Happy Mother’s Day! What better to share on this treasured day than some adorable seal mom and pup pairs from my favorite spot in the world, Point Lobos State Park.

This particular beach is not a seal hang-out for most of the year. However, when it comes time to birth babies, late winter/early spring, this tiny beach, completely surrounded by rock cliffs, becomes a true seal nursery. This is NOT a zoo. This is the real world, animal style.

ALL of these photos were taken by Aunt Janet, photographer extraordinaire.

This first mom and pup pair are the funniest. This little fella’ was rambunctious, robust, and ready to do some more swimmin’. Mama was trying to take a nap, and he kept sneaking off to the ocean.

She’s trying to rest, but off he goes…

Still going….Even for animals, some little ones are just tougher to raise than others.

Bet you’ve never seen a seal run, but this Momma did. She cut him off at the pass, barking up a storm at the little rascal.      “Nope! We are NOT going back out to the ocean. You don’t know what you’re doing. You are shark food. Now get back up on that beach, lay down, drink your milk, and take a nap. Don’t you go sneakin’ out to this water again without me, you hear. Bark bark bark bark bark!!”

Here she is, at the top of the photo, leading that baby back on shore. She had to keep holding him down with her little flipper.

This momma had a younger, smaller pup to bring in, and she just didn’t have her job figured out yet. Poor little pup was trying so hard to beach herself, but the waves kept washing her back out to sea.

Oops. There goes baby again. Mom needs to learn to get behind her.

nursing seal baby

Every few minutes, you see another momma and baby seal coming in or going out. I could have watched all day, but I had taken a few elementary school boys with me who could only enjoy it in 5 or 10 minute increments.

If I were a seal, I’d hang out here too. Actually, I’m not a seal, and I still like hanging out here.

Look closely to see the baby seal on the momma seal’s back.

This Mother’s Day is coming at perfect timing for me. I have felt a little down lately, mostly due to my mystery low-grade fevers. They zap my energy, and leave me feeling confused and a little hopeless.

But Mother’s Day reminds me of my most basic and happiest job. I am first and foremost a mom, and I am tickled pink to be Mom to our four precious sons. I always considered myself a “girly-girl”, so it’s ironic to me that I am now the mom with the baseball nails, trying to learn basketball lingo, and passing rules about not bringing slugs into the house. When I brush everything else aside, every other worry, every other commitment or hobby, this is the job that I most cherish: being wife and mom. I was never so happy as I am when I’m being mom.

-Wiping noses

-Trying to convince JD to poop on the potty.

-Reading These First Four Years to Joshua and Caleb

-Reading Green Eggs and Ham to Daniel and Caleb

-rocking JD in the rocking chair

-pushing them in the swings

-cooking their dinner

-buying their clothes

-hugs and kisses

-talking through their problems

-teaching them about Jesus and praying with them

-watching them play baseball

Oh, I love it all so much. What a wonderful gift to be entrusted with. I hope I can walk worthy of this calling.

And I’m thankful I don’t have to go it alone, like the seal mommas.

This guy makes being a mom more doable and more fun. I could not do this without Alan.

Mother’s Day is a reminder for me this year. It’s a reminder of how blessed I am. Healthy or not, I have a glorious life, full of purpose and every good thing. I must remember to be thankful and always share with others what I have. I am renewed with joy. What a blessing.

I better get to sleep. Alan and Caleb are making me french toast in the morning, and I’m super excited. I say Alan and Caleb, but they will probably all insist on helping.

Happy Mother’s Day, y’all!

The post Darling Photos of Seal Moms and Babies appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

We’re having Field Trip Week at Pacific Christian School.

See, Alan is out on Fall break, so the timing is perfect for maximum family fun.

First, let me tell you about Abalonetti! This place has an exciting local’s menu, food that every single one of my children like (as in yes, they have pizza), and delicious sea food.

I’m the kind of person that picks a favorite restaurant and then stops going to all other places. I have now picked my place. Every time I get to eat out in Monterey, this is where I will be.

But you didn’t come here to read about where to find the best calamari, so let me show you what else we’ve found.

