safe and sound...

Yay! It's April! All that's on my mind... I might possibly have the best kids on the planet; I'm ready to go on a big road trip, but will miss Ben; I'm anxious about seeing Willow & helping him transition to his new home/Becky was a great foster mom & I know she & Willow will miss each other; super excited to see my friends Missy, Laura, & possibly Udora- I have great friends; tired of trying to be skinny so I can go to the beach without worrying about how I look/hoping my shorts from last summer still fit; loving the beautiful Easter lilies that are on my table; a little concerned about Snow's lung function test results from today's visit-I'm sure everything will be fine- I don't like seeing Snow worry; thankful that Ben & I can make up sometimes just by holding hands-without saying anything; having fun doing a Bible study in the book of Esther with Snow; feeling a little anxious about how all of my plans will come together for my trip to P'cola/looking forward to connecting with some old friends if it works out; excited about seeing my family but preparing myself for the drama that comes with...that's enough for now... did I mention I hate shopping... I HATE SHOPPING!!! o.k. feeling much better now that I've unloaded a bit. Now I shall sleep like a baby & wake up happy.

my menagery...

Snow made me the cutest little lion to add to my menagery. He looks like Afro Ken. =) I just love him!

moon smile...

i saw alice in wonderland with ben tonight. on the way home the moon looked exactly like the smiling moon smile of the cheshire cat in the movie. i don't know if i've ever seen it like that before-maybe once or twice. funny that it would be like that tonight, though. we got in the car, started home, and there it was, smiling at us. =) good night smiling moon, you weird thing. see you next time.

bare...

Did you know when I look at an empty inbox I resort to talking to myself. There's nothing more depressing than an empty inbox. That's why I need a blog. It's like being your own best friend & like having a billion imaginary friends at the same time. Hello friends...

phone a friend...

Emmeli met a little friend named Fiona at her "fun with clay" class. Yesterday was the last day of class, so I met Fiona's mom & we got their phone number and Em wanted to call as soon as we got home from the class. I didn't let her call last night, but told her that she could call today. So this morning when Emmeli woke up she stumbled down the stairs and brought the phone up to her bed first thing. I didn't catch on to what she was up to right away, but then she went over to her little mushroom purse and started to unfold the little piece of paper, eyes barely open. It was SO sweet. What a cutie!

the young and the restless...

poor emmeli has growing pains, dry skin, sleep disorder, separation anxiety, and restless leg syndrome. =) she can't sleep at night, so she wakes up and realizes that she's all alone & needs to climb in bed with somebody. Then she can't get back to sleep because her legs hurt, and they itch, and she can't stop moving them all around. poor girl. last night after an hour of turmoil, i gave her some benadryl, not because i was trying to drug her, but because her legs were itching like mad. that cured everything, that stuff works wonders.

be free...

So we know now that we really should not have any pets (except maybe saltwater fish). It's difficult to accept this, especially for this nature-loving family. Everybody wants a little companion, but I'm teaching myself and the children that the beauty of nature is in it's wildness~not it's tameness.

new teeth...

Emmeli is so so excited about her first loose tooth. It's all she's been talking about all day. She says she can't wait 'til all her teeth fall out and she gets all new teeth.

my bunny...

for my bunny who put up with so much affection

and now has to live with unfriendly rejection~

i love you my friend

who's gone with the wind

i'll never ever forget you

it's really not funny

when you lose your bunny

and there's nothing that you can do

my heart is so sad

i'm silently mad

for this crappy unhappy scene

but who can i blame

the whole thing is lame

forgive me for being so mean

think think think...

When will I learn that all this thinking gets me nowhere. There are thinkers and there are doers. The doers don't always think, but the thinkers never do anything.

sleeping beauty...

Hannah is my little sleeping beauty. She makes her bed perfectly every day, and at bedtime she climbs into it ever so carefully and lies perfectly still. Sometimes Emmeli likes to sneak into her bed at night, but she is not so particular and ruffles up the bed. This aggravates Hannah to no end. Last night, after Hannah performed her usual ritual of removing Emmeli, she discovered that her bed was so completely disrupted that she would have to get up and re-make it so as to have a fresh start. After a great deal of trouble in the darkness, she abandoned the idea and, finding her own bed to be altogether hopeless and unfit, gathered what she needed for a temporary sleeping arrangement on Daniel's couch.

snowy snow...

Today I was reading to the children, and there was a place in the book where it started to snow. Snow was falling outside my window as well, and as the author so beautifully captured the experience it hit me how much the image she had created in my mind mirrored my thoughts of Snow (my daughter). It was a beautiful thing. I almost cried and had to stop reading for a minute to take it all in.

little whisper...

I had to blog about this sweet little thing that keeps happening to me. When Emmeli gets upset with me about something, if I hurt her feelings or she feels like I've treated her unfairly, some time after the event, so that I'm not at all expecting it, she will quietly come over to me & whisper in my ear something like, "Mom, it was not what you thought. I was doing whatever, because of something else that you were unaware of, and I feel that I've been wrongly accused." Well, not exactly those words in that order, but you understand what I'm saying. She doesn't come to me bawling or making a scene or throwing a tantrum. She literally whispers it in my ear. It makes my heart melt to see her acting so civilized.

my what big teeth you have...

