A Cool Breeze and a Warm Mug

Oh, how I love the Pacific Northwest! Each day I am reminded of what a beautiful place this is. This morning I went running with a friend along one of the trails in Forest Park. It was very wet, alternating between a heavy mist and larger droplets of rain. We got very wet, but that was part of the fun! The forest was beautiful and sparkling, the water whispered as it trickled down the rocks and through the underbrush, and the creek made noises so soothing, I wanted to make my home right there! I love that we live in a place where the forest is so carefully preserved. All we have to do is drive a few miles down the road to escape from suburbia and find the magic of the forest.

Running in the forest was a great way to finish this week's activities. This was my second week of grad school classes at Lewis and Clark. I am finding my classes to be interesting and challenging, even though the only assignments I've had to complete so far have been readings. I look forward to the papers I will have to write, although I do feel the pressure to do them well. I want to impress my professors, but more than that, I want to use my time wisely so that I am able to learn as much as I can about the subjects I feel are most important to me. We have a little bit of freedom to choose our research topics, and I hope I will choose ones that will be challenging and rewarding as well.

My family is being extremely supportive right now. I am doing my best not to let my school work interrupt my family life, and so far I am doing pretty well. Although, I must give my husband serious props for helping out with the laundry. He is also working things out so that he can be home most days when I am in school, so that our kiddos will have a parent tucking them in each night when they go to bed. I feel so blessed each day when I think of all that I have. I love my family, my school, the beautiful place I live, and the fact that I am healthy enough to enjoy all these things at once.

As I write this right now, I am listening to my kids play nicely together in the other room. I hear the sounds of the dishwasher, the clicking sounds of the coffee maker as it warms my Teeccino (herbal coffee, containing no coffee beans) and a basketball bouncing in the neighbor's driveway. I feel the cool, moist breeze coming in through the windows, the kind of breeze that tells me it will be a perfect evening to curl up with a textbook, a blanket and a warm mug. How blessed I am to have the life I do. I only hope I will put it to use in the best way possible.

End of Summer Means New Beginnings

     It's incredible. I cannot believe that summer is already over! Today is Labor Day and tomorrow is the start of the 2009-2010 school year. Hailee's birthday was just this past Sunday, and she is starting 1st grade this year as a 7 year-old. Carlitos is going to miss her, I can tell. When Hailee stayed over at Grandma's house recently, he kept asking, "Where's Hailee?" and "Where'd Hailee go?" I look forward to some one-on-one time with him during the day, but I guess I'll have to set up some playdates too. He is so social! Hailee is excited about her class this year. First grade means back to a full day of school, which will be a challenge, but I think this change is going to be great for both my kiddos.

     I am also really excited to be starting school again, although I am quite anxious about it. Having completed my undergraduate degree at Portland State University, which has an average enrollment of greater than 24,000, part of my anxiety comes from the fact that there are only about 20 students in this year's cohort at Lewis and Clark College's Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy Masters program. I can't wait to get started and lose all this fear of the unknown. I am so excited to be attending Lewis and Clark, too. I'm sure it's going to be amazing.

     My dear husband is working hard to support us and allow us to have the life we have, and I am so grateful. I am also so thankful that my children are growing strong and healthy. I get so much excitement out of seeing them grow and change. I am thankful for all of my blessings, and I look forward to what life will bring.