacy. it was the type of giggle that was childish and mischievous. as i peered behind the man -sorry dude, you just dropped down my list of importance- my aunt diane and cousin christopher were standing sheepishly with presents in hand. i do believe my aunt even let out a more mischievous giggle at being found out. they just came to surprise me with homemade granola and peanut butter pretzels. how awesome are they!

banishment

i said it in the first post that i was probably going to become overwhelmingly obsessed with these baby bunnies. it's true. i cannot stop thinking about them. last night, i couldn't sleep because i kept thinking about the bunnies and if they were safe and if their mom every came to care for them and what if i ruined bunnydom forever. no more bunnies? i couldn't live with myself. since i made the last post (yes, this is the 3rd baby bunny post), brody has eaten another baby bunny. his third. it is disgusting.

one he just jostled around for a few minutes and then he dropped it. the next he swallowed whole. this morning, i came home from my workout to josh chasing brody around the yard with a stick. seriously, what was the purpose of the stick. i sort of chuckled to myself because in that instant, josh thought picking up a stick and waving it around was going to make brody sit and drop the bunny. still laughing now. but not about the bunny massacre. just about josh. naturally, brody swallowed this one whole as well, this time with head still attached. ugh. seriously, just the thought of sweet bunnies bouncing around in his belly makes my stomach hurt a little. i'm hoping that these little snacks aren't going to get lodged into his lower intestines like other items have in the past and require a scalpel to retrieve.

well, josh and i have had enough. i can't face the emotional turmoil of brody's murderous streak. we looked all over the backyard for new holes, but apparently needn't look further than along the fence. there was a huddling of 3 little ones sleeping out in the open. no wonder brody got the last one so quickly and easily. it couldn't even defend itself as it was in the midst of dreaming, probably of frolicking through fields of flowers and cadbury cream eggs. we swept up the remaining live ones, stuck them in a box, and now they are happily living 10 minutes from the place where their family members were ruthlessly attacked. rest in peace to the dead. may there be cadbury cream eggs in bunny heaven. to the living. stay away if you know what's good for you.i'm hoping this is my last baby bunny post. it's the end of the era. really. i'm sad for it to end, but we just cannot coexist peacefully.

first harvest...of another sort

we woke up this morning refreshed and rejoiced in the day that our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected. the three of us went to church and worshiped together that He lives. the only thing that would have made this day any better is if we got to sing the old hymn 'He lives'. have you heard it? oh my goodness, my all time favorite. growing up methodist included many a sunday trying desperately to keep my eyes open by rereading the overly dull church bulletins. seriously, i knew every persons prayer requests, all the joys and concerns, and the names of every person participating in the service, all while having enough time to count the number of organ pipes. anyways, the point of all this is to tell you that if we got to sing, 'He lives,' i considered it a good church day. i'll sing the chorus for you if you need a refresher on how it goes. wish we would sing that at northview, but alas, our new church home is not quite the same atmosphere. okay, enough with the reminiscing. on to the irony of our easter sunday.



we came home and hid some eggs around the yard for finn to search out. our version of hiding included throwing them on the ground in plain view because even then he couldn't spot them. then finn remembered there were baby bunnies in the garden, so we carefully poked around the hole with a stick until we could see them. two of them jumped out, which caused brody on his stake to go into convulsions. if you have read this, you know that brody has been tied to a stake in the ground since last weekend. a few minutes of tormenting the baby bunnies aside, i grabbed the camera to go inside and unhooked brody from the stake. you know where this is going and should not continue reading if you have a weak stomach. i nearly puked on my brand new keyboard just recounting what happened. maybe that is because the images are seared into my brain.
seconds later, he was at the hole and grabbed one of the baby bunnies by its head and ran. the others scurried away as fast as possible. i let out a murderous scream heard round the neighborhood and nearly fainted right there. josh shouted 'what were you thinking?', which was so incredibly productive and supportive of his wife's broken heart. finn cried, probably since he thought i was dying based on my scream. chasing brody around for about 15 minutes only gave him more time to shake the poor, sweet baby bunny until he was no more and soften the lifeless, adorable baby bunny body in his murderous mouth. by the time we got ahold of him to pry the precious thing from his mouth, the baby bunny head and a leg popped out of his cheek falling in slow motion to the ground and the rest of the body glided down his gullet. my dog swallowed nearly an entire bunny whole.

praise Jesus this easter. thank you for bearing my sins at the cross so that i may live in communion with you eternally. thank you for baby bunnies. give me the strength to forgive the murderer living in my midst. please help me to erase the image of the baby bunny head falling to the ground from my mind. amen. oh, and thank you for this crazy man. i love him more than words can say.