I was surprised that it was kind of a bittersweet moment for me.  When you are in the thick of young motherhood, often times the days and hours drag on and on, while the months and years go hauling by.

In a little over 3 short years {less than one Olympic cycle!}, I will have a 10th grader, a 6th grader, a 3rd grader, my baby will be in kindergarten and I will be in a new decade of life!?!  It makes me not want to blink my eyes too much!

Ari was a bit perplexed by the circular brown thing we brought to him on a silver platter that had a hot flame sticking out of it.

We finally convinced him to try and blow out the candle, but his attempts were more like he was a snorting horse with his lips pursed . I eventually helped him out.

Ari is by far our pickiest eater, so I shouldn’t have been too terribly surprised that he didn’t want to even touch, let alone lick, his birthday cake.  Much to his chagrin I managed to put some cake and frosting in his mouth, but still he was not having it.

He adores M&M’s so I thought that putting a bunch of those on top of his cake would entice him to try a bit.

Yeah right.  Not a chance. I took pity on the birthday boy and put some untainted M&M’s on his tray and he gobbled them up.  We also had a few leftover homemade cookies, so he ate one of those and was content as could be.

Ari’s birthday gifts easily reflect his current interests – balls, books and puzzles.

We have been loving the consignment store lately; it has been a great place to find some “new” treasures.  Not too long ago I set him loose in the toy area at the consignment store and watched the things he gravitated towards and then purchased those items for his birthday with our store credit. He was definitely jazzed to rediscover the expandable ball he picked out!

He also got his own smaller sized basketball. It’s darling to watch him try to dribble it.

Ari loves being with his siblings.

He also adores being outdoors, shooting baskets, kicking balls, being social and saying hello to people, going down slides, playing in water and exploring new places.

He doesn’t like eating vegetables, trying new foods, being left at home when others are leaving, and going down for naps or bedtime – though we find the stink bug position he sleeps in to be rather cute.

Ari’s smile is contagious and his laughter is infectious.  We cherish his undaunted, determined  and resilient personality. Every day he seems to be speaking and communicating more.  He often says “ah-oh” when things are out of place or he drops something.  He is definitely entering the “two” phase and becoming more vocal about his wants, needs and desires.

At this stage in life, it is amazing what a difference a year makes.   {These pictures were taken when he was barely 13 months old.}

When compared to a year ago, even his smile now looks more mature and grown up!  We all love our little Ari and we are incredibly grateful he is a part of our family!

To The Mom at the Park:

Thank you.

Thank you for being so quick to forgive.

Thank you for being so kind and understanding.

Thank you for not judging me and my parenting skills based on our first interaction.

Thank you for being so easy going and carefree.

Thank you for the lovely thirty minute conversation – it was wonderful to chat so openly and freely about anything and everything.

Thank you, too, for saying I was a “thoughtful” mom {and clearly meaning it} as I explained how I am trying not to squash my four-year-old’s emerging personality especially since many of the same qualities will probably serve him quite well later in life.  He is strong-willed, courageous, determined, resilient, energetic, outspoken and spirited; he definitely marches to the beat of his own drum.

Anyway, I hope we run into each other again sometime soon. And I hope your early evening jaunt to the grocery store with your 22 month old and 4 month old wasn’t too terrible.

Warmly,
Your New Park Friend

*******************************************

It’s Spring soccer season around here so we headed to a local park to drop Cory off for practice.  Since today marked the first day that it has been over 70 this year, we decided to stay and play at the playground to enjoy the radiant sunshine.

While I was helping Ari out of the car, Eli ran ahead to start playing on all the equipment.   Next thing I know, though, he is tossing a handful of bark all over a nearly two year old little girl.  As I was hurrying over to put an end to the mayhem and to ask him what provoked his behavior, the little girl’s mom got there first to help her brush off.

I quickly apologized for what Eli had done and then I had Eli say he was sorry, too.  I then chatted with him about how it is more appropriate to use our words when we are frustrated and not to throw things.  I am  incredibly grateful the other mom was such an amazing and stellar mom.

I should also give a shout-out to the other Mom at the park who is obviously raising some remarkable and compassionate boys.  They were such gentlemen!  Her two young boys were quick to share the balls they had brought and then they went on to play basketball with my two boys for awhile.  They were incredibly patient and were great at taking turns.

