Embracing My Current Happenings

For some time now, I guess it's been since my initial bout with anxiety and depression from back in Nov. of 2014, I see life completely different. The mundane no longer bores me. The way I see things now is: regarding my chores, those are never ending, might as well accept and surrender to them and get things done without complaining. I see my chores as a way of serving my family and I honestly thank God for being able to care for my home on my own without any assistance. I have a healthy and strong body where I can do things on my own. That in itself is a huge blessing, one that I constantly thank God for.

Second, keeping a tidy home makes me happy and appreciative of all the things that I have which I ultimately also thank God because He makes everything possible. He's the One who blesses Jacob with good health to be able to go to work and provide for us. He's the one that blessed Jacob with such a good job that's turned into a great career.

I also have learned to pick my battles wisely and not to stress about things I can't control. Of course, I haven't mastered this and I don't think many of us do but I will continue to surrender my worries at His feet and let God take care of things that only He can do.

So yes, I am constantly thanking God for our blessings because I know how quickly things can change. And when He feels I'm beginning to stray even for a minute He brings me back to Himself and reminds me that life is not about me but about Him ... I need to be constant in remembering to put God at the center of my life, of our lives.


It's so wonderful we have these little things in life that bring so much joy. There are so many things that bring me joy and here are just several of them that I wanted to share.

I love to buy mugs and when I saw this one with the words Hello Autumn written on it and the style of mug it is I had to buy it.
I'm all about making my home feel cozy and having lit candles in my home sure allows me to create that homey pleasant atmosphere.
And a cat has to always be in my life. Cats are such beautiful, cool, funny pets. Their personalities are like non other pet. Even their indifference I find it to be hilarious and very much like some of us.
And drinking coffee, well that speaks for itself.

I definitely enjoy solitary drives even more during Fall. Windows down, crisp air and rainy weather, good music, and picturesque scenery ... one just needs to have the imagination to see it at just the right angle.

It's been since early November when Riley came down with a cold. It's somewhat nerve-wracking for me when Riley gets sick especially when he gets a stuffy nose. Even after trying several home remedies to ease his symptoms sometimes our efforts just aren't enough and he (and us) ends up having poor sleep. Thankfully, this time around he didn't get croup, just the common cold. That was such a huge relief.
Riley's health issues have surely brought me closer to God. I pray a lot more and definitely my prayers have become even more intentional and descriptive. And as I've read Christian books I keep coming across on being detailed in prayer. I'm still praying those same prayers from almost a year ago and I will continue to pray them as Riley grows and Lord willing we'll see a positive diagnosis as time goes by.
Praise to God that he's been doing well for several months now and Lord knows that we all needed a breather because dealing with health issues can wear one down and break you. No child should have to go through serious health issues.

This was our first snow of the year. A bit early since it was very early in November.
Naturally, Riley stayed home from school because he was sick so now I had to bring him along to pick up Nathan from school and take him to his dermatologist appointment.

I've always had pretty good skin and hardly any pimples even when I was a teenager. I mean, I had about a couple at a time but never a lot of acne at one time. Jacob tells me that he also didn't have any acne issues. I would have hoped this was the case with our children. As soon as Nathan hit puberty he began to break out excessively. That can be tough on a teenager. I am so grateful that we are able to take him to a dermatologist.
Nathan has been on medication since last Fall and as long as he drinks plenty of water and eats as healthy as possible his skin will continue to look good.
I still can't believe how much he's grown. He was so short for what seemed like forever and as soon as summer (2017) came around he grew like a weed. No exaggeration!

Now (July 2018) he's passed me in stature. He's probably about 5'8 and he's not done growing either. He's handsome too!

When proper balance between self-interest and 

the interest of others is achieved then spiritual

power activates practical results into motion.

June Days

We're almost through July and this summer has been very pleasant thus far. June felt more like Spring than a Summer month. Still, we've done some summery things.

