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A Clay Paw

June 4, 2015 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Gardening, Life Leave a Comment

I really don’t want this post to be terribly sad, so bear with me for just a moment.

Several weeks ago, during all the grieving, a dear friend sort of tossed the idea out to me to write a book.  {HA!}

I came home that night, or maybe it was the next night, sat down at my computer and got it all out.  Within two and half-ish hours I had typed 26 pages of a word document.

I got it all out.

All the details.  All the conversations.  All the raw emotions.  And I put it down on paper {the electronic version}.

So I referred back to it tonight for this post.

Here’s the excerpt, talking about the amazing Veterinary Hospital that was caring for Lily in her last days and the precious gift they gave us as we kissed her goodbye:

“They made a claw print for us to bring home and put in the oven, to harden, and then keep for all of forever.  It even has a couple of her hairs in it.  They used a little flower stamp around the border and then stamped her name into the side.  It sits in a plastic bag today, on a shelf in Lily’s room.  Until I find a shadow box frame I like, I am keeping it in this bag.”

Lily paw 1

Well, today I found the shadow box.  I knew Michael’s would have something, and as Providence would have it, shadow box frames were on sale!  {I may have purchased two because they were BOGO!}

After the kids were down {because all projects happen AFTER the kids go down…for the second or third time!!}, I pulled out the new shadow box and carefully removed Lily’s clay paw from the Ziploc bag.  I used some heavy-duty command strips to adhere the paw to the fabric, because those pretty little pearl-pins that come with the box surely weren’t going to hold this thing into place!

Lily paw 2

Lily paw 3

We decided quickly that it needed to hang on the wall near the back door….with a view of Lily’s flower bed.

Lily paw 4

 

This was going to be the end of my post for tonight.  Until I received a sursy on my front porch today.  I already posted on Instagram and Facebook that Lily’s third set of grandparents sent a precious gift to us today.

Lily paw 6

The little white bone on the card actually has seeds of a plant in it, so it will be planted in Lily’s flower bed this weekend.

The beautiful little statue already has a home.

Lily paw 5

 

I am reminded about the loveliness of life.  Even the life of a dog.  Each life touches the lives of so many others.  It’s not just us who grieve Lily’s passing, but also those who knew and loved her.

Lily’s Flower Bed

May 18, 2015 by Michelle Filed Under: Gardening, Life, Outside 2 Comments

It’s been a full month, I think, since I first posted about cutting our new flower bed.  When we first got the news of Lily, I sort of put the flower bed on the back-burner.

I finished it tonight.  {Though I may add a border at some point…}

I’m not going to go into a full out drama about the whole thing, but I will tell you just a few facts:

1.  Lily was my our companion.  She was always by either mine or Andrew’s side when we were outside.

2.  She was ALWAYS in my flower beds.  ALWAYS.  Whether at our last home in Camden or in this yard, the girl was forever laying all over newly planted and established plants.

3.  When I started working on this flower bed, she was there.

So last week, after our dr’s appointment where we learned we’d lost Baby Lucas, Andrew and I ate lunch together and he said, “Let’s go to Woodley’s.”  The man knows my soul is healed by being in God’s creation so he took me to a plant nursery.  It was beautiful and peaceful.

We purchased the last few plants, after careful consideration, for the flower bed and then came home to put them into it.  After standing back and looking at everything, Andrew said, “I think we should dedicate this flower bed to Lily…and Baby Lucas.”

So here you have it.

As a refresher, we started out with a million daffodil bulbs and some loropetalum -> that we planted last Spring.  We had also added in a Weeping Cherry Tree just a couple of months ago. {Reynolds Plants A Tree…and see, Lily is right there…laying in the fresh dirt.}

Added into our new flower bed are a Mock Orange…I looked for this plant for 2 years.  No lie.  We found it last Thursday at Woodley’s.  Then, our neighbor, who is native Hawaiian, told me that they use the flowers from the Mock Orange in the Haku Lei (the crown of flowers)….

Mock Orange

Super Bells

Super Bell

Wave Petunias

petunia

Salvia

Salvia

Asiatic Lilies {of course, and these were insanely gorgeous when they bloomed}

20150422_093110

Calla Lilies {from which Lily got her name}…and I don’t have a picture of them blooming because I planted bulbs with just a little greenery on them.

And anchoring the end is a Georgia Belle Peach Tree.  I mean, being from Georgia, what else did you expect?!  This tree is a self-fertile tree, meaning we didn’t need a second tree in order for it to produce fruit!  And bonus! we already have some tiny little peaches…

Peach Tree

 

Last, but certainly not least, is a sweet little flower that I got from Reynolds for Mother’s Day {his daycare did these}

Reynolds plant

flower bed

flower bed 2

It’s a little fuzzy tonight {I’m sure we’re going to have a major storm any minute..} and a wise man told me this weekend to give it a year or two, and it will be glorious.

 

I hope you, my friend, have had a lovely Monday….and thanks again for reading my blog…it’s been a huge blessing for me to be able to have this outlet, especially over the last month.

Cutting A Flower Bed – Day 1

April 14, 2015 by Michelle Filed Under: Outside Leave a Comment

Today I started the part of my sabbatical that includes manual labor.

Nothing gets me more in touch with myself and God than being outside…digging in the dirt.

I can’t explain it.  It truly is my happy place – well, there or being on some body of water {preferably a lake}, but you get it.  It’s where I am me.  I can think.  I can hear.  I can talk and no one hears me except God…and He’s really the only one I’m talking to, other than myself…

So I dropped off the kiddos at daycare this morning and quickly came back home.  Already in my “work” clothes, I put on my old sneakers, and got out my new garden gloves.  I had close to four hours to make a major dent in this project.  I was giving myself only a half a work day because there are many other things that must be done on my sabbatical…and while this is at the top of the “want” to do list, it’s not a must.

Well, it wasn’t a must…until I got halfway into it today.  If I left it now, it would just look silly…or worse than silly…dumb.

I’ll share with you the before pictures for now.   Before anything was picked up…straightened up…you know, the ugly pictures.

In this one, there are a million daffodils in this short span of nothing.  They’ve been here for who knows how long, by themselves, with nothing else around.  It’s my mission to make them part of something much more lovely.

023

Complete with a dead camellia {sad…} and propane tank…

Next, Lily was being shy…but you can see, there’s nothing here, other than the laurel petaluma shrubs we planted last  year {that I fully intended to be part of an actual flower bed} and the new Weeping Cherry Tree that we recently planted with Reynolds.

024

And then, more nothing, except sad shrubs that desperately want friends to share their space!

022

The next four hours I spend pulling, digging, tugging and removing…

This project is on pause for just a couple of days.  One, because I know I won’t be able to move tomorrow and Two, because Andrew wants to save some of the grass and the way I’ve been doing it doesn’t necessarily help “save” anything.  Wink, wink.

Meanwhile, I’m headed to Lowe’s and a couple of local nurseries this week for plants…anyone have suggestions out there?  This area gets full sun {6+ hours/day}.  I’ve got ideas of my own, but would love to hear from you – what are your favorite sun-loving plants?!

P.S….thanks so much for reading my blog!

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