Two weeks ago we packed up our family of five and braved the 7 hour drive to Santa Barbara. We did a new thing...we drove most of the way Friday night and stayed in a Motel 6. It was a little sketchy (more the idea of it than anything) but we survived and it was kind of fun, our family of five all crammed in there late at night. We wanted to maximize our time in SB without subjecting our friends to our little army crashing on their floor. Plus who has that kind of space in Santa Barbara anyway? We did stay with friends Matt and Lindsay and their 3 kids on the 2nd night. That was generous and brave of them. :-)
The reason for the trip: Our friends are getting pretty close to having their first child and I really wanted to be there for Jos' baby shower....and pretend that I still live down the street from her! Before that, when we arrived in town the first thing we did was hit Finn's favorite....Shoreline Park. And as we were driving down the beach front boulevard, we saw friends of ours playing soccer at the park! I love how small Santa Barbara is.
And I love this girl and the little baby boy growing inside of her! I can't wait to meet him!The baby shower was lovely, with great food, presents and time with a bunch of girls I rarely get to see. It is always special to welcome another little person into our close family of friends!
Mamas!
Nate and Jared got a little surfing in.
A rare family pic of all 5 of us!
I miss the beach so much. I think Finn does too.
Some friends from our old church in SB live right across from the park. We paid them a surprise visit and our kids just picked up like we were there yesterday!
Before we left we just had to go to Kids World, the coolest park in town. It was just blocks from our old place (which we also saw while visiting good friend and neighbor, Doug but forgot to take a picture) so we used to go to this park all the time. It's strange yet makes sense, that Selah doesn't remember all the places we used to frequent in Santa Barbara. Finn still seems to remember most things because we still talk about people and places there. He'll never forget Kids World though. They've got a big old whale and a shark to climb on. He used to feed it wood chips. Now he's brave enough to climb aboard!
Two weeks ago my sister Joanne hosted a little "Welcome Serin Brunch" for me and Serin. A few friends came over, each with a baby of their own practically. It was nice and relaxing. No husbands, no big kids, just good food, a few nursing babies and adult conversations for a change. Serin started out all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, then decided to get a little shut-eye...... and woke up ready to party 3 hours later after everyone had gone. Man this girl can sleep! She takes after her daddy.
Joanne, Nikki and baby Taylor
Cousin Taylor came dressed to impress. I'm a sucker for animal prints on baby girls. I don't know why.
Today is Mothers Day. Today I am more of a mother than I was last year. I am in the throes of motherhood actually. And I couldn't be happier. On Sundays, Nate usually takes a sleepy Finn with him to the school gym at 7am while he plays basketball with some friends before church. Today he also took Selah, which was a HUGE gift to me. I love her dearly, but it was really nice to have one less kid to get ready for church and out the door. So Serin and I slept in a little and then took our time in the morning.....and I came across a really thoughtful card from my husband and some cash for clothes shopping later. :-) After church, my friend Lisa and I hit the stores as our husbands and the 6 kids hit Fairytale Town. It was a good day for everyone!
But today is not just MY day, but a day for me to celebrate my own mother (who happens to be frolicking around Italy with my dad right now) and my mother -in-law, and my grandmothers and God Mother and aunts and all the other ladies in my life who have nurtured me like a mother at one point or another.
Mom~ You are amazing. I love how hard you work and how selfless you are. Thank you for always listening when I call (daily), and for the childcare you provide, and for all the little and big chores you tackle at my house whenever you come over. My cupboards and I thank you!I love how we have become good friends as well as mother and daughter. And...... I am jealous that you are in Italy right now!!! But you deserve it. :-)
Granny Peg~ You TOO are amazing! The giving of your time and of thoughtful gifts are so appreciated. Thank you for your weekly visits to spend quality time with the kids while giving me a much needed break to run errands or just be alone with my thoughts. I hope you know how valuable that gift is! Your energy and creativity inspire me and I am blessed to have such a kindred spirit in a Mother-in-law.
My favorite poet, Billy Collins, writes a great poem about mothers called The Lanyard. It cracks me up every time, and seems so relevant to me right now as a mother of small children. It's not so hard for me to close my eyes and conjure up the feelings I had as a small child when I gave my mom a "special" gift of strips of yarn glued onto a block of scrap wood or something....surely the best gift she could ask for, I thought. Here's a clip of Billy Collins reading The Lanyard. It's better when you hear it I think. Once you've heard him, it's hard NOT to hear his awesome monotone drone when you read any of his poems. He reminds me of Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. Enjoy!
