Backyard Reflections: Sheeeee's Baaaaack:)

SO much has happened...

(growing in JoMeagan's backyard)

A GREEN THUMB RUNS IN THIS FAMILY...

Got a random text message that said "My first real plant that hasn't died!!" from my baby sister with this photo attached. I was in celebration for her first flower as a married person. Dahlias are very fitting for her. The color reminds me of the shoes she wore the day she married Wesley...(which also happen to be the same color as Dorothy's on The Wizard of Oz...and I recall her saying she wants to go home-just sayin') See how my mind just goes off...

Obviously the Mansfield's can grow things. We get this from both sides of the family. When I was young my parents actually had a garden. Thinking back, I cannot believe they had time to till a garden and tend to it. I think working in the yard is still an escape for them just like it is for me:) Many of my best memories happened in our backyard. Playing Frisbee barefoot with my brother, Marcus...playing in our AMAZING 2-story playhouse that dad built...hitting a tennis ball on the side of the house for hours at a time...boating in our backyard when it flooded...painting the shed with Thompson's water sealer and a PAINT BRUSH in the midst of summer...picking up rotten apples from under all the trees before my dad mowed the yard (wasn't a fun memory back then but I can still hear those apples I didn't pick up shooting out of the mower like cannon balls!!) I thought it very fitting to share with you photos I get from people in my life who share the simplicity of backyard events:) So, whatever it is that goes on in your backyard...share:)

GOING AWAY PARTIES...

What a great time was had by all who attended my going to Huntingdon to teach party:) I love these girls...my SPICE girls! I truly appreciate those who came even if it really isn't your scene. I totally get that. I have also realized that I cannot "hang". My bedtime comes early...never been a night owl. A song comes to mind here for my peeps...heehee

(sorry...thought I had chosen clean version earlier...haha )

DOCTOR VISIT AND CICADAS:

I am not a stripper...nor did I ever plan to be. That being said, I went to the psoriasis guru. I have waited basically all school year to get in with this lady. This time for some reason hit me TOTALLY unexpectedly. It was a long, hot trip...car sick all the way...you could hear cicadas with the windows and doors shut...creepy...cicadas were dive-bombing at our car in traffic in Nashville...waited over an hour once I got there just to see HER. It really is a no-brainer. You can see my spots on my arms. HER words stung..."we want to get a clear picture so we know what percentage of your body is broken out." Then, with a little swagger in her step, HER nurse returned to the room with "the gown". It never fails. If I went in for an ear infection you can bet money they would somehow get me in "the gown". SO, I stripped down...put gown on..left on the undergarments. SHE returns with HER nurse and a clipboard in her hand. As SHE walks around me...unhuh...another step...unhuh...another step...pull out elastic of my grannies and peeks down...unhuh...slap of elastic on my back and then another step...uunhunnh. DONE. Clothes back on...discussion of HER findings. I HAVE PSORIASIS. She talked with me about options but I knew something was up when she handed me a $200 off coupon for the medicine called in for me. Cost is about $540 a tube...but we have insurance:) (This is incentive to lose weight!) Seems I will be getting a light box for at home light therapy sessions, also. I can see it now...me blogging during my light therapy sessions.
tune in...

SWINGS AND STUFF...

I have waited patiently for IT. My swing is finally here! I sat out until almost midnight this weekend just swinging and thinking about all that is happening right now. I am blessed. Not just because I have a new swing....or because David got me a Thermacell mosquito deterrent and I have zero bites from sitting out that night...but because of all the simple things that happen in life everyday. You know everyone needs a space to be still and open their eyes to see God in the simplicities of life. The older I get, the more I cherish making these memories...whether it be in my backyard or yours.