We visited a spray park at the end of May. We had not been to this one before. The location isn't very favorable but the park itself is nice. Riley enjoyed himself. He always treats each outing as the best one ever.

Got him in mid air. He cracks me up.

Sophie's the cutest. We love to cuddle our cats. Sydna has been home more lately and we like that. Nathan continues to keep on growing it's just crazy! I think he's passed me up by now. I haven't really checked.

You know, we haven't visited our town's farmers market but the Des Moines farmer's market (which is about 15-20 minutes away) has begun and I'm super thrilled because the Mexican food stand that sets up there is my favorite. Their chicken nachos are super delicious! and the drink is very refreshing. So naturally I had to visit and enjoy some for lunch.

We favor this farmers market because it's right on the Puget and you know I love being by the water. It's relaxing and romantic!

Given that my love for books overrides my other hobbies and interests I haven't had the chance to indulge in some adult coloring ... but several weeks ago I did after I had read several pages on the current book I'm reading. It felt good to get back to coloring.

You know I like to read but do you know how happy it makes me when I find new books at good prices and add them to my to read list. I love how many books are out there just for my reading pleasure. I love how one author's mention of another author's name ripples down to finding more excellent books. That's how I learn about new author's out there.

School here didn't let out until the middle of June and during those last few weeks Riley had a blast because they had field trip visit to a pie store where they got to make their very own personal pies. Riley was so excited about that. He especially loved riding on the school bus. He told me, "mommy guess what? The buses don't have seat belts!" I didn't tell him I didn't like that fact. All I said was they don't? I just allowed him to tell me all about his day. It's so sweet hearing him talk.

They also had Pirates Day. Several days before we went to party city in hopes on finding a costume or some pirate effects. I wasn't holding my breath though but thankfully we found a pirate costume kit that came with the shirt/jacket, eye patch, hat, and hook. We were both very excited we found something cool for him to wear.
He makes a very handsome Captain.

It was cool seeing his teacher smile big when she saw some of her students dress up in pirate gear.

This picture was taken by someone at school, his teacher shared it. He looks perfect to play captain.

We got some very cool moody skies in mid June. Ominous clouds covered the sky making it look awesome! Seriously, I wonder how many people look up at the sky and admire the clouds. They are so pretty. Well on this day after taking Riley to school, my home felt so cozy. It game me the feeling of Fall which contributed to create my home environment even cozier by making myself a hot cup of peppermint tea and by putting on Halloween while I blogged. I have a friend who enjoys cloudy skies as much as I do and I know she would just love these PNW cloudy skies.

Riley has been on the frisbee kick ever since our Colorado trip in April. He catches it more times than he misses so I guess he's pretty good.
We had a picnic lunch. Riley enjoys it and I can tell it gives him that fuzzy feeling, I can see it on his face. Once we're in the car or just before bed he'll say, "it was fun today at the park huh?" or whatever it is that we did. He's a very grateful little boy.

I believe I shared in a previous post that Riley suffers from allergies. We took him to an ENT and he prescribed Riley steroidal nose spray. It seems to be working.
It seems that his allergies began around January/February out of nowhere. His nose gets really stuffy, poor thing would get broken sleep because of it. But now, thankfully he breathes better, that is if he's not sick with a cold.

Another cloudy June sky and no filter.

An unexpected cool thing happen to Riley.

We are so proud of Riley for showing such kindness to all even the mean kids. He's always on a mission to make new friends.

We haven't found THE best bbq restaurant here yet. We've eaten bbq ribs, pulled pork, and brisket and some of those places have been decent but nothing extraordinary so we'll continue our search until we find THE best one. Anyway, in June we went to a restaurant in the SODO district (about ten minutes South from the Seattle waterfront) The owner is from TX but I didn't like his style of bbq and I definitely didn't like his baked beans, totally lacked bbq sauce plus it had cumin, yuck! However, the hush puppies were so good. I had never had them before. That's right! They had jalapeno in them and boy, I couldn't stop eating them. So next time I'm craving some I know where to get them.

