May Random Tidbits

 May 2019

The weather during May varies, I like that. We will have several cloudy days then the sun breaks through the clouds and it'll be sunny for a day or two then back to cloudy. 

After the rain had stopped we visited a park in Bellevue. It's a nice park. It got a complete renovation a year or two ago. Now, the playground is bigger and it has a splash pad. They added benches next to trees which I love. And that's where I sat, at a bench under a shady tree reading a book while Riley and Jacob played frisbee. 

After the park we went to Pagliacci for some pizza. While we were there a woman with an older lady sat at our large table. After about ten minutes Jacob noticed that the older lady had a dazed look on her face so Jacob asked her if she was ok and she didn't respond. The lady that came in with her was up getting the pizza so she wasn't aware of what was happening so Jacob got up and alerted her while Jacob and another guy laid the old lady down and paramedics were called. They arrived within minutes. While they were assessing her she slowly came to and said she was fine. The caretaker was getting frantic and called the old lady's daughter. I believe the paramedics took the elderly lady. I felt so bad for the old lady that I almost cried. The daughter wanted to know what happened so Jacob told her. She thanked Jacob for his quick reaction and then we left. That was a surreal experience for us. I prayed for her.

I love cats antics. They just do the weirdest cutest things. Riley had left his top drawer out and when I walked in his room I found Sophie laying inside the top drawer, looking straight at me. I couldn't help but laugh.

One of Jacob's favorite ice cream shops is Mora. The most popular location is in Bainbridge Island. We don't often visit Bainbridge Island so when we heard that a Mora was opening up a new location near our home he was very excited. Riley likes it here too, mostly because you can get two flavors in a single scoop. 

I on the other hand am not a huge ice cream fan but when I do eat it I prefer Baskin Robins Mint Chocolate Chip. My other favorite flavors are strawberry and coffee ice cream, and the occasional Rocky Road craving. 

In early May I purchased several new plants for the backyard. I do love gardening but it sure is hard work. However, in my opinion getting sore from doing something you enjoy doing is a good thing. It definitely doesn't feel like a chore and it's not boring .... unless you're picking weeds. 

At Home Depot picking up bags of mulch. After laying all this mulch down we realized we needed more so we purchase more a few days later. When spreading mulch it's important to have good gardening gloves or else the tiny pieces of wood will get inside the cheap gloves and give you splinters. Yes, I've learned from experience, lol. Splinters are a painful nuisance though.

Cats; laptops, notebooks and books. Funny how they seem to be drawn to these things. Here she was staring at the mouse and because she was partially laying on the side of the laptop I couldn't bring it down to my lap to type. She looks so comfortable with her right arm dangling there.

She always finds a spot on my left side to lay next to. Sometimes I have to move over a little so she can be more comfortable. But she always has to have body contact. I think that's the sweetest thing. 

As a graduation requirement seniors have to do a school presentation where they have to dress up as if they are going to a job interview. Nathan cleans up pretty good. Here he is looking so handsome.

I am such a wimp. Whenever my kids have a milestone in their lives I get emotional. Every single time it hits me about how quickly they are growing up. I just can't help it. Whenever they get married I'll most definitely be a total mess.

Books bring comfort to me. When life gets too serious I know I can escape in a good book to get distracted. Like everything in life, I need balance in everything that I do. 

Books also bring a sense of coziness to a room. 

All but one book in this stack are thrillers. I don't believe I have read any of these books yet but I hope to one day.

Sometimes, I find Sophie asleep in Sydna's room. I find that funny. 

Lila doesn't mind sharing her cat tree. 

We've always gone grocery shopping every two weeks which means we buy food to last us two weeks. Several days before grocery shopping day I start a new grocery list. We typically come up with twelve to fourteen dishes for our menu. Sometimes we'll grab one of my cookbooks and look to see if we want to try something new, or we look through Pinterest. Jacob's the one with the talent when it comes to trying new recipes. I stick with the Mexican dishes mostly.

I love that we come up with a variety of dishes. We do this so we don't become bored of eating the same things every week. We do limit our red meats though. Blessed and thankful that Jacob not only doesn't mind to cook but he actually enjoys cooking. He's totally self-taught.

Here he made Kung Pao chicken with a side of gyozas and rice. Kung Pao chicken was made from scratch but the gyozas were store bought. This recipe was definitely a keeper.

For the past several years I've been sort of slacking when it comes to certain holidays. Of course I knew Mother's Day was coming up and I wanted to send my mom flowers but it was only two days until Mother's Day and I didn't want to pay a crazy amount to have them delivered the next day. Thankfully my sister Claudia was kind enough to do me a favor. I Venmo her money and with it she bought my mom flowers and took them to her. That was a relief. Mom loved them. Glad she did.

