Treasures from the Oregon Coast

Memories ... 

our trip to the west coast of the United States

was packed with sweet memories

I have been making a photo book 

in hopes of capturing some of the beautiful times

we shared together.

One of our favourite places was Indian Beach, in Ecola State Park.

The beach was stunning and picturesque, 

and the shifting tide allowed us to spend hours

getting lost exploring tide pools.

Being a homeschool mom, 

I couldn't help but prepare for this much anticipated event,

and I found some tide pool I.D. charts online

{you can see them pinned them here}

I laminated them {to waterproof}

and handed them out before we left home.

The charts came with us to the tides pools,

and were so helpful in identifying the treasures we saw.

From sea stars and anemone to chitons and barnacles,

here are some of our

tide pool treasures...

Here they go, with their tide pool ID sheets, ready to explore! 

Thank you Indian Beach!

Silvia

oh let's be adventurers!

Wow, it has been a while since I've blogged!

During the month of October,

my family and I ventured on a trip down 

the west coast of the United States, 

from Seattle, WA to Huntington Beach, CA.

The trip was a healthy mix of vacation, art and ministry.

and we had a really special time together.

If you have seen the Oregon coast, 

the Redwood forests,

or the Big Sur in California,

you will likely agree with me when I say that 
"spectacular" seems to be a weak word to describe those places.
Perhaps, "awe-inspiring, heart-stirring, magnificent and dramatically spectacular"
would better describe the beauty that sits on the west edge of the continent.
Okay, okay ... I'll stop.

In truth, I am always so drawn to the ocean, 

and I miss it when I've been away from it for too long.

The sheer majesty, the relentlessness of it

communicates deeply to my soul.

I saw a t-shirt once that said,

"adventure is a family value".

I think I'd like to get that t-shirt!

Here are a few of my favourite scenes.
May you be inspired.

May your days be filled with joy and inspiration!

Silvia

a trip to Narnia

Like most of you, my life is super busy. 

It feels crazy sometimes, 

trying to fit so many things in each week,

while longing for a slower pace.

But there are a few things that I wouldn't trade in

our morning times with God

sweet moments of connection with family

time for art and creativity

time spent in nature.

I try to carve out time for this regularly,

when life is calling me to

do more

I know heaven is calling me to 

be more.

I haven't blogged much

{I didn't blog all of May}

I have made time lately

for some of the things I love

{we need to make time for the things we love}

I'll try to show them here in the next few posts.

Recently I spent a few hours with youngest two kids

{while my older two were away for the day}

at one of our favourite, magical spots.

{a friend called it Narnia}

So they did their math, and read their chapters books

{they both happen to be reading the Chronicles of Narnia}

while in Narnia

Inevitably when we are out,

we start collecting.  

{Rocks, sticks, dandelions, anything goes}

There is something wonderful about collecting treasures from natures.

We took most of our treasures home 

and we are in the midst of using them in some fun and useful projects.  

{I'll post more about that another day.}

Lastly, here is a little beauty that stopped long enough for me to snap a few pictures of it:

It was a wonderfully peaceful, happy time,

like water to a thirsty soul.

In our little bit of Narnia.

Silvia

you cannot keep spring from coming

Around here we haven't seen too many signs of spring.  This is pretty much how things look in eastern Ontario:

Piles of dirty, brown-grey snow. We even had 6" of snowfall this past  Sunday. 

{Nooooo!}

This is not the scene we all expect 

{and desire} 

to see when April finally enters the scene!

I'm going to share a funny little bit about myself:

I have a daily reminder on my iPhone to "Notice Nature."

Yup. I remind myself each day to look up, look out, to see. 

I remind myself each day to 

notice 

the glory of creation.

It is a soul-soothing discipline/habit/love.

However, I have to admit that lately it has felt like there isn't too much to notice.

Today, with the weather above freezing, I took my two youngest kids out, 

and we out to look for

spring.

Amidst all that grey-brown, dirty snow, this is what we found:

  

 

 

 

Budding trees, dirty puddles of melting dirty snow, gooey, squishy mud, bits of grass trying to awaken, flowers pushing their way up through the snow 

... beautiful, hopeful signs of spring.

{Welcome Spring. We have all been waiting for you}

 Pablo Neruda once said, "You can cut the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming."

After last Sunday's six inches of snow, 

I used my sketchbook to remind myself that spring was indeed 

still coming...

Happy Spring to you!

Silvia
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