Peaceful Warrior

Christmas this year--came in several doses and it happened early.

In September my mom took us to Seattle and Lopez Island, most definitely one of my favorite places to visit in the whole world.

Then, in mid December I got to go to Phoenix with Susan and Crit and the munchkins. It was superb! Hanging out with the BFF, eating midnight pizza, skirts and sandals, fireworks, skinny dipping in Lake Saguaro in December? Yep that's right-- it's true. I still haven't given it up. I dare say I never will. I'll be skinny dipping when I'm 80 years old!

On the way home from Arizona I was a bit sad... and that's when Christmas really happened this year. My dad was there waiting for me and Ezra when we got off the plane. We collected our bag and as we were heading out of the airport my dad pointed out three travellers sitting by the payphone with all their bags. My dad said offhandedly "I think they might be stranded" and without hesitating I walked over to them (mind you Ezra is in the backpack so I'm figuring they will feel less intimidated by a braided hair chick with a kid on her back) and asked them if they needed help. It turned out they had each come from different parts of Central and South America and were on their way to Sun Valley to work at the resorts for the winter, but their shuttle had never come for them so they were stuck in Boise in the terribly stormy weather at 10:00 at night. And the Boise airport is not exactly hoppin at 10 at night so there was no food or anything. Anyway they were waiting for a call to see if the lodge might send someone for them (three hours away). I told them if they needed a place to stay they could come to our place. They said they had to wait 20 or 30 minutes for their call to see what would happen. I gave them my number to call if they ended up stuck and we left. I told my dad I wanted to get them some food and bring it back to them so we went and got them a pizza. When we got back to give it to them they were so shocked. They were like "Why are you helping us?"

Well...why? How many times have I been stuck, stranded, or in need of a miracle? I can't number them. But I can say I totally KNEW the look I saw in their eyes. I knew how they felt. And I wanted to help, for all the times somebody has helped me.

So... they got a tour of the exciting farmland between Boise and Nampa on VERY snowy streets, and they got some dinner. They got warm beds and showers, they got a local bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes breakfast, a lunch bag to go, and a ride back to the airport the next day. Thanks to my dad for going along with how I wanted to help. :) He is such a good sport.

It was the boost I needed to get me back into being home. And now we have three new friends. :)

That's Christmas. If you ask me. And I don't mind that it came a little early this year.

Leandro (from Argentina), Manuela (from Brazil) and Luis (from Peru)Making Breakfast for the crew-- (and yes that is spit up on my arm, its part of my wardrobe now).

So now go watch the movie called Peaceful Warrior. It's a bit odd, BUT here's the point I got from it, which has been stewing in me this last year: In everything you do whether it be pumping gas, making a bed or a lunch, or competing in the Olympics...do it with your heart. Do the little things that no one else may ever see or know about with as much attention and care as you would do the things that seem grand and "important" and noticeable-- and do them all with love.

That is what this world needs.

McCall Idaho

This is how Ezra felt about spending the week in McCall with Papa J, and ALL of his cousins and aunts and uncles on my side of the family--One 6 year old and 5 babies under the age of two!

Favorite Things

I went swimming!!!!
One of my favorite things in the whole world is swimming. And it's been a long time sice i've had a chance to just swim and it felt so very good! I LOVE it. I would swim every single day if I could.

My sister Heather and I decided to be very brave (or stupid) and accompany our dad to Oregon WITH our kids! While an infant, toddler and high maintenance 6 year old don't make travelling quite like I am used to-- It's all good...part of the initiation into motherhood-- it makes travelling different but its still great. Anyway the drive through the pacific northwest was absolutley beautiful and Papa J has been incredibly helpful AND very patient with all our stuff and our kids (Much more patient than I remember him as a kid--way to go dad :)) . We spent last night in Portland then headed out to the coast where we will be for a few days. We are staying in a quaint little town called Yachats. We have already enjoyed clam chowder and fish and chips (mmm...my favorite). I am so excited to be here-- I have always felt that the pacific northwest is home in my heart and I am really enjoying showing my son around.

This is a great little campground where we stopped for lunch and a kid break on our drive down

(photos include Heather, Hadley(in the background), Amelia, Papa J and Ezra Jubal)

Laughing is good

Ok- so Im' not sure if this will be as funny to you as it was to me but I laughed so hard I actually ALMOST peed my pants...

Yetserday Murv and i took a trip to see my midwife. As we were driving home he decided to stop by the Blanco River and wash his feet in the river and put on some new shoes-- He has been wearing his boots (with shorts) because he hasn't been able to find any shoes that are compatible with his very sensitive skin on his feet. Anyway he finally found a pair that he is going to try out and decided to get his feet nice and clean so he could put his new ones on. I happened to have some soap in my bag in the car (always ready if a shower opportunity presents itself) so I got it out for him. He was sitting on this steep incline washing his feet and all the sudden I heard a muffled "aaugh" sound and looked over just in time to see him slide all the way down the incline and up to his chest in water. I so wish I had before and during pictures of this moment. I have to say this is one thing I love about Murv too-- I would have been so mad-- he just started laughing and didn't mind that I was laughing too. Anyway the only dry clothing options in the car happened to be a pair of MY swimming shorts. They are like those soft felty board shorts and they happen to be pregnant size, and pretty girly colors. As he was putting them on he exclaimed, these are really nice! You might have to know Murv for this to be as funny as it was but, watching him wearing my shorts was on my top five funiest things this year...



