Birthday and Gardening Step 2

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Caylea is 14 years old today. Where did that time go? Ohhhhh, I remember...
playing house,
letting her tuck me in like a caterpillar in a cocoon,
listening to her sing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" while sitting on the potty at 2 years old,
hearing her answer the preacher's question..."When did you ask Jesus into your heart?" Her reply at 6 years old, "Jesus has always been in my heart. I talk to Him all of the time. I want to get baptized so everyone will know that He is in my heart." She said this as if she were teaching this 65 year old pastor something.
Watching her face as she came out of the water...priceless,
hearing her 'invent' a piano song at 7 years old and wondering, 'How do I teach THAT?'
watching her do flips and tumbles and twists and turns during her 4 year gymnastic stint,
crying with her when we all realized that her ankle could no longer tolerate her dream sport after a significant injury,
helping her determine which dreams are meant for life and which are meant for the moment,
helping her realize her gifts and talents and the best way to use them,
helping her learn when to apologize and learning that lesson myself, right alongside her,
teaching her how to show mercy towards others,
helping her tame her Absalom-type hair (not yet accomplished, by the way...it's still wild and beautiful),
listening to her heart-aches concerning friends and their treatment of her when she stands firm,
rejoicing with her when God gives her a glimpse of His glory,
and holding her down to tickle her until she says, "Mommy is the master...I HAVE TO GO PEE!"
The list goes on and on. I have many, many good memories with this young lady. I can hardly wait to see what's next with her!
Time invested in children is often equated to gardening, which I've been doing a lot of lately. You get good dirt, till it, plant in it, keep the weeds out, water it, make sure it gets plenty of SON, and watch things grow. Yup. Sounds like kids to me. My back hurts. :)
So, I did, in fact, figure out how to use the weed whacker. I did a great job. However, I had to Skype Joe to figure out the fuel situation because it's crazy, and I'm still going to let Dad help with that. I figure the yard can wait 3 more weeks to get whacked again. Also, the string issue...I have no idea. Joe tried to describe it, but I'm a visual learner, not auditory (easily distracted, remember?) If you show me the bright, shiny object, I will watch you tinker with it and learn what you did. If you tell me via words and hand motions, I'm going to get distracted by the bird outside my window. I didn't let him get very far. I said, "Joey, you know I don't learn that way. Dad will teach me by showing me and it's okay." He just grinned. He knows his wife.
The water didn't completely evaporate yesterday...but some of the noodles stuck to the bottom of the pan.

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