My, how they've grown & Give-away winner!

I thought it would be fun to have the girls pose near one of our daisy beds before the heat/humidty got too unbearable on Sunday.

Two years ago, the girls posed with some of our daisies. It was a much cooler day when I took this picture in July of 2009 (note the jackets).

When I compare pictures, Emma definitely looks like a teenager and Josie no longer has her toddler face. Time certainly doesn't stand still...does it?

Before I get too far into my post, I'm happy to announce that Janet from Cottage Blessings is the winner of my beachy give-away.

If you've never visited Cottage Blessings, you really must. Not only does she decorate her home with all kinds of vintage and thrift store treasurers, she is also an adoptive Mommy.

Congratulations, Janet! Be sure to send me your postal address so that I can get your goodies in the mail.

While I'm showing off daisy pictures, I might as well show you a few more plant & flower beds around our yard.

This is a street view of the front yard. Thanks to Chris, the beds continue to expand each year.

Soon there won't be any yard left.

Chris recently found this owl on clearance at Target and brought him home for me. Isn't he stately?

The backyard is much more shaded and Chris has different plants in his collection.

Several years ago Chris constructed this stone patio in our backyard.

It's a great place for roasting marshmallows.

This is the view of our little back deck.
It sits off the sunroom.

Our deck has a few sun-loving planters and a mini herb garden.

A few of the items that we are using for planters were things that we inherited from my grandparents garage many years ago. I shared this stepstool plant stand back in May, but it's worth sharing again. It's in horrible shape, but it was once in my grandfather's garage and it's perfect for my window box.

The pail and the barrel were also items that once were part of my grandparents home. At the time that we were cleaning out their garage/attic, Chris wondered why I wanted to hang onto them. I'm glad we did.

I can't take a single ounce of credit for our landscaping. It's all Chris. Whenever I can't find him, all I have to do is look outside and see him with a shovel in his hand. His next big job includes taming the woods by creating walking paths and staying on top of our vegetable garden.

A gardener's work is never done.

XOXO

♥