The Sacred in the Ordinary: 2014

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Beautiful Winter

Just a few snapshots of the beauty in and around MorningStar Retreat Center

White Pine Linear Trail State Park

A distant Hobbit Hut and the Peeper Pond

Snow-capped labyrinth bell

Suspended ice crystals

Friday, December 19, 2014

Thursday, December 18, 2014

A Contemplative Waits in Peace-Laden Darkness

Approaching Winter Solstice, even the hours of light are without clear vision.

Fog condensed on every needle neither waits nor hurries.

Each droplet simply IS ... NOW.

Though the time of light will come, its emergence will be sacredly slow.

Patience

Peace

Celebration of what is.

So be it!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Wonderful Weekend

Saturday was very rainy, so a good day for inside play.

Water play in the sink...

Duplo blocks. Two garages with doors and an airplane!

And of course, nap time.

Sunday - Happy One Month Birthday, Travis!

The forecast was for a repeat of Saturday - very rainy, but that's not what happened. So we "hopped" in the car. We've decided that we could make a commercial for Honda:

"Has your Honda Civic gotten too small now that you have two kids? Too small to squeeze Grandma in for your family outings? Move on up to the Odyssey. With seating for eight, Grandma will have room for both her shoulders and Grandpa won't have to ride in the trunk anymore!"

And we headed to Carkeek Park for some hiking and play time.

Through the temperate rain forest and over Pipers Creek...

Through the wetlands... Full of crows cawing and Katelyn calling...

And over the railroad bridge to Puget Sound!

This is one of the better of 20+ shots I took of the family. The one in the middle likes to wiggle!

Nature's art everywhere.

Then to the playground. The Bubble Man was visiting; how fun!

And the most important aspect of this playground, the Salmon Slide!

A spiral slide, of course.

And, well, Travis thought about as much of this park as he did of the museums. But I know it will be a blink of an eye, and he'll be keeping up with his big sister.

A tremendously long train came by and snaked along the coast. These are the tracks I will ride on when I make my train trip to Seattle sometime in the future. The thought makes my heart sing! So much beauty to behold!

After a delicious lunch at the Asian Thai restaurant, we headed home for a lovely nap. After that it was building time again while Karen and Travis continued to nap and Todd planned dinner. This time, Katelyn and I built airplanes, hangers, a runway, and an air traffic control tower. On the runway, waiting for take off.