Update

Update on Josh...He has made incredible progress in just a day!  Yesterday morning he was following things with his eyes and able to follow commands such as wiggling his toes and squeezing someone's hand.  He was on a respirator because of his bruised lung, but was doing his best to communicate with hand motions.  As of 10:40 last night he was off of the respirator and breathing on his own, and was able to have conversations with people!  

Thank you to those who have been praying, and please continue to do so!  Pray for continued strength and healing, and that there would be no complications.  Also, pray that this situation will bring God glory, which I know it already is!

Please Pray!

Tonight my friend Jessica's younger brother Joshua, who's 19, was in a very bad car accident.  His collar bone is broken in two places, his lungs are damaged, and his brain is bleeding in multiple places.  Please, please pray for him and the medical team working with him right now.  And for Jessica and her family as well; she adores Josh, and while I know she knows and believes God is sovereign, I also know she's scared and worried and doing her best to hold it together. 

But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with 

healing in its wings...Malachi 4:2

The Season Swap and Stories

This afternoon I switched out my winter wardrobe for my spring/summer one.  I know this is risky, because here in Johnson City it isn't consistently warm until about mid-April, but this was my only free Saturday until I leave for China and then I'm moving into a new apartment when I get back.  So, it had to be done today!  In addition to swapping out my clothes, I got the rest of my room all cleaned up and dusted.  Such a great feeling!

One of the things I love about my room us that it is full of different colors, textures, and patterns.  I was sitting on the floor in the middle of my room at one point, and no matter which way I turned or where I looked, there was something pretty and fun to look at, so I thought I'd share some of that with you!

Tonight I went to a storytelling event - that's not something you do every day!   My friend Christian aka CT is graduating with his Masters in Storytelling this May, and tonight's event was part of his Capstone project.  He runs marathons and tonight he told the story of how that came to be and his pursuit of running in the Boston Marathon.  In addition to running the Boston Marathon, he would love to be able to share his story with others and encourage them to follow their dreams.  I met my friend Megan there, and she brought along the three little girls she babysits for.  The event was held in the auditorium at Milligan, and once we were seated I noticed that the chairs had those little "desks" that pop up from the side.  I pulled mine up and then asked the girls if they wanted to take notes and pretend they were in college, to which they exclaimed "Yea!"  So Megan tore some sheets of paper out of her journal and I dug out some pens from the bottom of my purse.  Their notes on the evening were adorable! 

Ok, I know this isn't the most interesting or even the best quality picture.  But I didn't want to use the flash when it would be obvious that I wasn't taking a picture of CT.  Also, see that cute little purse?  Megan made that the other night.  In one night.  Cause she was bored and felt like making something.  Seriously, Megan?  And I get excited when I do a good job sewing a button on a shirt. 

Love is in the Air

 Friday, March 25th - So last night my friend Josh got married!  I love going to weddings and one of the reasons is because every wedding I go to is completely different.  These days, weddings are a way for couples to express themselves, their likes, personalities - the things that make them unique and special as a couple.  Programs, ceremony, flowers, cake, decorations, at every wedding these things are different and I love seeing how couples make these things a reflection of themselves.  I was also looking forward to catching up with a bunch of friends that I hadn't seen in a while, which is what this picture is.  I'm in silver flats on the bottom, and then going clockwise it's Jordan, Josh, Kayla, and Courtney.

After I got home from the wedding, I went to work on something for another wedding, Amanda's!  I've had lots of thoughts and ideas floating around in my head about stuff for her showers, gifts, my toast etc.  And as I've been having these thoughts I just scribble them down on whatever I can find, napkins, the back of a grocery list, etc.  I figured I should just get a notebook to keep all information in.  Then I remembered I had a journal I hadn't used yet that had a letter "a" on it that I could use.  So I got out my scissors, magazines, and all-time favorite craft supply: modpodge!  Here's the finished product!

Turn That Frown Upside Down!

This morning started out as one of those days, the kind where everything goes wrong and bothers you.  First of all, I couldn't find anything to wear.  I know that sounds like such a lame, shallow excuse, but it was true!  We're in that annoying between-the-seasons type of weather where its cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon, or warm in the morning and raining in the afternoon.  It makes putting together outfits quite difficult, especially when you're tired of all of your clothes and want new ones.  I can't tell you how many different outfits I tried on this morning, it was ridiculous.  And because of that, I left my room a total disaster, which I hate.

