2010

hello 2010.
i am counting on you.
counting on you to bring about a strong sense of well being.
a renewed sense of self confidence.
a deep restoration of humor.
a sense of ease and wistfulness.
a transformation of sorts.

of course dear 2010, i do not expect you to do this alone.
i commit to doing my part of the work too. i just need you
to provide me with the time. provide me with each day a
sunrise and each night a sunset- giving me that constant
daily rythmn of lifes lightness and darkness- a literal and
figurative message that penetrates me so profoundly.
i commit to holding this lightness and darkness as part
of the whole. i will continue to take the good with the bad
and know that it is this whole that brings about growth and
understanding. i welcome the lessons i will learn this
year while holding strong that i am capable to handling
all of it.

hello 2010, i open up my arms and embrace you.

happy "two" you

happy to you teo.

today you are two and while i am enjoying every moment of watching you grow and change and bare your personality, i find myself feeling like the fleeting moments of your babyhood vanished before my very eyes. you are a full fledged toddler with a growing vocabulary to prove it. i had always heard that boys speak later and with less clarity than girls and since your sister proved to follow suit in that "advanced girl way", i sort of expected to not hear so much jabbering from you. but this proves not to be the case. you can talk it up with the best of 'em. i am amazed by what you say and understand. it is not a new word here and there, it is an avalanche of words that fill your curious brain and you try them out in nearly perfect form every day.

you too, are ALL boy. and this i am not kidding about. you bumble about like a ball in a pinball game-- from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next. you have energy that i can barely keep up with.

you have an instinctive love for music and we go weekly to hear mister ben play at the local coffee shop. he plays the guitar and the ukulele and sings songs that you listen to intently and quietly and sometimes i wonder if you are really listening at all, but then later, at home, you try out the tunes and beat out the rhythms on your drums-- which often are compiled of anything you can find. most everything can become a drum and a drumstick in your world.

along with this musical instinct, is one for sport. just as quickly as something becomes a drum and drumstick, it then becomes a racket and a ball. your form is superb and where it came from we have no idea. since sunday sports on tv simply do not happen at home and dada has never shown you specific ball & racket or ball & bat tricks, it would seem you simply have an innate desire and know-how to play ball. this of course is also rather eye opening to me and your dada as your sister was completely happy to sit and play horses- quiet, organizational play that you just don't have the patience for. it is so fascinating to see how the two of you are so different in your ways- whose to say if it is a girl/boy difference, a birth order difference or simply what each one of you was coded with genetically. but you bring balance to our lives with your spark of energy and silliness.

i love you sweet teo. more than you can imagine. you love to sing happy birthday but when you sing it, it comes out "happy to you". you sing and say this phrase to us often. and it is always a reminder to me of what i really do have in this world to be happy about- you and your sister are certainly top of my list. so on this day and every day mijo, a very happy to you.

life :: kids :: lessons

wow, 2 months gone by. where did they go? where have i been? honestly, i have just been living my life and being present with my family. haven't taken pictures, haven't been blogging. sometimes it just becomes one more thing to "keep on top of" and i just have to say to hell with it. but i do like keeping track of things here and i know one day my children will appreciate it too. so with that, here is a brief update.

pilar has enjoyed a busy fall playing soccer and is now doing a tumbling/circus class. something happened to that little girl out there on the big open field. she found her body and she found that it could move in ways she never quite knew. soccer has given her a sense of confidence in her physical self that she has never had before. while other girls were busy climbing trees, polls or anything else that shot up out of the ground, and swinging from monkey bars, my little girl was busy making fairy houses, drawing, knitting, and creating art out of any material that crossed her path. this girl could fill a gallery monthly. and i worried about this. worried about her lop-sidedness. but once again, life proves me wrong, proves that worrying is futile because things change and grow constantly. she now only has a slight lean as she now slips down the poll on the playground, then bounds across the monkey bars, then jumps in to a game of scramble. and i can see her beaming with pride as she discovers she too has a body that moves and is strong and agile.

