new england adventures || york maine

 

I am so thankful for this Jimmy.  How is it that we have been parents for 15 years all ready?!   I'll never forget how excited he was the moment we found out we were going to be parents.  He was pure excitement, so thrilled!  And I was a little terrified about the permanent new phase of life we were going to be entering.  And then eight months later Ashlyn arrived and I fell head over heels in love with her and with being a mama.

As soon as we knew I was pregnant, Jimmy got to work getting a little nursery all ready over the next many weekends, painting, adding wainscot, helping his dad build a changing table.  One day I came home from work and there was a new rocking chair all wrapped up in a big bow sitting in the room.  And lots of nights when I would walk down the hallway heading to our bedroom, I would find him standing in the little nursery quietly looking around, and he would say "I can't wait until the baby is here!"  He is such a wonderful dad and is adored by all in this household!

To celebrate him on father's day, we made a delicious blueberry lemon crumb cake for breakfast (using this recipe.  it's a good one.) And then after church, we drove up the seacoast a little ways to York, Maine for a picnic and relaxing on our favorite spot overlooking the ocean.

One of things I love most about living near the seacoast is that there are so many picturesque beaches along the New England coastline.  We feel like we are on vacation every weekend!

Quintessential New England here.  And just up around this bend is the Nubble Lighthouse on a tiny rock island.  We went there a few weeks ago and I didn't have my camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it is the prettiest lighthouse I've ever seen!  And the clam chowder at the little cafe is delicious.

 

Jimmy admiring all his handmade cards (Ava Carmel looking on with her 3D glasses. haha!  She wishes she had glasses so bad!), and Ashlyn practicing her TED talk for the 1000th time for part of her English final.  (She spoke on the freedom every single person possesses; inner freedom, or the ability to choose your attitude independent of physical restrictions or circumstances.)  She got an A+ so I'm sure she did a great job!  (They actually give A+'s here and also they grade on a 5.0 GPA, not a 4.0.)  New to me.

But her final exams were intense.  It was a stressful place around here for a few weeks.  She's so glad they're over.  But I think the whole family breathed a collective sigh of relief after her last exam.  When Ashlyn ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!  I was oh so tempted to remind her every ten minutes to practice what she preached in her TED talk.  Teenagers love it when you do stuff like that :/

However I am so impressed with the education she is getting in her high school.  She has become a critical thinker, and her ability to express herself verbally and through writing, and (what I love most) her passion for learning has just taken off since being here. I love that she has become such a thinker and is exposed to ideas that push her mind and cause her to really examine what she thinks, what her life philosophies, opinions and beliefs are.  

Isn't being a parent the most rewarding job in the world?!  It really is like watching a little seed grow and gradually unfold itself leaf by leaf.  Only it's a thousand times more fun :)

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