friends...

Farewell, is always so hard to say... until next time... knowing that precious little face is going to change and the next time we see it she will be twice as tall and walking and talking... What a bright light this little one is. Another blessing to us all.

The thing I most love about Shane coming home is catching up with all our old friends. The folks who helped mold us into who we are today. It's not that we don't see them all and keep in touch, the energy is just different, it is more inviting and we are all excited to be together again. It's like that puzzle with the missing piece and it just isn't complete and it is hard to fully appreciate the puzzle until you find it. We are super blessed to still be as close to the folks we were close with in high school. We still reminisce about the crazy things we used to do and the fun we had, but there is never a moment when we don't appreciate each other for being there all these years and knowing we could always count on each other no matter what happened. (I could tell you plenty of stories to prove this to be true.) I love getting my cup refilled of the energy of our days gone by. My sides always hurt and my cheeks are always sore when I get to share time with these friends. When we get together to celebrate all seriousness is left at the door, just about anything can be laughed at or a joke made from. We have grown up and we have changed and our lives have gone in different directions, but none of that matters. I really love these folks, they were my first taste of what friendships could REALLY be and that there are people out there that WILL accept someone just as they are without strings attached. We now take that into our lives and forge new relationships knowing that it is possible to love others so deeply and know that they love you equally. So, we say goodbye and look forward to the next time life brings us back together and reminds us just how important we are to one another.

a trying week...

This has been a hard week for Kalib. ON Monday, Kalib came down with not only swimmers ear in both ears, but also a middle ear infection in his left ear. He has felt just awful and not been his usual fun and energetic self. Thankfully, as the week has progressed he has gotten better and he is on the up and up, but his ears are still bothering him some if he gets bumped on them. I get so sad when the kids aren't well. The endless bounds of energy they have makes me feel like I have it too (even though I don't). Hopefully, next week he will be better because the pool is opening at the Y and we have loads of sunshine to enjoy and lots of swimming to do.

Cherries and more cherries...

When we got home from the lake on Sunday we discovered that our cherry bushes were completely covered in cherries. YUMMY!!! We were too tired to mess with them on Sunday, but they have to get picked as soon as they are ripe or you loose them and the cherries only produce for about 2 weeks, so we have to eat them and pick them while the getting is good.
Here's Kalibs dish he was filling. If you look closely there is a tiny praying mantis hanging out on the edge. It stayed on there for a while and just hung out with Kalib while he picked cherries.
This is a very cool coccoon of some sort that we found amoung the leaves. We discovered all kinds of wonderful creepy crawlies in the cherries and a few different nests. I saw at least 3 praying mantis nests. They are my favorite insect. Maybe because the female often eats the head of the male after they finish mating or maybe it is because they are just so cool looking with their arms all folded up.
When all was said and done we picked cherries for over an hour and half met all kinds of cool bugs, got sweaty and hot, and picked almost a gallon of cherries. We still have to go back out today and get the ones that ripened last night. Who wants some cherries?

Girls got bangs...

India has been begging me to cut her bangs for a while now. On Sunday evening we cut them and they look super cute! She has always looked like a pixie, now she does even more! I love it!

a trip to lake oconee

The Lakehouse is one of our favorite places to go. India took her very first step EVER there. It was her first Halloween. She wasn't even 1 yet. Kalib was conceived there. (TMI I know). This place holds so many wonderful memories for us. We are super lucky to have friends who let us use it and hopefully, they know how much we appreciate it. It is very hard for me to narrow things down to just a few pictures. I took over 300. Crazy, I know. My family is just so happy when we are there and I get to see and experience so much peace, I just can't bring myself to put my camera down too much when this smile might be bigger than the one before...

So, here is a picture of the wonderful house. It is very different from the other houses in the neighborhood. What I like best is how secluded you feel even though the neighbors are just next door. The yard is inviting and I just feel like I am there and no one else in the world is. (I'm such a hermit), but I love to get away from the business of life and take a break. I finished 2 books and started a third one and am about 1/2 way through it. That's how peaceful it is here, but I get the peace and get to enjoy my family at the same time. What more could I ask for? I need to continue working on how to have a life that doesn't require me to get away to fully appreciate what a wonderful life we have. Here's India jumping off the dock. The water was super cold, but she doesn't care. She goes until she can't talk anymore without chattering.

