Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

Ahhhhhh a hike. Is there anything more exhilarating than hiking in cool weather among monstrously tall redwoods?

We decided to hike the Forest of Niscene Marks. Our goal was to hike to the epicenter of the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989. Little did we know it was about 4 miles away!

So we trudged along.

Four leaf clovers to say, “hey, you’re on your way!”

My aha moment was when I was walking along remembering how I used to hike this all of the time. I missed the beauty because I was so focused on my “workout.” This time, I soaked it all in, basking in God’s glory. Wow, God, you made all of this for us to enjoy.

Now, Tot and Doug raced.

C’mon, Dougy! Let’s go!!!!

Tot was pretty fast!!!

See how TALLLLLL and beautiful it is? No Tot sized trees around here.

Just Wow, God.

 

Even the spider webs were exquisite.

We were almost there (we thought)

Well, alas, we had another mile or so to get there, and we still had to turn around and head back. We knew we’d have to carry the Tot if we continued so we promised to return next year.

Onto the famous Gayle’s Bakery, BUT FIRST……My favorite coffee place in the world. Aptos Coffee Roasting where it’s always your personal cup.

And… my new fav: Strawberries dipped in peanut butter

We arrived at Gayle’s for their famous sourdough and wheat raisin rolls. It was worth 30 minute wait of crowd!

We decided to salivate while we waited.

COOOOOKIEEEEESSS!

Then: SUCCESS!

We munched them down all the way to Capitola Beach. We saw my old condo 33 Riverview Ave

and found the perfect spot to park. Then we saw the lifeguards in training. This is a thing you do if you are kiddo growing up in Santa Cruz.

 

Tot was all wet from playing in the water,

so I had to warm her up.

Later, we would stop by my old friend Rocky Snyder. He has his own gym now. We used to rock climb together back in ’93 and ’94. Man, those were good times. I used to be in great shape. Well, I’ll get back!

 

So much fun….

What a great day 2! Tomorrow, surprises in store!!!

 

 

Right after college, I moved to Salinas, CA to begin a job with Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals. This was in 1990, and I had just turned 21. From 1990-2000, I spent time in that whole area ranging from Salinas, Monterey, Carmel, Aptos (which is in Santa Cruz county), Los Gatos, Mountain View, and San Jose. These areas  are truly God’s country with so much green and ocean.

I won’t go into the details of this very colorful time of my life, but I will say that the memories there were very bittersweet: The best of times and the worst of times.

So, I wanted to return and create new memories with my love  (soon to be forever husband) and my little bumby (my other forever love). I found a great beach house through Air B’n’B right on Rio Del Mar beach in Aptos. The weather would be mid 70’s the whole time, so we had to pack smart and with many layered options.

Off we go! We always snap a pic of our parking spot to save us from forgetfulness.

When we boarded the plane, Tatum got to meet the pilots. They both had their iced cappuccino’s so we felt like we were in good hands.

I packed plenty of fun-filled things for us to do on board since I won’t succumb to mindless video watching (unless we are in dire need), so the whole time, Tot and I played with her felt board and Doug read his book. Perfect! Tatum got her pretzels, and she then ordered a round of lime bubble water for us as a bonus. Delish!

These shoes are going to made for our trip very shortly!!!!

We made it!

Let’s GOOOOOOO!

First stop: Scotts Valley. My last condo was there, so we had to visit. 104 Augustine Ct.

Then we hit Soquel and Capitola, and I remembered I lived at 44 Sears Circle as my first house when moving to the area of Santa Cruz. It was a pink house. Now, a light green? Ok.

We then stopped for lunch at Carpo’s. A favorite. They have the best fresh seafood, salad bar, and chicken for pennies and it’s all local folks.

It was time to head to our beach house and check in.  This place is a dream!
The view!!! (Tot took this pic!!! It’s a favorite. Go TOT!!)

 

Check the wind. A bit chilly, eh?

The inside was just a beautiful.

It would be home for 5 days, and it was ideal.

Now, one of the reasons I wanted to return to Aptos was to visit my first church where I became a follower of Jesus. When I attended Twin Lakes Church, I wanted to serve the hungry. I figured a way to do this was to start a food pantry. It was called the “People’s Pantry.”

Well, they are still going strong after 25 years!!! I showed up on their Wednesday distribution day, and Jack Spurlock is still there.

When I arrived, they were given the message of the HOPE of Jesus Christ before the food distribution.

 

They all made me feel so special as the “Founder.”

There is Jack and me.

He was my right hand man for much of it because he could translate to the Spanish speakers which was most of our clientele. The pantry now serves over a million meals a year with a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank! WOW!!!

