Abby Sunshine

I had a moment this morning to visit Abby and her mom and take some more pictures--wanting to capture her as she's growing and working on her "skills".  Like holding her head up, cooing, and smiling. She wasn't working too hard on her "smiling skills" this morning but that's okay. She was instead fascinated with my big camera lens and blinked every time she heard the shutter snap. Here is a "non-blinking" one.  :)

And here she is checking out the scenery outside her mama's 

bedroom window....(love those lips)

And here is Big Sister Maddy, who flitted around us, 

wanting to be a part of the action. 

 Abby continues to do well: eat, sleep, poop. And like I said, she's working on those "skills." Continue to pray for her and her family as they soak up the joy of Abby Sunshine.

Deep Breath...

It's been a long two weeks, heading into a crazy April. Running from one thing to the next. My plate full. Perhaps you can relate? With no creativity pouring out of me today, I handed the camera to Zach. He caught this moment for me, brought tears to my eyes when I saw it upload to my computer. Deep breath...

Gracie Girl

Every Sunday little Gracie girl comes to church donning her flower hat.

Every Sunday I fail to have my camera with me. 

But today I was prepared.

I had to do a bit of chasing, but I gotcha Gracie girl!

p.s. I have two friends with smiley girls named Grace. 

I always think of this song when I am around them.

Name That Activity!!

Thanks for playing! Are you ready? 

(Cue game show music...)

OK. Here we go!

Name the activity in the first picture below.

If you said, "Woman knitting something green, " then you are right!

Good Job! (Cue applause) That one was easy. Let's move on.

Ok, name the activity in the picture below...

 If you said, "A mud splattered boy monopolizing the garden hose," then you are right and ready to move on to the third and final round!

Ok, here you go. Final round.

Name the activity in the picture below...

Hmm...not quite sure? Need help? Ok, here's another picture...

I know...this one is a bit tricky. Let me help you with another picture...

If you guessed, "Woman and kids offering up empty containers to the 

recycling gods," or  "Crazy woman performing some bizarre ritualistic dance," 

then I am sorry, you are wrong. (Cue buzzer)

The real answer? To satisfy your curiosity (and to prove that my friend has not lost her marbles--a little crazy, yes--but not totally delusional--yes I love her)...

Ok. So. I am not sure if you have noticed lately, like in the last week or so, but Morgan Hill and the surrounding area has been invaded by butterflies. After one too many splats on my windshield while on the freeway, and witnessing a family of them in my backyard, 

I began to think I was seeing double, triple. 

As we sat out in our front yard today with some good friends, my girlfriend, Aleta, says, "Hey, what's that floating all over your house and street? Are they leaves? Where are they coming from?!" I looked up to our roof line and then out into the street to see a TON of butterflies swooping in two's and three's over our heads, across the street, into the park, and continuing northward. It was the craziest, coolest thing you ever saw!  I really am not exaggerating when I say that there were hundreds of them. Not in masses, but fluttering down over our house in clusters. Their wings silent, bodies swooping in drunken lines, dodging the kids and the cars. 

Next thing I know, everyone is jumping up, grabbing cups.  Scott is cutting off bottoms of milk containers, and everyone is trying to catch a butterfly! I would like to make note here that Zach caught two. Aleta, well, zero. Not even after she went double fisted with the empty coffee and cottage cheese containers. Next time my friend? But it was sure entertaining! :)

I have been trying for over a week to capture a picture of a butterfly. I've sat in my backyard waiting for them to land, but could never snap off a picture. They must have Superman vision--every time I tip-toed near one, it fluttered away. They were elusive and forever out of my lens' reach. So I have to confess that the one above has stunned...by my son. He caught it in his milk jug and knocked it senseless while doing so. Poor little guy (girl?) is recuperating here, traumatized also by my daughter who then picked it up by its wings to carry it to safer grounds. I'm pretty sure it's now resting in peace. :)

Oh, and I tried to Google "butterflies in mass in Morgan Hill" but came up with zilch. If any one could please tell me why we have been graced by their silent visit, please let me know!

And thanks for playing...I'd like to give Aleta props for allowing me to post her in my blog. If you know her, you'd know that dancing in the street with empty containers, trying to catch butterflies, while strangers drive by giving her looks, is nothing out of the ordinary when you spend time with her. And that's why I love her sooooooo much!

