Those Patriotic Newmans (A Special Newman Reunion)

(Due the forecast, we set the corn grills up in the laneway, under some tree cover)  

I suppose I can't hide that we are country folk, can I?

(It rained all the way up to the moment people arrived... and then the sky cleared and was beautiful for the whole party!)

(The corn cookers got a little bit wet... and Moses tried to wait patiently for the party to start.)

(TWO people randomly shared soda cases with our family the week before the party... so SODA was served alongside the sweet tea)

I never noticed my couch pillows are red,white and blue- until I put them on the porch bed.    Huh.)

This year, because it happened to be America's 250th birthday... and because parties are always made more fun with themes... I told everyone we would hold a contest to see who dressed the most patriotically.

I never snapped a picture of the winners together- but Ineke won the child category and Grandma Newman won the adult.  ;-)

Moses looked pretty spiffy too- and he had the added benefit of a hat that protected from the rain! 

(Smart man.) 

How convenient when the patriotic theme perfectly matches what flowers happen to be growing in the flower circle!

Thank you, Hillsdale College, for the perfectly perfect flag!  We LOVE you!

Eventually the pretty food table filled up with even prettier (and tastier) food which I was too busy to snap a picture of.

And the pretty picnic tables filled up with even prettier (and pleasanter) people which I took ONE picture of:

Let the games begin!

                                                          The cheerleading squad:

(Uncle Nathan always has the best shirts)

Why, oh WHY does the group photo always turn out blurry and overexposed?! That's SO annoying!

Thanks to those faithful friends who make the trek to PA to come!  (It was great fun to catch up with Joseph and we are crossing fingers maybe Jeanette will be next?!  we hope.  we hope!)

It means a lot to have everyone together every year and it is always a highlight of the summer!

High Summer

Oh, summer.  Fast and furious and fleeting.

You will always be my favorite.

How could you not be, with the explosion of colors you provide?

The sun-kissed flavor bursts of vegetables and fruit, as it was always meant to be.  

The wind and the warmth and the fresh breezes.

The water that draws you to it like a sirens' call and the time you make to answer it- and splash!  Even if it is just a splash to the face in the sink.

It's all just too much.  

Here is little bits of July and little snippets of August, in all their glory.

Another incredible peach year!  And, oh my, is there anything better?!

Foggy morning in the flower circle

A million little bouquets for the house

A tiger baby on the prowl at dusk

Naomi cut her outer two incisors before her two front teeth- I've never known a baby whose teeth came in that way. But, I must say, it is the cutest!  

I didn't grow any zucchini this year so the zucchini relish was made with yellow squash instead.  The end result is very golden and pretty though!

I don't know why but almost half of my zinnias are zinnia HALVES.  It was storebought seed, nothing I had saved, so I am clueless why that would happen. *Sadness*

Most of the sunflowers growing 'round the place just sprung up on their own by some sunshiney magic.

A friend facing a surgery needed a boost.  So I made this bouquet with some encouraging scripture verses on leaves and interspersed with chocolate.  

(I knew it could easily have been more kindergarten than quaint... but I was impressed that it turned out the way it did.)

Why I will never stop exercising, even when it doesn't result in losing weight:

There was a time I could not do a squat of any kind- my knees hurt too badly.  I cried, knowing I probably wouldn't be able to continue to garden or do things I loved to do, because it was so hard and painful.

Now, after lots of hard work and dedication, I can garden and work, squat and bend, with ease.  And WITHOUT pain.

Every time I bend down or squat in the garden, I rejoice.  

I notice and thank God.

EVERY TIME.

It still hasn't gotten old.  I can SQUAT!  Without PAIN!  My knees WORK again! 

 I have even started taking pictures to celebrate.

This years' celebratory photo is of harvesting a now-too-ripe-and-very-weedy garlic patch.

(This was last years' celebratory photo)

Ineke recently cracked open a Harry Potter and the world has disappeared for a few weeks.  She reads during the day, she reads in the car, she is always, always reading.  She even said "I remember when I didn't like rest time because I had to read... now I WANT it to be rest time... so I CAN!"  She is now on Book 5. Soon enough, she will experience her first bitter sadness at finishing a beloved series.  Poor girl.

Life isn't easy.  A sister-friend needed a boost- and I just happened to have a few more chocolate balls leftover! 

Another special delivery to a special lady!

Smart calf, standing just where the tail swooshes shoo the flies away.  Clever, clever girl.

Moses went to a day camp for three days and every day, he brought home a pet creature including this guy, a few smaller crayfish and a snake.

Judah went scouting for deer and he brought me back a bouquet of different flowers he gathered.  I really lucked out with these sweet boys. 

They act all tough and cool- but, when no one is looking, they are tender too.  But, I always see.

And though this boy towers above me at 6'5 (so far), I can't help but, in moments like this, to see him as that little toe-headed boy handing me a fist full of flowers.  

I asked to take a picture for posterity, and he always get all 'cool guy'.

The trick is that you then take 15 pictures and act like paparazzi: it will always award you with the prize smile.

I am sure Judah (or any of the boys) will never understand how very dear these small, rare moments are to me- but, boy oh boy, are they.

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill." 

 ~ Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird