Grandpa

This is my grandpa and his twin brother.  What a cutie pie!  Grandpa, you have been on my mind and in my heart the past week.  I love you!

NC Snake

There are snakes in North Carolina.  This is not something I was aware of before moving here.  I first discovered this not so fun fact, at the Fort Fisher Aquarium last summer.  They had a while NC snake exhibit.    There were pictures and stories about all of the types of snakes that live in our area, venomous included.  Luckily we had not come across any snakes.......until this spring.

This guy was hanging out by our mailbox.  Yuck!  

Basil

My mom and I went to the Durham Farmers Market a few weeks ago while she was here to visit.  We came home with strawberries, rhubarb and basil!  I wanted to grow basil this spring and summer since I love cooking with it and it can get somewhat expensive buying it from the store each week.  We came home with two regular basil plants along with a lemon and lime basil plant.  They started out quite small but since the weather has been so nice here they have grown tremendously over the past few weeks.  I was really excited to find uses for the lime and lemon basil and found that it works in most recipes that call for regular basil.  If you have any recipes that call for lemon or lime basil send them my way!

What will I grow next?

Healing

Living in North Carolina has been a blessing and a curse after our recent loss.  It is hard not having our family here for us when we need them.  But it has been nice not having to face people who know our story on a regular basis.  I have felt very safe with DRS and sometimes facing others has been difficult, both in person and on the phone.

I just finished reading a wonderful book recommended by my cousin, Heaven is Here, by Stephanie Nielson.  I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes from her book about healing.

"You're a butterfly held captive
Small and safe in your cocoon
Go on, you can take your time,
Time is said to heal all wounds."

I believe that time will heal my wounds.  But in the meantime, I have been grateful for my cocoon, North Carolina.