December 30, 2007

Cynthia's Moving Day!

It takes the Begin clan to move a sister from a snug 2 room adorably quirky and sooo European apartment to a lovely house with a bedroom loft, a fireplace, a high ceiling and a wall of windows that must have provided an outrageous view of the storm we just had - ah, the sound of the rain while being warmed by a toasty fire! Heaven!

That's 6 adults, 4 kids, 4 vehicles, a little bit of {umph} muscle, a healthy dose of laughter and a surprise at the end...Bloody Marys and goodies from the Buttery!

While we would have helped without the Bloody Mary, once announced, it was the carrot at the end of the stick! ;)

Let it be known, we work for delicious treats!

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"}

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".

Summer - Dinner w/ the Begin-Schroeder's

Nicolas wanted to show me the paint job he did on his skateboard. Once I pulled my camera out he wanted a picture of the wheels in motion...I can see it spinning, can't you? We actually tried a few times, him viewing each shot after each take. This, without consulting him, I believe is the best 'action' shot.For Nicolas, this was his last day of summer. Not for Kaitlin & Breana! They went away for a week to Tahoe w/ my parents (I'm hoping their pictures turn out.) So for me, I was still basking in the glow of summer.Us 4 decided to play a quick game of Spades - Begin siblings vs Begin in-laws. The game never really reached the height of seriousness that it usually does - was it appetizers that distracted us or the cards? Yes, with the recipes of 52 cocktail drinks it was hard not to examine each card as you dropped it. I think I salivated at a few of the descriptions :]
As time slowly passed and the sun dipped behind the trees I started wishing for an Ace of Spades!
And then dinner was served...grilled burgers, fresh green beans, beans and grilled onions...followed by freshly picked peaches & vanilla ice cream. I believe, by the look of the tree right now, that the tree provided us enough to last until the end of summer.
With full tummys & warm hearts, Dan & I jumped on the tandem for our short ride home. It was another evening that enhanced our appreciation for living down the street from family.
Now to borrow that deck of cards...

Happy Birthday, Dad B

No more words tonight
I will just breathe the air
Like some peace tonight

No more fear tonight
I won't cry anymore
Like some peace tonight

Struggle will bring me home

No more words tonight
I won't cry anymore
Like some peace tonight
Some peace

Remembering a wonderful Dad on Father's Day

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near.
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come." he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pit-fall be,
He, too, must cross in the dwilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.

-Will Allen Drumgoole
(Tennesse poet 1860 - 1934)

Peek-a-boo!

(Nicolas)

June Dinner

Is a feast a feast because of the meal you're gathering around or a feast because of the people you're gathering with?
For the Begin's, I believe when we gather together we could feast on cardboard and think we are the luckiest people on earth.

Enough!

This could have only been the third shot taken of Jesse (Jessup) but just perhaps
one too many!

Whirling fire!

An evening with family to celebrate Jesse's Bday...
...it was on fire!

Weekend Begin style

Fridays aren't considered part of the weekend, I know. It surely helps start off the weekend, though, when the week ends like this...

Violin lessons and accompanying on the piano up in the mountains......dinner at Shogun w/ Kaitlin...

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Kaitlin suggested she pose like this - the picture is a tad blurry and I should have taken another shot. I need to get over my feeling self-conscious of taking pictures out in public. I travel through my days thinking, "this would be a great post for our family blog!" as do the girls and even Dan. Most often I get too camera-shy and the photo doesn't get taken. Beware when I overcome that!

Dinner was delicious.

With Dan & Breana away for the evening, I took this opportunity to spend time with just Kaitlin - no multi-tasking, no distractions, no temptations of reading books, none of that. She dined on California Rolls and me on Hawaiian rolls (love the macadamia nuts) and we shared vegetable tempura - yum! I loved this time with Kaitlin. I love being with my family of 4 and I love having my girls at my side but to be able to focus on one child as I was able to do w/ Kaitlin was a treasured moment.

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Saturday, Dan & I went out to Chocolat. We had a nice pesto dinner at home w/ the girls but felt it would be fun to slip away for a bit. I was in the mood for the delicious 'Bianca' - yum - and book hunting for Mom B. We found two wonderful books - I cannot wait for these to fall on my lap! I definitely found more - how does one stop at just two books!

On Sunday afternoon, after Kaitlin's last full concert for that series, we ended the weekend at the Nickell's for our monthly family dinner & Mom B's birthday.

The Nickell boys had a satisfying weekend as well - their Cross Country Bike Team came in 2nd place! Proud Coach Jesse poses with the trophy.

Appetizers and wine were shared outdoors so that we can catch the last bit of warmth before the sun went down. (72 degrees!)

A perfect weekend - cherished moments, lovely music, delicious meals and the glorious sun.

The Begin Kids - Christmas 2006

Even though I warned them this picture will go on our blog...the two couldn't resist!





Jesse (Jessup), Oliver, Breana & Nicolas.



...looks like Game-Night is at the Nickell's next month!
















Breana, Nicolas & Oliver playing "Mouse Trap".



This is what goes on while you're downstairs cooking!

Olo & Jessup...................................................and Breana



Pictures by Kaitlin.