earth song

My littlest girl (Mom, I'm 11, I am not little anymore) wants to be an actress who also sings and does great things to help the environment.

So this song that she just recorded is fitting, and expresses what is most meaningful to her right now.  She LOVES comments if you have a YouTube account.

second grade

So far, so good.  Our son is in the public school, he has been put in an accelerated class this year.  More challenge, more homework, more reading, more math, which is good for him.

The cool thing is they have microscopes!  And dead bugs to look at.  And computer class.  And they can check "two books out of the library, not just one like last year Mom...

And Mom, my teacher showed the YouTube video of me drumming to the whole class!"

I love it when my kids are inspired!

father's day

We posted a new YouTube video of a song my husband wrote for our oldest daughter, Sky.

The song is called Father's Day.

happy anniversary~the big 15

 

To my favorite
My Q
Best man
Best friend
Sweet dad
I'm glad we still laugh together
You are a great Stanley!
Love you...

happy birthday sky~14

 

To the girl who first made me a mother, and certainly a much better person.  You are a joy to be with.  You add so much light and happiness to all of our family, and to many other people you meet.  I am so grateful and feel very blessed to be your mother.  Sometimes when I look into your eyes I can still see the baby I met fourteen years ago.

reflections on connection

evening sky near my parents' home

Today I came home after rushing around shopping and getting gas with a bit of a headache and I saw that I had 6 comments on my last post.  For me lately, that's a lot.

It made me smile.

I haven't been blogging as much, I have been busier with my new job responsibilities and honestly using - gasp - facebook for connecting with people - old friends and acquaintances, and people all over the world through a humanitarian organization I am part of.  I know, I know.  Facebook!  

Consequently I haven't had time to visit all of your awesome blogs, and I have felt out of the loop.

What is it that makes blogging touch my heart so much?  To have connections with people all over the world, mostly women, mostly mothers, mostly artistic people who like to communicate.  To read about Nienie's daily life with her four kids, knowing she once had a beautiful young face, and now she is happy to be alive, her body and face covered by scar tissue from severe burns.  To know how much pain she is in everyday, but she still has such a good sense of humor, and deep faith.  To pray for her, even though we have never met, and I don't even leave comments on her blog - you can't.  But to pray that she gets her wish -- to have another child.  This touches my heart, to be let into her life.  And to have this image of all of my European blog gals hanging with their kids, milking their goats, growing their gardens.  This somehow makes me feel connected to the entire world.  And this summer in Los Angeles I got to meet fellow blogger Elizabeth, it was so cool!

I suppose it is similar for many of you.  Having a blog somehow makes me feel complete.

Only a few years ago my kids were little and we were 3000 miles from our families and there weren't blogs.  I was isolated and often very lonely.  I longed for community and dreamed of living close to other families with young children, so we could help one another.  I dreamed of finding an old lady who needed a friend, I would visit her and we would tell each other our life stories, and I would bring her homemade muffins, and she would be like a grandmother to my children.  Gary and I even looked at an intentional community called Ecovillage - in Virginia of all places (funny we were just there). Those midday walks down a long driveway to the mailbox a few years ago after not talking to any adult all morning or leaving the house all day with an infant asleep in the house and a two year old about to wake from her nap could bring tears to my eyes.  Don't get me wrong, I loved being an at home mother, and we had a ton of fun.  But it was still lonely sometimes.  Now I am so busy and it isn't so lonely, because the kids are older, more independent, and my life isn't so much about playgroup and cloth diapers and parks and hanging with other moms and kids.  Now we are a busy, bustly family, and with five of us I am never lonely.  Our mailbox is closer, and often the kids get the mail for me.  My kids are all such interesting people, we have full on conversations, and they are becoming more grown up every day.

Everything changes.

But the blog world is my new world pod of people I find I have things in common with - after all I am a mom, a writer, an artist, a photographer, a blabber...

Maybe I am making up for all of those years of loneliness.  I never found the old lady friend...Maybe I didn't look hard enough.  And I am glad for all of the young moms who now use blogging as a means of support and connection. 

Just today I was walking on the beach with my husband, telling him about how I felt that facebook has kind of replaced blogging for me, I am posting photos, writing things, getting comments.  Similar, but not the same.  It's far less personal.  And on purpose.  Facebook is for marketing Gary's music.  (So if you are on facebook, and interested in checking out Gary's music page, let me know...)

But blogging is for me, my creative outlet, my connection, my new friendships. I told Gary today that I felt bad that I had lost touch with so many great blogging friends.

So although I have been quasi lame and a bit out of touch, I wanted you all to know how much it meant to me, to come home to 6 comments, like a confirmation from the universe to keep blogging.  When something makes us feel that good, it's something worth paying attention to.

Thank you friends.  I'll be back.

more viriginia

My birthday this year (July 14, Bastille Day) was spent in Virginia visiting dear old friends, in fact the man who introduced me to my husband.

We were gone for forty days this summer.  It was such a fun trip, but also a bit if a blur.  When I look back at the photos I remember so many happy memories.  But being away for so long is a bit chaotic.
We have always left home for the entire summer.  But I am starting to feel like we need to rethink our trips.  We shall see...

But back to Virginia.  I loved walking around the wooded neighborhoods of McClean with my girls on my birthday, while Shawn played basketball for a straight hour.  Then we all had dinner with our friends, take out Italian, and ended the night with some live music.  I even sang into the microphone.  My newest favorite song, "Smile," by Charlie Chaplin.

A few weeks later we came home to a newly remodeled dance room where I am learning to hook our TV up to Youtube via my computer for karaoke of our favorite songs.  We are going to get a couple of cordless mics and practice singing and you guys better look out, I just might sing for you.  Ha ha!

holland house

July 2010:  It all started when we drove to my old apartment in Old Town Alexandria and simply parked the car to walk around my old neighborhood.  We came upon this beautiful property that I had never noticed when I lived there in my distracted 20's -- right across the street from my apartment.  A man was gardening outside of the brick wall and noticed me being nosy glancing in the old wooden door propped open to see the garden.  Turns out he was the friendly owner and he seemed to appreciate our curious and enthusiastic nature, and invited Gary, the kids and me in to see the grounds.  He gave us a tour of his amazing garden and the next thing we knew he invited us to see the inside of the house.

Part of it was built in 1750!  Some was added in the early 1800's and the rest in the later 1800's.  The painting above the fireplace is an original of our founding father, George Washington.  The owner showed us a book from the 1500's in his library, we saw original wood floors, and molding on the walls.  He took us back outside and gave us more information on the property.  George Washington had surveyed it hundreds of years ago....During a remodel a few years back they uncovered a layer of rutted gray stone which was part of the original outdoor steps. It was purposely left exposed as the remodel continued all around it.  The Thomas Jefferson statue was life sized.  Note the carriage house in the last photo, used to store buggies.  There was also a small barn for the animals.  It was an incredible stroke of luck and we all loved the experience.

What a great experience of seeing history for our children.  I could never have planned this as a home school field trip!

It really struck me being back east how much history that part of our country holds.  Made me appreciate all of the antique trips my parents took us on, when I was a child, as they hunted for treasures.  It's much harder to find those treasures now.  And my parents found some amazing deals in the 70's.

old town alexandria

This summer we road tripped to Virginia to see old friends and Amma.  While we were there we visited Old Town Alexandria, and got to show the kids a little of our country's history.  I lived in Old Town after graduate school, while I worked as an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital in neighboring Washington, DC.  Pictured above are the girls and I in front of my first apartment front door.  Location: 402 Wolfe Street.
I love visiting places I have lived.
So many memories. 

family

We had a wonderful visit.