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Today I would like to take a moment and immortalize the two living, green, and flowering things that are residing in my home.  Because for all my talk of loving flowers and spring and new life...I royally bomb at taking caring of potted house plants. Evidence below...

It's not that I don't care, because I do. I am just not gifted nor experienced with indoor living things. I have friends that have carried potted plants from move to move since college (you know who you are) and I have a mother that could never ever, and I mean never, throw any browned and withered plant away if there are any signs of green life left. (And believe me, she can nurse those things back to vibrant life--puts me to shame for tossing them away so easily.)

 

But me...I have killed orchids, kid's seedling projects, numerous potted flowers given to me, and even simple ivy plants. Geez, who can kill ivy?! Outside gardens and veggie plots...those I can do. Cut flowers in a vase...that too. But heaven forbid I should be able to keep a simple green thing alive in a pot in my home. Maybe it's the over watering? Under watering? Or perhaps placed in the wrong light? Or just the fact that I get busy and forget them? 

So take one long look at these two because it ain't long before they'll find a home in plant heaven. I'm just going to admit it now........ they are toast.

p.s. unless Mom, you'd like to rescue them?

Nostalgia (full circle)

When I was a kid, my dad often packed up my brother and me and took us off to the Vasona/Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos.  My childhood memories are full of park scenes. I seriously felt like we were there everyday. I am not kidding. Maybe we were...Dad?

I have often taken my kids to this same park. One, because it's an awesome, huge park. And two, because of the memories I know it will give my own children. (Big swings, train to ride, tracks to follow, ducks to chase, trees to explore, vintage airplane and fire truck to climb...)

One my most vivid childhood memories is of running into the park and heading straight for the swings. Now...in my childhood mind's eye the swings were HUGE.  (And I have to say, they are still pretty big.) I would find a swing, climb on, and wait for my dad. He would come over, take the seat in his hands and do one of those awesome pushes. (My kids call them "Big Highs") 

A "pull the swing back up over his head and then let go so you'd drop down in a stomach lurching ssssssswish" type of push. One that left an invisible inverted arc...a blurred streak of yourself that you were sure no one could see you, you were moving so fast. I lived for that feeling and looked forward to it every time I climbed into the swing. In fact, I still think of it every time I climb into a swing, and every time I push my own kids. (Thanks Dad!) I live for that squeal of laughter that rises up on that first big drop-swish, knowing I'm giving them the same memories.

So the pictures today are a bit nostalgic for me. 

I swang (swung ?) in this same swing.

Climbed all over this same vintage fighter airplane. 

Jumped off its wings and sat in the cockpit. 

Straddled these same train tracks. 

Rode with my dad in the train around the park.

(Go Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad!)

(Did not carve my initials into this tree.)

And explored this same creek...fed the ducks, probably got my feet wet.

Funny how life comes full circle. I hope my kids will have the joy of bringing their children to this same place and show them all the spots where they created memories...you know, complete the circle.

Super Kid

I love my son.

May I draw your attention to (if you haven't already noticed):

• the no shirt scooter policy he's adopted.
• the fact that he's wearing his favorite shorts which are on the brink of being too small and, you can't see it, but his fly is down. Not sure how long it's been that way?
• the knee-high socks that are actually his dad's. (He is in desperate need of socks and when the ones he has are in the dirty laundry he raids his dad's sock drawer.) I would also like to note that this is how his dad wears tube socks. I've tried to explain to the both of them that it borders on the geeky/but "could be cool" thing. Somedays I think it's just geeky.
• the pink princess scooter. Sadly, someone stole his bike and scooter and his dad's skateboard. He is without wheels which is tough for the kid who likes to be outside on wheels. (I've been shopping around on Craig's list but if you happen to know of someone needing to dish off a boy's bike for cheap, let me know!)
• he is ONE wickedly fast scooter-er. Even on the pink princess get up. 

Like I said, I love "the kid". These two pictures just endear me to him. He's nine and his own boss and pretty much enjoys being himself. One unique kid for sure...

M-n-M

Friends that play together...

Stick together.