Wow! All those vitamins must be doing some good! I feel marvelous!

we're at now now...

For the past several years my New Year's resolution has been to slow down the passage of time, but I've been completely unsuccessful until now. This year, I actually gave up & made no resolution. I secretly planned for the same, but felt a little hopeless. Surprisingly it seems that so far this year is progressing quite gradually & It's wonderful. I think one thing that makes time pass too quickly is ambition ...also expectation. It's very hard to let go of those things, but it's lovely living contentedly in the present.

acquiescence...

Why is it that we always want to be better than we are & what about contentment? It seems to me that I'm forever striving for this thing. More strife. It feels bad. I want to be light, cool, & graceful.

groping...

"life is full of choices, not making one at all is far worse than making the wrong one"

~ i gleaned that from an episode of Cyber Chase =)

love is...

"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly"

~unknown

home remedy...

having a blog is almost as good as seeing a therapist. i love sitting down & trying to think of exactly what I'm trying to say & then sifting through images that say the same thing, very therapeutic.

cactus suit...

I think I just need a nice cactus suit that I can zip up in. Anyone know where I can get one of those?

snowmen...

Snow makes the most adorable snowmen. No kidding, she really has a talent, and she loves to make them. This Sunday when we were hiking she was carrying one around with her. Every time Ben stopped to take pictures, she would work on it, then when we started moving, she would pick it up & tromp through the woods with her little friend~so adorable. I'm looking at one of her little men right now. He's perched on the railing outside the living room window. =)

cod liver etc...

Cod liver, bee pollen, ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, you name it, I'm taking it. I've been doing a lot of research about vitamins, minerals, & herbs and it's crazy how much stuff our bodies need to function properly. How many pills can a girl take?! Yesterday, I asked Daniel to get my vitamins out for me & he accidentally gave me the wrong thing, so while we were trying to identify the mystery pill, Hannah came in and said, "You know, your pills do all look alike. You might want to consider relabeling." (just like Kronk) It was classic.

sing lustily & with good courage...

One of my favorite things about Christmas is singing Christmas carols. Last year I bought some song books, so now I know the words. We're still singing Christmas carols around here. This morning Emmeli was trying to sing The Twelve Days of Christmas. There were three dancing hula girls in her version. *smile* But she remembers I saw Three Ships correctly. She loves that song. Of course, she just sings that first line over & over, but it's adorable. Today we will take down our lovely Christmas tree. I think this is the longest we have left it up. It will be sad to see it go, but enough is enough. "There's going to be another Christmas soon!" I think we need to make up a farewell to Christmas song.

Last year I bought a Celtic Christmas cd that I have wanted for years. It's out of print & last year I found a copy, but I didn't find it 'til late. It arrived after Christmas and I never listened to it, so I was really looking forward to listening to it this year. Can you believe that I never got it out? Christmas has been such a whirlwind this year! I'm planning to listen to it while we take down the tree today. Next year I hope things are not so busy. I really find joy in keeping things simple. I love shopping for people, but when you have a big family, it gets a little crazy. Next year I'm planning for more singing and less shopping. I can't wait. *smile*

tree ornaments etc...

Emmeli~ "You can't take down the Christmas tree! It's beautiful, and there's going to be another Christmas soon!"

heart to heart...

Tonight after having a heart-to-heart with Hannah, she said, "I love you Mama. You make me happy. You make my life really very good."

out with the old, in with the new...

Part of bringing in the new year is pushing away the old. This takes great skill. It requires grace and balance. Only the masters have achieved this great art.

be merry...

So I'm cheating and posting this for 12/25, because I never posted anything for Christmas. Merry Christmas!!! *smile* My theme for Christmas this year was BE MERRY. And it was very merry... chipper, cheerful, chirpy, and cheery. I don't know what I will do next year if I can't give everyone something silly. I think I've strarted something & I don't know if I can stop it.

sweetness...

Once upon a time...there was a sweet little girl who liked sweets. You might be thinking, what little girl doesn't like sweets, but this girl was obsessed with sweets. So when she grew up and reached the age that she could do whatever she wanted, she ate sweets all the time. She had sweets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She sang songs about sweets. She dreamt about sweets. She baked her own sweets, and of course she had her favorite sweet shops which she visited as often as she was able. One day, something changed inside of our sweet girl. It was a funny thing that is hard to explain. She started to get greedy about those sweets, and when she couldn't have them, she became angry. She wasn't as sweet as she once was and she wasn't as thankful as she once was. At first she wished to deny the change that she felt, but by and by the beast within could be contained no longer. She started to growl, and people didn't like it. As time went on, she noticed that growling could be very tiresome and that being friendless was very lonesome indeed. She tried to comfort herself with sweets. It's not too surprising that her anger began to fade and she became quite happy because of the sweets, but it was only temporary. The happiness didn't last, and she began to cry. The sad thing about this story is that there was no one to comfort the once sweet little girl, because she had scared everyone away. So, when she was all out of tears, she had to figure out what to do all by herself. She thought for a long time about how to stop the growling, because she was a smart girl, and she new that if she stopped growling, people would like her again. She had the idea that all of this came from liking sweets too much, but she was not sure what to do about it. She started to wish that she didn't like sweets so much, and as a result, all the shiny frostings and rich dark brown chocolates and beautifully colored candies started to lose their luster. As she thought of them, she let out a little growl. Then she began to think of her friends and her family and they all seemed rich and shiny and beautiful. And you know what? She wanted to sing songs about them. She wanted to go to sleep and dream about them. So that's what she did. When she woke up, she was a sweet little girl in a nice warm bed, and her mom was in the kitchen making breakfast. All the wonderful smells of real food filled her room and she was thankful. The End

