Fourth Festivities

These last couple of weeks have been emotionally draining. We have spent the last couple of weeks searching our hearts regarding questions which have arisen through our adoption process. We have spent many hours in prayer begging God to reveal His will to us. I will write more when we have made a final decision, but for now, please keep us in your prayers.

By the time the Fourth of July came around, we were in desperate need for some uninterrupted family time. Chris and I needed the time to pray together and just talk. The girls needed some undivided attention. So, we canceled plans with some dear friends and spent most of the day reveling in each other and the amazing creation surrounding us.



We went for a hike on a fabulous trail just a few minutes from our house.



It was a three mile hike with half of it up an incline. After a while, the girls looked like this.



So, we hoisted them on our backs and kept trekking.





Even though the girls didn't make it the whole way on their own, they were still troopers. They were especially excited when we made it to the top of the trail and they could explore this little, stone house.



Carrying Addie back down the trail definitely made things interesting, but I kept telling myself the extra weight was increasing the number of calories I was burning! It also helped that this was the view most the way down.



After the hike, we took long naps. Then we headed over to a family member's house to swim.





Then it was off to watch the fireworks. Even with their long naps, the girls were getting tired so they laid down while waiting for the fireworks to begin.



Once the fireworks started though, they were wide awake. Clara was very patriotic and waved her little flag through the whole show.





We ended the night by dancing to live music courtesy of Tracy Lawrence. Clara had a blast! It is so fun to see her let go and not even care who was watching or what she looked like. I should take a page out of her book more often.



It was a wonderful day and just what our family needed. Chris and I were able to spend time in prayer and take the time we needed to talk. We finished out the week feeling refreshed and that was just what the doctor ordered!

The Summer Heat

What is a mother of restless kids going to do on a day with a high of 106 degrees Fahrenheit? Hit the pool, that's what! We had planned to go hiking, but when it was already in the high nineties in the early morning, we nixed that idea.

Good thing we did because we had a blast!





Clara is brave and jumped right into that cold water!



She even tried doing some back flips off the diving board.



Addie prefers the quiet scene on the edge of the pool. She would rather stick her toes in the water than be completely submersed.



After we cooled off, we came home to enjoy the perfect summer meal.



I found this recipe for very tender pulled pork. I used a pork shoulder (about eight lbs.) and added about four cups of root beer. After it cooked for about seven hours on high in the slow cooker, I pulled the meat off the bone, removed all the fat, and drain the juice. Then I added two more cups of root beer and barbecue sauce and let it simmer for another hour. There was enough meat to bring a meal to a family who had just had a baby and eat leftovers for several days.

Then I made this pie for our family since I was already making one for the family with the new baby. We froze it and it was the perfect cool ending to a super hot day!

Summer Living Part 1

It has been a few weeks since I posted last. We have been trying to enjoy summer like there is no tomorrow. There really is not much time left to enjoy summer activities during the week for the girls and I, so we are trying to make the most of the time we have together before I start my new job.

We were up in Albuquerque, NM for about a week and one half the first part of the summer. We did so many fun things together! There are a lot of pictures so I am going to split up the posts.

Chris and I went white water kayaking on the Lower Gorge of the Rio Grande River. White water kayaking the love of my husband's life before he met me and to be honest, it was pretty stiff competition for a while. After spending the day on the river, I totally get why he loves it so much. Chris spent countless hours white water kayaking in New Mexico, Colorado, and Montana, but pretty much gave it up when we established our home in southern New Mexico. Now I understand why he still talks longingly about it. Kayaking is fun and a huge rush!



We didn't get many pictures coming down the white water because whoever was manning the camera was usually also going down the same stretch and more concerned about keeping their duckie upright than taking pictures. Here is one picture I managed to snap of my dad and sister in one kayak and my brother and sister-in-law in another kayak navigating a short stretch of white water.



