in the moment

tween

*sigh* can't get over this face.

the other night we had this conversation at bedtime...

you see, i still get to tuck him into bed.  i'm sure if he was reading this or thought any of his buddy's read this he would be horribly embarrassed-  although it's truly hard to tell with this kiddo, he is pretty comfortable in his skin.  

so the other night as i hugged him good night i said, "love you to the moon and back."  (this is a quote from a popular children's book that we read  many, many times together.)  he replied, "i love you to the moon and back five times."  which prompted me to ask, "oh, just five times?"  because we've had this lil' ritual off n' on thru time and he usually replies with "love you to the moon and back , round the universe to infinity" or some variation there of so i wondered why tonight i only rated 'five times?'

he said very matter of factly, "well mom, you only said love you to the moon and back to me once."   

well there you go.  a very good point.

this is so him right now- definitely a tweener.

and mr. a if you do read this... my love will always be with you, a part of you and will follow you anywhere- to the ocean, to the sky, to the moon and beyond.

 

she's ten!

oh dear... my last post was in November-ack!  

well that is telling as to how these past 10 months have been moving-  exponentially fast!  

and it is also telling as to the amount of photos I've been taking.   the photography definitely ebbs and flows.  (and i've been in the ebbing cycle)  but how could i resist this image and this smiling face.... just look at this lil' gal- not so little any more.  And now in double digits- 10!!     *deep sigh*

we celebrated miss a's birthday yesterday along with the first day of school-- a bIg day indeed! she is now a fifth grader-  the last year of elementary school, another  *deep sigh*  i think this might be a year with a lot of *deep sighs* from me as this gal is growing before my eyes.  but i digress...

in miss a's classroom there is a special tradition, the birthday student sits in front of the class on the teacher's stool to receive compliments from the other students.  craig and i were at school to share in this gem of a moment.  the other students said to ally.... "you are fun to play with."  "you are kind." "you are nice." "you are a good listener."  "you are funny."  "you are respectful." "you are a good friend."   

and miss a. i would add.... you have a shining spirit, you make our family laugh, your giggle is infectious! i love the freckles on your nose.  you are smart, smart, smart especially with math.  you are strong inside and out.  you love sports and have natural ability but i love that you also still just want to play. and when your brother was really sick - you were a kind, loving n' caring little sister.  i'm so proud of you!  

you are a gift to our family... we love you so!   

happy birthday to our now ten year old miss ally!

 

gratitude

written by Alex during the month of november, hanging from our family 'grateful tree'.

so many reasons to be thankful this holiday season.

 

week 47 :: gathering

 

i continue to work on capturing images (although really behind in uploading them all?!?) for the 52 week photo project, you can read more about this project here or click on the link-  

<<<over in the sidebar under categories. 

but, here is my photograph for this week's theme  ::  gathering

I have only a few photos from our thanksgiving-- there are several of the turkey preparations and chef craig but once the grandparents arrived all I managed was this picture of our table.  Although it's keeper.... because if you look closely in the window you'll see the reflection of our family, gathering in the kitchen.  

We are a family that gathers.

And through the years, Craig 'n I have hosted many gatherings.  Big and small.  For holidays, for celebrations or for no reason at all.  We invite old friends, we invite neighbors, we invite new friends, we invite family and loved ones to our home.  We share food, we share good conversation-- we eat, we drink and we are definitely merry during these moments.   We are together.

I wrote more about this tradition of gathering (click here) and how it is part of my heart.

And even though I don't have photos from all these separate gatherings this image is a beautiful reminder of our time spent with those that fill our days with the best lil' nuggets of life.

 

20 years...

We are celebrating our 20th Wedding Anniversary- oh mY!

So please forgive me as i take a moment to remember this day- it's so vivid in my mind and of course share a few photos.

Now mind you, this was 20 years ago, our wedding took place before digital cameras, before hd video,  before martha stewart wedding magazines, before themed weddings and the oodles of wedding stylists, before the world wide web and the realm of pinterest with it's abundance of visual inspiration and whimsical wedding details.

And looking back on this day with all the options that are available today-- i would not change any of it.  Well... okay maybe the 'poofy' sleeves or bridesmaid's dresses.  But truly - this was our wedding, we planned it ourselves and it was beautiful, it was happy, it was fun, it was personal and it was definitely a celebration wrapped up with a few magical moments.   It was our day-- July 11th, 1992.

We're standing in front of the Hotel De Haro, part of the Roche Harbor Resort on San Juan Island, and we were married outside in the gardens.  This was such a beautiful and scenic location, it holds a special place in our hearts. 

Our bridesmaid processional began from the balcony of the bridal suite, down these stairs then across the cobblestones to the garden.  I remember getting ready in this room, waiting-- feeling nervous - a bit anxious until I glimpsed this...

I know this image is a bit fuzzy (these are scanned images- they didn't all turn out) but can you see Craig's smile -- his head looking up at me.  I will never forget his expression -- from the moment i saw his face, all my nerves melted away. I felt calm.  And all the crazy jumble of emotions I had just minutes earlier were replaced by just one single emotion-  happiness.   I could not stop smiling.  The entire time.  The entire evening.

Can you see Craig's smile here?  Well all the guys are smiling-- maybe because I was smiling so much!

Again, a bit fuzzy but wasn't this location beautiful.

For our wedding, Craig and I wrote letters to one another which were read out loud during the ceremony by the best man and maid of honor.   This was one of those memorable - magical moments.

Since we were in the gardens, our ceremony drew a crowd.... from the resort guests and tourists.  Can you see them along the stone wall and garden fence.   

  

Of course this is a favorite moment!

It was such a gift to have so many of our friends and family join us for this destination wedding.  It meant the world to celebrate this day with them.  And by the way, who are those two on the left? Geesh, we were young.

At sunset, all our guests were invited outside to the cobblestone walkway for the Resort's evening ceremony-- the retiring of the flags with the national anthem, then tapps playing over the resort sound system.  We were up on the balcony enjoying this tradition as they announced our marriage at the end-- a surprise to us all.  

Did I mention this place was scenic?

So very happy.  Yes, a magical day indeed.   20 years-  oh mY

p.s. we're celebrating this 20th anniversary on an island (but a tropical one) - just the two of us, oh my ;)

only in our neighborhood...

only in our neighborhood....

over the weekend, the sun was out along with all the weeds!   so, on this sunday it was a 'work in the garden' day and that meant weeding.  this doesn't always enthuse the kids but they were sharing the load over in the vegetable garden while i was working in the flower beds.  

well, when the sun is out so are the neighbor kids and I could hear alex n' ally greeting their buddies in the cul de sac.  in addition, i kept hearing alex ask his friends if they would like to help weed.  well sure enough a couple buddies joined him- then they would greet the next set of kids who also decided to join the group and all of a sudden we had a posse of kids weeding the garden!  

this is a true story!

these kiddos knocked out the weeding in record time.  i should've taken a 'before' pick because that dirt was covered- they did a great job!  well of course we had to celebrate their efforts -- so craig brought home klondike bars and ice cream sandwiches for the group.  

i'm thinking we might be on to something ;)  

cul-de-sac livin'

do you remember playing kickball as a kid???

this is why we moved into a neighborhood.  this is why we chose to live in a cul-de-sac.  for these moments...

when the kids run outside, knock on our neighbors doors and rally a game of kickball to play before dinner.  then, break to eat and meet up afterwards for more.

these spur of the moments... well, they are my favorites.