Welcome to the Jungle

I love our house. I mean I really LOVE my house. What I don't love as much is our yard. Well, the yard itself isn't horrible, but there are a few overgrown spots that I would like to clean up and LOTS of landscaping. Parts of our yard literally look like a forest.

So yea, it makes me sad sometimes to see all the overgrown parts because I feel overwhelmed. Well today I decided I would make a dent in our yard and DO something. That's right. Do or Do NOT!!! There is no try. ( We have been on a Star Wars kick in our house.) So earlier in the summer, before it got crazy hot, I mulched half of one side of our house. I know super impressive. I meant to mulch around the entire rest of the house in the days that followed but for some reason (laaaaaaaaaaaaazyness.) I never finished. So today I finished the side I started about two months ago. Here are some before and after shots (Don't you love before and afters!?):

Before: YUCK!!! Have I really let it look this bad since April?! Yes. I have. :(

After: Yes, the bush is still hideous, but with about half of it chopped off, it looks much better I think.

Before: I usually don't leave hoses laying around in my yard btw.

After: SOOOOO PRETTY!!!!!

It looks sooooooooooo much better. The entire clean up took me about four hours with three trips to the green dump in between. Also, there is no way I could have done this without the unlimited amount of free mulch I can get at the green dump. Thank goodness for that because there is no way I would pay $7 for a bag that only covers three feet.

The View From My Front Porch

I will just say it. This has been a rough month. I am not sorry to see the month of June gone. Too many trials all at once. I kind of had a few meltdowns this month but I have been trying to turn to the Lord and rely on him more and I have really found comfort through that. I feel like the Ensign has been really great for me because the last two months have had a lot of information about dealing with trials. Probably the biggest thing I have taken away from this past month is that I need to be grateful despite whatever I am going through. Life could always be worse. Ike and I have been spending a lot of time on our front porch recently because the weather has been so perfect. The other day we were out there and as I was watching my kids play I had a very strong feeling of love and gratefulness for what is most important to me, my family.

Despite any trials I may be going through, I can always be grateful for my wonderful family and the joy they bring me.