My Birthday

My birthday was the 5th, and we went to the beach. The weather wasn't nearly as warm as I would have liked, but other than that, the day was perfect. We went to Cannon Beach, and played and ate a picnic lunch. Then we explored the town, and drove down the coast for a few miles. We found a little dirt road that led up a hill to a cliff overlooking the ocean. There was just enough room for our car, and barely enough room to turn around when we left. The girls had fallen asleep by that time, so D explored the hillside. I laid a towel out on the ground and did yoga, meditated and prayed while watching the waves. So relaxing!


L kept laying down in the sand and "swimming."



Playing in the sand.




E running around on the beach. As you can see, E was the only one in a swimsuit. In fact, she was the only person on the entire beach not in a sweatshirt! :) She wore it from home, and we thought that once she got there and got cold, she'd put on some clothes. After about an hour, as we were walking back to the car and it started to rain, she decided to get dressed.



D buried E in the sand.



A rare shot- I'm not behind the camera!







Cannon Beach



Cannon Beach looking the other direction.



On the way home, we saw the sign for Cooterville. This is the Cooterville City Hall. Aparently it's also the antique/junk store.


We got a good laugh out of this!

Yoga and Meditation

I used to do yoga and meditation a lot. That and writing a lot is what kept me sane in high school. It was the only way I could slow down and relax. I've done it off and on for the last few years, and it feels so good when I get back into a routine. Tonight, after the girls fell asleep, I did yoga for about an hour. I started with a dvd I got from the library. It was slow, relaxing yoga to get ready for meditation. After I meditated for a while, I did a harder yoga workout. I feel so loose and limber now, and my mind feel so quiet. It's great!

I know the idea of meditation is scary to some people. They think of opening up your mind to allow anything in. The type of meditation I do isn't like that though. Part of yoga is meditation- I focus on my breath and am aware of each muscle in my body. It's nice to close out the rest of the world for a while and just be aware of how I am moving, which muscles are tense, consciouly relaxing tense spots and moving a little deeper into each pose with each breath.

Then I sit for a while and meditate. Sometimes I focus on just being aware of everything going on around me in that moment. Tonight I listened to my breath, and the sound of the girls breathing as they slept. The muffled sound of D's game coming from the other room. Then wind and traffic outside. I was aware of the changes in light, the smell of the carpet and lingering scent of dinner. I noted the feel of the yoga mat beneath me and that the room was a little cold.

Sometimes I meditate on a thought or Bible verse or prayer. Today felt really hectic and crazed, so with tonight being the start of Shabbot, I wanted to go into it relaxed and centered. I meditated on a prayer for Yeshua to cover me in comfort and peace and that I would spread that to my family.

I'm really going to try to build it back into my daily routine. When I'm doing yoga and meditation every day or at least a few times a week, I find it so much easier to relax "on demand" when I feel myself getting irritated or life getting too hectic. It really helps me be more aware and in the moment with E, too.