Update on George and Friends

Someone in church yesterday asked me how George was doing, so thoughtful. So I thought I better update. Susan is flourishing in her new pot. She will probably need to be re-potted again in another month or two. Luckily I bought two pots at the same time, so if I can steal it back from Cade who is currently using it for markers and crayons (really cute by the way), she will have another one waiting when she is ready. Monica has had no change. Still no flowers. I have decided she is probably a calla lily, but I'm not for certain. And George, sweet George, I think is going to make it. All of the original leaves that were left when I re-potted him have died, but there are new leaves. My mom came last weekend, and pruned him even more, but she thought he was going to survive. On beautiful spring days like today, I take them outside for some fresh air, and George and Susan seem to like that, but Monica, not so much. She seems to wilt.
We actually have two new plants in our house. Cade brought home a cup with sunflower seeds, but I have yet to see anything sprouting. I think it will somehow disappear when he's not looking. But Campbell brought home a cup with grass already growing in it, and he put it in his room, and that grass is growing leaps and bounds. However, I went in his room today and there were bugs on the grass. How did that happen? So the grass joined the other friends outside, where it will stay until... it dies I guess?
Here are updated pics. 

My lack of a green thumb

If you have a minute, could you say a prayer for my friend George? George is a plant. Jason bought George for me my very first birthday after we were married, so he has been a part of our family for 15 years. I'm not sure how he has survived that long here. He's been through four moves and is being cared for by someone who's thumb is pink or red, or any other color other than green. While we've lived in Houston, he has presided in our window above the kitchen sink. It seems to be designed for plants, at least that's what it appears to be designed for. But it gets really hot there in the summer from the direct sun. And because I tend to forget to water George, he has been on the brink of death many times and has somehow hung on until I watered him and then miraculously come back to life. But, alas, this may be the end of George.

We've had an ant problem in our kitchen for awhile, and we couldn't figure out where they were coming from. For some reason yesterday, I decided to do the twice a year pruning of George and saw an ant in him. Concerned, I took George outside to get a closer inspection, and realized to my horror that he had become a hotel for an ant colony. Poor George. So for only the second time in his life, he was re-potted. That's not really the right term, because he went back into the same pot. But he was removed, and left sadly on the concrete while his pot was washed completely. I was completely grossed out by the number of ants crawling all over him. My kids were horrified. "The ants are eating George!" He then was severely pruned, like 75% of him went in the trash. There were so many roots that were connected to dead stuff. And what was left was re-potted into fresh soil in the same pot, and watered. So we wait. Its touch and grow for George. (Yes, I know that's a bad joke.)

This is George (He's very patriotic)

But George is not alone. I also have Susan. Susan is a plant that I was given as a gift by some of my babies I kept in weekday five years ago. Susan was my teaching partner so that's where she got her name. (George has no namesake, I just like that name for a plant.) Poor Susan has never been re-potted, she still lived in the same TINY ceramic cute pot with the names of my babies on it. But since I had gotten out the soil and gardening gloves, I ran and bought a 96 cent plastic pot and re-potted Susan. POOR Susan. I was shocked at the number of roots she had crammed in that tiny pot. I can't believe she has lived this long in such terrible conditions. I have better hopes for her since she had more roots to plant and no ants.

Susan

My newest plant that may have no hope is Monica, given to me by my birthday by my friend Monica. (Real creative name). I don't know what kind of plant she is because she didn't have one of those plastic labels stuck into her. She did have flowers when I received her, but they only lasted a few days and there have been no more flower sightings. I know I'm not taking good care of her, but I have no idea what to do with her. She's in a big pot, but I bet she's supposed to be planted in a flower bed, and I don't own one of those! I saw my friend Monica and she was shocked that she was still alive, so I was relieved to know that she didn't expect me to take great care of her. But I would like to. Maybe she could somehow survive 15 years in terrible conditions too!

Monica

Lent Update

I haven't been doing so well on some aspects of Lent, but doing well on others. I'm doing really well with the giving up chocolate. Once I got past the first week, it hasn't been so hard. I just read the other day that each Sunday is like a mini-Easter, and you can partake of the thing you have given up. I somehow had missed that, but its probably better if I don't partake at all for now. I'm looking so forward to a chocolate bunny on Sunday! I'm not doing so well on reading through the NT in 40 days with my church. I am waaaay behind, and thought I could catch up before Sunday, but since its only 3 days away now, I'm not seeing that happen. That makes me really frustrated at myself!
I wasn't doing too well on the cutting back on facebook thing. I had even taken it off my toolbar at the top, but that had only made me learn how to type it out faster. But I was really convicted this past week about it. In a Bible study I'm doing right now with some ladies on Sunday nights, we read about saying "I can't" about certain things in our lives, but we really needed to give that to the Lord and say "I can!" So, I decided for the week before Easter I would completely give up facebook to maybe focus more on the Lord. Monday was really hard! But each day has gotten easier. I did break down on Tuesday and look at it for 2 minutes to check on my Dallas friends after the tornado. But I really did fly down the page only looking for mentions of the tornado and got right back off. I'm not sure that I have taken the extra time to focus on the Lord, but I have gotten more done around the house. And I spent more time yesterday working on VBS, which I really needed to do. Its all a priority thing, and I hope this facebookless week will help me realize that I am not missing out on much not looking at it all day, and show me that I CAN get along just fine without it. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, even stay off facebook!

A Lenten Prayer by Mother Theresa

It Is Between You And God
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.