My disgrace of a room after this morning...

Then, when I finally made it to the office I realized I had left The Well's camera at home and I needed it later that afternoon.  I was frustrated but knew I'd have time to go back later and get it.  Then I realized I had also left my folder with discipleship materials in it at home and I was supposed to meet with Stacie in a little bit and wouldn't have time to go back.  Ugh!  I was able to work things out, but still, super frustrating.  By the time I made it to The Cave I was a little scattered, which meant so was our meeting.  I kept saying things backwords and reading the wrong questions, but Stacie just laughed at me and went along with it.  Thanks girl!

After another trip home and back, things started getting better, the first sign of that was the three-layer chocolate cake in the fridge :)  After work I headed to David's Bridal to try on bridesmaid dresses for Amanda's wedding!  I say dresses because she picked two styles and then we get to pick the one we want.  One of the styles is the same one I wore in Ashley's wedding, which is also the same one I wore in Scottie's wedding.  I love that dress, but I wanted to change things up, so I was hoping I would like the other style, which I did!  

I've spent a lot of time in these dressing rooms this year!

When I finally made it home I found out that our utility bill for the month was only $76, more good news, hallelujah!  Then I made a darn good Egg in a Hole for brinner; brinner is breakfast for dinner in case you didn't know.  While I ate my tasty brinner I caught up on my blog reading, but basically spent the whole time on Mary Engelbreit's blog and website.  I found out she is having a crafting workshop at her studio!  Ah!  I would loooove to go, but it's right before I leave for China and it's in Missouri.  So, not happening this time.  Bummer!  I also found a place on her website where you can download desktop backgrounds, and I found a super cute one.  I think I might have squealed out loud when it uploaded.

A perfect Egg in a Hole on my favorite purple plates!

How stinkin' adorable is that!?!

After dinner I couldn't get warm so I went ahead and took a hot, steamy shower.  And now I am sitting in bed (yep, in bed, as in under the covers), in my fuzzy, pink, polka-dotted bathrobe, listening to Michael Buble and my Dandelion WoodWick candle crackling, drinking Cozy Chamomile tea, and writing to you, my faithful, blog-reading friends!  Sometimes after nights like tonight I ask myself "Why can't my life always be like this?"  But before I can even finish getting that whole thought out, I already know the answer:  

"And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we  also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."  Romans 5:2-4

Since I haven't done a Mug Monday post in two weeks,  I figured today was a good day for a Mug Thursday.  This picture really needs no explanation.  It was the only souvenir I wanted from our trip to New York!

A Tale of Four Tires

If I ever had a blog about my car, that's what I would name it.  Why on earth would I start a blog about my car?  Because since joining staff with The Well my car has had lots of interesting things in it.  Well, maybe not interesting, just large quantities of things.  I was thinking about this as I was driving to the church this afternoon with 15 tins of chips and 3 gallon sized jugs of salsa in the back seat.  Since almost everything we do is for groups, whether a group of 50 or 500, everything we do is in bulk.  So here are some of the things I've had in my car...8 gallon sized tubs of ice-cream and about 20 two-liters of root beer; 25 pizzas (they steamed up the windows!), $320 worth of supplies for Haiti, over 30 helium filled balloons, 250 coffee cups, 180 cases of juice boxes, and almost 500 packs of socks.  And here are just some of the random things I've had in my car: 3 adult sized pig costumes, a Sno Cone machine, a dead bush, the top half of a mannequin...That's all I can think of at the moment...But now that I've started this list, I'll definitely be adding to it in the future!

I might have munched on a few on the way to the church...Shhh!

I got to the church a little earlier than normal tonight because I wanted to get some pictures of the band practicing.  That way I could go up on stage and walk all around and do whatever I want, which I can't do when I take pictures during a service.   After taking quite a few from the floor and stage, I walked up in the stadium seating to get an overall view.  I sat for a bit with my feet propped up on a rung in front of me, and realized it was the perfect foot picture for today!