Chris and I are messing around in this next picture. We thought it would be funny to get a picture of us in the same kayak rowing in opposite directions. It seemed like a good visual of how marriage works sometimes. We are on the same team and yet sometimes we find ourselves "rowing" against one another. This picture is a reminder to work together because we are on the same team!



The Rio Grande is absolutely beautiful in this section of New Mexico and we saw great scenery and even some wildlife. Here is a mama duck and her ducklings.



We also saw several pairs of geese.



This trip was so fun. Chris and I are now talking about renting a kayak and taking the girls down the calm stretch of river later this summer. Maybe Chris' love of the water will rub off on the girls too. My extended family is turning kayaking on the Rio Grande into an annual tradition and we cannot wait for next year!

Spring Storm

If you do not live in New Mexico, you may not be aware of what a little spring storm might look like. We had one just the other day, so let me tell you what happens.

First, you hear the thunder and you make the mistake of assuming it is not actually going to rain because after all, you live in southern New Mexico where you get an annual rainfall of 8.5". Then the sky opens up five seconds later and dumps freezing cold rain and hail. You mentally kick yourself for not believing the thunder and run out to rescue the chickens whose home in the backyard is quickly becoming flooded.

Soaked to the skin, you start to blow dry the chickens because they are even more freezing than you, if that is possible. You are struck by the irony that you don't blow dry your own hair, but you blow dry chicken feathers.

After the rain and hail stops, you go outside to assess the damage. Besides the fact that your driveway is currently being washed down the flash flooding arroyo, there doesn't seem to be any damage.

You are reminded why a mini-van is probably not the best choice for your next vehicle.

Then you acquiesce to your daughter’s request to go jump in the puddles. After all, her nap has already been cut short by the cracks of thunder and there is no hope she will go back to sleep.

Next, you take a few minutes to soak in the beauty of a desert willow covered in rain drops.

You breathe deeply the fragrant smell of the creosote after a rain.

Lastly, you think how blessed you are to live in the desert, wild storms and all.

Hiking

We were struck by something recently. Both our girls are old enough to go on a substantial hike (one of several miles) without one of them needing to be carried.

This insight was revolutionary because it has freed us to take advantage of all the nearby hiking trails without needing to bring along a structured child carrier.

So we celebrated by spending several weekends in a row hiking.

The girls love getting on the trail. They imagine they are explorers and try to be the first to spot flowers or wildlife. Addie found this little guy sunning on a rock.

Hiking is a chance to get some fresh air and exercise. It is also a wonderful opportunity to teach the girls to stop and marvel at the world God has made.

Clara loved looking at all the plants and wanted to learn their names, so I ordered a field guide for the southwest. I also bought her a notebook so she can start drawing her finds.

We count ourselves very fortunate to have all this beauty to explore. We can literally walk out our front door and be surrounded by nature. It is one of the best things about living out of town (along with the quiet and the amazing view of the stars).

We are looking forward to a summer filled with hiking new and uncharted territory (for us at least)!

Desert Beauty

Sometimes people have trouble seeing the beauty in our desert. When they arrive, all they see is the color brown. What visitors may not know is that sometimes you have to get close to the ground to see the color. When you do, you will be amazed! Check out the flowers on a barrel cactus.

There is a large variety of plants that survive our dry, arid conditions.

The yucca is New Mexico's state flower.

The occotillo shows off bright, orange blooms against a typical blue sky.

It is kind of mind boggling when you think about these hearty plants surviving in an area that only receives an annual rainfall of 8.5 inches.

As a native New Mexican, I revel in the vast, open spaces.

It is impossible for me to look at a rock formation like this one and not know, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is a God who precariously positioned those boulders.

There is something thrilling about the wild beauty you find in southern New Mexico. The girls love it when they find flowers to pick!

Every once in a while we get these bright yellow poppies that cover the ground.

It is a treat to find such colorful ground cover.

Hope you enjoyed the view from my corner of America, the Wild West!