mateo is giving us a run for our money. he is everything pilar never was. you could say they are polar opposites (which probably really isn't true and just as i write this something will shift to be certain). mateo dashes off every time you turn your head. every possible thing becomes a stepping stone to get to something else-- ie the drum is a stool for which to use to get on top of the table and swing the lamp from side to side. the kitchen stool is a uselful tool for attempting to climb on top of the refridgerator. when he bathes we have to mop up an inch of water from the floor. he hits, he bites, he pinches and he seems to be oblivious to my words "mateo, we are gentle with people & animals-- here bang on the drum or bite the pillow"-- this works for a moment but then he is right back to his antics. taking him out in public is challenging at best. it never goes very well when meeting another mama at the music circle by saying "i'm so sorry my son just whopped yours on the head". not the best ice breaker out there. and quickly you learn who are the parents who have dealt with similar issues and those who have not. i have always joked that the universe gave me a "pony girl" as retribution for not being so kind to the pony girls when i was younger. and now the universe has provided me with my very own little bully for all the judgement i have placed on parents and there children who were of this nature before having my own little devil. "must be bad parenting going on in that house- can't they control their child!"-- yep, life is funny that way, always sticking you with a lesson to learn. on the flip side, mateo is sweet and articulate. he loves music and requests it every time we hop in the car "mickas please mama". he loves the drums-- we are all for this but sometimes starting out the day at 6:30 with an intense jam session can be a bit much. he has his favorite friends; elephant, guy, monkey and rabbit-- they travel with him from bed to bed. he loves "piyar" and copies everything she does- if she dresses her doll, mateo follows suit. he counts to 20. he loves to be read to and comes to me saying "read couple books mama"-- how can i resist?

i love pilar and all her grace and perfectionism and i equally love mateo and all of his energy and puppy like qualities. i think if i were to ask my mom she would say "there goes history repeating itself". it is bewildering to me how two children from the same gene pool can be so completely different. truly amazing.

brother + sister

there is something extra special about the relationship between a brother and a sister. or maybe i am biased from my own experience. but what i notice is that much of the competitive nature is taken away- they are inherently different creatures both in their physiology and also their personality and they get that on a very deep level so it seems to almost remove the need to 'prove' themselves and stake their claim in the family. i am sure the 6 year age gap also comes in to play here in a positive way- they are naturally at very different stages of life and interested in very different things. while pilar would prefer to make fairy houses, mateo is just as content to sit on heap of dirt and dig. they are truly opposites in most all ways but they are finding the places where they connect.

pilar and mateo continue to discover one another in new ways. yes, they sometimes love to egg one another on- but that is part of being siblings. what is really beautiful to watch is the way pilar looks out for her little brother. the way she likes to talk about him and what he is doing, new words he is saying. she is a proud big sister. lately she loves to set him up in the sweetest, most cozy, wagon ride complete with blankets and pillows and parade him around the yard and down the street. mateo loves the pampering and pilar loves being in charge (hmm, i see history repeating itself all over again). and mateo really just thinks pilar is the cat's meow. he wants to play with her dolls, he wants her to read to him, he wants to be with her. he loves making her laugh and will do something over and over and over again just to see her smile and hear her big belly laugh.

it is sweet the love that continues to deepen between these two. my hope is that a strong foundation of friendship with one another will offer them lasting friendship and mutual respect for many, many years ahead. i think it will.

12 years ago...

i went on a date with the guy who lived across the street from my parents house. i didn't know too much about him except that he loved to play frisbee, rode his bike everyday, worked on movies and he was older and wiser and had stunning blue eyes and was as about as friendly as they come. we went to martino's in ashland and shared some outrageous chocolate something-or-other and a couple of glasses of wine. i was all of 22 years old and he was a "sophisticated" 31 years and little did i know that what sparked that night would be the beginning of a life long partnership and that 12 years later we would find ourselves in portland oregon, with 2 gorgeous children, a lovely home and a heap of issues to work our way thru-- but i wouldn't change it for the world.
my partnership with david is one i know i can count on. sure we drive one another batty at times but i also know that we are both in it for the long haul. the past couple of years have challenged us and our relationship in some very intense ways but we are making it and learning all the time. learning how to be better partners, better communicators, better parents, better people. no it is nothing glamorous and it isn't like a romantic movie every day but it is real and real is real real good.

i love you david and i am so grateful to walk through life with you by my side.

