j's butterfly

j has come such a long way since he started swimming on our swim team! Here is a cute picture of his butterfly stroke.

He has a long way to go to perfect it, but hey, he's just 8! I didn't even know how to swim at 8 years old.

i love lemongrass!

I just finished making a batch of my favorite summertime soap.

Lemongrass!

Its earthy, citrusy, bright scent just makes me think summer. It also is great for repelling mosquitos. They hate the lovely scent of lemongrass.

There's also another reason this soap is one of my favorites. There was a dear, sweet lady in our local town that everyone knew as Miss Martha. She loved gardening and being outdoors. She taught swim lessons at our pool for at least 40 years and everyone loved her. As a matter of fact, the city pool is named in her honor. She was Ringgold's first city councilwoman and never minded standing up for what she believed in, despite pressure from other people. She was retired, but always busy serving others. She always put others first, and I'm sure I could never do her memory justice because I only knew her a few short years. Last November, she joined her beloved husband in heaven. Everyone misses her and it's hard to believe she's no longer here. Miss Martha was one of my customers, as well as a precious friend. And her favorite soap was my lemongrass soap. I will always think of her every time I smell the scent of lemongrass. So, I present to you, Miss Martha's Lemongrass Soap.

We loved you and miss you, Miss Martha!

our first swim meet!

My younger son has never asked to play baseball, football or any other sport. This year, when the swim team sent home flyers in the kids' folders from school, he asked if he could join. He loves the water and has been swimming since he was 3 or 4 years old. Well, we signed up and their team, the "Tiger Sharks", had their first meet of the season last night. It was so much fun to watch and they have some incredible swimmers!

Here he is swimming the backstroke.

I know he's going to love it. He already asked if he could join the swim team next year!