What a Wonderful World

As my darling man and I visit parks and green spaces this summer, I am amazed at God's creation. I have also been purposing to reach out to people more. At the bus stop, in my music class, at the grocery store-- just to stop and recognize that they are a person worth noticing and connecting with. What a wonderful world of creation He has designed!

Temperatures are rising!

Summer is in full swing here in Houston. With temperatures reaching the high 90's, 100% humidity, and 105-115 degree "feels like" temperatures, we are enjoying the sweltering sun. Actually, that's true. My darling husband and I have been exploring the parks around our new area. We live near the coast, so most of the parks we have gone to have water-- so beautiful!

My favorite park as of right now has several walking trails (cemented and beaten paths), wooded bridges leading to overlooks, large hills, and a little lake. Oh, and it has snakes! Yikes! We were walking on one of the beaten paths, and a snack slithered across right in front of us. I screamed and lovingly pushed my husband around me. haha :-)

Animals taking over!

We have also experienced an animal take over. Since moving to our new home, we have had the privilege of living in two cats' and, until recently, four dogs' home (three dogs now). ;-) They have been so much fun to pet and play with, though.

Mia was recently given away. :-( She was our favorite.

Wait a second....

That's not right. We're not living with bison! These bison live on a natural preservation site near our home. They were obviously extremely uncomfortable in the heat. We were surprised that, although the preservation site has hundreds of acres of land, these bison were confined in a relatively small area. The only shaded area is where they are in the picture.

Other fun things:

My darling man and I have been outside a lot the past few weeks. The other night we grilled chicken, a vegetable medley, and wild boar sausages. We usually do not eat pork, but good friends of ours gave us a package of the sausage and said we had to try it. The pork was actually very delicious!

Two assignments in my music for children summer class are to attend classical music concerts. We love classical music, so the task is not too great. ;-) See the shadows in the picture? The shadow of the man on the left is my darling man! The shadow of the woman holding the camera next to him is me! Cool.... ;-)

My cousin Aarilyn was dedicated at church recently. She is such a sweet, happy baby. Every time I hold her, though, she seems to fall asleep.... *Boring, cousin Raquel.* haha

Finally....

I mentioned in my May update that I had walked with the Spring graduates during our commencement ceremony. Here is a picture from after the ceremony. We ate with family at Johnny Carino's for lunch. My grandparents, aunt and uncle, and Zac's grandfather, mom and step-father joined us.

I must "away" to my summer class. I have more pictures to upload and a more thorough update on my handsome husband and I to post tomorrow.

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel