July Recap

I feel as if summer were quickly fading away. School starts up here on Monday, which doesn’t impact me at all except to give me that sad realization that summer is quickly waning. It is silly to ponder though, because it is the first of August and a bright beautiful summer day outside. July flew by in much the same manner as June. Busy.

-   Cory is still working in Mammoth (hopefully for only a few more weeks yay!) and so I have still been spending my midweek at my parents house. We have developed quite a jolly little routine. Here is how our days go:

     -Coffee time before work
     -Coffee time after work and working out
     -Salads
     -We sit on my parent’s bed and sing along with my dad and his guitar just like we did when we were kids. “Cripple Creek” is a daily must, of course.
     -We, all four of us, lay on my parents bed to watch a mystery of our choice (sometimes with oil in our    mouths as oil pulling has been a new trend of mine, and sometimes with oil on our faces as oil cleansing is also very popular in our household right now, but more on those fun remedies later).
      Yes, it has been a fun season being a kid again.

-   Despite all of the activities that have kept us super busy, we made three day trips down to the beach. According to my dad’s philosophy, it is a discipline to take a day off from routine and work and go down to the beach. And so we have been very disciplined this month.

-   Cory and I attended his brother’s quiet little wedding ceremony and so welcomed a new member into our family.

-   I was second shooter at my second wedding with Fresh From God Photography. I felt less nervous this time and more comfortable with what I was doing. It was an amazing venue and wonderful experience.

-   I have spent the month with a lot to think about in regards to plans for the future. God has opened up several amazing opportunities that we are pursuing and just waiting for him to guide us by opening and shutting those doors according to his perfect plan for our life. But whatever the future holds for us, I am enjoying the ride tremendously and learning from the manifold experiences He is bringing my way.

And so, bring on August. I have a feeling it is going to be an exciting month.

June Recap

Half the year is already gone! I cannot even believe it. Summer is in full swing here and life is just grand. June was a crazy busy month. Busy in all the ways that are contrary to the busyness that existed in May.

A glimpse of June...

-   Cory worked up north in Mammoth Monday through Friday. So, instead of spending my lonely evenings and nights at home, I moved back in with my parents during the week. It is very fun to revert back to my childhood like this. It helps to distract me from missing my hubby and have many quality hours with my parents and younger siblings.

-   I worked a lot. Splitting up my time between working with my sister and working at the gym, I stayed busy every day throughout the month.

-   I was second shooter for my first wedding! This was a nerve racking and exciting experience. It is such an honor to learn photography by such an amazing and talented photographer as Rebecca.

-   One weekend when Cory was home we went on a date off the mountain. Cory insisted on buying me new tennis shoes (when you work in fitness they wear out fast and you get super excited when you get new ones you love). And then we had a lovely dinner at the Macaroni Grill.

Bun in the Oven

I have been a ridiculous and dilatory blogger these last few months. Good intentions give way when life happens and all of the inevitable busy nothings occur.

One wonderful thing that has been rapidly claiming my time has been the continual pursuit of photography. What an amazing world is opened to me as I strive to learn this difficult art. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of taking pictures of my sister, her family, and her cute baby bump.

As this was my first attempt at maternity shots, I was surprised at the difficulty. However, I was pleased with several of the shots, thanks to the cuteness of my subjects. 

May Recap

May was a month that merits the term, “living the good life.” Without neglecting our responsibilities, we put them a little on the back burner to enjoy each other, our family, and to make memories.

-   When May first came around we were only half way through our amazing trip to the Dominican Republic where sunshine, laughter, running, swimming, eating, drinking, and scuba diving abounded. Talk about Paradise. Honeymoon number 4 (or something like that… it’s hard to keep track) was equally as amazing, albeit different, than the proceeding ones.

-   It was a sad day when we had to board the plane to head home. However… we were not staying home for long. At the risk of coming across as terribly spoiled, we were home four days before we were off on a family cruise to Mexico. I know, I know, that is ridiculous. But really, there was a brief window where all eighteen of us could go on an epic adventure on board the good ship glorious. We could not miss out on an experience like that for something as silly as money.

-   And since we were already in party mode, some of us made a stop at Disneyland on our drive home from the port in Long Beach. Nothing like cramming it all in.

-   And so May closed with Cory and I back in our cozy little home, determining on a season of working hard.

Life is Pain

Once upon a time (well about ten months ago to be exact) I read a girl’s blog in which she shared the specific number of posts she committed to blogging weekly. I thought, awesome, I can do that. And I did…for about nine and a half months.

I think it is silly when bloggers come on after a little silence and apologize to the blogosphere for not writing. I am not about to do that. I am fully aware that all of those charming bloggers who glance at my posts every now and then have their busy lives and do not recognize a silence in my jolly little corner.

But I do. I notice it, I think of it, I struggle with it, I labor over it. And still, I am silent. Oh undisciplined wannabe philosopher! Why don’t I do what I ought to do rather than do what I do not wish to do? (Romans 7 moment…) After all, oftentimes I need my little nook on the web to force my heart and soul into a place of understanding.

In the last few weeks I have felt like I was thrust full speed onto the roller coaster of life without any preparation. What could have happened that put me in this strange place? That’s just it. It has not been one huge thing… but rather dozens of little (and a few not so little) things that have brought me to this weird, thoughtful and partially melancholy state.

Life, this wonderful life that I lead, is hard. Sometimes I hear the line from Princess Bride playing over in my head, “life is pain.” There always seems to be some new obstacle to overcome, some new hurt to feel.

I had a beautiful and painful hospital experience in the last few weeks. The kind that forces all the trivial matters to stand still as you witness first-hand what life truly is about. I have been struggling with the words to write about this event because I felt that it was worthy of a beautiful and well written note. But the grand words have not yet come,yet still, it must be mentioned. My grandma, the dearest woman in the world, was in the hospital after having a stroke. I went there to witness my grandpa, her husband of sixty five years, standing faithfully by her side. He was holding her hand and trying to make her laugh. The history that is created in sixty five years of matrimony is incomparable. The love that I witnessed in that hospital room is what life is all about. She is home now, and doing well. But I will always carry with me those beautiful scenes from the hospital room, where I witnessed the amazing love between two such entwined souls.

In the midst of my emotional state regarding the difficulties that come with living and loving, I was assailed by the poignant pain that can be drawn from no other place than a good classical work. Yes, one of my present ailments has come from the loss of Jean Valjean. Laugh if you will… but really, unless you have read this book, you cannot possibly understand the vast emotional, spiritual, and intellectual, journey I have been on. The depth of goodness and character as seen in this story is unheard of in today’s society. As I reached the end, I lay in my bed and wept. I cried for the goodness of Jean Valjean, the lack of character that I see in the world today, the injustice of mankind, the bitter sweet shift from daughter to wife, the amazing and selfless love of a wonderful father, and the inevitability of losing someone you love. All of these are hard truths to grasp.... and they bring pain to the one who strives to grasp them.

The book was about life. The real, hard, sad, true, painful bits that come with living.

And so the weeks passed in such a way where reality and fiction were entwined to lay a heavy weight upon my soul. After spending time with an acute awareness of the inevitable pains that life will bring I finally reached a better place. The place where I remembered and became supremely grateful for the grace of God.