Remember, happiness doesn't depend upon who you 

are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.

Riley's 8th Birthday

2018

Blessed and thankful to celebrate another birthday with our youngest boy.

When is Riley NOT making silly faces? I've always said he takes after my sister Claudia, she's always been the silly one in the family.

Glad that his older siblings were able to take the time to celebrate with us.

My mom visited for his birthday. It was nice having her here with us.

Some time ago he had asked for a microphone so when he got one for his birthday he sure was surprised. I'm sure he thought we had forgotten about it.

Jacob beatboxing and being silly. He had a ball playing around with the microphone too.

All of us hanging out together talking about life and enjoying each other. That's what memories are made of.

This picture was from a day later but I wanted to post it because I noticed that Lila was being mischievous. You see her on the chair behind Riley?
I'm telling you, that little cat is not afraid of anything (except maybe the vacuum noise). Sophie just looks at balloons and runs away. It's like taking care of a toddler.

Riley has always been an active kid. It's a funny thing. Whenever we're out, after a while he says he wants to go home and once home he usually asks his dad if he wants to go play basketball or go outside to ride his bike. He always wants to do something. Jacob does so many fun things with him. Because of Riley we have continued to stay active therefore enjoying being out and about which is also healthy for the body and mind. By evening we're all tired. Best way to end the day. Having enjoyable things to do outdoors is how you avoid a stagnant life.

Birthdays are like milestones ... significant points in the passing of time.

September's Simple Pleasures

2018

Last year, Autumn made itself visible several weeks early. Leaves began to change color by mid August and by mid September they were already falling.

I always smile when I see the pretty Autumn colors all over the ground and I love it when leaves are falling as I drive by rows of deciduous trees with my windows down. This scene gives out a feeling that one would get from a loved ones hug. In my case this would be God giving me a hug. I do thank Him for all that is pretty and so thankful that we do have beautiful things in this world to enjoy especially during those difficult times that we all go through from time to time. It is a reprieve from the hard times and beautiful scenery gives us hope, hope for better days to come ... and they will ... in time.

Seeing a cloudy sky never gets old for me and if it's a moody sky then it is even more worthy to photograph.

I took a picture of this poem from one of Riley's books called The Children's Book of Virtues. Isn't it good? I think I may print it and frame it.

Typically it doesn't rain hard in WA, it's usually a steady light rain or drizzle but on occasion we do get a lot of rain and it reminds me of the torrential rains we would get during the monsoon season in Tucson. We even had thunder! That's another rarity. Whenever it does rain hard we step out on the front porch and watch it for a while.

I sometimes plan little outings for myself during the day. Sometimes I'll treat myself to breakfast. I bring a book with me, I read while I eat. I just love solitude! Other times like in this case I went to our local country store and bought several size and color pumpkins then I drove to Redondo beach and sat on a bench and read, looking up occasionally to take in the views. It was enjoyable and quite relaxing.

This is how the sky looked like as I was getting closer to home ... a big difference from the cloudless sky out by the water. I think this is one of the reasons why I can handle cloudy days ... because of the variety in the weather. Everything is all about balance, and perspective. And not to mention that I do have a great affection for cloudy stormy skies.

This boy has always been so active and very hands on and always wants to be doing something. As you can imagine, after a while it can be tiring and mentally draining. On days when we want to relax at home during the evenings we have him play board games. I'm so grateful that Jacob likes to play board games too. I like to sit with Riley while he's reading and help him with difficult words and to remind him to pause at commas and stop at periods or else everything sounds like a run on sentence, lol.
We do tell him that it's perfectly ok to be bored. There's times when we say no tv or electronics and that he needs to entertain himself without making a mess. At first he'll complain but then I remind him of how blessed he is to have toys and books. After a few minutes the house is quiet and when I checked on him he's immersed with his hot wheel cars or playing with his army men. I think it's important that he learns to keep himself busy in constructive play.

And ohmygoodness, just look at my super cute Sophie! Isn't if funny how cats will make themselves feel right at home next to books? Like, it happens every time. I didn't put her in front of my books she just likes to sit by them or on top of them, like when I'm reading or the ones on my desk. I can't even with cats ... they can be the cutest! Some cats that is. I'm just so thankful that Sophie lets us pick her up whenever we want. She's very loving.

Still, with the remainder of the apples from apple picking, Jacob baked an apple banana bread with pecan crumble. It was so moist and delicious.

One of my favorite breakfast is hash brown casserole, eggs, bacon and biscuits and gravy. Sometimes we even add this meal on our dinner menu.