2nd grade

pilar is at her first day of 2nd grade today. she is growing up that little girl of mine. this past summer i have really enjoyed watching her blossom. and while i would never say it to her face, she is turning in to quite the little lady. i see some of her little girl shyness slipping away and in its' place a budding sense of self confidence and maturity. she has legs as long as mississippi and a sweet moonface. eyes like delicious cups of dark bitter mistress (as larry would say) and pouty lips the color of roses. her interests continue to grow and it is exciting to see her round out aspects of herself she previously doubted. i am madly in love with her and hope that my love is not one that smothers but rather grounds her in a place of knowing that she is special.
here's to a great year miss p.
i love you.



and one picture of her little monkey brother.

august in photos

knitting class with mama


"simmin" with uncle larry


cleaning up my mess


seriously teo? in the litter box?


ashland farmer's market


mmm, noni & babu's house


i heart billie


bug!

sunday morning gospel

well sort of.
this morning i headed out on my beloved walk. it was the perfect morning for a walk. the temp in the high 60's, light puffy clouds in the sky beautifully framed by that ubiquitous blue sky, few cars on the road makes space to hear the birds and the wind in the trees, and breakfast smells looming about houses. i cherish this time to myself. a good time to think. to make sense of what is going on in my life- or at least think i am making sense of it. and i anticipate coming to my favorite house with the inspiring garden and the poem. today's poem was moving to say the least. it was sort of like a sunday morning gospel and left me feeling optimistic and hopeful. i continued on my walk thinking about the absolute truth in these words.

Patriotism
by Ellie Schoenfeld
My country is this dirt
that gathers under my fingernails
when I am in the garden.
The quiet bacteria and fungi,
all the little insects and bugs
are my compatriots. They are
idealistic, always working together
for the common good.
I kneel on the earth
and pledge my allegiance
to all the dirt of the world,
to all of that soil which grows
flowers and food
for the just and unjust alike.
The soil does not care
what we think about or who we love.
It knows our true substance,
of what we are really made.
I stand my ground on this ground,
this ground which will
ultimately
recruit us all
to its side.

amen to that i say.
and then, just as quickly as i had been moved i found myself being unmoved (is that a word?) and it happened like this.
i rounded the corner to find a woman sitting on her front stoop looking extremely befuddled. she called out to me "do you walk at night?".
confused i reply, "no, i generally walk in the morning, why do you ask?"
"my car was stolen last night, what is wrong with people, i mean the neighbor told me that they had their car stolen last week but did they tell anyone? no! i mean, why wouldn't you share that with your neighbors??? i hate thieves!" throwing up her arms she exclaims "I am a conservative, we need stricter laws. thieves should have their hands cut off and rapists should be casterated. i work hard for the things i have in my life!!!"
wow, i had no idea what to say and what is more, i felt totally blindsighted by this woman's rage. "wow, i am really sorry to hear about your car. i think things like this have been happening a lot, people are desperate and struggling, we had a series of break-ins on our street the other night".
she goes off again "everyone is struggling and there are social services for those people!! i came out to start my day 2 hours ago and now i am stuck looking for my car and waiting for the police".
i respond with "it is true, many are struggling right now, and stealing is not excusable but there are many people who do not neccessarily have all their faculties about them and they make poor decisons but i do not think they are inherintly bad people- just people in hard situations".
she comes back with "that's true, but people who choose to do drugs made that choice for themselves the first time they took the drugs".
hmm, not exactly what i was talking about per se....i realized in that moment that it was not my duty to try to change this woman's perspective and i also recognized that i learned something from this encounter which is that my sense of compassion for people and where they are has grown. no i do not condone stealing in a moment of desperation but i do feel a bit more empathy than i used to and maybe my encounter with this woman was a gift for me to recognize that this compassion for humans is growing inside of me and i am not sure if i would have felt this compassion a couple of years ago.
"well" i say, "i really hope your car turns up and that your day gets better" and i walked off, only to spend the rest of my walk with my mind racing back and forth between the polarized beauty and despair that exist in our world and had shown their faces to me in the short 45 minutes of my morning walk.

little lessons everywhere you look.

saying goodbye...

today it came time to say goodbye to boots. the day is grey and a bit melancholy and after weeks of complaining about this damn rooster, i find myself filled with sadness while i watch my daughter hold, and love, and say goodbye to boots. maybe this wouldn't feel quite so dramatic if we hadn't just had to say goodbye to fern a few weeks ago as well. boots however, has been her chicken from the beginning- she has had a special love for boots all along and i know her heart is breaking at having to say goodbye. and my heart breaks right along with hers. i wonder, is this what her first crush is going to feel like? as a mother, do you feel the pangs and tears for all the crushes your children will have in their lifetime? i want to rescue her from the sadness that she feels though i am trying be strong and commend her for her bravery and strength, knowing that with each one of these life lessons she is learning something more about herself, her own emotions, and the ways of the world and that is powerful and will serve her well. we will miss boots and the sweet way she trots around with him tucked under her arm-- such a natural animal lover that little girl of mine.

