I mentioned that we often see wildlife on our daily evening walk. A few days ago, I had a staredown with this guy and it pretty much stopped me in my tracks.

It reminded me of one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.

I am reminded that "mourning" or anxiety or the attitude of being downcast is a choice. When instead I choose to put my hope in God and praise Him, everything changes... for the better... in my heart.


PS - It was exactly four years ago that Brandon and I had our engagement portrait session by the waterway in Frederick, MD. It was pretty, romantic and (yes) there was kissing. Because we love each other. Still love each other... and there's still lots of kissing... but anyway, see the photos here!

We were back on the road again on Day 4 of our Baby-on-a-Business-Trip travel extravaganza and I can hardly believe that it went so well. Days 1 and 2, and Day 3 were pretty exhausting, but so glad that we continued because this was my favorite day thus far!



I got smart this time and used the "avoidance" feature on my GPS to avoid highways. It took about 15 minutes longer to get to our destination, but the trek through foggy Pennsylvania backroads and misty green mountains was so worth the extra travel time.



Also, it should be noted that these last few photos were taken on the drive home... when I was not driving (because hey folks, don't text and drive AND don't take photos and drive! Technology ain't worth your life).



I was headed out to meet my sis and the nieces, my sis-and-law and the nephew, and my mom at Ricketts Glen State Park for swimming, picnicking and delicious wonderful summery-esque cousin fun!

Aaaaaand our day turned out TOTALLY different than we expected, for these reasons.

1. Continual drip-dropping rain. The weather man said that the rain would only be happening at 10:00 am. The weather man was wrong. Both my sis and I worked for a weather company years ago, so we know that they are only interested in being "better than the competition," but seriously... nobody else gets it wrong so often and still has a job at the end of the day.

2. Temperatures that hovered around 60 degrees. None of us packed clothes to deal with cool weather. It had been bright and sunny and super-hot the day before (check out my red face pic from our park playdate as proof) and so we were expecting the same.

3. Drained lake and closed beach. The weather really didn't matter too much because there was NO WATER IN THE LAKE. In our defense of visiting a state park under construction, two of us checked the park's website and didn't see the warning about that (it was not on the main page, even though that fact was like, super-important).

4. Being out in the middle of nowhere with no other options. We would have to drive and drive and drive to even get to a McDonald's and even then, no guarantee that there would be a playplace for little ones to plaaaaaaay.



Sooooo.... we decided to make the best of it! If nothing else, we made some fun muddy, cold and interesting family memories!



We found the most dry picnic tables in the middle of the pavilion, spread out some extra tablecloths for play areas and let the littles gallivant.

I loved Guardian's little monkey towel!

Everybody else found blankets and extra towels to stay warm under.... and of course, little girlies turned them into flying capes and costumes and adventuresome accessories.


Wildlife sighting!


After our lunching, we headed over to the visitor center and found a big ol' room perfect for reading, crawling, talking and eating many, many chocolate chip cookies together. There were wildlife and nature exhibits for discovering things, and it was like a summer field trip!


Devereaux discovered a turtle.

And then he totally zoned out, because naptime.


His boy-twin cousin (five months apart!) had decidedly more mobile fun!


The little girlies disappeared behind books in the corner.


Unplanned memories are the best! Before long, it was time to head back towards our hotel. My mom was coming with us so she could take us to the airport the next morning, and so we had a fun afternoon swim in the hotel pool and then she babysat Devereaux so Brandon and I could have a mini-date! It was only about 100 feet away from Grandma's hotel room... we went over to swim in the pool and soak in the hot tub, but the uninterrupted conversation was delightful! It had been a long business trip week for us and there was so much to catch up on.

Then, it was dinnertime and we all enjoyed Moe's Southwest Grill. Yes, it was slightly ironic that we came to PA to eat TexMex, but we really wanted to try it. Moe's didn't disappoint.... TexMex that was similar in style to Chipotle, but with free chips and the COOLEST soda option machines I have ever seen! Devereaux enjoyed many spoonfuls of avocados from Grandma's guacamole.



The Day 5 adventures began with Hampton Inn coffee.

Side note about brand loyalty: My parents are extraordinarily loyal to the Hampton Inn brand. They have stayed in Hampton Inns for years and years, and loooooove them. Brandon and I have become converts to the brand, after trying a few other hotel chains on our trip down south and being wholly unimpressed. We love the cleanliness, friendliness and really...the Hampton Inn's daily breakfast and 24/7 coffee and warm evening chocolate chip cookies are pretty great, too. :D



That's our plane!! Devereaux and I flew on a different plane than Brandon on the way home, and so we did the ticket check-in, security checkpoint and waiting at the gate all by ourselves. Considering Devereaux went through three outfits by the time we actually got on the plane, I was hoping for an uneventful flight.

We sat by a mom and her three sons. I had chosen my seat carefully... last row, right by the restrooms, on the aisle. Ease of movement and less people to worry about. Things were going great, Devereaux was almost nursing to sleeep.... and then, someone walked by and bonked him in the head. Darn it! I spent about 45 minutes going into the bathroom, swaying in the aisle (I waited til the flight attendants went to do drink service and so didn't need to get back my way) and hoping for sleep. Not for me, for the baby! Eventually, he did sleep (praise the Lord!!), but we were sooooo happy to finally arrive and see Daddy.

