When we moved in last year, the backyard was a hot mess. The previous tenants had pets that really ripped it up. Not only that, but a few tenants before that planted a tree… in the MIDDLE of the yard. Seriously. People have some awesome quirks.

This picture of when Brian and Chance did a summer campout shows what the grass actually looked like.

Anyway. We asked our landlord if he wouldn’t mind funding the re-landscaping of the backyard if we did all the labor. He agreed if it was within $500. So, we made it happen.

Last fall, we killed off the grass and weeds. Everything dried up and died. It was actually kind of sad.

But then, this spring, Brian tilled up EVERYTHING and built a garden box for me. While he was “tilling” we found that grass had overgrown into a walkway… but the walkway was set up kind of strange. So, we pulled all the stepping stone pieces out and I puzzled them together into a pathway to my garden.

As of yesterday… it looks like this:

Made me think: In life… we’re given a plot of land… who we ARE. Our upbringings, our experiences, our life. We can choose to just “exist” with what we’ve got, or we can put some work into our “land” and make it into something beautiful. We can put in new soil, new grass, rearrange old stones to create a place people want to spend time in.

I want to do that with my life. I don’t want to stop at “just this” because it’s just “who I am”. I want to be better. I want to make ME better. I choose to see past the “ugly” and make things new.

Below are all the photos from beginning to end. It wasn’t easy… but it was worth it.

As my garden grows, I’ll post pictures too. It’s gonna be a fun summer!

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So… who wants to come over for a BBQ?

Brian ALREADY looks like he’s in a better place.  I know it’s partly because we’re away… but MOSTLY because y’all are praying for us.  THANK YOU!  We are so humbled by the amazing prayer warriors that surround us.

Our day consisted of:

1. Chance weeding the front yard with his Papa… with his helmet on.
2. Paxton showing off his new signing skills.  He can sign “food”, “more” and “all done”.
3. Paxton playing “Patty Cake” with his Nina.
4. Fresh garden feed at Grandma Peggy’s and Grandpa Bob’s.  We had fresh corn on the cob, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon… SO GOOD!!!  At one point, we “ran out” of corn, so Grandma, Chance and I just went out to her garden and picked a few more ears.  I could get used to this.
5. Chance and Brian fed the cornless cobs to the chickens next door.
6. Brian showed me the vehicle he learned to drive in.  Grandpa Bob’s truck.
7. Papa & Chance playing catch.
8. Brian & Paxton smelling some of Grandma’s beautiful flowers.
9. And the most beautiful country sunset.

I took photos of everything below.

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And how do I prevent this?