Blessed Summer

Yay! We have sunshine...finally.  I hate having to defend my city from its own reputation as a rainy one, especially during years like this when the entire spring was wrought with...you guessed it, rain! sigh.

Anyhow, we are making the most of the sunshine.  On Sunday, we took the Aquabus to church, an excursion that proved remarkably easy and also a lot of fun.  Hubbs is taking Baby Loquacious out for daily walks during his lunch break, and in the evening or late afternoon, we are basking in the sun as a family on a grassy knoll in the park.  Actually, Hubbs and I are basking.  Baby L is safely resting inside her brand new BabyMoov sunshade.  It's a brilliant piece of work, really; the thing "pops" into place and offers her some shade since she's still too young to use sunscreen.  The little "tent" is actually big enough for one of us to fit inside with her, and offers me the protection needed for me to discreetly nurse her on the grass.  One of our best purchases, hands down.

We're actually contemplating buying a larger version of this at Cdn Tire.  I'm thinking ahead to Hawaii and our many trips to Waikiki Beach; though I love me some sunshine, I'm not one to want to stay there indefinitely without a shady reprieve, and this one that I'm considering is large enough (8'x5') to fit all three of us inside.

Our other possible purchase is the Coleman Instant Beach Shade, which isn't quite as easy to assemble and take down, and is a bit smaller, but has rave reviews on Ama.zon. 



With all of this gorgeous sunshine in the week's forecast, and the bright warm rays streaming into our living room, Hubbs and I couldn't help but think about what life would have been like if we had not moved to this new condo.  I mean, it was brutally hard to move with a 3-month old and had it not been for my wonderful in-laws and our fabulous friends, the move wouldn't have happened.  But if we were still living in that small 2-bedroom, a few things would have been different.

* We'd never make it to the park.  Our closest park was Stanley Park but it was still quite a few minutes of walking to get there.
* Hubbs wouldn't be so inclined to go on daily walks with Baby L, since our former neighborhood was not stroller-friendly (or family-oriented, period).
* We would have melted, because our old place had the worst circulation and windows that barely opened (vs. our new place, which has an excellent cross-breeze and many windows that tend to pick up the breeze from outside).
* We wouldn't be able to own the baby gear that we have; our current place has double the living room floor space of our previous home, plus now Baby L has her own room.

All in all, we count our blessings this beautiful summer.  Not only because it's our first summer with a happy, healthy Baby L, but because God has provided for our needs more than we deserve or have any right to have.  Our home is in the best neighbourhood for families, and we have super easy access to the parks and the water (the Aquabus is less than 5 minutes away, walking).  Our building is kid-friendly and so is the entirety of the area (strollers abound).  Our place is so well-ventilated and cool (even on a scorching hot day) that we no longer need our portable A/C unit and will probably be giving it away the moment someone speaks up and takes it.  We are humbled by the love that He has already poured out on us, and the grace that He continues to give our imperfect little family.  Praise the Lord.