Counting our blessings throughout the day is the surest way
to put smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts!
One of our favorite blessings is this beautiful piece of
land we live on. As an artist and landscaper, our backyard is basically one
BIG blank canvas for my creative renaissance man. Michael has designed a pond with two waterfalls, paths that
curve throughout the woods, and countless flowerbeds…just to name a few of his landscaping
achievements. We often joke that he’ll never, ever, ever get bored outside because his
“Future Outdoor Projects” list is about a mile long!
And this summer Michael has been busy working hard to check off some of those projects from his list. This is all in an effort to maximize the beauty of the land...and to show God how much we appreciate our little piece of peace in this fast-paced, crazy world!
Michael loves spending time outdoors playing with dirt…and rocks…and mulch…and
wood…and tools. (And I just love that he’s a boy who’s not
afraid to get his clothes dirty or his legs scraped up…even if that means I need
to keep an abundant supply of stain remover and first aid supplies on hand...at
all times!)
But, his favorite part
about being outside is "talking with God and thanking Him for all of our
blessings." (Those are Michael's words, not mine J).
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| Michael posing by his three-tier flower planter. |
Michael was inspired to design this flower planter because there is a tree stump under the top tier that was a bit of an eyesore. So, he loaded his 4-wheeler trailer with dirt and tools and went to work! He spread out the dirt and leveled it to create three tiers, placed rocks to define the tiers, and added mulch to each bed. Now, we just need to take a trip to the nursery to pick out some pretty flowers to plant in the tiers!
Michael endured a lot of backaches, sore arms, and tired legs with this particular project. It took a lot of strength to move those rocks around so much (because, of course, they had to be placed to perfection!) But, I think Michael will forget about the pain once this cool piece of landscape art is finished!
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| The flower planter sits to the right of the smaller waterfall that flows into the pond. |
Oh, and how cool is this....Once Michael finished detailing the planters with rocks, he realized that the top tier formed a perfectly shaped heart!
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| The heart-shaped flower bed. |
We don’t think the heart shape is a coincidence. We’re convinced God guided Michael’s hands to create that shape as a constant reminder that He is everywhere...and He loves us!
Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
-1 John 4:8