(Michaela and Melina: Tuesday play date/bubble gum buddies)

Out with the old

Today was unusual for two reasons. One, Scott beat me home for dinner. And two, when I drove up, he was out front pulling weeds and clearing the dead growth. (I know I could just end this post right there and it would be so satisfying.) He's a mowing-the-lawn kind of guy but usually I'm the one noticing the weeds. Anyways, when your house belongs to one of those Home Owner's Associations you gotta keep up appearances. 

As he was pulling and cleaning up the dead growth he commented that it was actually satisfying. I couldn't agree more. I actually like the feel of yanking up the weeds, trimming off the dead stuff.  I think every gardener I know is sensitive to the cycle of the seasons. We watch the seeds of spring grow in to the full fruit of summer, fade in the fall, lie dormant in the winter. All the while the cycle of life is threaded underneath. There is work to be done in every season to maintain a healthy garden. I think it is no coincidence that nature's seasons often reflect the natural progression of areas in my life and when I participate in a garden's growth it reminds me of this. 

When I saw through my lens Scott's one hand on the green growth and the other grasping the dead growth I immediately was struck with a thought: How often am I tending to some new area of growth in my life while at the same time dearly clutching to the old? How silly, yet how human of me to do this. How hard is it for me to recognize that I need to gently discard of some thing(s) that may have once served some good purpose in my life but have long past ran their course? Or even more, how hard is it to let go of the things that were truly dead and worthless all along, but to which I have created some deep attachment? 

Yes, seeing it through the lens today made me pause. What he's grasping in his hand is simply dead.  Just decay. If I am willing to participate in the tending to the decay in my own inner garden, oh how much more room and space it will give for new life to sprout, bloom, fruit, and produce life.

A bit schizophrenic...but that's OK

Since I have taken up the challenge to use my camera daily I have found that I have become hyper aware of the quality of light that I move through, that envelopes me, that illuminates people and objects. The beauty of a certain light filled moment is enough for me to snatch up my camera and attempt to capture it. 

However, today was a day that I battled with it. If you were anywhere near the Bay Area today you would know how the sky continually changed, moment by moment the sun dancing in and out behind the wind fueled clouds, the rain pounding against the windows at one moment, and then disappearing with a burst of sun. (A bit schizophrenic!)

So there I am outside, in the chilly wind, delighting in the discovery of this nameless flowering something, trying to capture its leafy appendages, but I cannot seem to land on any sense of appropriate exposure. Yes, have a good laugh at the brief glimpse into my mental conversation: It's sunny. No...wait, it's cloudy. No...wait, it's sunny again...and yikes, it's flippin' windy. Okay, turn off manual focus. Wait for the wind to calm down. Holy cow, it's cold.  (Soundin' a bit schizophrenic I must say.)

The two pictures above are taken within seconds. Note the first one subdued in diffused light, the second illuminated by the white light of a bright mid day sun. 

I like the first one for its softer morning-like quality of light. I'm drawn to the main cluster of leaves and amazed at the creative wonder of them. My eye rests there and the light is peaceful.

But, wait. I like the second one as well, for the summer evoking warmth of light and the little filtered bokeh circles that were caught from the sun filtering through the grass in the background. (It's my goal to work on capturing more bokeh--love it.)

So since the weather and light were quite schizophrenic today, I thought it only appropriate to post two pictures of the same subject lit by the conflicting weather. Why battle with the indecision?  If the weather could flip-flop today, then so could I. 

Just documenting

First off, please forgive me for the lack of photo creativity today. I am still in my pj's, it is yucky outside, and I merely posting for documentary purposes.

Last night, while my hubby was assembling our new desk, Michaela immediately discovered the big packing box that it came in and snagged it for her "house". Zach, a few mental seconds behind her, worked a deal to "make a house together." Employing his engineering capabilities, he set to cutting and taping and erecting a structure worthy of the two of them.  Michaela made the door knob and labeled their "hos", and also added some of her feminine touches. (She wanted to tape pieces of candy to the outside but I think Zach vetoed that idea.)

I would like you to take note of several things: the address flagged to the roof, along with the cross denoting that God lives there too, also the his and hers tv's and remote, oh and the well placed shelves.