A picture is worth a thousand words

To Houston, to Houston...

Last weekend on the spur of the moment, Murv decided to take me to Houston as my first mothers day gift--to see my long time friend Merri Lyn. Merri Lyn is a golf coach and one of her players made it into the NCAA tournament. Since she lives in PA I don't get to see her much and since the two days preceeding the trip the temperature was 99 and then 100... I was pretty excited for a little escape! It was so fun to be spontaneous and "run away." We stayed in Merri Lyn's hotel room with her right in the middle of downtown Houston. We were very lucky because we arrived in Houston just after midnight on Saturday and it just so happens that the only time parking is free in Houston is on Sunday! So we got a good safe spot pretty close to the Hotel and ddin't have to pay $25.00 for hotel parking. Sunday we got to watch Merri Lyn's player (cute girl from Peru that was very confused about why Murv was wearing boots with shorts at the golf course :))practice for the tournament at a really pretty golf course. We had a lot of fun tooling around on Merri Lyn's official Cal U coach golf cart-- we saw beautiful wildflowers, ducks, turtles sunning themselves, all kinds of beautiful old trees, and free cold water at every hole. The course was so pretty and there was a nice breeze and we really had a great time messing around and laughing like kids again!
We also found an amazing art studio that we checked out. I took some pictures of this rusted sculpture of a man playing the upright bass-- he was padlocked to the back gate at this amazing studio. Its actually a studio and residence of the artist-- at the same time-- so cool.
Anyway I was definitley ready to get out of the big city but it was a great little weekend adventure.

Leaving Wimberley-- ahh so pretty...

Mothers

This is my tribute to moms...

i feel it in my whole being-- this joy of creating and nurturing life-- and awe and respect for so many amazing mothers that I look up to and hope I can become like in this journey I have begun...

Morning Song

Sylvia Plath

Love set you going like a fat gold watch.

The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry

Took its place among the elements.

Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue. In a drafty museum, your nakedness

Shadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.

I'm no more your mother

Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow

Effacement at the wind's hand.

All night your moth-breath

Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:

A far sea moves in my ear.

One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral

In my Victorian nightgown.

Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window square

Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you tryYour handful of notes;The clear vowels rise like balloons.

About 34 weeks

I have about 6 more weeks to go...I seriously can't stop smiling

I am still loving being pregnant-- my face and my feet are starting to get swollen...but it's pretty cool to be in constant communion with this little kid. I can't wait till we get to meet! I am even feeling pretty cool about the whole labor and delivery thing... :)

ok-- this one made me laugh so hard I had to post it-- its freaking (and freakishly) hilarious to me

I love the little bean!

Dinner last night

On a lighter note...last night I made the best dinner! Our friend was given a whole bunch of fresh spinach grown right here in Wimberley and he gave it to us! So I steamed up fresh asparagus and spinach, and served it with brown basmati rice, butter, lemon, and wild sockeye salmon cakes. I got the salmon cake recipe from my friend Kimmie-- super easy:

An egg, saltine crackers, canned salmon, thyme, dill, cayenne, spike, a little mayo and lemon juice. It was delicious!

Back in Texas

Well-- I got brave enough to come back home to Texas. So far the weather has been really nice-- I am accepting the humidity and trying to enjoy it, since the beautiful flowers and green come a long with it-- it makes it easier... I did get a bunch of mosquito bites on my ankles the other night-- which are already swollen enough. I am trying to adjust back to the lifestyle here. It's going pretty well. I'd say my spirits are pretty high, in spite of things not being the way I would really like them at our cabin. We still have no power. Murv's brother was going to send us an inverter but that never happened-- so, no power and no bathroom...still...But the dogs are healthy and safe and sound, and Murv is still Murv. He had a little boy and his tutor come over for a padobe making workshop and it was really fun to show the kid about recycled paper and padobe making. We also made some test tiles and put bright colors of tumbled crushed glass in them. We are going to see if we can use them to tile the floor in our cabin. So far they look pretty good but they aren't dry enough to figure out yet.

Sifting the sand out of the crushed glass (yes that was the condition of Murvs hair after 6 weeks)

buried in paper
smoothing out the bricks

Another exciting thing is that our little food buyers coop- The Bountiful Sprout did a test run order with a produce outfit in Austin. Even though I am not officially on the board, I got to be there to help divide up the order. I left with a box full of fresh, beautiful organic beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes, asparagus, cilantro, bananas, pink lady apples, grapefruit and avocados. All for about $21.00! It was a bit confusing dividing the food out but all in all it was a very exciting first run! Now I just need a refrigerator so all my yummy healthy food does not go bad, and I can keep getting more!

Jamie and Evan unloading the goods!

mmmmm.....yummy!

P.S. Murv did get a haircut thankfully