After our meal we hung out by the waterfront. I sure do like walking around there, taking in all the views. There was a light sprinkle, but it wasn't cold. We enjoyed some ice cream while we hung out by the ferris wheel. Every time I look at it it's always stopped. I wonder how long it takes to get off it. I haven't gotten on it because it just looks scary. I wont get on it (at least not any time soon) but I would love to zip line.

He he! She looks so goofy!!

Jacob and Riley made a phone out of play-doh and pretended to talk. Jacob couldn't keep from laughing. He thought it was the funniest (and silliest) thing ever.

There's lots of silly moments in our family. Riley is always wanting to be doing something and sometimes I'm like, "we're gonna sit here and just rest while I read to you". At first he's not too thrilled about it but after the third page I can tell he's interested in the story and gets closer to me wanting to see the pictures (if there's any) and cuddle beside me.

There was one more school event before school was let out. I'll work on that next.

Take a minute to be thankful for all the little things

that add up to make life a lot of fun.

May ...

... was another difficult month for us. There's a couple of things that happened which I'm not ready to share ... hopefully I will in the near future.

Allergies have hit Riley hard this year, first time ever. We noticed that he would get a stuffy nose and would constantly rub it. Other times it was a runny nose and a cough. When the allergies first started we thought he was just coming down with the common cold but I would still make a doctor's appt just to rule out strep or croup.
Poor thing, he would get coughing fits. The nurse thought he was contagious so she gave him a mask but once the doctor said he was dealing with allergies Riley was able to take it off. He also wasn't getting good rest because he couldn't breathe good even though he used nose spray and we had the humidifier going for him. It made me feel bad that he would toss and turn trying to find a position that would allow him to breathe better. The beginning of the year was tedious and he missed quite a bit of school from restless nights or from suffering from croup. He didn't like staying home from school.
He still sounds stuffy on most days but is not coughing and no runny nose. He continues to use saline nose spray at night and some nights he gets better rest than others.

I've said it before. I'm thankful for the mundane because it's the every day things that I do that keep my mind busy which helps me to concentrate on other than my problems/life issues and makes me see how much good is going on in my life making me feel grateful.

I'm thankful that I have a pet that brings happy moments to my life. Sophie makes me smile ... a lot, and is constantly by my side. I think it's so funny to see her get completely comfortable and sleep all human like.

And her long toes are something we constantly make fun of. Libby was so feminine. I loved her furry paws but since Sophie is short hair we get to see all of her imperfections. We love her still.

We went to see the Mariner's play in early May. It was a fun game because the Mariner's were making home runs like crazy. We enjoyed some yummy food. I got my usual, nachos with lots of jalapenos -so good!
I told Riley we should take a selfie and this is the face he decided to make. What the heck, he's silly.

We had a great time.

Whenever we have a sunny day Riley points it out and asks to go to the park. It does feel good to get some sun every now and then.

Riley is still a picky eater but he now eats chicken tacos ... just as long as I also put beans inside and there's ranch for dipping. So weird right? Who puts ranch on their chicken taco? Oh well, the point is -is that he eats it all.

A new Ikea was built right next to the old one. It has been a couple of months since the new Ikea opened and I still hadn't been to it so several weeks ago Sydna and I finally went. The new one is two levels just like the others. I needed to get votive candles and a set of string of lights. It had began to rain and it was chilly but before heading home we first stopped to get pizza. I do love coming home after a day of shopping and getting some take-out. Home feels so cozy.

Funny how Riley notices little things. I like to order things online so I'm constantly getting packages delivered. Some time ago he asked if he'll ever get anything in the mail. I kinda felt bad and so I decided to order him some summer clothes. His package arrived and I had him open it. None of the shorts from last year fit him so I've been buying him shorts whenever I see some I like. He's gone through a major growth spurt lately. When he noticed I ordered him some shorts he got so happy.

