These Days

 June 2020

Living through the pandemic emphasized the importance of health, family, and the appreciation of a new day. Being told to stay home, and because a sedentary lifestyle adds no real benefit to our physical and mental state, on weekends we continued to spend time outdoors, breathing the fresh air, moving our bodies, and getting as much natural vitamin D as one can hope for living in the PNW. 

Riley was in need of tennis shoes so we decided to drive to Olympia (which is about a 50 minute drive South) for a change of scenery. Afterwards we hung out by the marina where we spied mussels, sea stars, clams, and birds.

These clouds are so cool to look at. I have always thought that a sky that has clouds, and preferably clouds in different shades of gray makes for such an interesting and gorgeous sky ... otherwise just looking at an all blue sky to me is quite dull. 

I have to remind myself to make an appearance in pictures every now and then or else there won't be any pictures of myself for my children to look at. I'm here with my loving husband.

See what I mean about a grayish sky? BEAUTIFUL!

A huge military plane flew right across the freeway on our way towards home. I am fascinated about all things military.

We had heard on the news that rioters were rioting at a mall in town. We drove by it a day later and we did noticed barricades which I'm sure did nothing to deter these destructive people and we saw broken glass doors that were already boarded up. It's such a shame that police are ordered to not use excessive force with these people. They are clearly not peaceful protesters but the opposite. They are not only destroying property but inciting fear and are violent towards people. Unfortunately, a lot of these rioters have gotten away with their crimes.

We always strive to do fun things with Riley especially during this period in time. In the afternoon we went to a park and he and Jacob shot each other with nerf guns. The bullets come out with force. They hurt, lol.         

After running around for a while it was time for dinner. We love this taco shop. Their carne asada is the BEST around in WA. Truly! Their salsa is extremely spicy though. I like spicy salsa but even this one is just too spicy for me. 

One day during the week after Jacob was off from work and after dinner we went to Redondo Beach and spent some time there. Just spending time out by the water helps clear our mind and readjust our thinking. It's a good distressor for sure.  Thankful that we can just go on a short drive to enjoy such a view.

Discussing rock throwing techniques. It's a pastime of theirs. 

A kayaker. I love to kayak. It's invigorating and exciting to me. One thing I was apprehensive about doing was to kayak in the Puget Sound because of the different types of whales and the seals that are often spotted there. We would kayak in one of the lakes where we wouldn't encounter said mammals.

Lovely sky! I wish I was there right now.

One of the greatest blessings in my life are the memories I hold in my heart. This is the very reason why we choose to continue to create new experiences in life even during challenging times. One shouldn't permit obstacles to destroy ones happiness and well-being. Because if we do, if we are kept out of our native element we will suffocate.

As long as God continues to bless me with a new day, an able body and sharp mind I will honor Him by continuing to take care of my body, create new memories with loved ones and devote time alone with Him in prayer and meditation.

Have joy in the midst of a broken world.

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.

Back to Familiar Routines

It didn't take long for us to resume our daily activities. Sophie was obviously glad to have us back home. She continues to be my little shadow, follows me wherever I go. Her favorite spot is laying by my feet on my bed.

On our road trip I picked up a few books. Don't remember if I mentioned in a past post but we found a bookstore where there was a whole isle of $1 books, and hardcover too. I was like whhhhaaaattt????? I was bummed too because I didn't come around to this isle as soon as I walked in the store and once I did I had already been in that bookstore for about an hour and Jacob and the boys were getting bored, lol. I was so mad at myself. Darn it!
As a matter of fact, right now I'm reading The Girl Who Played With Fire. The plot is good but some details of the characters private lives should have been kept out of the story. Anyway, this is the second book from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. There's a third book to this series. Sydna just finished reading the third book actually and she said it was very good. I guess I'll end up reading it ... in a month or so.

Once we got home Jacob had a couple of days off still. Riley just loves his daddy and he's always asking him to take him to the park. I guess he sees his daddy as a big kid and I am extremely thankful that Jacob enjoys every single minute of it.

Riley took his remote control car. He was running along side it when he tripped and scrapped his knee and elbow. Poor thing ... the look on his face.

We made many visits to Redondo Beach during the summer. During low tide Riley gets to play in the sand and throw rocks in the water. I like to collect white small rocks and whenever he sees one he will get it for me. We got to see a filming crew on boats. That was cool.

On days when it was too hot for me to be outdoors we stayed home and played games. The upstairs stayed fresh until about 3:00 pm then it began to warm up but thankfully we have a portable a/c unit that we use and it keeps the downstairs very comfortable. There were several times where we had to camp out downstairs because it was too warm upstairs even at night. Riley loved it of course but I just can't get comfortable sleeping throughout the night on the couch and I definitely can't sleep on the floor because my back ends up killing me. So around midnight I would go up to my bedroom and sleep.