And since I am on a roll, I should say thank you to the Dad at the park, too.  He was in the middle of playing a pick-up game on the basketball court with his two boys, but when four more young boys wanted to join in the fun, he welcomed them all with a warm and friendly smile.

It was definitely a positive and uplifting afternoon.

{in between the bickering and arguing }

While on breaks from school, I also try and come up with activities that we can do around the home, based on what my kids’ interests are at the time.  A little bit before Spring Break began, I noticed Eli starting to become really interested in and intent on coloring.  He would sit for several minutes at a time and stay focused. He would find or ask for a Pokemon to color and then he would look it up in a book and copy the colors quite accurately … and obsessively.

The first Pokemon four-year-old Eli intently sat and colored.

So for Spring Break this time around, I printed out dozens and dozens {thank goodness our local library allows us several free prints each week!} of Pokemon characters and the kids went to to town coloring and cutting while occasionally watching some Pokemon shows I picked up from the library.

Coloring by flashlight in the evening.

Before long, taping and decorating became part of the ritual.

Eli’s room.

Cory’s room.

Even Ari and Keri got in on the action.  Ari loves to mimic his older siblings so he would grab a piece of paper and a random book and then look at the book while coloring.

Keri enjoyed being a mentor and supervisor at the various stations we had going on – picking out which Pokemon to color, finding the Pokemon in the book to get the coloring accurate, helping color and cut if necessary, and then assisting in the process of taping the finished product on the walls.

I have always been super impressed with the creative and artistic talents my children possess because I can’t even draw a straight stick figure, even if my life depended on it!

Cory’s version of “Starry Night.” He did this as a school art project earlier this year. 

]]> http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/spring-break-part-one/feed/ 3 anordinarymom ER coloring at table back view E's Raichu ER coloring by flashlight C cutting Pokemon out E's Pokemon wall C's Pokemon wall C's room with pokemon AR coloring AR coloring looking down C's pokemon wall up close C's Starry Night http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/momfailure/ http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/momfailure/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:13:48 +0000 anordinarymom http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/?p=9120 Continue reading →]]> ** Being asked by a Kids Club worker at the gym, “So when is Ari going to learn to talk?”

** Being completely misunderstood by your child’s teacher.  They now probably think you are one of those helicopter parents who intervenes on everything when in reality you were simply trying to be an advocate for your child.

** Your nearly two year old, who is typically an easy-going and happy-go-lucky child gets written up for two “incidents” in the same day at the Kids Club for supposedly pushing another child.

** Getting reprimanded by the school secretary for “coaching” your child when you didn’t even know there was an assessment going on.

** Feeling judged because your child appears to be a bit intimidated by an assessment and therefore forgets a lot of things you know he knows.  {And now you start to second guess yourself – is he really ready to start school in the Fall?}

** Learning your child likes to slip out of class when the teacher isn’t looking.

** The neighbor child feeling like they need to parent your kid and then going on and on and on about his supposed horrendous behavior while also slipping subtle punishments/threats into the conversation.

** Your child trying to suppress tears when you greet them after school because it had been one of those afternoons where nothing seemed to go their way.  They literally kept getting knocked down.

Sigh.

What a rough couple of days it has been.  … Some days it’s just a little harder to find the sugar needed to make lemonade.

It is at times like this when you seriously wonder how your kids are ever going to make it with you as their parent.  You think the only thing rubbing off on them are the behaviors and attitudes you are trying not to pass on.

Purposeful and deliberate parenting?  You try, but in reality those ideals all fly out the window when you wake up tired or when you feel like you are emotionally going to snap since you feel torn in one too many directions – too many hands, mouths and hearts all vying for your attention and support at the same time.

You think you know what you should be doing and accomplishing, yet every day feels like you are just trying to survive.  So you end up feeling overwhelmed, dejected, unmotivated and selfish.

But I am grateful I have a husband who lets me cry on his shoulder.

I am grateful for the warm embraces he offers when he sees me feeling defeated.

I am grateful for the support and love he willingly gives and how he gently reminds me that I don’t have to do this parenting gig on my own.

And then the night wears on and the two of you work in tandem as the swing shift kicks into full gear.  Soon snuggles are given, laughter is heard and “I love you’s” are shared.

