O Great Spirit,

Play:



Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me! I am small and weak, I need your
strength and wisdom.
Let Me Walk In Beauty, and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Let My Hands respect the things you have
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make Me Wise so that I may understand the things
you have taught my people.

Let Me Learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock. I Seek Strength, not to be greater than my
brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.

Make Me Always Ready to come to you with
clean hands and straight eyes.

So When Life Fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame

{Native American Prayer from "A Grateful Heart"}

Sonoma Weekend

Kaitlin, Breana & Nicolas had a lot of fun up in Sonoma.
Hopefully more pictures with a post by Kait & Bea will come shortly!

December 22-23, 2007

We spent the weekend before Christmas up in Sonoma. I tried to contribute to the bits & pieces needed to keep the property running smoothly through the winter season - some how I come up short on the 'To Do' list while clearly Bill, Mia & Dan manage to check off a slew of things.

After our bike ride into town Dan & I helped Bill & Mia with raking and distributing the leaves back out to the front vineyard. I thought of taking snapshots of Mia raking leaves, Bill on the tractor, Dan kicking the big pile of leaves {to distribute out} and me running with the worn-out blue tarp snapping behind me [after we've dumped the leaves from it] but thought I'd leave that to the imagination.

At the end of the day, as we are at the end of every day, we're rewarded with the dramatic departure of the sun. Dan holds out until the bitter brittle end as I retreat inside by the fire. I'm not as hardy, I guess.
Our departure came too soon - we can stay here forever. Thankfully Christmas was before us and the celebration was to begin and to continue at home in Santa Cruz.
Nanni Begin with her 3 youngest "punky-poohs".

Breana's Winter Choir Concert - on the bottom, third from the right.

Dispite being sick, we were commited to making it a special day for our Dan. After Breana's Choir Concert we blew out candles amidst the glow of our Christmas lights and celebrated him.
We hope he understands how important he is to us three - how much he means to us - how thankful we are to him.

We had more to celebrate in December : my Parent's 43rd anniversary, Mia's birthday, Dick's 60th birthday, Billy's 3rd birthday and his brother, Noah's 1st...
Kaitlin & Breana didn't participate in Blue's activities but they did gather for cake...who doesn't gather for cake?

Those engrossed in football, of course!

(Dan & Matthew)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

NEED (noun) : a thing necessary for life

Today after school, Kaitlin, Breana & I "manned" Salvation Army's Angel Tree for a few hours. The Angel Tree represents gift requests from kids 12 and under. These children's names were pulled from files of families that are in dire need.
Kaitlin & Breana each took a moment to silently read the tags that were hung on the tree and that laid side-by-side on 3 tables. They went their own direction around the tree & table and each had their own purpose that they put on themselves.
Breana sorted out the toys that were received and sought out gift requests by girls her same age - she was so affected by all the tags that signified kids in need.
Kaitlin counted the tags and sat a bit numb at the number of kids in need {approximately 200}. She even answered a few questions by a passer-byer. Kaitlin had read the binder of instructions that was left for the volunteers and was able to answer questions intelligently & confidently.
Breana took a tag for a 10 yr old girl who requested a board game. She asked me if she could buy a board game for this girl. (How can I deny her that?) Then on the way out of the Mall she found a fairy doll that a 9 yr old girl requested and wanted to buy that one, too. Her "need" was to fill the requests of two girls she hadn't met.
They were both overwhelmed at the amount of kids - their age - with basic desires & needs. We talked about needs being met and desires being filled - we acknowledged that our needs are fully & completely met as are our simple & reasonable desires. We don't need much more than that materialistically.

Next week we watch over the Angel Tree for a few hours again although I want it to be more than helping those in need. It's about putting faces to stories of those in need, it's about realizing that these faces are human & real and could be the girl/boy that they sit next to in class, and it's knowing that we all have our own stories and all should be treated with respect & kindness.

I'm proud of my girls - the difference between how they reacted while serving Thanksgiving Dinner at the Salvation Army 3 years ago to how they served this year is leaps & bounds. They were less timid and less hesitant. They approached individuals on their own and helped each one with sincerity. They do walk away from the evening affected, just as being in the midst of the Angel Tree affects you, there's no way you can't be.

Welcoming December

We set out for the beach to watch the Lighted-Boat Parade but somehow found ourselves at Main Beach by the Wharf. Finding 'mishaps' like this to be happenstance, I drove down past the Boardwalk to park by this house. Every year this house always makes me laugh but it was always viewed in a drive-by. Part of me thinks of the Griswold's Christmas and I chuckle. Part of me appreciates the time & effort that it takes to pull something this together and I smile. I'm reminded to always keep my sense of humor and to appreciate what others have to offer - no matter how blatantly 'sweet' it is :) This was our first year to park by this house and soak it all in. Each of us saw different aspects of the light display to enjoy. Parking caused us to take the time to acknowledge what each of us found to be important which made the whole display - the whole picture - much more meaningful.For Kylie it was the blue Christmas Trees. For Breana it was how the reindeer looked like a horse (go figure!). For me it was the Nativity scene set upon the slope of the rooftop. For Brayton, well he soaked it all in one glance and returned back to his DS :) He was patient, I'll take it!
Pleased with out "visit" and our shared laughter we set out to the 'right' beach.

We parked high above the bonfires amidst the black backdrop of the night and chalked up the parade as cancelled due to the weather - not a single lit-boat in sight. Staying warm & dry in the vanagon we set for home. Could it be for real?! On our way home I was met by a stream of cars exiting the harbor! Luck have it, we found not only a lit-up-all-fancy-parade but a parking spot and a bench above the glistening water!
While I knew my camera wouldn't be able to snap a clear photo of the boats in motion, the shimmering of brightly lit reflections certainly captured the mood. With our eyes all excitedly lit up and our spirits warm by the lights, we headed for home. A perfect way to welcome December!

November 27, 2007

This late-afternoon sky brought a thin chill to our ears & exposed fingers while we watched Breana's Middle-School Soccer Team play against SLV. Kaitlin, the good-student she is, brought her books and finished her assignments, and, the good-sister she is, cheered on Breana and was elated with her performance on the field! (I did have to her hold her back, it's hard for these soccer-types to not be on the field playing!)MH won 2-1 all in the second half with Breana scoring the 2 goals.
This girl is fast, real fast!
For one goal she received a pass from her defender, out-smarted SLVs defender and chipped it over the goalie's head into the net. For her last goal, she received a pass from her midfielder, sped past their defender putting herself one-on-one with the goalie & into the net. It was sweet - yup, she's fast!