August in Review

The month passed in blur of heat waves, food processing, homeschooling and reoccurring infections for me.  I think August might have more accurately been spelled Exhaustion.

During especially difficult periods of life, I find that small things become more vivid and meaningful.  Like this rose bush that Jenn gave to me this spring before she moved to KY. It's simple elegance is inspiring and makes me smile each time I pass by.

Or the fragrant leafy green of an amazing basil plant. I do love basil! It will dress up the simplest poached egg and toast and transform them into something truly lovely.

 and of course, there is always Lexie.  (Smile)
 Here she is at 10 months.

Did you want to see how big she really is?   Rrrr..... I mean, how small.

I present to you THE Itty Bit with my dear friend Kim's Mr. cutie pie..........

.........will you believe me when I tell you that Lexie is oldest of the two of them?
In all fairness, Little W. is actually bigger than average and Lexie is truly "Itty Bitty" so the contrast is rather striking.

We also celebrated Nick's 8th  Birthday last month.  He was thrilled to make his own cake - Double Chocolate with Sprinkles.  Served with a large scoop Mint Gelato.  Most of the pictures didn't turn out for some reason, but I did get one decent shot.

It's been a hard month in many ways...
BUT GOD.......  (I am so glad for that qualifier, it makes all the difference in the world)
He truly has been there and has seen us through.  We are breaking new ground and seeing advances in areas we have prayed and agonized over for a long time. RAD is so complex and I am truly grateful that we serve a miracle working God who gives back the years that the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25) and is a God of mercy and restoration.  That doesn't make things necessarily easy but it gives hopes.  Hope is what keeps me going through the extra difficult days.

We have also made some great progress here on the farm.

From laying block to

Sealing the block in preparation for back filling,

And now working on the roof.
It appears that our root cellar will be finished before cold weather arrives and I am so excited.  This project has taken ever so much longer than either of us anticipated and cost more than we calculated as well.
  It reminds me of my Dad telling me that if you want a realistic figure you should always estimated how much you think a project will cost and then add half of that amount again to your estimation and you will be about right.  If you really want to be safe, just double your figure.  In this way you will never be unable to finish a project or  be forced to borrow.
So far, my limited experience would second his observations entirely to well.