positive feedback

a couple of weeks ago i was at the PSU farmer's market. my favorite one to go to for overwhelming variety of produce and broad spectrum of characters to enjoy watching. as i was foraging about i was stopped by an adorable pair of women who were working on a portland street style blog. "we love what you are wearing, may we take your picture and talk to you about your outfit?" they asked. what? me? frumpy old, frazzled beyond words, worried i may never again get my groove back, ole' me? you've got to be kidding. i was blown away, honored, and totally flattered. and the rest of the day i think i had a bit more spring in my step than i have had in a long long time. sweet blogger women, thank you for the generous compliment.

chosen sisters, gasquet california, 2009

this past weekend was my 7th annual trip with my chosen sisters. mama c. and mama m. describe it better than i possibly could. next year might be a bit more relaxing but every year is worth the journey. how i love these women and how grateful i am to call them my dearest friends on the planet.

holed up in a basement

when we were in the early phases of contemplating our move back to oregon, one of the things that was high on both of our lists was some clearer distinction between seasons and actually having a true summer in the months of june, july and august. i guess you have to be really careful what you wish for because summer is what we are getting- in a serious way! it is freakin' hot- 106 degrees to be exact! that is a bit more summer than i was banking on. the kids are sweaty, sticky puddles and my brain is mush. last night noni was in town and we made a break with the kids and headed west to the beach. there we found a pleasant 76 whihc allowed us to get a nice little reprieve and the kids loved playing on the beach. we ordered room service and had a nice little night away. we came home today to find our house feeling like a dry sauna so we are holing up in the basement. pilar and i are knitting while watching totoro for the umpteenth time. the kids ate fruit and yogurt for dinner. it is simply too hot to turn on the oven. and we are drinking ice water by the bucket fulls. supposedly it is going to drop to 97 tomorrow but i am not holding my breath!

1 date = 10 therapy sessions

david and i have found a sister babysitting duo-- rachel and ruthie. they are sweet, smart, and oh so responsible. i see glimpses of my former more youthful, more energetic self in the two of them. we leave mateo and pilar with them happily- knowing they are in good hands. and what this means for me and david is more dates. one date for us is like 10 therapy sessions rolled in to one. they remind me of why i married this guy and why i am lucky to have him by my side on this crazy ride called life. when you have a good egg it is good to remind yourself of this often because what can happen is that notion gets buried in the stresses of daily life; raising children, running a business, running a household, managing finances, managing an illness, etc. etc. i spent some time with a dear friend of mine today and she reminded me of how fortunate i am to be sharing my life with a person whom i see eye to eye with in many aspects of life. our values line up and we share common goals-- and while to me i can't really imagine it any other way, i know there are plenty of couples out there who deal with these hurdles in their relationships. it was good to be reminded that while we are not without our own hurdles, that is one we do not bound.

tonight we had a lovely date in the pearl. we walked around, window shopped, ate dinner at a sweet little sidewalk bistro, walked to powell's and spent well over an hour with our noses tucked in books and sipping cappuccinos. it was perfect. i look forward to many more of them.

no one said it would be easy, no one ever said it would be this hard

grrrr, it is one of those days where the weight of the world feels too heavy to bare. period, kids, relationships, finanaces, global warming, over consumption, blah, blah, blah....

sometimes it is totally overwhelming how hard it really is. i think about this time in which i get to be a young adult- with my young family- and i wonder, would it have been easier or harder in a different era. hard to know-- i am sure every generation has had their things that are easy and their things that are hard but i feel there are some really big things on the table right now and the convergence of them all happening at once is bewildering for sure.