The Well has always been blessed with very talented musicians; very, very talented.  And unfortunately, I know I've taken them for granted at times.  I am so blessed (I hated to use that word again, but really it's the only one that works) to be ushered into Spirit led, Spirit filled worship each week.  I've gotten to know the current Well Band better than ones in years past, which has been a joy,  and I am so thankful for them!  They sacrifice a lot of time and energy to serve us through their talents, and I figured they deserved a little bit of recognition!

All Things Happy

I have lots of random stories and pictures for this post, so hopefully this post will make up for the fact that I've been slacking.  The morning started off with me baking, still in my bathrobe.  Every other week or so I'll make dessert for The Well band when they practice on Tuesday night.  Ever since she posted it, I'd been wanting to make these Fudge Brownies with Peanut Butter that I saw on my friend Sherri's blog.  So after I ate breakfast I got right to work.  Everything was going just fine until it got to the peanut putter filling.  The recipe called for 4 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla pudding mix.  I got a little ahead of myself and went ahead and made a whole batch of pudding.  Thankfully I caught the mistake before I added the pudding to the rest of the peanut butter mixture.  I didn't have another packet of pudding, so I'd have to take everything with me, pick up some more pudding mix on my way to the office and finish it all there.  The first thing I did at the office though was start the dish washer, then it was back to the brownies.  I got everything mixed correctly and then went back to my desk.  As I sat down I noticed some white powdery stuff on my finger, and thinking it was pudding mix, I licked it.  It wasn't pudding mix.  It was powdered dish washer detergent.  Yuck!

Patio + barefeet =  :)

Tuesdays are the days I meet with "my girls."  And for as long as I've had this blog, we've been meeting in The Cave, but since today was so nice, we met outside on the patio.  After we finished up our little meeting, Jillian and I went and sat with Henry.  Henry is still a student, but he's been leading worship at The Well all year and been doing a fabulous job!  We started playing the Commentary Game, where you pick out someone walking by and make up what they're thinking in their head.  Jillian and I's captions weren't the greatest, but his were hilarious.

Once I got back to the office I decided I definitely wanted to open the window by my desk.  The first open window of the year, yay!

The plan for after work was to go for a run at the VA (Veterans Affairs) Hospital.  As it got closer to time to head out, I realized that I hadn't work out in almost two weeks, and that a big run would be potentiality be painful.  Not to mention the fact that I had just eaten one of those brownies.  I decided that instead of a run I'd go for a long walk, and I did just that.  I walked for an hour!  All over the beautiful, beginning to look a lot like spring VA campus.  I'm so thankful I have such a beautiful place to get away to!  And as I was walking I got excited thinking about all the new pictures I'd be able to put on the blog because we're starting a new season.  Since this blog was started in the winter, you've only seen my winter shoes and almost all of the pictures were taken inside.  Now that it's getting warmer I'll have new shoes and outside places to take pictures of.  Take these shoes for example.  They are my outside running shoes, the blue ones in all my previous posts are my inside, gym shoes. 

I'm so thankful things are warming up here, and hope they are for you too, wherever you're reading this from!

Some beautiful VA scenery...

Love my mountains! 

Race Weekend

I absolutely hate that I haven't posted anything since Thursday, but like I said, March is a crazy month for us.  Less than a week after getting back from spring break we're always headed to Bristol to work at the races for a fundraiser.  Now, for all my local East Tennessee followers, you know exactly what I'm referring to and what all comes with Bristol Motor Speedway.  For my none East Tennesseans, let me explain...The third weekend in March is Race Weekend; there are Nascar races on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  As a fundraiser, The Well takes a large group everyday to work delivering food to the suites.  One thing that that is so interesting about unique about Nascar is that you get a huge range of fans.  Upstairs inside the suites you have the rich, preppy, glitzy fans.  While we're upstairs working we see lots of high heels, Sperry's, dress shirts, mini skirts, and smell lots of perfume and cologne.  While we're not working, and if the weather is nice, we'll stand outside the loading dock where we're stationed for the day and redneck watch.  That's when we see lots of beer bellies, camo, overalls, mullets, and if you get close enough you'll smell beer and cigarette smoke.  Quite the contrast, but oh-so-entertaining!

On the front row of the suite, enjoying hot dogs and watchin' me some racin!