I looooovvveee to wear cute socks. I'm a Birkenstock type of girl. I wear my Mayari's and Boston's all the time. Naturally, when I wear my Boston's I wear socks especially right now since it's still chilly on most days so I want to make sure I have cozy socks on hand. Aren't these so cute! and of course, Sophie had to lay right next to the box. Believe me, if I would have put her there she wouldn't have stayed.

I like variety even when it comes to books. I like variety because I don't want to get burnt out reading about one subject for long periods of time however, I don't ever want to stop reading faith based books. They help keep me centered and remind me to stay humble. This is why I like to change things up, I like to make things fun for myself. I read two faith based books then I'll read a fiction book then two faith based books again then a psychological thriller book ... I loop this routine and I'm enjoying this a lot!
Anyway, I had seen previews of the movie The Girl on the Train and it looked interesting but I knew there was a book out about it so I promised myself that I wouldn't watch the movie until I read the book first. This type of read is not for everybody, it contains profanity, sexual scenes and substance abuse. I found the story line interesting but the main character was annoying ... only because she's an alcoholic.

Jacob and I continue to have our lunch dates although sometimes he's gotta take a raincheck because he's swamped at work. But this time he was able to get away. We hadn't had Five Guys in a while because lately we've been going to The Habit or Red Robin whenever we crave a burger. We realized that we no longer like Five Guys. Hard to believe but it's true. Jacob just loves malts. He gets one whenever we get a burger. I don't like the malt flavor and I don't like vanilla bean ice cream but if they have old fashioned vanilla then I get a vanilla shake, yum!

Isn't this cat cookie dough roller the cutest thing?! I saw it advertised on facebook and next thing I know my sister had ordered me one. Thanks Claudia.
We have yet to use it because I'm not a baker but Jacob is so next time we stay home on a weekend I'll have him make me cookie dough. If the cookies come out cute I'll post them. lol.

Back in mid May the sun was already setting late. It was 8:50 pm and look how light it was still. I like it because we get to enjoy being outdoors longer. And when summer's here it gets dark around 10:00 pm. This is one of the few reasons I like summer.

He he!!!! Her head looks big and surprisingly her body doesn't look that fat. Definitely the angle.

On one of our trips to the hardware store I walked past the garden section and saw this stepping stone. I just had to buy it in memory of my Libby girl.

Cats. Just. Don't. Care!!!

On one of our visits to the bookstore we got Riley the book Dinosaur Pet. It comes with a cd and so you read the book melody style. Well, Jacob is the perfect person to read such a silly book and it sure made Riley crack up.

Just before Riley's bedtime I peeked outside his window to find a cool looking popcorn cloud sky. I don't see this type of cloud formations often here so I thought it was quite unique and picture worthy.

He's looking thicker. He's gotten so big. I recently got rid of all of his jeans cause the button wouldn't close, lol. So now he's in need of at least two pair of jeans. Hanging out by the water in the late evenings gets pretty chilly here in the PNW so layers and pants are still very much necessary even during the hot summer months. {happy face}

I cannot believe there's only seven days left of school. Time is going by like lightning.

If we could learn to find happiness from moment to

moment in the small things of life, we'd

always have a pretty good time.

Out for a Week

Riley got sick with croup {2nd time} in the end of March. He missed six days of school. I had never had to deal with croup with my two oldest. They used to often get strep. Honestly, I would prefer if Riley came down with strep instead of croup. Croup is so scary to me and it's always at it's worst in the middle of the night. We feel so bad for him, struggling to breathe and knowing that scares the hell out of him. Jacob is great at remaining calm. I put on a brave face but inside I'm a nervous wreck when Riley gets sick. I gotta revert to prayer or else my anxiety comes back.

We now know exactly what to do whenever he gets croup. It still doesn't change how stressful it is to have to experience this. Even now, a month later Riley still has a cough. I'm just hoping he doesn't get croup again.
So, sleep around here was scarce at night. Thankfully he had the entire day to recuperate.

