Thursday, August 18, 2011

An Update in Pictures

At the end of July/beginning of August, our little family traveled to the West Coast for a family reunion and catch up with friends in Sacramento.  The trip included a lovely excursion to Monterey.  KB enjoyed the wet sand and the wind in her hair.  My hubby and I also marked 5 years of marriage on July 29.


The view from our room at Asilomar.


My cousins and I explored some of the tide pools.

To celebrate our anniversary, my hubby and I took a sailboat ride around Monterrey Bay.  A sailboat ride has always been on his "bucket list."  We saw lots of jellyfish, seals, dolphins, and even a couple of sea otters.




Monterey is still cold in the summer, so it seemed oxymoronic to stand by a fireplace in July!



Carmel Mission, my favorite and one of the most beautiful of the 21 California Missions.

We actually saw blue sky on our last day in Monterey.


KB's first trip to See's Candies.  Ahh, those shops smell so good!


KB's first trip to InNOut Burger. Don't worry, she's just chewing on the straw, not drinking the ice tea. :)


Martha's Miracle

Why not start out the day with some good news?  A Martha Trying to Be Mary has adopted a beautiful baby boy.  Congratulations!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

A Baptism at Last and Back in the Saddle

Ah, summertime.  We took a 2-week vacation to my California home, so I apologize for the silence in the blog room. My next post will show and tell of the highlights, including a sailboat ride! yea.  Honestly, I think Summer 2011 has been our busiest on record.

Anyway, longtime readers of my blog may remember my friend K, who has 3 babies in heaven (most recently in June 2010).  She gave birth to healthy twin boys in May and they were baptized three weeks ago.  It was such a joy to behold K and her husband holding two babies dressed in white, surrounded by family and friends.  Nearly a year ago, the same family and friends had stood with them in sorrow, beholding the tiny coffin of their daughter, who died at 12 (?) weeks.  We had also gathered to say farewell to their other two babies in the previous years. Those funerals always confounded me:  This isn't right.  They should be holding their baby in their arms, not seeing him/her lay lifeless in a coffin.  (These are the moments when I greatly dislike God's will).


I am so thrilled that God has turned their immense sorrow into joy.  K has also used her sorrowful experiences to reach out to others.  As the priest said to K and her husband, "Many people have been aching for you for this day to come."  I think of the many IF sisters in the blogosphere and beyond (particularly one in Boston :) ) who are still aching.  Many of us are aching for you, too.  May God turn your sorrow into joy someday.