huntington summer evenings

Last night kicked off the Huntington's summer series of picnic's with live music.

I have a long standing love for the Huntington Library.

My parents gifted a membership to my husband and me after our son was born.
And my mom saw that I was struggling, a lot.

That child had colic for about seven months.

There were food allergies and diagnosis' of 'failure to thrive.'

My journey into new mommy-hood wasn't an easy one.

He was three weeks early and I literally worked till the day before he was born.

My water broke at 4 a.m. Saturday morning.

That day we were supposed to go to a wedding.

The next day, my work baby shower.

But the Lord and our little guy, they had other plans.

Which were exciting, and glorious, and filled with life changing blessings.

But without a network of mom friends.

In fact, I knew NO moms at all.

And suddenly home all day,  I felt very much like I was losing

every sense of self I had with a baby that cried nearly round the clock.

I am totally digressing right now.

Back to the point.

The Huntington Library.

That membership in 2002.

Well it was my lifeline.

We would walk through their gardens.

My baby would be mesmerized by the trees, the light, the shadows, the air.

And I, I felt like a grown up.

It was a beautiful time.

I instantly feel peaceful here.

It has been a constant through the years.

No matter what season.

We've studied, and learned, and run, and played.

We've celebrated birthdays, brought friends, and kicked off the holidays with special events.

It was the first big field trip we took out of the house when my third was just a week old.

In order to let the other two explore.

Here's a little trip down memory lane....
Sorry I couldn't help myself, but trust me when I say it could be waaaaay worse.
I didn't even break into the pretty nature pics.
But at least you'll get a tour of some of the grounds.

To say we love it here, is an understatement.

It holds special memories.

Memories that I love we're still creating.