We had the sweetest family evening. After eating at Abalonetti, we walked around the wharf gawking at seals and sea lions. John David was so delighted with it all. I didn’t think we’d get him home without a struggle. However, we managed to just stand around and soak it in long enough to satisfy even J.D.

It is a pet peeve of mine for people to call seals “sea lions,” and vice versa, so let’s review:

The plain brown ones with long flippers and ear flaps are sea lions.

The multi-colored (mostly gray) ones with short flippers and no ear flaps are harbor seals.

Now that we have that settled, I have so much more to show you!

JD was so cute about it. One seal popped up, and he pointed and said, “Mama”, then he pointed at the next one and said, “Daddy”, and then the next one, “Baby.”

Now onto our day at sea! This was a different day, and we left the two small boys with Nonna.

Monterey Bay is eaten up with humpback whales right now. I’ve never seen so many in one place. Everywhere we would turn around, there was another couple of whales either nearby or in the distance. We probably saw 20 different humpbacks.

We boarded in Monterey, but then we had to ride the boat 45 minutes (ish) to the water off Moss Landing, where all the whales are.

There was a mega-pod of long-beaked common dolphins out in force, and watching them made my day. I have never seen so many dolphins at one time, literally over 100.

Good-bye dear Pacific!! In the spring, Daniel will turn five, and we will be back out there for another ride.

The post A Day at Sea with the Dolphins and the Whales appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I’m not saying that I’m happy my son broke his arm, but you have to admire his all-in-spirit.

It reminds me of that quote from Finding Nemo:

Dori tells Marlin, the helicopter dad, “Well, you don’t want nothing to EVER happen to him, because then nothing would EVER happen to him.”

Simple joys. Beauty inspires happiness.

Never underestimate the power of beauty.

Togetherness

Kitchen Picnic (and hands colored with markers)

Dan’s new buddy kept shooting him with Nerf bullets, so I helped him load up his own Nerf gun and sent him back out there.

Our free-spirited JD REALLY hates wearing shoes.

Granddaddy and Nana mailed the boys new Legos. It was the biggest deal ever.

This Spiderman mask has been hanging on this picture for at least a week now. I was walking past it and just found it amusing. Looks like the work of Caleb.

Joshua hiding in my messy school closet and playing video games. If you had three brothers, you’d hide too.

Every morning. Beautiful mess.

Just cuteness.

Dressing them alike was easy. Getting a great photo, not so fast.

Alan and a few other dads took their kids on a hike.

Step 1 in planning my new schedule: listing all the things I want to do everyday. It’s completely unrealistic, but this is my 1st draft. I’d like to schedule in more prayer and walk time. Don’t worry. The boys do more school work than is listed here. This is only the parts that I have to do WITH them. This is my part alone.

“I want Nana to see my new book bag. Can you see it?”

Most exciting beach day ever! Gutsy whale to come that close to shore!

humpback whale—Look how close!!!

He just kept swimming back and forth and back and forth.

He started yelling, “Beach!! Beach!!!” as we neared the ocean. Cloud 9!

We couldn’t find little plastic shovels and buckets in the house, so we brought a pot and a real shovel. Done. The kids were quite happy.

Ok. We did find the one little blue plastic shovel.

Beauty!

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.”   —Mother Teresa

The post Messy is the New Beautiful Photoblog appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Caleb is holding up one of the millions of anchovies (I think?). Where there are fish, there are predators! Look at the ground! See the fish, hoping for a wave to push them back out to sea!

So this weekend our Classical Conversations group got together for a beach bonfire over in Monterey Bay.

PBS and BBC are also in Monterey filming Big Blue Live, which hits t.v. Monday, August 30. You can bet we will be watching. They are here to film the incredible wildlife that is in the bay this time of year.

Can you imagine our excitement when a humpback WHALE decided to join our bonfire and provide the evening’s entertainment?

My friend Amy took this video, and she said I could share it with my friends and family. Enjoy!! This creature swam back and forth all evening, feasting on the bay full of sardines. Just click on the blue video link below, and it will play:

Video

The post Our Very Own Big Blue Live: Whale Video appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.