Monday Monday

Happy Monday Morning! (Well, at least it was morning when I started writing this post, but it is late afternoon now when I'm finally getting around to finishing it!) We welcomed the morning with a beautiful sunrise and a chilly 45 degrees! That's fine with me! I love these cooler mornings and beautiful days that warm up just enough to be very pleasant! I wish we could keep it that way!  

Yesterday was a very special day. Our kids all showed up after church for lunch, which was a simple meal of either barbeque pork loin sandwiches or hot dogs (or both), baked beans, cole slaw, and/or tossed salad.  I had cooked the pork loin roast the night before and sliced the meat very thin for delicious sandwiches.  It was all good.  

Then after lunch we headed outside to plant the new hibiscus bush that we had purchased on our son Matthew's birthday earlier in the week, to be planted in his memory. Benton and Scott got right to work digging the hole and planting and watering it thoroughly in the butterfly garden where it will get plenty of sunshine and also attract butterflies and hopefully some hummingbirds. It's about time for the hummingbirds to arrive here in our area for the summer, so we need to get some bright flowers out there to attract them. I also need to get my feeder ready as well.

Here's some pictures of the fun:

After that task was done, we shifted to another project we've been wanting to do for a while.

Since I forgot to take a picture of how it looked before we dug up these two little trees, I just took a picture of how it looks now out there beside the fence where we dug them up and out of the fence to transplant them:    (The blue circles are where they were growing, which obviously was too close to the fence!)

The first one we transplanted was this young Magnolia tree. Here Scott is digging the hole for it (after he dug it up from the fence)

Now it's Scott vs. tree to get it into the ground:

Next he tied a stake next to it to give it some stability until it takes root:

Looks pretty good to me!

The tree and Scott! Both look pretty good! LOL.  He's a sweetheart and a great tree-handler!  He does work in landscaping at a golf course for a living, so I guess he has some experience!

I do hope it will thrive and grow here!

Next came this little cedar tree that was literally growing through the chain link fence:

I should have taken pictures of Scott literally pulling it out of the dirt and through the fence! That was a job, but again, Scott won that battle too, and now we hope this little cedar tree will also grow and thrive!

Benton and Rose were also helping out with these projects, and also finding a few of their own. There were more small magnolia trees growing out there along the fence, so they dug them up and are taking them home to plant in their own yard! Yay!!

Oh, one more thing they fixed for us: this hose caddy was a birthday gift to hubby from the kids, and we had not been able to get it set up on our own because of a stubborn hose connection to the faucet that we couldn't get unstuck. So the strong young men tackled it and got it loose and were able to get the hose attached to the new caddy!  Now hopefully the hose won't keep getting all kinked up and also tripping us in the yard! 

To reward them all for their hard labors I had baked an Oatmeal  Cake  the night before, and it was ready and waiting to be consumed by a hungry group!  

If you've never had an Oatmeal Cake before, you've missed out! It is very moist and delicious and easy to make from scratch. This recipe is actually from my sister Doris, and has always been a family favorite for family gatherings and pot luck dinners:

*Note, I use real butter instead of margarine in this recipe, and I also use a 9"x13" pan, not an 11 x 13.

I know once you've had this cake you will add it to your favorite recipes!

So that was our day yesterday...oh, one more thing...

You might enjoy listening to our choir singing this song from yesterday's church service, and the Pastor's Sermon on the Transfiguation was really good too:

Down By the Riverside and It's Me, It's Me, Oh Lord, Standing in the Need of Prayer

And that will be all for today...I hope you enjoyed this special day with us!  

Hebrews 13:20-21 NKJV

20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, 

that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, 

working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, 

to whom be glory forever and ever. 

Amen.