Life, According to Daniel, age 5

There are 7 kids in my living room right now, watching Zootopia. And JD’s asleep upstairs, so only 3 of those kids are mine. (But man, did JD NEED a nap. He was crying over every little thing. Note to adults: when you’re crying over everything, and the sky is falling, go take a nap!) They are watching Zootopia. It sounds hilarious. It’s officially summer. Listen to the snack I gave them: a plate full of corn on the cob, […]

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Darling Photos of Seal Moms and Babies

  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. […]

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20 More Breathtaking Photos of Carmel Valley and Monterey, California

Right now Daniel is washing his hands after his hour-long worm hunt. All he found was a slug, which he tried to bring into my house. Joshua put a hard stop to that. What would I do without Joshua? JD is upstairs NOT napping. Caleb and Joshua are outside playing with a friend. I’m chugging coffee in a last ditch effort to hold on to wakefulness. A friend of mine is out walking, trying to coax her labor pains into a […]

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Field Trip Week: Rose Gardens and Santa Lucia Preserve

We declared last week “Field Trip Week”, and had ourselves a grand ol’ time. We visited the aquarium, a beautiful rose garden, a robotics show, and Santa Lucia Nature Preserve. The big boys practiced their lines for their upcoming end-of-year parent night, we squeezed in a few math lessons, read a few books, and welcomed Nonna and Aunt Janet to town. *************** Now for stop two on our Week of Adventures: Santa Lucia Preserve This place, located in Carmel Valley, […]

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A Whittle Adoption Story

Lately a few of my buddies have started something. It’s happened a few times over the years. I always get so excited when one of my real life friends starts…. A BLOG!!! I’m telling you, it’s the funnest thing, blogging. You don’t understand. You all are able to keep up with me, but I have the hardest time keeping up with YOU, unless you have a blog or update social media regularly. Katerina was one of my “park mom” friends […]

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Life gets really fun once you get over yourself.

Life is so much more fun when you quit worrying about what others think of you. It’s not about “me” anyway. The other week I sang a solo at church. It used to make me ridiculously nervous. Why does it make us nervous to do something we love in front of other people? Because there are people! And they are watching! And what if your hair is messed up, or there’s lipstick on your teeth, or you miss a note? […]

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Update on my Pain Battle: Things are getting better!

      Today I went to my very first cardiology appointment ever. It was both helpful and confusing at the same time. My cardiologist thinks all of my pain and heart issues are probably related. Structurally, my heart looks superb, but the beat and the blood pressure are too high. She thinks this may be autoimmune in nature. And then she said two things I would rather have not heard. Don’t worry, it’s actually kind of funny: “No exercise […]

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Bring it on, 2016!

After a 19-day vacation to see our folks, it warmed our hearts to find this in our driveway when we returned. What a hug to come home to this sweet driveway art! Our friends did this for us while we were away. Isn’t it funny how it’s the little things like this that make our days bright and cheery? And oh, while vacation was fun, it is always wonderful to be “Home Sweet Home”. Joshua, Caleb, and a buddy of […]

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My One of a Kind MawMaw and Her Secret for Happiness

The other day, as I dug through the books on my shelves, I came across a book I have thought of a lot lately, a book like no other. It’s the little book of Poetry, written by my grandmother, BHK. We’ll call her Beth. Beth died when I was 16, of breast cancer. Her death was one of those that didn’t sit well with anyone. No one said, “Well, it was just her time to go.” Everyone was more like, […]

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“Doesn’t JD make your heart smile?” It’s a quote post!

Alan, Caleb, and JD were in the kitchen eating cookies. I don’t know what JD said, but Caleb looked up at Alan and said, “Doesn’t JD make your heart smile?” We all definitely smiled. Caleb has also recently taken up saying, “ain’t.” He uses it correctly (if there is such a thing), but it took me by surprise. We don’t say ‘ain’t,’ nor does anyone that he knows in California. My suspicions lie with Granddaddy, but that’s okay. Caleb has […]

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