While we're working at the races, they always provide us with lunch.  In the past five years that I've been going to Bristol we've always eaten lunch in the same room, just a big boring room with long tables and no windows.  But this year was different, we got to eat in one of the suites!  That meant we got to sit in the comfy seats and we'd actually be able to watch the race for a little bit.  We didn't get to eat the nice suite food however, they fed us hot dogs and macaroni salad.  All. three. days.

Cleaning up my mess...

There are always lots of funny stories that happen during race weekend, and this year, one of them involved yours truly.  I was outside on the loading dock, leaning against the wall, talking with some of the workers and our students.  I pushed off the wall to stand up, and then the next thing I know I am getting sprayed with a huge gust of water from behind.  I was so stunned I just stood there for a few seconds before I put it all together.  Somehow when I stood up my butt managed to turn on the faucet that was on the wall behind me.  So once I realized that I turned the faucet on, I realized I would have to turn it off.  So I started turning knobs and switches, but it wasn't turning off!  I was still getting wet the loading dock was getting flooded.  Eventually someone else figured out which knob to turn and got it turned off.  Rightfully so, they made me squeegee of the dock.  So I'm squeegeeing away and then I turn around and see Staci poking around the corner snapping pictures of me and my soaking wet backside.  Well today, I was looking through some pictures on my camera and realized she had taken the pictures on my own camera!  So sneaky!

A Lovely Lunch Break

Today was one of, if not the, nicest day we've had in the past few weeks, since things have been warming up.  Unfortunately all of the work I had to do today was on the computer, which meant I'd be stuck outside.  I knew I had to get outside at some point, so I decided to eat lunch at the picnic table.  While I was sitting there soaking up the sunshine, I realized that minus the screen door, that side of The Well is really cute.  From where I was sitting I could see the corner of the porch and one of the Adirondack chairs, lots of shrubs and plants that will be in bloom soon, the old brick chimney with old, little windows on either side, and the stone walkway leading to the picnic table.  It was quite picturesque, but I didn't take a picture of it, I'm not really sure why, but I regret it now.  I did take some other pictures though, enjoy!

I love my 31 lunchbox that my wonderful roomie got me for Christmas!

Citrus!

 

Twice as Nice

I think I've mentioned before that since we have to wear the same t-shirt every Wednesday night, all of us girls try to change things up by finding lots of fun red and white accessories to go with it.  I love my red little boy's shoes from Wal Mart, and so does Keri.  She has the same ones! 

Barefoot and...Hard at Work

I was hoping the title could say Barefoot and Fancy Free, but I was working late...

Anyways...I am so disappointed because I missed the opportunity to take such a fun picture for today's post.  Agh, it annoys me so much!  Yesterday I had a meeting with one of the executives of SunTrust Bank to talk about a donation for The Well's fundraiser banquet coming up.  I had to go to their main office, which is in a fairly old building.   His office was on the 5th floor so I took the elevator, and when I got on I was reminded about why I like old buildings like that.  The elevator was this cool, old-timey elevator.  Not super old-timey, but old enough to be fun to ride in.  Instead of the digital panel that changes numbers to tell you what floor you're on, it had those little round buttons above the door that lit up as you passed each floor.  And whereas most modern elevators are silver and shiny, this one was brass and dull; and it creaked the whole time.  I loved it!

Well I went in for the meeting, but it turned out he had to leave the office that day and his secretary forgot to call and tell me, so we rescheduled for today.  As I got back on the elevator to leave I told myself that I would definitely take a picture in there today.  Since starting this blog I pretty much have a camera on me 24/7, but this morning I put it in my tote bag and not my purse.  And I didn't take my tote to the meeting, so I had no camera :(  I'm tempted just to go back sometime and get on the elevator for no other reason than to take that picture!

And since I didn't get that picture, I had to come up with something else, which is why you get the oh-so- thrilling picture above.  I wanted to get a head start on some stuff for tomorrow, but if I went home or even to Barnes & Noble, I knew I'd get distracted, so I just went back the office.  When I know I'll be at the office alone and uninterrupted for a while, I like to prop up my feet and work.  It's a nice change from sitting in the same position and looking out the same window all the time.  I kind of want to ask what you do at work when no one is looking, but I feel that might get people in trouble...

Ashley Got Married!

Our beautiful bouquets!