Here's Kalib doing a cannonball off the dock. I love my camera. It has this burst setting where I can just take pics as they run and get them over the water as they go in. Super cool! Kalib, unlike India gets out when he starts to feel chilled. He can't wait to go back later in the summer when the water will be warmer. Here they are in the raft. They would get it out far enough to flip it safely, climb back on and do it again.
Me. We all got cleaned up and went into Madison for dinner and an ice-cream cone. I decided to dress up a little. When we got back, we went back down to the water to watch the sun set and let the kids do some night swimming.

A nice pic of me and Hubb. There aren't very many of us. Have I ever mentioned how much I love that man? I know, I know, I have...

Hubb getting some sun and doing some drawing and painting. Even his shins are sunburned.

Another beautiful sunset...

There are more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/quiltingearth/51608LakeHouse

pickin' strawberries

A highlight of spring is strawberries. This year, it was just us and the Brays, Beatrice and Elijah as I just didn't get it together to get everyone involved, but we still had a wonderful time. The kids and I all got swing on the swing of death, we got some scrumptious berries (we only got 2 gallons above the other 4 belong to the Cooks and the Brays). Now, I need to make us a lemon pound cake and get some cool whip and have some strawberry shortcake! I can't wait!

Here's Kalib holding up a big one. The bigger the better they like them.

India picking - look she has her bucket almost full.

Me on the swing of death. The kids were having so much fun, I just couldn't miss out on it.

This is my favorite picture of the day. Kalib completely buried in corn. He's up to his ears in corn!!!!
There are more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/quiltingearth/51408StrawberryPickin

one of my favorite songs of all time

Since the first time I ever heard the Velvet Underground, I have loved them and I NEVER get sick of it. Their music moves at a pace I resonate with and though many people think Nicos singing is awful, it suits the music and completes it for me. This song is one of my favorites of all... Has always made me think of Cinderella in more modern terms. The video isn't of the Velvet Underground obviously, the versions I did find distorted the song. This video suits though with all these women in costumes... Anyhow, I love this song...

they grow up so fast

Another mothers day come and gone. I can't believe I have been a mother for 9 years. I will never forget the day I found out I was pregnant with India. We were at a rest stop in Arizona headed towards the Grand Canyon. I was so scared - could I possibly be a good mother? Could Jason be a good dad? We went to the Grand Canyon scared out of our minds about having a baby and the Grand Canyon really didn't seem all that grand that day. India was the best thing that could have happened to us. We were at a point that we needed to make a shift in our lives and she provided us with that shift and we have never looked back. India and Kalib have made life feel like it has a purpose for me. I just want to be a mom - a good mom. I'm not really interested in pursuing anything if I can't include these 2 wonderful people in it. Getting to watch them grow everyday and getting to be a part of that is just amazing. I'm so glad to still be able to be home with them and experience everything in life right along side them.
We have been waiting all year for the Nankin cherries to start producing cherries. Last year, the frost we got after Easter killed all of our cherries, so every time there has been a chance of it, we have covered them in hopes of getting a lot. As we were heading out for mothers day brunch, I saw red inside them and the kids couldn't wait to get home to eat some cherries. Here is Kalib, gathering cherries for he and India to eat.
And here they are - perched upon my van taking in the sunshine, drinking chocolate milk, and eating some fresh cherries! There is no telling how many cherry pits are stuck to the top of my van.

