Sod is Awesome.

Those of you who have seen our backyard know that it wasn't all that kid-friendly. We had couple dozen rosebushes, plenty of other plants that were out of control, and a patch of grass that was more weeds than actual grass. I often found the backyard depressing. That is all in the process of changing. I gave away our rosebushes to a friend, and then I set to tilling the backyard. That was actually quite fun. The picture below shows the results of the tilling.


Today I had a palette of sod delivered to the house. Annika, Nat (our youth pastor), and I spent a few hours putting the sod down. The transformation is incredible, to say the least. I never expected the yard to look instantly so much better. (The trick now is to make sure that the sun and bugs don't kill it!)



There is still work to do. We're going to be either mulching or laying more sod in the corner of the yard to make a playground for the kids. Photos of that will be coming once we've finished!

Sam's First Birthday!

Well, he's made it. Samuel Kirkland has been with us over a year, and we're so glad he's a part of our our lives. We celebrated with a small party at our house. Sam got to eat a Sweet Mama's Rainbow Cake (raspberry, orange, and lime layers!), which he loved. Here are a couple pictures to show you how much fun Sam had on his birthday. He's such a great kid; we just wonder where he got that hair from!

 

Eat Mor Chikin

So...yeah...it's been almost two months since we've posted anything here. Sorry.

Life in the South has often caused Jess to threaten to write a book about the strange things she's encountered in her southern adventure. Today was another event that caused us to pause and think, "Where are we living?" (The good news is that it has caused us to finally post something here again!)

A Chick-Fil-A just opened on the island, and Tuesday night is officially family night. That means 99 cent kids' meals. Tonight was pajama party at the restaurant for kids' night. The place was an absolute zoo. Kids were running around the restaurant with a cow bell, screaming, "Eat More Chicken" with a cow dressed in PJ's. Annika thought it was great. That never happened in Jersey (nor would it have been a highlight in our week). It's definitely a different world here.


We were out because Annika had some art on display at a local art show. Here's a picture of her with her work. She drew a picture of herself and our new dog, Laila. (They were selling the pictures framed for $30. People were buying them as though that were a pittance, but my Erie cheapness won the day.)


Finally, we thought you'd like to see a picture of Sammy. He turns one in a little over a week. He's a tremendous kid, and we feel very blessed to be his parents. He's been playing catch with me all the time, which I'm loving.