week's end

ahhh, sunday night, recounting the past week and anticipating the next. we have had a good week here- a full week. it has included returning from a great camping trip, numerous playdates, hula hoop making & hooping, bike riding, nice morning walks, blueberry picking and freezing, hot lips pizza dinner at jamison square, school clean up work party, a birthday party, dinner with friends, a trip to the oregon country faire for pilar, and lots of new words from little teo-man, of them, my favorite; "happened?" (including hand gestures), "kank kou" (thank you--used most appropriately too), "aldun" (all done), "laur" (pilar), "agua", "shawp" (sharp-- he is always wanting to get a hold of my scissors but knows he shouldn't), "uh oh", "mufmuf" (muffin).....and seriously, the list goes on. i will have to dedicate a post entirely to teo's language development- it is astounding as all parents of toddlers know!

anyway, i am grateful for another good week and looking forward to the next. pilar will be in spanish camp this week and while i am not playing with mateo or preparing food, i will be busy stitching away- we have a flurry of birthdays coming up!

sweet dreams. doobies.

moving on up, to a sweet coop in the back

millie and nelly the fourth are moving out of the basement and in with the big girls!

i guess i should back up a bit. since we got our first batch of girls in april, we have gone through a pretty dramatic series of farm trials and tribulations. initially we got 5 chicks-- nelly, boots, mabel, sunshine, and fern. in early june we moved the girls out to their new, nearly finished, deluxe coop in the backyard (furnished by david of course). the next morning we awoke to 4 happy pullets and one dead one, nelly had passed sometime in the night. pilar was distraught but consoled by dada and a sweet little burial site not too far from the coop for little nelly.

since we were still unsure if all of our girls were truly "girls" we figured we would get 2 more so that we would hopefully end up with a nice sized flock of at least 4 or 5. we came home with nelly the second plus one. we unfortunately lost both of these wee little girls due to getting pasted up. somehow we had managed to not get schooled on the pasting up issue and we discovered one of these little chicks was not doing so well as a result of clogging- we were keeping a close eye on her (and her bottom) however, unfortunately in the middle of the night our heat lamp burned out and we awoke to 2 lifeless chicks. this elicited a dramatic and tearful reaction from pilar (she still has moments of deep sadness when she thinks about them). farm life is hard-- especially if you are an animal lover to the degree that miss pilar is. these two little chicks joined nelly the first in the backyard.

we got 2 more chicks. one of these girls got pasted up and we lost her too. she now rests with the other 3 in the backyard chicken graveyard. so we got one more and we managed somehow to get these chicks grown in to pullets-- millie and nelly the fourth-- and they are now joining the big girls in the back. they are moving in to a little coop annex inside the big coop while the 4 big ones get used to the idea of the 2 littles joining the flock.

of the 4 big girls it turns out that fern is actually not a girl. he reminds us of this bright and early every morning. fortunately the neighbors have not yet complained. city chicken laws say "no roosters" within city limits but i guess this is fairly lenient if the neighbors are obliging. pilar is lobbying hard to keep fern, and i have to say i too am pretty fond of fern (even his early morning wake up calls) but we are going to have to see how the rest of the hood feels- not to mention we are really intending to have eggs for breakfast, not chicks for dinner. in the meantime, i am not quite ready to break pilars heart by telling her fern has got to go... the girl is in love with her chickens and somehow she is convinced that fern is going to be the egg laying variety of rooster-- i haven't figured this one out yet. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that both millie and nelly turn out to be girls and that miss p. will be satisfied with a decent sized flock of 5 and fern will find a nice home on a farm nearby where he can preform his rooster calls to a well receiving audience.

stay tuned for more coop de saratoga updates coming soon.

(nelly & millie)

(the girls; sunshine, fern, boots, & mabel)

(fern, the egg laying rooster!?)

morning walk

since school let out it seems like routine has flown out the window. staying up late, sleeping in, non-regular meal times, etc. so i am determined to get back on track. this morning i started out my day with my morning walk. i generally take the same route each time and one of my favorite things on my walk is a particular house. it has one of the most inspiring gardens i have ever seen. this woman has cleverly incorporated food bearing plants all among her landscaping. there are gorgeous blueberry bushes, mature raspberry bushes, immaculate espaliered apple trees, tomatoes, greens, a chicken coop, a bee house and so much more that occupy this small city plot. perhaps the most generous offering is a small post that has a new poem and image posted every few days. i always stop to read the poem and look at the picture and today's poem was this one by gary gildner, needless to say, it spoke to me loud and clear.