It was an action-packed, fun-filled, exhausting five days, but we were happy to be back at our summer "home." And Devereaux learned how to do this! BOOYAH!

My answer to driving from our remote area in the northeastern Pennsylvania mountains was to plan a few rendezvous with friends and family in the half-way marker between there and home. Now I may have been a little bit too ambitious with my trip-planning (typical Naomi), or maybe it was just the whole driving-home-late-at-night-with-a-baby that left me resolved to never, ever, EVER do that again. I mean, driving a few hours is no problem during naptime... but other times, not so good. My conclusion: it was a wonderful day with a less-than-wonderful ending, so I will just focus on the wonderful parts! (there's a life lesson for you!)

I met my friend, Katie, and her two boys at a playground in Lewisburg and I gotta say, that was the most amazing looking park I have ever been at. It made me kinda wish that Devereaux was a little bit older so he could truly appreciate it, but those days will come soon enough.

Devereaux can basically swing, and that's what he did... for like five minutes!

 But I am sure it was a very-very-enjoyable five minutes in babyworld and the rest of the time, he hung out on me in the Ergo and napped and woke up and napped some more. Since I am mobile with him hanging onto me, we spent our time following these fine folks around and chattering away.


There was lots of climbing, running and general boy energy!

Hahaha. This kid. He looks about five years old, but he is only three (what?!) and so he liked the big kids playground better. I find him hilarious.





Even with all that fancy-schmancy playground equipment, I kept seeing groups of children running underneath this tree. No doubt -- nature is best.


After our friends left to trek homeward, we spent a little more time on the nearby lawn.

I interrupt these adorable photos to tell you that I eventually got up and left the park... not because I was hot and not because Devereaux was tired,  but because I was within hearing distance of one very obnoxious mother in a cell phone conversation with her husband, and I have never heard such nagging in my entire life. She criticized and berated and complained and mocked him for twenty minutes straight. It was painful to listen to. It was clamorous. It was dissonant and distressing and altogether enlightening. It was a real-life example of selfishness in action, and finally I couldn't take it anymore and I left.

And then I thought about it and prayed for the next few hours and considered my words and my thoughts and my inward attitudes and this Scripture came to mind.

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
Ephesians 4:29-32

It is really easy to reserve our kindness and nice words for everybody else in life, but what a good reminder... nobody deserves those icky words, but the most precious relationship in my life? My husband? He deserves my best. My kindness, my encouragement, my heart-felt tender-hearted grace-giving words. Amen and amen.




Because it was HOT and classically humid, we did a little napping, a totally justified Wendy's Frosty stop and then onward to this destination.

The Country Cupboard is a super-family-friendly restaurant and gift shop destination, the fact that it might be considered "touristy" does not diminish our enjoyment of it in the least.

There was a nice quiet little sunroom where baby + I hung out for a few minutes.


In the greenhouse area, I adored these minuscule accessories for "fairy gardens."

There was even a little Texan flair!

Yes, I like teatime.

This makes me wanna pick berries and spent a hot summer afternoon making delicious jams and jellies.

It's funny... I like to take pictures of pretty things. I don't necessarily like to buy them. My husband rejoices in this little personal quirk of mine! It's great on the budget! Though someday, I'd like a few more of these Old Worlde Christmas ornaments. I have a few from a coworker and they are so glittery and pretty, they are my favorites on the Christmas tree every year.

This was a good reminder.

And these candles must be the reason that Country Cupboard smells so good!


You know how there are some memories in your life that are so vivid, they could've happened yesterday? As the afternoon wore on and we were tired of walking around the gift shop, we found a nice place to sit on the patio and quietness descended. It reminded me of an afternoon I had spent on a patio in DC almost five years ago. I had touristed through the Air & Space Museum with a group of friends --- that included my future husband, and we were at the completely-NOT-dating-but-definitely-silently-interested stage --- and had a few hours to kill before doing my first ever engagement portrait session. So I grabbed some Starbucks and found a patio and thought about life (i.e. Brandon and if my future would ever include him).

So when I spent this summery afternoon on an unexpectedly calm patio, holding my dear baby and wishing that my husband was there sipping coffee with me.... it was an altogether happy moment.



The reason we were "bummin' around" was that we were meeting my brother, his wife and son for dinner... We loved catching up in person, talking a mile a minute and sometimes over the din of two little ones making their prescence known throughout the restaurant with new noises. It was a casual restaurant with an abundance of children, so no one even batted an eye at the noise... though we both left good tips to make up for the crumbs that inevitably found their way on the floor instead of babies' mouths. As for food recommendations: buffet and MAC & CHEESE. Real (not boxed) mac & cheese is my comfort food and I enjoyed it thoroughly!

As you can see, Devereaux likes his Uncle Zeph a whole lot. No photos of Aunt Kelsey, but isn't that the normal thing? Mamas are so busy corraling babies that we can't get in the photos. Like the below pic of Guardian and Devereaux, boy cousins. This is the least-active, least-violent photo we got. In the other ones, they are eating things and reaching for each other and we (myself and Aunt Kelsey) are making sure nobody gets hurt. :)


What a wonderful day!