Late Happy St. Valentines

By Abby.

Sunrise at 881. Amazing...

Some New

Ready for his first swim at the pool- he loved it!

The beginning.

For Joe

A friend of Joe's wrote this for him and sent it. So Beautiful.

Congratulations Erik,

He became a father again, a wonderful gift from the universe
His chance to learn from his son things
He could not see without
His son's eyes leading
Him in new directions
He has much to feel for his son, but not enough time to reflect all of
His emotions
He knows these moments with him will flash by, and soon be a memory
His heart will open more and
He will learn to love himself and the new way he moves through time
His child's eyes will show him what he needs

by Dianne Jones

Our first experience with public school Valentines Day.

At first Abby wasn't that into it but the day before the party she decided she wanted to make Valentines. She cut some nice paper of mine all these patterned variations of green into little rectangles, only big enough for the kids' name with hers on the back. I asked do you want to put any red or pink or valentine stuff on them? " no, she replied, i'm making everyone bookmarks." Oh so cute. She came home amazed at the candy that she got, far from the no sugar policy at her other school.

Wes and I are in sunny farms today waiting to check out and next to us was an older man with bright blue eyes, a cool hat on, and an open kind face. He was looking at a family ahead of him with three kids and at Wes.
The man says:" Isnt it amazing how children can light up the face of any person no matter what their religion or culture is? I read the bible alot and in Matthew it says why. It says that each child has an angel assigned to him and that is why we are so attracted to babies because they are so close to their angels and to God-its almost like you can get a glimpse when you look at them."

His blue eyes twinkled and he walked away all light.
Wow....

Sweet and Lucky Seven

Oh Abs I can't believe you are seven. The time has flown- I remember so well how you learned to crawl around, not doing the classic crawl but the kind where you tucked one leg under and scooted. I wonder if Wes will crawl like you. You had a great birthday yesterday- opened presents first thing off in the morning and then got to pick a breakfast place to go with your Papa, all of us with the day off. Court, Cass and I met you on a run to the park and you joined us for part running on your long skinny legs even helping me push Wes in the jogger for part. You didn't stop moving or bouncing the WHOLE day, you were so excited. You and your Papa decorated the house and you helped clean, then 4 friends from 3 different schools came over for your Pet Shop party. You guys decorated bags with markers and puffy paint, played musical paws, but the best was just running around outside, up in the tree via the rope, and playing your make believe horse games. You love pet shops animals right now, build extravagant houses out of used boxes, paper plates and whatever you salvage from around the house, I am amazed at your inventiveness. You have had a lot of change this year, a new brother and a new school. You have been the best big sister EVER- I love how Wes does his talking/screaming voice the most for you, how his face lights up when he sees you first thing in the morning and when he hears your voice as he is trying to fall asleep he always turns his head to the door to see if he can catch a glimpse of your face before he goes to sleep. School has been an adjustment, you have been brave and have grown up so much. I watch you in class and I appreciate how aware you are of other kids, how kind you are and how you love to joke around and laugh. You like to do well, you love to do art of any kind, you love jumping rope, wearing mismatched knee high socks, to do your homework, and for us to read books to you. You still hate to sit and eat food but do complain less about what we are having. You usually do your own hair now and often pack your lunch for school.

Oh Abs I can't believe you are seven- you are going to have such a good year, I can't wait to watch.

hmmmm...

A good sign or a bad sign that i am eating Nutella straight out of the jar with a knife.

The Beach

Today i got to run in the misty rain to the beach and back. It was a stretch, my lungs and muscles balking for sure. I'm always amazed how quickly my mind says i can't do this, then i hear my running buddy Tess who's worlds away in New Zealand talking in my head, telling me to get my ass up the hill, that i can walk at the top if i need to. You made me laugh Tess and you weren't even here. Thanks girl for being you and for teaching me how to run. Miss you like crazy.