Ouch!

Could I be more sore? I don't think so ...

I didn't get much done yesterday morning, just a load of laundry, and I cleaned the kitchen. The kids and I had lunch outside on the deck, and then I made up for my lack of motivation yesterday morning. I tilled the entire garden (and the extension) by hand; planted spinach, Kentucky climbing green beans, spinach, and garlic; tilled and then extended my herb bed (which is in the driest part of our yard-it was like digging rocks!!); transplanted peppermint and planted basil; transplanted spearmint; then after watering everything and getting the garden prepped for tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and peppers (being planted today), I came inside, cleaned up so everything look decent when John got home, and started supper.

Seriously! I am very tired! But I feel so good. I don't think there's any better feeling than being really sore after a good, hard day of working outside with your hands. And I managed to get sunburned, too. Oy! The kids helped me with all the garden stuff, and got to spread the seeds for the spinach, beans, and basil. We had a blast. Luckily, they weren't in the sun as much as I was, so they didn't get burned.

I just finished reading Marriage to a Difficult Man, the book with the world's most misleading title. It's about Sarah Edwards, wife of Jonathan Edwards (the preacher in colonial New England who started the First Great Awakening ... truly an amazing man!). This book has blown me away. I highly reccomend that everyone get it, NOW, and read it. This family had 11 children, Jonathan was frequently gone for long periods, and still Sarah was known throughout New England as a wonderful wife, housekeeper, and host. I have been evaluating my job lately, and some of the things I do, and the way I act, and this book has served to confirm some of the area I need to work on, and some of the opportunities I have to serve the Lord that I'm not doing so well in! It has also opened my eyes to ways I can bless John.

However, the biggest thing I have taken away for this book is the legacy that Sarah Edwards left! Her example to her children, the way she treated and acted towards her husband, and her relationship with God was stunning, and the effects of that, are still being felt today in her descendants. A study done in 1905 tracked 1400 of the Edwards' descendants and the things they had done to that point, and I was just floored. Get this book.

And on that note, I'm off to do a little bit of school, the clean upstairs, feed the baby, and go out and buy my tomato and pepper plants. Hope everyone's day is very blessed!!