Independence Day at Pearrygin Lake

We spent a long 4th of July weekend at my family's favorite pastime camping park, Pearrygin Lake. I haven't been to Pearrygin since I was 4 and my memory of the time I had spent there almost completely matched how it was when we were there this year. I remember the giant bush with the trail to the rock where we'd climb up to get away from the marmots running in and out of their holes. I remember the yellow buoys outlining the swim area. I remember how green the campgrounds were and how brown the surrounding mountains looked in comparison. And it's all still the same. The only thing that has changed is the size of the trees; which is something my mom mentioned when she went back last year and relayed her melancholy mood about how the trees have grown-- similar to how much us kids have grown. Little did I know, when I was 4, I'd be able to say that '20 years from now, I'll be back with my husband and little boy, adding on to my family's favorite pastime campsite by continuing this tradition with our family.'

Pulled Pork

Aidan

Isaac

Owen

Zach got really into diving for crawdads and ended up catching about 20. What a good appetizer: fresh handpicked crawdads and butter. I've never had them before and they were good! Apparently they taste similar to lobster.

We celebrated Cheri and dad's birthday with pound cake, strawberries, and whipping cream: the epitome of summer desserts.

As dirty as I felt, (you just can't stay clean when you camp, it's almost a requirement to be dirty and walk around barefoot) I loved going to bed with the smell of campfire in my hair and snuggling up in the sheets to get warm. Oh, and I forgot how good s'mores are! How could I forget that?

The hot sand beneath my feet and seeing it sift between Miles' fingers never felt so good. I was surprised that he only tried to eat it a couple times. He was more mesmerized by how it felt and looked than how it tasted.

I already want to go back.

Dad paddling Isaac out to Zach and Aidan in the distance by the buoys. 

Favorite Quotes and Verses

My head can't keep a giant log of quotes and verses so I write everything down. I started doing this after a homily from Fr. Qui-Thac Nguyen, from Sacred Heart Bellingham, inspired the congregation to take notes during homilies so one can reflect at home. (People take notes in school and study at home for better scholastic performance so why not take notes in mass to study at home for the enhancement one's faith and the way in which they live it?) Patrick heeded the words of wisdom by utilizing the envelopes in the pews provided for the offertory to write notes down when he felt the need, but I didn't. I guess I just figured I'd remember that awesome remark or inspiring thought. But I didn't. I also noticed my memory slipping when it came to certain things I wanted to remember from books I read. It was frustrating to thumb through page after page to find the sentence buried deep within a paragraph. So, finally I took Fr. Qui-Thac's advice by writing things down. I enjoy reading through my notebook and finding new meaning in what I've written. Granted there are only a few pages, those pages are full of thought and reflection. And now, I'd like to share a few that I've written down:

Do not abandon old friends,

for new ones cannot equal them.
A new friend is like wine,
when it has aged, you can drink it with pleasure.
Sirach 9:10


Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree,
so a person's speech discloses the cultivation of his mind.
Sirach 27:4-7


God's ways are not always life-changing in the way we want but rather in the way we need.


But lay up your treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor moth doth consume and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where thy treasure rests, there is thy heart also.
Matthew 6:16-21


It is not so easy to get my way this time; next time let God have His way. Having my way this time means that next time it will be even more difficult for me to give God His way.
"The Year and Our Children" pg. 148-149


Grace is the invisible ingredient in all struggles for perfection.
"The Year and Our Children" pg. 158


If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage or does he give him opportunities to be courageous?
"Evan Almighty" Quoted by Morgan Freeman


Sacrifice is part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. Little sacrifices. Big sacrifices. A mother works so her son can go to school. A daughter moves home to take care of her sick father. Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really loosing it. You're just passing it on to someone else.
"The Five People You Meet in Heaven", Mitch Albom, pg. 94


Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - amother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of theuir own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that the children inderstand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.
"The Five People You Meet in Heaven" Mitch Albom, pg. 126


The past is my teacher, the present is my test, and the future is my reward. 
Van Council


For your spirit to be healthy, you must exercise it. 
Fr. Qui- Thac Nguyen


It's not about the ability, it's about the effort. 
Fr. Qui-Thac Nguyen


Love will make you beautiful. 
The Afters


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My notebook continues to grow with quotes and verses as does Patrick's. I suggest writing anything and everything down that is striking, important, funny, and thoughtful. For you never know when you might need a pick me up or something to meditate on. The words above have new meaning every time I read them and they are a good reminder of Who is truly in control and how to love like Him.


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Someone is becoming more mobile and active...

Miles' favorite TV show, Sesame Street, and in particular, Elmo.

Miles' brand new pearly whites. Man, those things are sharper than shark teeth!

Happiness is...

... the sweet smell of summer, especially after the sun goes down and everything settles and starts to cool from the heat of the day. Is there any way to bottle this scent?