You continue to move forward and march on as you attempt to focus on the light, and not dwell in the dark.

You feel encouraged by a sweet comment from a friend who probably has no idea how she has lifted your spirits, but at least you don’t feel forgotten.

You read some uplifting words and carry on.

And hope for a better day tomorrow.

Sleep – it always does wonders for the mind, body and soul. … And waking up to brilliant sunshine reminds you there are always tender mercies provided by Him.

{image courtesy of jimmyandheather.com}

{other images courtesy of google images}

The other day when I finally got around to downloading the pictures from our camera {yes, life has been a bit hectic and intense lately}, it made me happy to go through them because for nearly three full weeks following that weekend, we have been getting consistently drenched with Spring rainstorms!

I have known since January that Easter was going to come early this year (March 31st), but it still seemed like it snuck up on me.  I didn’t get any pictures snapped on Easter morning when we were all dressed up (I needed to be at Church early for choir practice), but I did get quite a few from our family egg hunt.

Trying to get all four kids to look happy and at the camera at the same time is not an easy feat!

Last Easter Ari wasn’t much into the egg hunt thing (probably because he wasn’t even one and he didn’t even know how to walk at the time), but it was absolutely delightful to watch him get into the action this year.

Once he discovered there were chocolate spoils hidden in his eggs, there was no stopping him!  {Thankfully each egg only had one M&M in it so if he ate them all at once, it wasn’t a big deal.}

All the kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. I am definitely grateful we have a backyard to have so much fun in.

I adore the carefree and happy feelings this picture evokes!
Life is good!

After our egg hunt, Keri surprised us with a sweet, little Easter gift – some Spring magnets that now live on our fridge!

Her thoughtfulness and generosity continually inspire me to be a better person!

On Easter morning, the kids woke up to pictures of Christ hung up all over our home and a little Easter gift.

I cherish the Easter season and all it represents!

** Last week I spotted a daffodil starting to bloom.  I love me some yellow and happy, sunshiny flowers!

{picture courtesy of Google Images}

** We have been reading lots of Spring and Easter books we have checked out from the local library.

** Spring soccer will begin this weekend for Cory.

** We had some of our trees pruned and trimmed recently (mainly for safety concerns). The kids were mesmerized while watching the workers climb so high!

** There was a gorgeous Spring-is-almost-here sunset when I rode the ferry last week to join a dear friend to hear Sheri Dew speak.

** We received a fun (and free!) Easter candy package from the Master Swiss Chocolatier – Lindt.  The milk chocolate Gold Bunny treats were a huge hit with the kids.  There is something irresistible about enjoying a large piece of chocolate that makes little kids giddy. The Lindor mini truffle eggs were also delightful.  They are the perfect after dinner indulgence. I loved how rich and velvety the chocolate was.

** Since Cory turned 8, he is now a Cub Scout.  He joined the pack that is sponsored by our local church congregation.  One of the first things he got to do as a scout was participate in the annual Pinewood Derby Race.  According to Reader’s Digest, the Pinewood Derby is a “celebrated rite of spring.”

Cory raced in four heats, once in each lane; there were 22 cars in all made by the Cub Scouts.  He came in 2nd, 1st, 3rd and 2nd.  His car won for the “Best Use of Decals.”  He {mostly } enjoyed designing, cutting, sanding and painting his car.  Randy, though, realized how relaxing it can be to work with wood.

Cory’s car is the one on the far left in the above race.

**And my most cherished sign of Spring?  The celebration of Easter, truly one of my favorite holidays!

Keri’s middle school held a 6th grade Pi contest in honor of the special day.

The night before the event, about 9:30 in the evening (and after she had finished up quite a bit of homework), Keri remembered she wanted to memorize as many digits of pi as she could so she could participate.   We went to this site and printed off the first five lines of digits, approximately 780 of them.  I then sent her on her way to get ready for bed.

By the time she came back upstairs to say goodnight, she had already memorized quite a few numbers.  I wasn’t overly surprised because she has a knack for memorizing things.  However, I was surprised when by the following morning she knew about 100(!) digits as she was getting ready to walk out the door for school. Holy smokes, girl!  Randy encouraged her not to memorize too many more because he didn’t want her to forget the ones she already knew.