There's a family farm not that far from where I live and they own several acres on both sides of the freeway. I especially like this field where they grow vegetables. I'm always fascinated by how fast the crops grow. God is amazing!! I hope these fields are always own by a farming business even after the current owner passes away because I hate to see them lose it to the city, you know eminent domain. That is horrible. I wish there were laws against that.

I hate to see new housing developments being built in large lots instead of leaving them empty. I think it's important to have these empty lots. Society needs to have nature all around. Statistics show that when people are out in nature it improves their overall well being.

Simple Pleasures of December

I'm not really a huge hot chocolate fan but when I do crave some I make sure I add lots of marshmallows to it. It tastes so good as you take a sip and they're melting.

December was a month of more tears, health concerns, fear, anxiety sprinkled with joy here and there.
First, Jacob had to fly out to San Diego for a day. I don't like it when he has to go away on business, however brief.
I had a lot of restless nights, little sleep and when I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes anxiety tries to creep in. It's also been so cold and we've gotten a lot more snow this December than we've had at least the past four years we've been here.
Whenever I'm using the computer up in my room Sophie likes to climb over my back and onto the desk. Well, she began to slide off my back once and her back claws dug into my back leaving an ugly scratch. That hurt like hell.
Sydna got sick with a cold. Thankfully no one else did.

I'm an organized person and I'm also good at multi-tasking and whenever I do something it has to be done in a particular order. For example, I wanted to get started on my Christmas cards. I thought I had bought enough cards but just before I began writing I glanced over at the list of people that I was sending cards out to and I realized that I had miscounted. I needed six more cards. Great! So, I didn't write any until I went to the store the following day to get more. Such a bummer.
I think Sophie secretly likes to be in pictures because she always seems to be in them at just the right time. I bet you if I would purposely put her in the picture she wouldn't have stayed put.

Remember when I mentioned several posts back that Sophie sits like a human? Well, here's a perfect picture to show you she does. What a silly cat!

See that moose stocking? That stocking used to be each one of my children's stocking from when they were babies until they were about ten years old. Now, it's Reagan's stocking and will be for a long time until I find a cute fox stocking for him. {But it has to be me to find one not anyone else.}

We enjoyed Advent a lot. Riley really took in the stories and bible verses. I found even more ways to make it more fun for him for next Christmas.

I colored quite a bit in December. I think I only have two pages left to color and I'm done with this one. Too bad too because I really like the simplicity of it. I really haven't come across any simple ones at stores. Their all so busy. I don't like that.

I got quite a bit more books last month. The stack of books I have next to my bed is getting out of control. I think I need to invest in a bookshelf for my "to read books" to put in. It's kinda hard to refrain from buying more books when there are sales and the books that I buy are actually books I have on my "to read list".

Riley asked for a ginger bread house so we picked one up at the store. Jacob helped him. Jacob put the house together and all the icing and Riley placed the candy on it.

Great team effort ... or at least that's what Riley says, lol.

And this cat. First annoyed look she's given me and got proof of. She totally reminded me of Libby and how often she would give me this same look, lol. I sure miss my Libby girl.
It's like if she's saying, "WHAT???!"

Riley likes for us to read him his animal encyclopedia/reference books and if you have one you'll know that these aren't really story books. We ask him to get story books and he always comes out with these ... makes me laugh because they take so long to get through.

And guess who had a first in a long time?

Someone lost his first tooth! The tooth fairy made a visit to our house that night. It actually took about a month from the very first time he felt it loose until it finally fell out. Once it became super loose he didn't want to eat, lol. He was all nervous and scared. Then just before bed on that particular night, he was brushing his teeth and that's when it happened. I heard him cry for a few minutes because of the blood he saw but he quickly stopped. Jacob was right next to him. I heard Jacob laugh and telling Riley he was fine.

My in-laws surprised us with a sweet memento. A decorative pillow with all of our children's name on it. Seeing Reagan's name made me smile. Thank you Gerry & Grace.
And here she is again ... photobombing a picture, lol. She's too much.

I got Sophie a Christmas hat and the brat didn't even want to look up. She just slouched her body on Nathan and wouldn't get up.

I must admit. I love Little Bear episodes. Sydna used to watch this show, then Nathan for a little while but Riley's the one that's watched it the most. Even Sydna still enjoys watching a few episodes. It's such a cute animated series. It's super cozy and non-violent and so fun to watch. Sometimes I find myself wanting to see an episode even if Riley is not with me at the time. I don't care. It's sweet. It's especially comforting to watch whenever I get fed up with all the bs liberal news/problems that's going on in our country.

Riley loves to play games with his dad and brother and he often asks to play them too.

My December was quiet but overwhelming however, I tried to keep things light and fun for all of our sake's. We've had enough tough times last year and we're hoping to see light at the end of the tunnel.

We continue to mourn or sweet baby boy. We remember him with fondness at times. I still sometimes question why, even though I know I will never get my answer.


Psalm 46:1  -  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 94:19  -  When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy.
Meditating on verses like these have helped me overcome my setbacks.