July 31, 2011

day two hundred.twelve

fisher cats 2

i had the privilege of sitting in the tormenting heat to watch our local baseball team lose a game.

July 30, 2011

day two hundred.eleven

jayce's cannonball
this is my nephew jayce. he just turned five. that is a good reason to perform a cannonball into the pool.

July 28, 2011

day two hundred.nine



i don't know why i was up at four in the morning but i was able to catch the first coming ups of the sun.

July 27, 2011

day two hundred.eight

adb1530c1a8b41db524a1dede0a5178f

some photo editing fun. i found this photo of our son in a pile of papers from his preschool. it just screamed mugshot to me, so i turned it into one. hee hee!

July 25, 2011

day two hundred.six



we rode our bike to the pool today and my son was taking pictures. i thought this came out kind of cool looking.

July 24, 2011

day two hundred.five



the invasion of the giant moths. don't know if you can see it flying above the picnic table. these guys are all over the place. two have been found in our house thanks to the cats.

July 23, 2011

day two hundred.four


our son getting ready for music camp this week. he was mighty proud of his ginormous t shirt.

July 21, 2011

day two hundred.two



watching the kids sit on the edge of pool while the lifeguards take a dip in this immense and unknown heat.

July 19, 2011

July 18, 2011

day one hundred.ninety.nine

003

movie day. it was rainy and muggy. perfect weather to sit in an air conditioned movie theater.

July 16, 2011

day one hundred.ninety.seven

043

bucket full of mason jars. we went to a wedding reception for a couple who eloped to paris, france back in december. today's party was held at the brides' home where she grew up, on the foothills of a local mountain. the atmosphere so peaceful and relaxing. the food delicious. the drinks served in mason jars. best of luck hannah and aja. may your marriage be as lovely as the reception today.

046

July 15, 2011

day one hundred.ninety.six

day one hundred.ninety.six

since our son was born it's been a while since i have been camping. a few friends of mine and i decided to leave our kids home with our husbands and get away for a night. while the campground was loud and crowded the time spent with friends was amazing.

July 14, 2011

day one hundred.ninety.five

023

every summer our city closes main street to traffic and stores bring out their wares and musicians come out to play and food vendors fry up their greasiest. our son enjoyed a quickly melting ice cream cone.

July 13, 2011

July 12, 2011

day one hundred.ninety.three

002

relaxin' at a local pond. the weather has been so hot lately it is wonderful to live so close to so many places to cool off.

July 10, 2011

day one hundred.ninety.one

030

worship with friends. that young couple on the left believe with such intensity that they have been called to start a church in a remote college town in northern new hampshire. my husband and i also see the need for a church in this town and in support of our friends agreed to help. every other week ten of us (on a good day) gather to worship. despite our forty minute drive it feels good to gather and pray and sing and experience fellowship. our prayer is god can emit a light no matter how small but bright enough to expose the church's love for the community it is planted in. to raise up a gathering that sparks interest in the searching for the peace and love of christ.

July 09, 2011

day one hundred.ninety

023

i was struck deep in the gut and deeper in the loins of my heart today being reminded of our son corban who was born two months ago. the deep sorrow crept up today as i drove to and from my in laws and the sun would strike me in a certain way. at a certain angle. with its intense caring warmth. i could feel the breath of god on my arm and face. imagining him holding my son. i am jealous i cannot see him. hear him. smell him. touch him. kiss him. whisper 'i love you' into his ear. the question 'why' ached out of my mouth today. why is this all happening? oh yeah. i believe in a god who probably won't answer that. instead i have to plead for help to just deal. the hospital bills are arriving and i am angered that we have to financially deal with this mess now. angry that our insurance company won't cover a certain procedure(s). angry that we have little time to pay these bills. angry that any of this even happened. dealing with losing a child is a tremendous type of pain. on top of that is the fear of literally paying for it. pain and fear. anger. frustration. anxiety. uncertainty. sorrow. i hate it. all.

July 08, 2011

day one hundred.eighty.nine

017

despite our impending financial doom i was determined to try my hand at extreme couponing and head out to forage for essentials. i mapped out our shopping trip and had coupons in hand. while i spent way more than $.55 on a shopping trip i didn't pay full price for a single thing nor did i come home with 100 tubes of toothpaste.

July 07, 2011

day one hundred.eighty.eight

009

i think my grumpiness is contagious and my son came down with it. we went to the ocean today. me and my boy. unfortunately as soon as we get there he whines to go home. we dabbled in the freezing cold waves. tried to build a castle in the wet sand. but nothing improved his mood. and since i had just paid $7 to park for three hours i was determined to stay. at my prodding my son laid down on the blanket and actually napped for about an hour. i noticed the tide coming in quick and just as i was about to move him and the blanket the water came too quick and washed over us. it was funny, but not for mr. grumplestinkypants. i checked the time, we still had another hour. it was a long day at the beach and a long ride home when we left.

July 06, 2011

day one hundred.eighty.seven

002

an empty house. how rare it is. my mother had taken my son to play with his cousins at a local park and i stayed home to endure round two with our friendly plumber. the damage is costly. so much more than i could imagine. a cost we can never meet. i literally broke down in front of this man feeling so helpless, hopeless, and embarrassed. i've been clinging to this verse today from jeremiah 33.3: 'call to me and i will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.' i take delight in the first promise: god WILL ANSWER me. and the second promise: he will answer me with that of the unimaginable and unfathomable. i do not know how god will provide, but he will. somehow.

July 05, 2011

day one hundred.eighty.six

001

when it rains.....it pours. story of my life. i am so glad to be back home but for some reason everything is coming to head and the shit is hitting the fan, literally. my husband left for work today with the dreaded words, "i think there is a clog again." my stomach did a somersault and the last thing i wanted to deal with on a hot sticky day was a clogged toilet. i gather the plunger and plunge. to no avail. i know the clog is in the pipe and i have no energy nor desire to tackle this job myself. time to call the plumber. they said they'd be happy to send someone in five hours. now the plumber has come and gone and the clog is gone but not the problem: roots. we don't have any trees in the backyard, why are there roots growing into the pipe? tomorrow the plumber will be back to give an estimate as to how to replace the pipe in our yard. fun times. there have been other little things stabbing us in the gut such as: a leaky kitchen faucet. the hospital bill. the airbag light turning on in my car. my husband taking on freelance work (which will pay for these needs but means him working too hard over the next few weeks). and our new cat. thus the photo. she's cute, but it will take some getting used to.

July 02, 2011

day one hundred.eighty.three

randolph fireworks 2

i left my sister's house today. it was kind of sad. i was so anxious about taking care of three little kids that once i got used to things i had to say goodbye. my sister says my nephew whined and cried nearly the entire day after we left. i kind of felt his pain, too. instead of driving all the way back to nh we stopped at my aunt's house in nj. we were treated to a late but brilliant fireworks display.

July 01, 2011

day one hundred.eighty.two

deep run park 2

day five of babysitting. went to a local park. no meltdowns, but exploding diapers posed a great challenge.