Glad his pediatrician gave him a note to excuse his absence.

Hopefully he'll soon outgrow getting sick with croup since younger children are the most susceptible. It's just very scary and annoying.

Riley's Emergency Room Visit

We didn't have a good start in October. Riley got a cold and was coughing for almost two weeks so I took him to see his Pediatrician. He was given antibiotics to treat an infection. Once he was done taking the antibiotics he came down with Croup.
This was the first time for one of my kids to come down with croup and since it was also new to us as parents it was freaking scary. Riley had gone to bed breathing fine then around 11:30 pm he woke up crying and was having a very hard time breathing. We rushed to the hospital. The drive to the hospital is only about ten minutes away but it felt more like thirty minutes. It was raining hard that night so it made things extra dangerous as we made our way to the hospital. Jacob was speeding and that made me nervous.
We got to the emergency room and it was packed, great! After Jacob checked him in it only took about five minutes for the nurse to call him so they could check his stats and that's when the nurse decided that he was first priority. THANK GOD! He was rushed to a room and the medical staff came rushing in. Riley was still struggling to breathe. They ordered a steroid shot that was given to him on his left thigh, and it was painful. Riley cried. Then about ten more minutes they gave him a breathing treatment. At first Riley freaked out because of the noise the oxygen machine made but then we calmed him down enough to sit still and finish the treatment. Almost immediately he began to breathe a lot easier. That steroid shot is a lifesaver. That totally calmed my nerves.

Once he was calm and breathing normal and I relaxed that's when my anxiety came back. This was my first anxiety setback since almost a year. I managed to keep myself calm and repeat affirmations that I had memorized and prayed ceaselessly. That drained me but thankfully I was able to keep my anxiety under control.
This must have been the tip of the iceberg after such a traumatic year because my anxiety came back. Health scares are THE utmost worst for me. It makes things much more difficult for me to take because we don't have any family here that we can count on to help us and that is such a downer, but I am so thankful for Jacob because he's the one that remains calm under stressful situations and that brings me peace. Just talking with him and him giving me advice helps me tremendously.
Now, when I start to feel anxiety trying to creep in I remember what he's told me and I apply it to my thought process. I've noticed that I'm getting better and better in how to handle my anxiety and that is big because I did not do this when I first got anxiety back in Nov. of 2014. I got on medication and that's how my anxiety then was kept under control but now I'm doing more meditation and that's been key to learning how to handle it and not let it control me. It's still challenging at times but I'm getting better at it each time.

We got home from the emergency room around 3:30 am. Obviously I wasn't going to have him go to school so we slept in and it felt good. He was out of school for the entire week.

And my sister has perfect timing. Later on that day a package came for Riley. She got him ninja swords and that made his day. Got his mind off his sickness.

And I made chocolate covered apples, drizzled in caramel and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. They were yummy and they were gone the following day.

Life here has gotten way to serious and I do not like it. That's not what I want our life to be or feel like so whenever I can I try my best to make things fun and light. Being out and about helps but mostly we miss family. But, we've got to work with what we have and enjoy each day the best way we can. Doing things as a family is what we're concentrating on now more than ever.


I came across the following part of a song from someone I follow on Instagram. I'm really not into Christian contemporary music. Whenever I listen to that kind of music it makes me sad instead of rejoicing. I find most Christian music so sad so I avoid listening to it but when I came across these lyrics I liked what it meant so I googled them. Doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to Christian music but I will look up their lyrics. Here is part of the song Shepherd by Bethel Music:

You will lift my head above the mighty waves ...

You are able to keep me from stumbling .... and in

my weakness You are the strength that comes from within ...

Good Shepherd of my soul take my hand and lead me on...

I stumbled upon this at the right time. These words brought me comfort and hope. Although I'm not able to feel Him I know he's here with me because I know that I'm not able to keep on going through life in a calm way if it wasn't for Him being by my side.