The Art of Growing {Up}

I’m an imperfect person.
(Grey’s Anatomy anyone?)

But seriously, I am. We all are. Perfection is for cupcakes, and dessert. Pillows can be perfect. Sunny days are perfect. The yellow raincoat I just pinned on pinterest- perfect.

People aren’t perfect. I’m not. You’re not.

But it doesn’t change the fact that we want perfect. We grow up looking for the perfect partner- I found mine. We get married and hope for the perfect children- yep, got them too. They aren’t perfect. But they are my perfect.

For those of you that don’t know, we found out a few days ago that our second daughter, Grace, has profound hearing loss. Complete loss in the right ear, and moderate loss in the left. For the first time ever, I am hearing myself say the word “deaf” in regards to my own child and I’ll just say it- that’s heartbreaking. And I really don’t want to rehash all the medical stuff from today again in this post. She has cCMV, we knew from day one there would be [seemingly] endless hurdles to overcome in the first few years of her life in regards to her health. There are sky-high highs, and really low lows. So she needs a hearing aid. Not the end of the world. And she may speak ASL as her primary language. Only time will tell.

But again, certainly not the end of the world.

Our sweet baby Grace is HEALTHY. She is healthy and sweet and beautiful and smiley.

So I’m giving myself a few nights off before I deal with all of that hearing stuff. Many more appointments to schedule, insurance companies to call, people I need to speak with about interventions and sign language. And I will deal with it all, later. Tonight and tomorrow night and the night after that, it’s tons of pizza, fun new recipes, playing outside with the girls, and Food Network all night long.

And our most recent house project- growing. Veggies, herbs, flowers. We’ll have it all.

Take a look at our garden! My Aunt Linda (Brandon’s Aunt who really enjoys gardening and has been helping us through this new project) shared a quote with me, “Gardening is proof that you believe in tomorrow.” And I couldn’t agree more.

I’ll take you through some photos of the project so you can experience our progress!

Here is Brandon, spreading the fill dirt while Lilly enjoys the “dirt box”.  Check out those awesome metal Tonka Trucks courtesy of Daddy and Uncle Casey!  Lilly was in dirt-girl heaven.

My little princess, who hates to be “messy!” plopped her cute little butt right down in that dirt and got to work shoveling and playing. It was so cute!

Obligatory hands and feet shot… I can’t help it. They’re my favorite.

This was serious business, people…

Daddy and Lilly in the finished box! (I was up on our deck).

Look at all that dirt!

I think this is the best view of just how big the garden is! It was going to be a little rectangle and somehow it grew into this monster space.

This is the wonderful little place where we got all of our plants. Jesdeadt’s Greenhouse (I think) up north near my Aunt Linda’s house. Rows and rows of greenhouses were filled with everything we needed (and anything you could think of!). It was pretty impressive.  And the prices blew my mind too. All these plants were only a few cents each! Right up my alley.

I’m no stranger to growing basil. My family kind of can’t live without this perfect little plant.  We already had some going in a pot but couldn’t resist getting just a little bit more!

Me: “Lilly, can you touch the roof?”

Lilly: “Yes Mommy!” …reaches as high as she can… “No Mommy, eyes too short.”

Me: “Lilly, can you touch the clouds?”

Lilly: “Yes Mommy!”…reaches as high as she can…”No Mommy, eyes too short.” “Eyes can only touch the ground.”

After the plants went in… we saved money by using the “special dirt” only immediately around each plant.  I’m pretty sure that’s how Brandon’s Grandpap used to plant his plants and he was the master gardener of the family. I love hearing all the stories about his garden and how much all his grandkids enjoyed it.

Another shot near the greenhouse.

This poor girl was SO HOT. See the sweat on her head?! Story of her life unfortunately. So angry when she’s uncomfortable!

We kept most of our herbs potted this year. They’re easy to move around, and easy to move inside when it gets cold. For us, they just seem to work like this.

That yellow pot is filled with mint. I could drink a million mojitos and there would still be mint left over!

The beginning of my plant marker project- painted rocks. I love how they look but honestly they are taking forever.

How great are those metal signs?! They were a mother’s day gift from my mother in law.

Everything is staked and ready.

Here’s a list of what we’ve got.

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Rutger Tomatoes
• Big Boy Tomatoes
• Early Girl Tomatoes
• Jet Star Tomatoes
• Super Sonic Tomatoes
• California Bell Peppers
• Habanero Peppers
• Banana Peppers
• Red Bell Peppers
• Zucchini
• Bush Cucumbers
• Pickling Cucumbers
• Leeks
• Yellow Onions
• Sunflowers
• Strawberries
• Rosemary
• Dill
• Cilantro
• Oregano
• Basil
• Cinnamon Basil
• Parsley
• Greek Oregano
• Oregano
• Chives
• Sage
• Peppermint
• Mint
• Eggplant
• Carrots
• Pole Beans

I’ll keep you updated on what we actually get from all of that! I have a hunch that some things may not grow very well but that’s part of the process.

Ya know, the growing process. The growing up process. Sharing this with Lilly, and soon with Grace, is special for us. Brandon and I are thrilled every day to see how much Lilly enjoys and understands so many parts of this fun experience. Learning that water and sunshine makes things grow.  See green sprouts shoot up.  Understanding that things we like to eat (she loves eating mint leaves) come from the ground and can come from our own yard. Who knew that would be one of my favorite parts of being a parent? The mutual relationship we share as we grow together- parenting isn’t just a passive, enjoyable ride, it’s an active and collaborative partnership that is beautiful and unique. And we’re loving it all.