Please also note the absolute disaster that was left in the wake of their construction. I am holding my breath. Minutes before the action began my family room was perfectly clean. Sooooo clean and nice and clutter free. Oh well. The hours of pure creative engagement and fun that it provided was way more important than my need for clean........right?

P.S. on the "Finally"

I just have to add to the post below because my mom made note of something after viewing it...how cool it was that the day I went out and discovered life blooming from these trees was actually the first day of Spring. Totally missed it. Like I said, it's been a long week. So thanks Mom. :)

Finally...

For the last few weeks I have stepped out my front door most everyday to see if the trees that line our street have begun to show signs of life.  Felt like I was suffering from "a watched pot never boils" syndrome. Geez. What's the deal? Taking forever.

So today, the final day of a very long week, I step out to perform my ritual inspection and...oh my soul...can't stop from smiling...they have finally woken up!  It's about time.

I feel like I owe them an apology for my impatience. Or maybe a thank you for making my day.

Sweet Abby Update

My second post for today, but I wanted to post here a direct link to Abby's new website. Her mother Sarah was able to find an organization that helps with such stuff. 

Please go to:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/abigailkhampeth

Once on her website, link on to "my story" and the "journal". There you will be able to learn more about Abby's condition and also read Sarah's daily journal of how Abby is doing each day.

I will continue to post any major news but I feel much better giving you all a direct connection to the life of Abby as we all continue to pray for her and her family.

Well that was short lived...

Yesterday at around 9am Michaela looked at me and told me she wanted to go to school--after being home sick for two days. She was fever free, full of energy so we got her dressed and fed and went off to school. (She was very relieved to have an "excused tardy".)

She had a good day at school, but fell apart at dinner when I told her she couldn't go to the Cub Scout pack meeting with her brother and dad. (Sometimes I think she's more eager to be a Cub Scout than her brother.) When I was putting her to bed I could feel the heat radiating off her back. The thermometer told it like it was: fever of 101.2.  Again?!

Soooooo...here we are today, again, putting on a puppet show. You can finally meet her puppet friends. From left to right: Miss Mouse, Miss Flower, Little Cow, Josie, and Mr. Ding Dong (he's the one hiding). 

I love the last picture. She's patiently waiting for me to take a picture, rolling around on her bedroom floor. "Come on MOM!"

Roots

Admittedly these two pics were taken yesterday, but they've been on my mind so I wanted to share...

When I was in my friend's backyard yesterday, I could not help but spot this little ground cover berry plant racing to find a place to root and keep himself alive, grow. Just look at him! He has one "feeler" crawling down the side of the stone wall and one taking off in the other direction looking for his next parking spot. How did he know there'd be a place, a small dirt encrusted little hole in the stone steps in which he could stop and set some roots? Sorry if I get so giddy about this stuff, but it truly amazes me at the audacity and sheer power for life to sustain itself--and the amazing beauty of it all!

Just seconds later I am snapping pictures of my two little (well not so little) ones just inches away at the same stone steps. I was struck with the thought that our children grow with that same energy. They are forever sending out "feelers" for places in which they feel safe to stop and send down roots. And like this little plant, they will find roots in the oddest, toughest, maybe dirt-less, places. I look at my two children and think about the haven, the hopefully rich garden, that they have had growing up. How fortunate they are to have been given some good soil to put down roots. But I also know that my parenting has not been perfect and I am sure, as we all do, when they are emotionally mature enough to work through it, they'll see that indeed there were places that they stopped to put roots down in odd places. 

And then I think about the children that have had the toughest lives possible, the ones that have carried crosses no child should carry. That they've indeed grown roots were we thought not possible. But they have, cause children do that. Because they long to find a place and they'll grow whether we are looking or caring or...not.

Makes me want to be a better mom. And it makes me want to be better at loving the ones that are not my own, that perhaps have no safe soil at home. Perhaps I (we) can do better at loving them and offering a safe place to put some roots down.

Twinkle Toes

I am working on an art show project that will feature the beautiful faces of kids who have special needs. Today I took some pictures of two children: Annie and Ashton. In the midst of trying to capture Ashton's smiles I asked him if I could snap some of his feet and toes. I was given permission...so here you go. 

p.s. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts for little Abby. She is hanging in there, her little heart working hard, while everyone is keeping a watchful eye on her. 