In her math class, she faltered on a few numbers early on, but she still ended up knowing the most digits for her class period ~ 33.  This put her into the final that was to be held at the end of the school day.

By then she knew 108 digits.  However, when it was her turn to recite the digits she knew she needed to beat what she knew.  She guessed on the 109th digit and got it right and therefore won the competition (though she didn’t know she won until the last few students went).  The student who came in second knew 108 digits and the student who placed third knew 102 digits.

Keri called me immediately after school and ecstatically told me her fun news!  She even said some of her friends were calling her a school celebrity.

And yes, she won a pie for all her efforts !!  Go Keri!

“I’m so proud of her. One of my proudest moments, not because she won, but because she took the initiative and showed such determination. When she fell short in the first competition, she didn’t let it shake her.” ~ Randy

The 109 pi digits Keri can power through:

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058
20974944592307816406286208998628034825342117
067982148086

]]> http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/our-pi-celebrity/feed/ 6 anordinarymom pi day be rational get real K with her Pi Pie in kitchen http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/corys-baptism-day/ http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/corys-baptism-day/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:38:37 +0000 anordinarymom http://anordinarymom.wordpress.com/?p=8641 Continue reading →]]> Saturday February 16th at 3:00 pm –  Cory and his cousin were ready to share their baptism day.

The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful.  It was sunny and nearly 80 degrees in Southern California.  {We should have taken our family pictures outside, especially since the lighting was so terrible inside.  All well, I am just impressed that we at least managed to capture a few photos of the event since there was a lot going on behind the scenes .}

Cory is at the age where he does not like getting his picture taken. He doesn’t like holding still or having more than one picture snapped.  Throw into the mix an energetic 4 year old and a wiggly 21 month old, and you end up getting a lot of outtake pictures – tongues being stuck out, somber and smile-free expressions, noses being picked, etc.  At least we will always remember these fun and silly phases.

These family pictures were the best of the bunch.

Our family of six with Randy’s parents.

Our family of six with my parents.

This is my favorite picture of Cory on his special day.  I love the look of contemplation my mother-in-law captured when she took this photo. So sweet.

While those who participated in the baptism ordinance were drying off and getting dressed, the rest of us watched a slideshow presentation I created of Cory and his cousin.  It was set to instrumental music and it contained over 300 pictures of the two of them, from birth to age eight.

Putting it together was a labor of love, but it was definitely worth it.  I was somewhat unprepared for all the emotions I felt as I pored through old photographs of Cory – him as a newborn, him learning how to walk, him giggling unrestrained as a preschooler, him showing his love and passion for life.  Re-seeing him progress in these early stages of life seemed to strengthen the love I have for him. I am blessed to be his mother, blessed to raise such a sweet and determined spirit.  Those feelings were a tender gift given to me from the Lord, and they were just what I needed to feel at the time.

Cory with his Great Grandma (my dad’s mom) in June of 2005.

After the baptism, we all gathered at my parents’ house to eat, gab and celebrate.  There were nearly 70 of us there, both friends and family.  Here are a few snapshots of the fun:

Keri and her cousin doting on the baby of some close friends.

Keri and one of her many aunts!  (There are seven of us girls in my family!)

Grandma love!

Gourmet s’mores cupcakes my sweet sister lovingly made.  Scrumptious! …  I wish I had one in my hands right now!  I loved the graham cracker crust and the rich chocolate layers!

My entire family has not been together for over two years, so we made sure to get a picture of all 28(!) of us.  My family is something I treasure and cherish and I am beyond grateful that we were able to celebrate this sacred milestone with them!

P.S.  And of course we missed most of Randy’s family who couldn’t join us.  We are glad we were able to spend some quality time with them last summer (a blog post for this trip is still in the works).  Here is a picture of all 23 of us on his side.

The occasion?   Just your usual early birthday (July) and Christmas gift .

Eli was beyond thrilled with what he received.  He got his very own Darth Vader light saber.  (Yes, it has to be the right color and have the correct handle.)

And he got his very own Darth Vader costume, complete with a helmet (not a mask like I was calling it), cape and Darth Vader gloves.