Ashley and I have been friends since she was four and I was five, now she's 23 and I'm 24.  That's a long time.  When two girls are friends for that long, it's guaranteed that many, many conversations are had about boys and dating, and eventually men and marriage.  So it's really not an exaggeration to say that Ashley's wedding is something we've been dreaming and talking about for years now, and on Saturday it was finally here!  Minus a little bit of wind that made taking pictures a little challenging, it was a perfect day outside.  Sunny and not a cloud in the sky.  The ceremony was wonderful - sweet, funny, and God-honoring.  And then it was on to the reception.  Ashley and Tim are huge sports fans, so when the bridal party made their entrance they had one of those sport themes playing in the background and we were introduced as the starting line up.  We made kind of a tunnel with the girls on one side and the guys on another, so Ashley and Tim came running in giving high fives like they were on a sports team.  It was great!  Another highlight of the reception was the cake.  It looked like a wedding cake on the outside, but the inside was Funfetti!  I think Ashley has been saying since she was in middle school that she would have a Funfetti wedding cake, and she did!  I don't really know how else to wrap up a day like that except to say that everything was fun and beautiful and I am so glad that I got to be a part of it all!

 

That's not the greatest picture of me and Ashley.  Well, she looks great, and I look like a big, black, tired blob.  But, I wasn't freaking out about getting pictures because I knew the ones the photographers would get would be amazing!

Flying Fiasco

We were scheduled to be in New York for spring break from the 6th-12th.  I was in Ashley's wedding which was also the 12th, and we would have rehearsal on the 11th.  Obviously there was a little bit of overlap and since we were taking vans to New York, it wasn't like I could just drive myself home.  I knew I'd have to fly in, and we went ahead and got my ticket a couple months ago.  The plan was that I'd leave Laguardia Airport in New York at 7:00am Friday morning, have a layover in Detroit, then land in Roanoke around noon, and then Dad would come pick me up.  Ashley was having a bridesmaid's luncheon at 1:00, I knew I'd be late to it but told her I'd try my best to make it to the end of it, and that I would definitely be there for rehearsal.  Like I said, that was the plan...

Leaving New York, you can see the city below

Since Laguardia is in Queens and we were staying in Brooklyn, I knew I'd have to call a cab.  I was able to call Thursday night and line it up to get picked up at the church we were staying at, at 4:45am.  So I got up Friday morning, got ready and did my best to get all packed up without making any noise since everybody else was still sleeping.  Drew had offered to get up and see me off, and am so thankful that he did.  There is a fairly tall gate all around the church, and it gets locked at night, so when the cab pulled up and I went out to get in the car, I couldn't, I was locked inside!  Luckily he had been given a set of keys to the church, so he ran back inside to get them and I was finally able to get out.  That should have been the first sign that it was going to be an interesting day.

Well, hello Detroit!

Well, I made it to the airport in plenty of time, got checked in, and made it through security without any problems.   Never having flown by myself before, I was nervous about the whole thing, but at this point, I was feeling pretty confident and figured the rest of the day would be a breeze.  I boarded the plane and was ready to go!  We start heading towards the runway and then we stop.  And the pilot comes on the intercom.  Never a good sign.  He said it was snowing in Detroit and they had to close all their runways except one, so we would have to wait.  Awesome.  We were supposed to leave at 7:00, and didn't end up leaving until 9:00!  By the time we landed in Detroit I was positive I had missed my connecting flight, but when I checked the arrival/departure screens, it said it was still boarding.  Yes!  So I ask someone where Concourse C is and take off in a very quick walk through the airport.  I got down to Concourse C but couldn't find the sign for Gate C2 anywhere.  Eventually I did find it.  It wasn't on a big official sign like all the other ones.  No, on a standard sized piece of white paper was written C2 and it was taped to the wall with little strips of black tape.  I'm not even kidding.  It was ridiculous!  Granted, they were doing construction in the area, but when all the other signs are 2ft x 3ft and blue and silver, an 8in x11in piece of white paper does not work as a substitute.  I'm sorry.  So by the time I finally made it to the counter, I had missed it.  I was panicing on the inside but trying not to have a meltdown.

Cool fountain in Detroit airport

A tunnel in the airport, it changed colors!