gifts...

Christmas shopping has been fun, but I'll be glad when it's over. It really is too much.

happy happy joy joy...

Happy thoughts are coming... I can feel it. Stay tuned...

the year of the blog...

I can't believe I've actually done it! I've kept a journal for an entire year! Wow! ...and look, the April cat has its tail between its legs. How appropriate. =)

blank...

Sometimes I feel so ________. I know the thing that I want is what I already have, yet I feel like I'm still chasing after it. Sometimes I realize I've got it, but I don't know what to do with it. Sometimes I know what to do, and I can't make myself do it & then I feel sorry for missing the opportunity. Sometimes I really am ________.

glowing...

Tonight as I was tucking Emmeli in I said, "I'm so happy you're my daughter."

Emmeli, in her sweet, sleepy little voice...

"I'm so happy you're my mom. You do great things for me."

light as a feather...

Today is light. Ever notice how some days there is a heaviness about everything around you? I'm not talking about the pressures of life. It's more like gravity is fighting against you. It's probably simply due to lack of sleep or something, but anyway, it's awesome when the day is light and things come easily, without a struggle, when you feel empowered & infinitely stronger than your surroundings. Have you ever assumed that something was going to be really heavy & then when you mustered up the strength to lift it, it was as light as a feather? That is such a weird feeling.

storm...

Wow, this place is foaming with cuteness. And I'm not sure I like it. Too much fluff, even for this bunny lovin' mama. What's up with that? What has changed? What's going on inside this little head of mine and what's to be done about it? Ever feel like you need a thunderstorm?... or a slap in the face? Will somebody please smack me?

boys...

Yesterday as I was checking out Daniel's pants after he slid down the trunk of a tree, he said, "Mom, It's a boy's life. Jeans come and they go and then new jeans come and then they go."

rabbit...

Get in touch with your inner self through facebook quizzes. They really are enlightening. =)

"You are Rabbit, the practical one. You like plans and organization and sometimes this may seem like you don't like to have fun, but this isn't true. You love to have fun with your friends, but also like to spend time alone gardening."

donuts...

As you go thru life, make this your goal- watch the donut, not the hole.

kids...

"She taught them many things not in their books. She taught them to be kind to brutes, and gentle with one another. She taught them to be noble. She made them despise every kind of meanness. She was a great teacher."

something sweet...

This is the story of my life...always getting stung while trying to get at something sweet.

cake...

Today is the big day. Snow is 13! I love spoiling my daughter. Snow is having a wonderful time. So far we went out to breakfast at Angelo's (Snow got a candle in her omelet)-free, we got a free cupcake at Cake Nouveau, free tea at Tea Haus, a free button from Vicki's, a free movie at Hollywood Video, & a free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. We're home for a short break then we're off again. Snow says this is all a plan to fatten her up. =) I hadn't thought of that. Snow looks adorable today with a long cable knit sweater & a barrette in her hair. She has really enjoyed getting phone calls. She's been keeping her purse very close to her just in case. What more can I say? It's a lovely day.

appreciation...

This is a beautiful day...no matter what the weather.

ignite...

Nothing like a little sunshine to warm the soul. Open up your heart and let the sunshine in!

it's alright...

Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, then it's not the end.

floating...

Just close your eyes and imagine a happy place...

innocence...

Yesterday, I broke a ceramic bowl that I like a lot and as I looked at it despondently, Emmeli said, "Can we tape it?"

here piggy...

Lord, please save me from my appetite!

jack & jill...

Emmeli & Dominik are so cute together!!! They adore each other! Sometimes they remind me of an old married couple.
(Emmeli is like a nagging wife & Dominik just puts up with it- hehe)

me & my pal...

Daniel & I make a great team. Sometimes he makes me laugh so hard that my sides hurt. Everyone needs someone like that. I wish there was a way to record all the funny things he says, so that I could look back & smile at all of our fun times forever & ever, but there's something about his humor that is for a live audience only. Anyway, it's not just the comedy thing, we are just in tune. It's fun to be with people who get you, so you don't have to forever be explaining yourself.

dentol...

Hannah's going to the dentist today to get her tooth fixed. I hope they do a good job. Poor little monkey. This has been such an ordeal.