... watching Miles scratch at the grass, his new favorite toy.

... discipleship with other mothers.

... reading in bed with Patrick. The togetherness in silence with words running through our heads relaxes me to my core.

... laughing, at anything, everything, and of course a baby that starfishes out in the air while being tossed above daddy's head.

... the feeling of running again. Well, maybe the feeling after running because after 1 year of idleness the feat of running is strenuous and painful. Sore legs never felt so good.

... completing row after row of a knitted blanket. It is so satisfying to see it grow with every turn of the fabric.

Our walk down by the pier. Miles was a lot happier than the picture lets on.

First day of summer. Yes it was.

I watched clouds drift by in the light breeze while Miles jumped and jumped. He loves the grass beneath his feet. The first 15 minutes we were out there he just starred. It was as if he couldn't figure something out. He knew his jumper and he knew the backyard, but not together. But when he figure it out, my how he smiled.

Frog Man

Guess who got his first teeth? Yup, little frog man got two brand new bottom teeth at the end of May. Now, when he chews on my finger or shoulder, it hurts!! He doesn't look like a little baby to me anymore. We're working on crawling too, but I think it'll be a while until he can make those first coordinated moves.

Bath time baby

Miles and Family

Apart from the joy I get from loving on Miles myself I get so much joy from seeing family love on Miles. It's great to see him interact with others and get to know his family and how much they love him. By loving him you are loving me.

6 months

It is as if the day Miles turned 6 months he changed. He became and even better baby. He can nap better, sit up better, move around on the floor better, stands better (with a little help), hand eye coordination grew 10 fold, laughs more, and even cut a tooth last night! People say that at 6 months, babies seem to change and cross those milestones that parents have had an extreme eagerness for them to cross (especially the sleep one).

Miles is such a joyful baby. He practically jumps out of his Baby Einstein Jumper while clasping his hands together and letting a squeal out of his smile that is grinning from ear to ear upon hearing his name or a funny new sound. By the way, it's amazing what you can get him to laugh at. Just make up a new sound and you'll have him laughing for 10 minutes.

Miles is doing this rolling-back-and-forth move to get to his toys so I can tell he is starting to make the connection that things are at certain distances and he needs to move around to get to them. I'm impatiently awaiting those first coordinated moves between his hands and knees when he crawls for the first time. It could be soon. It could happen over night like his tooth did!

Check out how big Miles is now!

Listening to My Instinct

I knew I should have listened to myself. It happened twice today (actually more than that, but these ones are significant enough to report) and I don't want to find out if it'll happen a third. I enjoyed a lemon drop last night in a martini glass that we got as a wedding gift, cleaned it, set it on the counter to dry and planned to put it away in the morning. Well, today goes by and I hadn't put the glass away but nevertheless kept telling myself I should or it'll get knocked over and broken. 

We were busy grocery shopping and doing yard work and enjoying the beautiful sunshine that putting glasses away found a home on the back burner. Now, it's not one of those stout martini glasses that can be knocked around a bit. No no. These are almost as tall as a fifth of Tanquarey Dry Gin (the one with the cool green bottle) and oh-so-delicate. I'm even afraid to use a sponge to clean them so I use my hand instead. So, we get home from grocery shopping, Pat goes outside to test out his squeaky new weed-whacker/ edger, and I go to town on Julie and Julia inspired Bruschetta. Miles gets antsy so I pick him up and try to finish putting the olive oil on the tomatoes. As I set the oil down, too close to the martini glass, my hand pulls away knocking the glass off the counter in a full tumble to the floor. With a shattered crash broken glass literally flies into the air above the countertop in an I-told-you-so way that makes me cringe when I replay it in my head. Yeah, it's just a glass but I should have listened to myself and put it away this morning. Now if we have a couple of friends over I can only serve three people with martini glasses and one has to use a regular glass. Boo hoo.

R.I.P Martini Glass

And then it got worse. We've needed our knives sharpened for some time and so I took it upon myself to watch some how-to videos online about how to properly sharpen a knife. Yeah, you can guess where this one's going. After carefully sharpening the knife I HAD to test it out on a slice of lime that was already thin enough. The knife barely breaks the skin of the lime so I work a little harder to finish the cut. Oh, I finished the cut alright, right into my finger! I actually didn't even finish slicing the lime, the knife is still sitting halfway through it. I'm too annoyed to clean it up. And my finger still hurts. I should have listened to my intuition about all of the above: sharpening a knife when I'm tired, testing it out on a thin slice of lime (that citrus stings!), and not stopping when it could hardly pierce the skin of the lime, obviously the knife was still too dull.

Things like this have happened all day. Next time I'll listen to that voice because it's so not worth a broken glass and a cut finger. I think I should go to bed now and not find out if there will be another lesson to be learned. Hmm, maybe that is one in itself. Okay, off to bed I go. Night!