It was very humbling. All I did was have a little part, and God did the rest with the help of many wonderful people.

Look at all of that food and the crowd. I hope they are blessed by it.

Thank you, Jack for all you do! May God continue to bless PP!

Later, we hit the grocery store and made some dinner for our first night.

Here is the view from the table. Could I get used to this!

I pulled out a new game called HEADBANZ Jr.

It’s a game where you have to guess what is on your headband. Fur or Feathers? Desert? Water, Jungle? etc..

Tot was learning how to put it on.

We all got a bit silly. Enough already!

After a full first day, we were ready for bed. The next morning we had a early hike planned! Sleep with angels, family!

May 24th, 2018, I woke up not feeling very well. For the next two months, I would experience digestive issues beyond what I have ever experienced. The pain, discomfort, bloating, distention and di____a made me weak, listless, and just plain questioning everything about my body. I had been tested and no answers arrived.

What some would consider a curse or maybe a sign since it happened 5 days after I got engaged, I see it now is the best gift of God’s grace that could ever be. Why? Because God had to get my attention. He could have gotten my attention with something serious, but he used something so subtle but life inhibiting that I had to make some changes.

I needed to do ALL OF THIS before I would get married. How else would I change some unhealthy eating habits? It had been years coming, and I had let my health suffer for so long, but I had no idea how serious it was.
Finally, after this bout of 2 months and some tests done, I found out it is all fixable, but with me making some major dietary changes. Ones that would rock my eating world and would challenge everything in me.

This was all for my love. This was all for my daughter. This was all for my future happiness.

Now, I stand confident and ready to face these new challenges. I am so grateful to HIM for this.

Look at my hope with her….

with him….

The future has such promise now.

Driving on our date, I spotted an eagle.

It was a sign of hope. I had never seen such beauty.

 

Thank you God for a second chance and new life.

July 24th, exactly 2 months later, I’ll start on some new medicines to help me. I am so excited to see where God will take me and all of us!

Always love to smile at church.

Tot loves her Grandmama!

Five year olds and the performing of Beatle’s songs. What could be more adorable and cool?

I signed her up for one more week at Phoenix Theater. She already has done Disney, Minnie Mouse (last year) and Wizard of Oz this year. This would be my favorite!

We got her a cute haircut.

She practice with her animals in bow ties.  Note she is conducting from  the upside down position.

And she practiced herself.

She’d perform Yellow submarine and All you need is love.

We practiced her lines and she was ready to go.

SHOWTIME!

Jesus and Osiris would be her teachers again.

She was ready for her line:
We are in a submarine!

Now, she is ready to go!

Vivacious, courageous and bold. I love it!
Then they sang “All you need is love”

Her line: “Raise your right had and repeat after me!”

Encore!!!

So proud of you Tot!

Thank you again to Jesus and Osiris.

Hopefully we’ll see you next year.

 

 

This morning, Tot and I hit Sprouts to grab something for me to eat, and the checker gave her a balloon. Not just any balloon, folks. This massive orb took over my car. (Thanks, checker man!). OK, I didn’t want to be a fun squasher, so I let her take it in the car.

Later that day, she chose to set it free to be….be free with the other lost balloons in the sky. (Thank you, Jesus!)

OK, mommy, I’m ready.

SMOOOOOCH.  

Be freeeeeeeeee!!!

Wait, are those clouds coming in??

How will the balloon survive?????

Later, it stormed like the house was going to fall in. We stopped worrying about the blue beastie balloon and worried about Snuggle Bug. He was shivering more than I ever have seen him shiver.

The house was dark and the storm raged. Coti hid, and I had to retrieve him so we could snuggle on the bed with him.

It’s going to be OK, little guy.

Whoooooooooooo. The balloon might not have survived, but Coti made it through. Tot wanted to know why God was doing this? Good question, but somewhere a farmer is rejoicing. God has a purpose for this and we will find the silver lining. Storms always have a way of making flowers come later.

 

Every other Sunday, I volunteer in Tatum’s class at church. It’s always fun to color and model Jesus love with the kids. It sounds so easy doesn’t it?

Simple not easy.

OK, so this week, Nixon showed up in her class. He has been at Paradise for Tots with her since she was 3.

He now wears glasses, towers over her, and is still so in love with her.

Today, he sat down while Tatum made her some delicious plastic morsels of food. She “served him” and then she asked about his day. So, Nixon, tell me how are you doing? How is your day? Would you like some more milk? 

Honestly, it was adorable to watch her be such a lady and he was such a gentleman. Five years old. 

Oh the joy.  (Now, let’s just keep it at this stage, K? Not ready for the rest!)