The Royal Wedding

I, like millions of others around the planet, will be tuning in to see Prince William marry his long time girlfriend Kate Middleton on Friday. It will be a busy day for me as it is also my twin daughters birthday and we as a family always try to do some special events on the kids birthdays with a party to follow on the weekend.

As it gets closer and the media gets more hyped for the event I cant help but think about Kate. I know for myself how nervous I was on the day of my wedding. I was extremely happy but I had quite an upset tummy too from nerves. Kate has got to have nerves of steel for this event. I only had 150 people watching me get married.....not the millions expected to view this event. Also there will be comparisons abound, between Kate and Diana. She grew up in a middle class home so has not had the same practice in dealing with media and the public as William has. She has stood up well so far and I hope she can continue to maintain the poise she has shown so far. Even though this event is a worldwide affair, I hope that Kate and William get to enjoy some of their wedding day in privacy. My thoughts will be with Kate on Friday and I hope she has a beautiful and magical day as every girls wedding should be.

My kids

My children are my legacy. If I raise them with love, patience and compassion then they will learn love patience and compassion and be better people for it. I have these really profound moments sometimes that seem like common sense but sometimes things just really hit me, kind of like a gong being struck within me.

Finally we are ready...

Whew, so after a lot of hard work, my gardens are ready to go! I have pruned all my fruit trees, roses, bushes, grapes and blackberries. I have raked all the debris and dead leaves from my lawn and garden and disposed of it all. The kids were a big help in loading the wheelbarrow and they attempted to help rake as well. I retied all my grapes and blackberries and am in the process of planning a new garden to move all my herbs too. We are planning on planting corn, sugar peas, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, Casper pumpkins, zucchini, beets and carrots this year in our vegetable garden. I am super excited to get it planted!! The kids and I did start sage and thyme in the house and my mother in law started the tomatoes in her house so as soon as we are frost free we are set to go! I am also hoping my brother will be around to give me a hand cleaning our gutters and I have a rain barrel that I need to finish for this year. I want to build stairs off our back deck now that the kids are older for easier access to our backyard. I also want to build a chicken tractor and get a few chickens this year for eggs. Big plans!

We think we know

I just had a brainstorm about humans. I think at times we like to think we know everything, that we have everything figured out. Then life, or Mother Nature throws us for a loop. I got this idea from watching a show on Mega Earthquakes that was on National Geographic channel. They were talking about cities being built in major quake zones and the steps being done to prevent major damage. They build sea walls and put shock absorbers in buildings but then life throws the curveball in the way of a 9.0 quake. I think the greatest they anticipated for was an 8.6. It made me think that life is full of these curveballs. One minute you are riding high thinking that you have your newborn all figured out and then they become toddlers or you finally get your dog housebroken and they start to run off because they are in heat. You are great at the job you are doing and then you are given a promotion and a whole new set of responsibilities. We humans are very adaptable and able to take these curveballs in stride for the most part. But sometimes they can be a huge struggle to overcome. My heart goes out to those that are struggling to overcome every day.