Berry Picking Date with Peter :)

Peter and I had such a great time spending the day together last week. We drove out to Sauvie's Island to pick berries. After picking berries we decided to go out for lunch. Since the restaurant wasn't open yet, and I was craving a "Drunken Ham" sandwich at this restaurant, we decided to kill some time and go to Starbucks and make out a grocery list - pretty exciting! The restaurant finally opened, and I was sad to find out that they took my favorite sandwich off the menu. I ordered some pretty bad macaroni and cheese, but Peter really enjoyed his hamburger with lots of guacamole :) It was so nice just getting away for the day and hanging out together. With all of our berries we picked, I made some marionberry jam and a marionberry crisp. After we ate the crisp we decided that we just had to share it with my parents, so we drove over to their house with some warm crisp and vanilla yogurt. It was a very fun day!

Counting Our Blessings

Over the past few weeks we have experienced several health challenges. My mom was in the hospital for a few days this week and needed a blood transfusion, and they are still trying to figure out what the cause of the internal bleeding is. Peter had a prostate biopsy, and, thank God, they did not find any cancer. For one week I was really sick with swollen glands, fever, rash, exhaustion, etc. and have been dealing with swollen glands and low energy for a total of 2 1/2 weeks. After many tests, the doctor thinks it is a weird virus which is much better than something serious! Yesterday, my glands finally started to feel much smaller which I'm so excited about as the doctor said that he would have to biopsy them if they were swollen for four weeks. Through all of this, I'm trying to figure out what God wants me to learn. I know that He is always wanting to help me learn something amazing through every situation I experience. Maybe he wants me to learn that each day really is a gift - it is a gift to be able to get up each morning, spend time reading my Bible and getting my strength for the day. It is a gift to not be sore when walking down the stairs and being able to go to the gym to exercise. It is a gift to be able to walk around the block without feeling tired. It is a gift to be able to drive the kids to all the places they need to go during the week. It is a blessing to be able to go out on a date with Peter (which we did today for 5 hours!). It is a gift to pick up the phone and talk to my parents, to hear how they are doing. It is a gift to have the energy to go grocery shopping, to stand in long lines, and to unload the groceries when we get home. It is also a blessing to be able to encourage others when they are in need of some encouragement. Kelsey and Maggie reminded me of this when they decided to make Mom a sign and some cupcakes after she got home from the hospital. We all definitely experience challenging times, but I am so grateful to know and fully believe that God always works for the good in every situation.

Dad's Birthday

We celebrated Dad's birthday this week by grilling pizzas and making smores in their backyard. The pizzas turned out delicious - we will definitely be making them again soon. Peter and Sam were great sports standing out in the rain while barbecuing the pizzas (it started pouring just as we all arrived for the party!)

Forest Park

We took a 4th of July hike in Forest Park - it was beautiful! We took a downhill trail for quite awhile and then realized that we had better turn around and start heading back because the whole rest of the way would be uphill! Walking back was definitely a good workout. I loved watching Conner and McKenzie walk arm-in-arm :) We then went to Pizza Schmizza for pizza and cold drinks!

Time with the Hearings

Kelsey invited Sara over for a sleepover, so we thought it would be fun for the whole family to stay for dinner when they dropped her off. Earlier in the day, Emma and I made a cheesecake that we needed to share. We had also gone strawberry picking so we wanted to have strawberry lemonade which I hadn't made yet this summer! Peter grilled up some food, so we had a great dinner. After dinner Mary, Sam, Peter, and I played Farkle while the kids played ladder golf and soccer in the backyard. I was quickly beating everyone in Farkle, so we decided to play to a higher score. Then Sam came from behind and almost won. Peter then almost won on his last turn, but Mary came from behind on her last roll and beat us all - I can never beat her in games!! I guess we should have only played to 5,000 :)

BEAUTIFUL Day at the beach

Cannon Beach was absolutely beautiful today! McKenzie's friend, Emma, is staying with our family for 15 days. She is a very good friend who moved to Indiana last summer. Before she left last year, I took the girls to the beach and we took tons of pictures. We did that again today and we all had a great time. For lunch I dropped them off at Mo's, and I went to my favorite coffee shop for soup, a cookie, and coffee. It was nice quiet time after driving for over an hour with their music blaring :) I also got to spend time reading, knitting, and just enjoying the sun while the girls ran around on the beach. It was a perfect day!!