I stood in line at customer service for at least half an hour and eventually found out that I could get another flight to Roanoke.  The only problem?  It didn't leave til 5:40pm, and it flew into Atlanta and then I'd have to take another flight back up to Roanoke, arriving at 10:17pm.  I tried to see if I could get another flight with another airline, but that was all they had, I had to take it.  I hated that I was going to miss rehearsal, but I also knew that there was nothing that I could do to change it, so I had to deal with it.  It was a little after 11:00, so I had almost 6 hours to kill in the Detroit airport.  I bought some magazines, grabbed lunch, slept some, walked around and people watched, got a smoothie from Starbucks, people watched some more, slept some more, and then finally it was time to board.  We made it to Atlanta with no problem, but once we got there, they didn't let us off the plane right away.  I started getting nervous again, because if I missed the connecting flight to Roanoke, I was screwed.  When we finally got off I super speed-walked through the airport, found my next gate, boarded the plane, and sat down with a huge sigh of relief.  I would make it home that night!  We had a male steward and you could tell he really loved his job, or at least he made us believe he did.  I have never seen someone so excited about pointing out emergency exits and where life vests are located.  He overheard me tell the man I was sitting next to that this was my first time flying alone, and he came out and made a big deal of it and gave me one of those little wing pins that they give to little kids.  It was kind of funny, but also embarrassing.

Waiting to board the plane for Atlanta.

Once we landed in Roanoke I figured out that Fighting Gravity had been on the plane with me.  They were one of the final three groups who competed on America's Got Talent this summer, and they were coming back from a show in Las Vegas.  One of the guys in the group is from my home church in Lynchburg and knows my parents, so we all chatted in the terminal a bit and then headed home.  I think we got in around 11:30 or midnight, I don't even remember.  All I cared about was that I was home and that I would be there for Ashley's wedding!  Which will be the next post...

Tales of New York

There is no way I could write about all that I did and saw while in New York.  Well, I could, but it would take a long time.  So I'm going to give you one or two pictures from each day and try to summarize as best as possible.

Sunday, March 6th  -  Oh the joys of meeting at 3:00am, loading up in the rain, and cramming 13 college students into a van, but that's how last Sunday started out.  We drove for about 12 hours and finally arrived in Brooklyn, where it was pouring.  We unloaded, met the staff we'd be working with for the week, and headed out to dinner before calling it a night.

Hanging out at the church we stayed at.

Monday, March 7th -  I didn't take any pictures this day, but we went on our prayer tour of the city.  We visited 3 of the 5 boroughs: Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan.  We ended the tour by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge!

Tuesday, March 8th - We spent the morning at a food pantry, mainly helping sort and shelf food items.  We ate lunch in Central Park where we started a riot between the ducks and seagulls.  Then we spent the afternoon in Harlem.  We were given a list of places to find, people to talk to and certain questions to ask them.  We were also given $10 and told to help someone in need.

In Central Park

On the Subway, heading to Grand Central Station I think

Wednesday, March 9th -  We were at a clothing bank in the beginning of the day.  We folded, sorted, and bundled clothes that had been donated, which would be distributed to other area shelters.  That afternoon we did something called Neighborhood Immersion.  We started out at Grand Central Station in groups of six.  We were given a street to find and then once we got there, we had another series of questions to find answers to.  We were also given $2 per person to get dinner, and we had to provide dinner for someone else we met there.  The main catch was that we were completely on our own.  In the past we always had a CSM staff member with us, to help us get to where we needed to go, but not this time!  It was just me and five students, on our own in Greenwich Village!  We met a men named Keith who sold used books from a table on the sidewalk, and we talked with him for a while.  Later we decided we would just buy a large pizza and asked him if he wanted to share it with us, which he was very eager to do.  While we ate, standing outside in the cold, I learned that when he was 23 (he's probably in his late 50's now) he was a broker on Wall Street and made $62,000 a year.  Then he became addicted to cocaine, lost his job, and became homeless; it was a very touching story.

Someone found a baby shoe in the mud.

Thursday, March 10th - We spent the day at a church in Harlem.  They have a back lot that has been overlooked and more or less turned into a dumping ground for the people who live nearby.  We completely cleaned out the lot, which was full of scrap metal, overgrown shrubs, shingles that had blown off the roof, shoes, you name it, it was probably in there.  Once it was all cleared, we planted daffodils.  And now that we've cleaned it out, they'll be able to turn it back into the beautiful garden that it used it be!