Tater Treasure Hunt

Mornin'!  I'm waking up to the sound of our dog Bouncy "playing" (a.k.a. pestering) our new cat Dandelion.  These two.  They are so often like Anna Ruth and Betsy Grace, but in animal form.  The cat will slooooowly wave its tail around just begging for the wrong kind of attention from Bouncy.   And then Bouncy pounces on her and pesters until she gets scratched and runs away.  And repeat. 

Sounds like two other little ladies I know. :)  But this little memory post isn't about fighting like cats and dogs at all!  It's a favorite memory of mine from last weekend that I'll always remember with this summer.  It's not even a BIG event, but my favorite memories never are.  

Sunday evening the girls woke up from nap and we were pondering what to do next.  At first feel our bodies told us it was too hot to go outside so we tossed around the idea of going into town.  It was late enough we knew that if we went into town we'd probably need to eat there so that quickly changed our minds.  Restaurants don't have anything on eating on the back deck!  

We decided instead, we'd go ahead and sweat a little and have a tater treasure hunt.

The girls and I have never dug up potatoes before and boy did Brett make it sound exciting!  He's such a fantastic dad and will play along with the girls' imaginations quite well.  He told them we were going to have a treasure hunt and dig for potatoes.  We all traipsed out to the garden together and got ready to dig.....soon, the sounds of "I found one!" being heard left and right! 

Bouncy even got caught with dirt on her nose amongst the tomatoes.  Wherever we are, she's right there.  I sure do love this puppy.  

The girls worked and worked to find all the potatoes.  They loved throwing them into the basket.  

They both had dirt galore under their fingernails, were hot and sweaty, and happy.  So happy.  Both our girls love to help Brett and I.  I might not be sure about a lot some days, but I am very sure that gathering in the garden produces more than just potatoes.  Muscles, knowledge about where our food comes from, healthy bodies, following directions, the enjoyment of our God-given earth....hearts growing closer together-this is what grows right along side the produce.

About halfway through our time in the garden I looked at Brett and said "I'm so glad we didn't go into town!"  It was so nice-us all being in the garden together.  I felt God right there among us.  The simple things are usually the best things, aren't they? 

Afterwards we finished loading up the basket and came in to scrub the dirt and grime away so we could enjoy dinner together and start on canning tomatoes.   

We're a close-knit community, this garden and us.  We share secrets, prayers, and hallelujahs.   We rejoice when things grow and thrive....despair when they don't.  We don't let a bad crop ruin us, but simply turn our eyes towards next year.  We embrace hard work and muscles growing stronger.  We hear the conversation that happens among the plants, that can't simply be heard with just the human ear.  We hear it in our hearts, the hum and rhythm of a garden thought of by God himself.  He plants, sows, and reaps generously in our lives.