How DOES your garden grow?

I just went to the farmer's market here, which is quite amazing, might I add. Ava is a big fan too. She loves to "gently" pick up the fruit, and sometimes accidentally drop it...She also loves to smell the flowers,...all of them. EVERY SINGLE FLOWER. There are ALOT of flowers...
Generally speaking it's fun. I love the amazing array of fruits and vegetables. The gorgeous flowers, and I'm in awe that people can actually grow these things! Boggles the mind. At least mine. Green thumb I do not have.

One thing I have come to realize lately is something that all too often I think hits people after marriage. We all tend to be in the mindset that dating is HARD work. So we think when we get married we can relax, let our hair down, make interesting bodily noises in front of our spouses, and just TAKE IT EASY. I got a news flash for you...dating was the easy part. Marriage is hard work and lots of it. Now don't get me wrong...it is well worth it. Think of it as a garden. You start by preparing the soil, (first comes love) then planting,(then comes marriage...) then a continual daily watch, watering, weeding, protecting your growing plants so they can flourish. But even as they grow stronger and bigger they still require care in order to become the best they can be. Just as with marriage relationships, they have to be tended on a daily basis, watched over with care so that no harm comes to them. We vigilently watch over our marriage guarding it against attacks from the outside, making sure that it has what it needs to grow and survive. I find that when I am not tending my marriage...the level of chaos in my life increases to an unbearable amount. Everything seems to fall apart because the foundation of our home is our marriage. When it's neglected, the weeds get high and it's hard to see the plants through all the weeds growing around them. Communications lines go down, hurt feelings rise, and the weeds get thicker until suddenly you can't see the plants anymore. Just recently I had to do some serious weeding in my garden. I had become so busy with, life, that I didn't take time to tend my garden. Weeding is often painful, but always necessary. And the end result, is a garden that is beautiful, enjoyable and bearing the fruit of love.

Okay...I'm finished with my garden analogy, although I thought it was relatively clever. I have been rather uninspired to write the last few days due to laziness or general lack of interest...happens when the weeds get thick...sorry. I couldn't resist. On a different note....raising kids is like baking the perfect biscuit...the right amount of dough....haha. I'm totally kidding. Somebody stop me I'm on a roll. Or is that biscuit. Ok, really, I'm stopping now.

I would like to say a huge Thank You to my sister Annie - for the awesome logo she made for my blog! Check her out at www.sisterwisdom.com She's wisdom and hilarity all rolled into one.