Another book stack. All great books by biblical authors. I am SO thankful God opened my eyes to discern between biblical and unbiblical authors. I no longer just buy a Christian book just because the book is placed in the Christian/religion genre. Although I hold biblically sound authors in high regard not one of them replaces the truth that can only be found in Scripture.

During mid mornings I take time to do Bible study. Reading slow and with intention has been engrossing. The more you learn God's truth the more you want to keep learning and the more fun it becomes.

Sometimes after dinner we head out by the water and breathe some fresh air. I think it's nice to be out in nature especially after a long day. It is refreshing and necessary and it definitely breaks up the monotony. It is up to us to make our life interesting and fun ... you have to be intentional.

Such a pretty serene scene.

On August 31st, 2018 my sister texted me and said that my dad wasn't feeling well. He felt a heaviness on his chest so my sister took him to the ER. They ran tests and dad ended up staying overnight for observation. Doctor's concluded that even though my dad did not have the typical symptoms of a heart attack they determined that he did in fact had a mild one and had 100% blockage so the Doctor placed two stints in his left artery.
I am just so thankful that my sister was available and took him to the ER immediately. I spoke with dad the day after his surgery and said he was doing better and sounded in good spirits. I'm grateful to God for allowing dad to stay with us a while longer.

Mom was blessed to have another birthday last September. My sister got her the prettiest cake. Here is dad after his surgery. He lost weight but looks good. I wish I could have been there but grateful that my sister includes me by texting me pictures of important celebrations. I'm happy she's there ... always being a helping hand to them.

Living slower requires living with intention. And to live with 

intention means to make little daily choices that resonate deeply in our souls.

Halloween Week

Oh, what a fun and exciting time Halloween is ... Autumn in all its glory!

The month of October is a busy fun time for our family. There are so many fun activities going on that you won't find us at home on weekends.

My mom and sister visited for Halloween last year. This was the first time in a long time since any family from my side spent it with us during this holiday. It sure was extra special. They arrived a few days before the thirty first so we had a few days to show them around. We hung out at the new and renovated park in Bellevue where there's also gorgeous deciduous trees. Such a pretty sight.

I get hot easily so whenever it's chilly for some the weather feels really good to me, fresh. Jacob and the kids give me a hard time because I wear dresses when it's chilly out. I love the coolness on my body. Fall weather is my most favorite! and wearing Fall colors is also a favorite.

We took a stroll around the park and let Riley play for a bit and after that we had lunch at Pagliacci, yum!

My mom is so serious in this picture, lol. I guess I took it before she was ready ... oops!

We took a different way on our way back home. We like driving on this floating bridge. Lake Washington is pretty big and I like to admire the pretty houses along the waters edge.

Silly boy. Cotton candy beard.

Blurry picture but still a good one. I'm so thankful that my mom is still able to visit even though she has constant nerve pain on her feet. The most selfless person I know.

At our house we typically carve pumpkins a day or two before Halloween. I would hate to carve them early and hate for them to start decaying by Halloween. I have no creativity when it comes to this activity so I leave it up to Jacob to help Riley carve his.
I enjoyed having my mom and sister home with us during this time. We always end up eating way too much food. But then again that's what happens when you get together with loved ones. Food brings family together.

And of course, Sophie had to take part in the Halloween festivities. Halloween colors go well with her calico fur. Blurry but she's still so darn cute!!!

Outside Biscuit Bitch (breakfast) in Seattle. My sister took this picture of my two boys with their grandma. Love it!

On Halloween the kids can wear their costumes with no mask and only during the last hour of the day. Riley was so excited about wearing his costume to school.

My sister loves to bake. She had gifted me this skull cake mold and so we decided to make brownie skulls. I totally loved them. They look so cool. I made chocolate covered marshmallows and chocolate covered s'mores. Those were good as well.
I can't wait to make these again for this Halloween.

And for every favorite holiday we make sure to include our babies. Jacob carved a special pumpkin with two angels on it. They are greatly missed and there's definitely a void in our home and it's even more pronounced during these special times.

Riley looked super cool wearing his spider man costume. Always anxious to head out and start trick or treating. Thankfully it wasn't too cold out.

On our way back to the house even the sky was in a festive Halloween-ish mood.

Meanwhile, while Jacob, me, Riley and my sister took Riley trick or treating Sydna stayed home and passed out candy to the other trick or treaters. She enjoys it and is very generous in her portions which we have to remind her to just give each child two pieces of candy since we get quite a bit of children knocking at our door.
Doesn't she look so pretty?!

There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spot may be lighted on,

and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.

-Nathaniel Hawthorne