Mud Biking, Sunflower-blooming, Wonderful Random Friday...

First of all, let me just thank everyone for your prayers for my mom yesterday. Doc says that her kidney disease is stable. That is good news. We did found out some other things concerning this disease that is cause for concern, but mom took it like a trooper. All-in-all it was a good visit and best of all, she doesn't have to go back to see him for a year, unless she starts having trouble. That is indeed good news. So thank you all again for your prayers and sweet, sweet comments.

So I haven't talked about my knee in a couple of weeks, so let's have an update shall we? After my post about the knee not doing well, I decided that I was going to start working on my upper body and really getting strong as far as that was concerned. I used to really love working out, but ya know, it's like anything else, if you stop doing it, it's hard to get back to it.

Well, I started working out my upper body a couple of weeks ago, with the thought that if my legs were not going to cooperate, I'd at least try to get the rest of me in shape. Well, after just two days of upper body work outs my knee started really feeling better, I mean like markedly better. It was amazing!!! So I've just kept going and have started incorporating lower body work outs into my routine, and I'm feeling so much stronger. And the knee? Well it is feeling stronger to. The swelling isn't as bad and the pain?!! Well, truly amazing!!!!! This is the most pain free I've been since long before surgery. I actually can go a portion of the day with the knee feeling hardly no pain. It is truly AMAZING!!!!! In my eyes, it is a miracle, and I don't throw that word around lightly. God has truly touched me, I know this. It seems that I had to come to the end of myself, and when I did, God could take over. It is just GREAT!!!!!

So yesterday, D and I went bike riding at the Cross-country track like we usually do. Well, they are now building a walking track (which is so great) and so we took off down that track to see how far they'd gotten and what it would be like. And as we were going on our way, I saw D swerve and went up on the side, back on the grass. Well it was quite a jump and well, given the whole girl thing, I am a chicken, so I stopped and manually put the bike on the grass and manually put the back back on the track on the other side of the mud and went on my way, with D (hubby) patiently waiting for me and telling me just to ride on through the grass, to which I preceded to tell him that it was too thick and then I noticed I hadn't geared down to get through it ~~ yes, I am a goober =)

So on the way back to get to the regular track, I decided that I was just going on through the mud. It was hilarious and so fun. I felt like I was ten years old again. D looked back and said, "What are you doing? You're going to get all muddy!!" To which I replied, "A little mud never hurt anybody!!" WHEE!!!!! It was so fun and man was the mud caked on my tires. YAY for mud biking. I believe I shall have to do that again =)

Well, yesterday when I got home from taking mom to the doc, I got a very welcome surprise, well actually two really welcomed surprises. The first one was, Chase had been by and had cleaned our carpets, ALL our carpets; bedrooms, hallway, office, living room, yep ALL our carpets. I just love that kid. He is training an employee and so we benefit when that happens, out carpets get cleaned. Chase owns his own carpet cleaning business ~~ he is such a hard worker and we are soooooo proud of him!!!

Well, the second surprise was in the garden.

First of all, let me show you how the garden is looking now-a-days.

And then for the surprise, we have a sunflower that has come out of her beautiful bud.

Sunflowers are my favorite flower ~~ hands down favorite!!! So I grow them every year if possible. I love all the pretty colors as well as the traditional mumbo yellow that they are so famous for. Love them!!!!!

Isn't she lovely?!?!! Yep lovely!!!

Here are our beans. Yep I'll be picking this weekend!!!

YAY for fresh beans!!


Here is a shot of our tomatoes. We have many tomatoes on these vines and I'd say in less than two weeks we'll be eating yummee garden fresh tomatoes.
Be still our tomato loving hearts!!!!!

Here are our cucumber plants. Yep, I'll be picking either today or tomorrow.

YAY!!! I heart fresh cucumbers.

This is the first year we have grown them and so far they are looking (and tasting)

FANTASTIC!!!!!

So here is little miss beaut is again.

I wanted take a pic of her lovely environment.

Can you see the other sunflowers getting ready to bloom?

O I am beside my sunflowerlovingheart!!!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Please pray for Dak as summer school is over and he is now looking for a job in a tough job market for teens.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot (again) about New Recipe Tuesday's recipe this week.

Since it is a new feature for me, I forgot to get it on here.
I actually tried to get it posted on my recipe blog earlier this week, but blogger wouldn't cooperate, go figure.

So I am heading there from here and posting "Baked Onion Rings" here.

MMMM they were so good. So far we're two for two keepers.

Have a Blessed Friday,