Beautiful light...beautiful girl

Most mornings when I am at home working on the computer, emails, school stuff, etc., I often stare out the window facing the street to see the changing morning light. There have been many times in which the fading fog casts a beautiful diffused light over the morning sun. And usually, being alone I am wishing I had someone I could take out there so I can capture him or her in that beautiful light. 

Enter my sick little Michaela. (fever gone, just a juicy cough still lingering)

She allowed just TWO pictures. Two.

That was long enough to interrupt her fuse-bead project. Long enough for me to capture my beautiful girl in the beautiful light. 

Thanks McFruity.

Sickies

I have a sick little girl at home today. Your basic fever, cough, runny nose, etc.  She'll be home tomorrow as well. School rules: gotta be "fever-free" for 24 hours. I should be thankful, this is the first real sicky she's had in a long time as our family stays pretty healthy year round. (knock on wood)

But this is the week to not get sick. Lots of appointments, running around, and a major fundraiser that I am helping with at the kid's school is this Friday. Of course, right?

So we took some time today to sit in the sunshine. She was showing off her newly painted toes and I asked her if she wanted me to take a picture of her handiwork. That brought a smile. 

I'm off to be an audience to her finger puppet show. We have a mini-theater and loads of puppets (thanks to Omi) and she pulls it out now and again. I wish you could hear her right now--her little puppet voices floating down the stairs, practicing for their big show.

It's curtain time...

Spring

Over the weekend I took a trip with my kids (hubby was out of town) to visit an old friend up at her place in Coarsegold. These are her twin daughters Corrissa and Cambria.  (Aren't they sweeties?)

As we began our ascent into the Oak spotted hills of Coarsegold, we were met with the most beautiful display of spring wild flowers. They literally carpeted the grassy hills and collected under the Oak trees: Lupin and Snowbells and others I did not know the names to. When we arrived at Jennifer's place, her two acres were covered with them and the girls immediately began to gather, collect, sweep them up in big over-flowing bunches. 

Since being back home I have seriously been going through withdrawals.  (I even went out in the morning as the sun was rising to catch them opening up to the morning light--how peaceful and soul soothing was that?) Where in Morgan Hill is such a display? Please somebody point me in the right direction!

Here is why I love them so much...because they are tiny and wild, and simple, each shining for their moment, giving way for the next. They are a sign that life is indeed still beating under all that fading winter grey. They grow in harmony with the other green life around them, sweeping down and across the ground where the soil is just right and the bees can find them.  Geez, I need to move to Coarsegold.

Anyway, too many pictures of them to post here. But the second two I posted because I did not know the names of them. If any of you happen to know, please let me know...

Two odd tid bits:

My kids got a kick when I told them that they were distantly related to their friends, Corrissa, Cambria, and Noah.  They share the same great great great grandparents. It's all German Mennonite blood--if you ever step into a Mennonite church you are related somehow to most everyone there. (I attended one in high school--hence where I met Jennifer.) So, Zach said to me at lunch today, "So Noah and I share a pinch of the same blood?" Yes Zach, a pinch. How cool is that?

For the most amazing random display of wildflowers exit 152 east onto 99 south and before you get to Madera you'll suddenly be met with the most vivid carpet of wildflowers (orange, white, yellow, magenta, pink) in the center divide of the highway. Absolutely impossible to stop and take pictures when you are speeding past at 75 mph. Even Zach was impressed. Crazy crazy colors. We wondered if they had been planted? It was too good.

Continuing to pray for Abby...

Thank you all for your sweet prayers for little Abby and for those of you who have passed on the story. I believe there are now hundreds who are praying. If you are checking in for the first time, please scroll down to the March 13th post for details. Please continue to pray for Abby and her parents...and her siblings. Abby has an almost 3 year old sister, Maddy, and and another older brother and sister, Charles and Linnea, who are 7. Charles and Linnea are actually a set of triplets. Their other sister Emily passed away when they were in preschool. Pray for their emotional journey, as they have done this before.

p.s. I will post news as I have it. If you continue to check in and find my regular daily photo postings, please know that I have not let Abby's story go. As Sarah and her family are attempting to be grateful for every day they have with Abby, let us all pray that they will have many of those days...a lifetime.