I had a wonderful mothers day. The kids got me orange roses and Jason let me pick out two new flowering shrubs for my yard. I got a hydrangea (the globe type), and a Peony. I can't wait to cut flowers from them!

homeopathy

As most of you know, I am taking a course in homeopathy. I love it. It resonates with me so well. I have already put it into pretty good practice and thus far, we have had incredible results with it. When it rains, my lower back hurts, I took Rhus-T for it and after 1 dose, no more back ache. When the honey suckle started to bloom, my allergies started to bother me again, I found the remedy picture most similar to my problems and ta-dow, no more allergy symptoms at all. Kalib was severely bloated one night - he never gets indigestion, I gave him one dose of Cal-C and within 10 minutes the indigestion was gone and he was playing. Yesterday, India woke with a sore throat, we looked up her symptoms, gave her Belladona and by the afternoon no more sore throat and she was back to playing and teasing Kalib. I only had to give her one dose. I am truly amazed at how well homeopathy works. It is inspiring to me that something so small and so diluted can be as healing as it is. The weaker the dilution in homeopathy, the stronger the potency. It is amazing. It won't be long until I am offering my services to my friends and their children and I can't wait until I really feel ready for that. I think all of our lives are going to be seriously touched by my studies because I want to share the wonder of homeopathy. Thanks for all supporting me on my journey. I have always been passionate about herbalism and natural medicine, and now that I am back studying it, I feel more in touch with what makes me who I am and where my passions lie, now I've just got to find my way back to my sewing machine.

Maypole 08

Another year, another maypole. The maypole embodies life to me in many ways, but this year, I want to explain it on the level of friendship, because that is what I am most thankful for right now. You see at the beginning, everything is a little chaotic. The ribbons are a mess and hanging there all on their own. Each person represents a ribbon. As we begin the intricate dance of relationships with each other, a pattern begins to emerge. Each persons role in that pattern is important. As we dance the dance of life and we nurture our relationships, the real weave begins to show up and we see it and can appreciate its beauty. As our ribbons get shorter and shorter, or relationships get closer and closer, so close that we are in each others armpits and smelling one another's breath. It is intimacy, a sharing of life in all its glory. At the end, each persons ribbon runs out, just like life. We are born, we live, if we are lucky and awake we celebrate life and our relationships, and we die. Life is glorious when we embrace it for what it is. Are there obstacles? Sure, how about the people that just can't get the delicate weave right or what about the people who go too fast or too slow or what about the people who just give up? They are all part of the pattern that emerges. They just make it more interesting and we can use them as lessons to help us nurture our own patterns and webs we weave. I have walked away from this maypole with a much higher respect for my friends old and new. We share this sacred dance of life together each and everyday and most of us celebrate it and rejoice for each new day. Life is a blessing to be celebrated everyday.

So, here's how the day began. Cooking out and eating good food with good friends and good converstaions. Look at all the pods of conversation. I love finding out what Jason talked to about and to who. We talk about it for days.

The kids have plenty of fun too. There's all the exploration of the woods, and sticks, and chase, and endless bounds of energy and freedom untainted yet, by life's woes...

The kids always go first so they don't get trampled by the adults. The older kids who can get the dance go with the adults.

This is a pic from the outside as we go around

And now a look from the inside. Be sure to check out Jennifer's smile over on the side. What a trouper carrying Lyle and laughing so hard! I love it! This is what it is all about!

The hardest part of posting pictures is picking which ones to post. There are many more on our web album http://picasaweb.google.com/quiltingearth/50308Maypole check them out, download them for yourselves if you like and thanks for another wonderful celebration of spring and everything it is about.

Blue chairs

I bought these chairs when I worked at JoAnns. Kalib was just a little thing then. They were like $20 a piece and I got them 1/2 off, plus a discount. I was super excited about them. Well, they have sat in my yard, and got pretty gross over the years. We were going to get rid of them, then I decided to clean them up and see if they were worth keeping. I bought 2 cans of spray paint that adheres to plastic, and shazzam... blue chairs...

I just couldn't stop there... We also had this old table made of plastic, a couple of the slats are broken, so it occurred to me, we have all this plywood laying around from Jason's transitions, so why not cut a piece and glue it to the top, so, more blue spray paint, some layers of green pain, a little glitter (gotta make it sparkly) and some rhinestones, super glue and now, my blue chairs have a very cool table to go with them. I already had everything except the spray paint and the glue to glue down the rhinestones, but I'm excited to have only spent $10 all total and we now have this very nice place to sit and enjoy our fabulous front yard.