Rock Tea
by Gary Gildner
At a hot springs in Sawtooth Mountains
8,000 feet above the level sea,
my two-year-old daughter enters the steamy shallows, and sings
I'm naked! I'm naked! And clings to herself
as if the pink body under her slender arms might slip away.
I do not want her to slip away, not ever,
but I know one day she will. I know
one day she will put on her snow boots
and take up the trail in earnest—and I will call out
I am happy for her, very happy, but sad too,
and hope I will see her again. From the pool's moony wash
she brings me her cupped hands. Rock tea, Papa, you like some?
I cup her hands in my own, and drink. It is delicious, I say,
more delicious than air itself, than life, may I have another?
And perhaps you will have one too? Perhaps, thank you,
In this way, gently over rock tea,
we celebrate how far we have traveled together.

home grown goodness

sometimes i feel like i am not accomplishing anything. parenting is pretty thankless work and i realize i am one who thrives on praise- who doesn't, i guess. but this week i am really taking notice of all the work that is getting accomplished on this little city homestead of ours and seeing all of the home grown goodness (particularly the happy, healthy kids) is a good reminder that each day small accomplishments are being made-- only there is no sweet paycheck in the bank or pat on the back from a satisfied boss-- but i think a warm heart might be worth more than that...




p.s. the rapadura marshmallows were a bust. i had really wanted to create this favorite campfire confection with the least refined sugar as possible but they turned out tasting more like molasses jello-- not quite what i had in mind (not to mention convincing the kids that they are better than jet puffs seemed like a losing battle). so, we made a second batch using low refined cane sugar and oi la- marshmallow bliss! we are excited to try these morsels roasted.

kitchen work

it is always nice to go away and it is equally as nice to come home. arriving at the front door with a sigh. home is good.

today was one of those perfect days where the kids got along sweetly, i was in a good frame of mind, and the sun was shining brightly. we used the day to catch up on chores and kitchen work. undertaking a nourishing traditions kind of diet requires plenty of food preparation. we started out the day riding our bikes to the grocery store as our poor cupboards were bare. rounding up all our necessary ingredients for the week we returned home and while mateo napped, what seemed forever, pilar and i set to work. the fruits of our labor today abound us with delicious chicken stock for black beans & rice i will make tomorrow. soaked & dehydrated walnuts & almonds, granola (not quite done as it is a 2 day process), whey & cream cheese, cultured veggies (they'll be ready on thursday), homemade mayo, and we even made homemade rapadura marshmallows for our upcoming weekend camping trip-- this was somewhat of an experiment and was so much fun. there is something about kitchen work that really is gratifying-- to look in the refrigerator and see it full of homemade, non-processed food is totally satisfying. and best of all, pilar is enjoying this process too. if i can help to foster a healthy, grateful relationship with food for my children i will feel a tremendous amount of success. living in a time where food is "convenient" i think it is invaluable to understand that food is, at the very core, our means to survival. and taking pleasure in its' preparation i am finding the most nourishing of all.

a week in ashland

the kids and i spent last week in ashland while david and tim went to the city to work. we had a lovely time hanging out with noni & babu. pilar spent a special day with noni working in her shop (the entire day!). this gave mateo and i some time to check out the story time at the library-- i have not been in there since i was a kid myself- it was sweet to be in there with my little boy who somewhat paid attention but had more fun running through the isles of books. not so surprising. we spent a sweet afternoon swimming in uncle mike's pool. enjoyed an evening at the band concert in the park including a sushi dinner (pilar's favorite). and a lovely celebration of tio's 30th birthday. hard to imagine my little brother just turned 30! pilar kept busy all week with a number of projects-- sewing bunnies, making corn husk dolls, sculpting with fimo, playing farm with maryann and sam, and endless other creative manifestations. mateo kept busy making messes of all sorts and falling madly in love with britt, tio's sweetheart (tio approves of his adoring lust). i enjoyed a few days off of major meal preparation, sleeping in, and being in the comfort of my childhood home which feels so safe and nurturing.

the kids then went on an overnight camping adventure with noni & babu, allowing david and i to spend a night together alone in ashland. it was good therapy for us- dinner with conversation and a movie with no interruptions- it really is the simple things that matter the most. meanwhile, the kids had an amazing time out in the woods getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, swimming in the lake and frolicking in the meadow. it is my hope that these memories will be burned in my children's minds for the rest of their days so that they might understand how truly fortunate they are-- they are certainly etched in mine.

thanks noni & babu for absolutely everything-- i do know how truly fortunate i am.