MARK

I was soaking in the words written about Jesus and His death and resurrection in the book of Mark in the bible this morning. I envisioned Him being sentenced, mocked, beaten, Simon a passerby being forced to carry the cross that was not only extremely heavy in weight but also so extremely heavy in significance. I could envision Jesus hanging on that very cross, being ridiculed, being taunted to have His father save him, Jesus himself calling out to God, Jesus taking his last breath. Joseph wrapping Jesus body and placing him in the tomb of a cut out rock, then finally rolling a rock in front of the entrance. I then came to the resurrection, Mark 16: 1-7, to the moment where the women in Jesus life where bringing spices to anoint Jesus body per ritual of that time. In Mark 16:3 it shows the women on their way to the tomb contemplating who will roll away this rock to the entrance. Mark 16:4 - But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

That very sentence brought me to my own life. I can picture the many times I come to a moment in life where it seems so heavy, the burden too great, or my anxiety shoots up when life feels a little hectic. During those times I tend to reach for my phone to call a good friend to hear her wise words, to ease that anxiety that hearing a friendly voice can bring. But I felt in that moment as I was reading this passage after an anxiety induced night that sometimes I can get blinded by trying to make that feeling stop. That sometimes all that I need to do is look up and I will find that heavy stone rolled away and I just need to walk through into His risen arms. I realized I'm not so different from the women walking to Jesus that morning. That I too question how can -insert the impasse of the day, week, year- this be done. I too must keep on walking, look up and I will see that stone rolled away from whatever pain, anxiety, fear I hold onto. After years of living a faith filled life I realize that moment may not come in an instant, but it can. The walk may be far or short. Either way this walk must be in the direction of coming to that rolled away stone where I know Jesus has risen and has already set us all free. Sometimes I find their can be great beauty within the walk even amongst all the hurt. It makes coming to that already rolled away rock all the sweeter.

{Mark 15-16 for reference}

*By the way can I tell you how hard it is for me to hit publish on a none regular blog day especially at a weird hour. Ha.

West Coast Trip - Seattle

Every year we try to get away right after Christmas. It's the lull time after a very busy season for the Mr. It's the time we take to re-connect as a family and evaluate the coming year. It's a tradition I have grown to love and look forward to. This year we went to the West coast. It was long trip so I'm breaking it up into cities so every post won't be a mile long. Our first stop was Seattle. This is where we flew into and rented a car. We stayed three nights which I feel was plenty.

One morning we tried to catch the sunrise through the gloom from Kerry Park. Alas we did not see the sun, but the views were spectacular none the less. Kerry Park is on a beautiful street with homes that are are all so different yet all so beautiful. The views were quite remarkable too.

We popped into this fun little antique shop across from the aquarium. It was like a blast from the past with phone booths and all. The kiddos were in awe. Ha.

We went to Ballard Locks with the Mr's family who are from the area and it was so fun. The kiddos were mesmerized by the boats lifting and lowering plus getting to connect with family we had yet to meet was quite special.

Ellie recently did an art project on Chihuly glass so of course it became a must see. I honestly never heard of it before, but so grateful we went. It was quite a dream. 

ACTIVITIES:

Ballard Locks - free but parking is not

Chihuly Museum, Seattle Space Needle, EMP museum and Aquarium were all hits with the kiddos and us. We bought the City Pass beforehand to save money. In warmer weather we may have went to the zoo instead of the EMP and would have tempted the ferry. It was a money saver for sure and gave us small breaks of warmth for these southern bones.

Pikes Place Market was fun to explore. Can't believe we didn't get pics with our good camera, but we got plenty with our iphones.

Kerry Park - Beautiful homes and views. Quite place to take in a sunrise.

STAY:

We stayed at the Hyatt Olive 8. The rooms were a good size and they even brought in a nice air mattress for Ellie. The pool is what sold us. If you have kids you know a pool can become a highlight of a trip. They also had a little morning cafe downstairs that had some delicious GF packaged options. It was also walking distance to Pikes Place but the hills can get tricky. We always book through Hotels.com for savings and build up to free rooms.

EAT:

Cinnamon Works for the best gluten free bakery goods. The coffee was great too.

One of the highlight's of the trip was getting to visit Marianne again. We ate at her favorite spot, Cafe Campagne and is was delicious to say the least. Truly felt like a hidden gem, but not too hidden since reservations are a must.

While Marianne and I ate the Mr took the kiddos to Beecher's and had what I heard was the most delicious mac and cheese ever. You can see them make it so that added to the fun.

There was also a donut stand in Pikes Place that the kiddos and Mr loved. It always had a bit of a line so I assume it is a winner.

With The Mr's family we ate at the Crab Pot. It was super kid friendly which was a hit since we had 9 between us all. It's on the pier which made it a little extra fun. Everyone raved about the fish and chips and our waitress was able to guide me on what I could and could not eat on the menu.

BOOTS | HAT | RAIN COAT LAYERED OVER ANOTHER DOWN COAT

Progress not Perfection

Hello 2016! I'm still baffled a whole year has passed yet again. I feel like time is moving at a rapid pace and only gets faster the older I get. I still remember grade school when it felt like a day, week, year would never end. Does anyone else feel this way? We ushered in the new year on the west coast. I can't wait to share some travel tips and the images in the coming weeks. It was just what our little family needed even if 3 out out 4 came home oh so sick. If you have been reading this little ole blog for awhile now you may recall every year I pick a word to focus on. A word that helps better myself in an area I still need work on. This year though I refuse to pick a word. I am deciding my only goal will be to focus on Jesus and as I see it, as His word continually states, then all else will fall into place.

Why no word this year? Five or so years ago my word was spending. I needed to get it under control. I would buy just because. It became a nasty habit. It was also the year our photography business went under an audit by the state and county for not charging sales tax on EVERY shoot we did not just product. We ourselves are product. We sure didn't know. We owed an exuberant amount of money to us and we had to budget beyond what I thought was possible. Of course all shopping, eating out, life as we knew it stopped. Thankfully it was also the biggest photography year we ever had and we shot a wedding almost every weekend and just as quickly handed the cash back over to the state. Three years ago my word was simplify. I was ready to part with so much of what the prior shopping habit left me. I purged well or so I thought. By that August we learned we were moving into our current smaller home and most of our things would not fit. We then left for the Mr's sisters wedding in Colorado and our house flooded while we were gone. So between getting back and moving we had a mere two weeks to get everything straight. I lost a lot which was honestly freeing, sold some of the not destroyed good pieces, and then we gave away most everything else. I would say we downsized our things about 75%. That still baffles me today. All the time wasted looking for things I didn't need or love, all the money wasted that could have been saved, ALL THOSE THINGS. Now last year if you recall I went with the word health. I hadn't felt well in quite some time. It got to the point were it became debilitating at times. Can you guess it? Last year I have never been sicker. I had the flu twice, pneumonia I couldn't kick for months, and got diagnosed with an auto-immune. Let's not forget I also got burned by a hot cup of coffee at a local drive through that sent me to the hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns. During this year I stopped blogging for some time, I stopped most things, I just needed to survive the year.

Now this is only a handful of examples of why no word for me. This year I am just going to live life with one focus and that's on Jesus. I have nothing to perfect for I will never be perfect. Only He is perfect. I will be a work in progress. I am sure I will fail in areas. I am sure I will succeed in many. I am sure there is a year ahead to be lived and that I will do.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life... - John 14:6