To be completely honest, I have no idea how Eli even first learned about Star Wars. One day while we were at the library he got extremely excited when he spotted a Yoda book.  I was shocked he knew who Yoda was. We checked it out and his obsession was born.  Right now we have a gazillion and one Star Wars books in our home – it’s a good thing we know how to utilize the hold system for our local library.

What I find interesting is Eli is fascinated by the dark side of the force.  He even makes up songs about Anakin being pulled to the Dark Side. I really should have written down his lyrics the other day while he was gleefully singing.

Maybe one of these days he will gain more of an appreciation for Jedi and the light side of the force !

Perhaps if we start playing our Star Wars Trivial Pursuit game with him more often (a gift from the same brother from years ago), I can use some Jedi Mind Tricks [not a Jedi Mind Meld!] to persuade him to the right side.

{final image courtesy of Jeremy Stockwell}

It should have been a good day for a family airplane flight.  It was Wednesday February 13, 2013.  [Hmmm, maybe that was the problem, too many 13's in the date .]

We had left our house around 7:30 in the morning so we could get to the airport in time to make our flight.  While checking our luggage, we were informed that our flight was delayed by an hour.  All well, we thought, sometimes these things happen.  We figured we were lucky that this airport had a kids play area so we could let the little ones burn off their excess energy.

After getting through the security lines we headed to the play area only to find out that it was closed for the day for maintenance.  We adjusted our plans and found an empty gate area that had some wide open space.  We let the kids roam around and explore … though we didn’t anticipate having a run-in with the moving walkway. (Ari’s poor little finger. We were distracted because a kind pilot from another airline, whom we had chatted with a tad earlier, had come back to find us so he could give the boys a present he had bought them.  I still feel badly that I didn’t adequately thank him since I had to rush off to aid a shrieking Ari.)

Finally we were on the plane, buckled up, all four kids were mostly content and we were taxiing down the runway to get in line for take off.  This was our first experience with JetBlue and so far it wasn’t too bad.

But then we sat.

And then sat some more.

Apparently we had gotten out of line because our plane was having mechanical difficulties (which is why the plane was delayed in the first place).  After we had been on the jet for at least an hour, they had us deplane.  They wanted us to take all of our belongings with us just in case.  For now they were telling us it would only be a 2 hour delay.

Long story, short, by about 4 in the afternoon we finally found out that our flight was not only delayed, but completely cancelled.  The starter to engine #2 had failed and JetBlue had to fly the part and an entire flight crew up from Long Beach to address the issue.

After making the trek to baggage claim to get our unused luggage, we herded the kids and dragged our bags through the terminal so we could find the ticket counter where we were told to go to.  The line was long, and it was not moving.  Not even an inch. JetBlue had 150 disgruntled passengers waiting in line at the same time (with only 2 agents trying to make things right!) as we all attempted to figure out how we were going to get to Southern California.

By now the kids had had it.  Ari had missed his nap and was a screaming wreck.  The older two kids were a mess as tears streamed down their red, blotchy faces.  Eli was in hyper mode and was running away and bouncing off the walls. Randy was trying to keep an eye on all the kids while I waited in the stagnant line.  I phoned some family members to see if they could help us figure out if it was possible to get another flight out that day on a different airline.  There were a couple of possibilities, but we didn’t have $3000 – $5000 to make it happen!?!

Nearly an hour later when the line hadn’t budged (the first customer was still at the counter), I finally went to the front of the line and politely but firmly told them that they needed to send someone to the back of the line to let us know what our options were.  Eventually someone came and that was when we learned that they had no alternate flight for us until possibly Saturday or Sunday.  Reminder – it was Wednesday.  The family events we needed to be at started Friday evening, not to mention some other earlier appointments that Keri and I had with Grandma.

I asked if they could put us on another airline. Apparently JetBlue does not partner with any airlines in Western Washington so that was not an option.

By now I was trying to keep my own tears in check, tears of frustration and exhaustion (we had been at the airport for several hours with all the kids).  Tears of not knowing what decision to make.  Do we bag the whole trip? Do we fork out a bunch of money to fly another airline?  Will we get a full refund?  Will the plane possibly be ready in the morning and a new flight scheduled like they originally had hinted at? What do we do about the car rental that had already been paid for that was waiting for us in Long Beach?

Thankfully we had a kind, older couple waiting in line next to us.   They offered some advice and helped a bit with the kids so Randy and I could try and figure out what to do.  We finally decided to cancel our entire flight, both legs of it, and we would either drive to Los Angeles or stay home.  We gave the JetBlue agent who came to the end of the line to let us know what was going on our confirmation number and left it in her hands to make sure our refund went through.

At that point we walked away and left our spot in line so we could go retrieve our car from the long term parking lot we had left it in.  We were hoping that we could get a refund from them for the 7 days we would no longer need.

Once we we were all loaded up in the car, we had an immediate decision to make.  Unfortunately my brain was in can’t-think-straight-for-the-life-of me mode because I was so overwhelmed, anxious and overstimulated.  It seemed impossible to make a decision – I wish someone else could just make it for me.  Do we head home to our house and abandon our trip, or get on the road and make the drive to California?

We honestly didn’t know which option was the best for our family.  Both choices seemed to have equal pros and cons.  I was beyond exhausted, physically and mentally.  My mind was simply trying to process everything and it seemed stuck.  Randy and I are both not spontaneous people so we couldn’t even believe that we were entertaining the idea of making an unexpected and L.O.N.G. drive with no preparations whatsoever.

Finally we said a prayer together as a family asking for direction and peace of mind.  We then asked Cory if he wanted to get baptized in California with his cousin like we had originally planned or if we should reschedule it and do it here in Western Washington. He wanted to go and be with his extended family for this special occasion so we put the car in gear and started our 18+ hour drive.

We had no map, no GPS, and no internet because we affectionately own dumb phones, but we knew somehow that it would all work out.  We stopped a couple of hours down the interstate at Target to get some much needed snacks and some DVDs for our adventure.

We stopped again close to 11 pm so Randy could get out of the car and do some jumping jacks to wake himself up.  A shake, some french fries and a McFlurry also did the trick.  We then said a lot of silent prayers that we would find an open gas station so we could fuel up.  Grants Pass, Oregon came to the rescue right after the gas light came on!

We finally made it to Medford, Oregon by 1 in the morning and crashed for the night at a hotel. We made the rest of the drive to Los Angeles the next day, (what a grand way to spend your Valentine’s Day!) and pulled up to my parent’s home around 11 pm.

The drive, though very long … especially with a toddler in tow who screamed quite a bit of the time … was manageable.  The scenery for a lot of the trip was breathtaking and spectacular – the gently, rolling hills; majestic Mt. Shasta, Shastina and Black Butte; the contrast of storm clouds and vibrant, green grass with a rainbow thrown in the mix.  The weather on the way down was sunny and glorious.

Keri was a lifesaver when it came to helping Ari stay calm in the car. They are doing puzzles together here.

Hindsight being 20/20, we are definitely glad we made the sacrifices we did to make this trek.  It truly was worth it, and it is an adventure none of us will ever forget.  Great memories were indeed made.

The Lord’s hand was evident throughout the entire trip, even when I felt like we had no guidance while making the initial decision to drive.  I guess it was His plan and timing all along since we were supposed to fly in on the Wednesday before the baptism.  We tried to book flights for the Friday or Thursday before but they weren’t available.  He must have known we would need extra travel time to make the extensive drive, otherwise we would have missed everything.

Love the bird that happened to fly into this photo!

We were also blessed on our way home – we were able to drive in between storms.  Snow was in the forecast, but the Grapevine didn’t close until the day after we went through it.  Mt. Shasta got quite a bit of snow, but we stayed overnight in Redding, CA so by the time we made it through the mountain pass the roads were clear.

I am glad we took this opportunity to take a family adventure and to create some priceless memories both on the drive and while we were there with my entire family (all 28 of us!).  I am glad we decided to make lemonade out of our lemons; it was pretty tasty and satisfying.  It definitely quenched my thirst.

P.S.  In case you were wondering, JetBlue fully refunded us our money and compensated us with some TrueBlue travel credit.  We will give them a second chance.  We were also able to get a full refund on our car rental through Priceline.  Finally, the company we used for long term parking will also give us a refund for the days we didn’t use.  We are definitely grateful for the tender mercies in our lives.

P.P.S. All of the scenic pictures were taken while driving down the freeway at highway speeds, some of them with the window rolled up. I am definitely impressed they came out as clear as they did!