gratitude:

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.- Ralph H. Blum

All our moments are last moments. We abide in the forever leaving of our own coming? We can put our hands together, palm to palm, settling here on the last leaf of our brief flight, and bow to the wonder of it.- Jen Jensen, Bowing to Receive the Mountain, 1997

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.- Melody Beattie


Happy Thanksgiving family and friends! We have been thinking of all of you. We spent the beautiful late morning at Crystal Cove Beach intending to have a nice walk, but due to the incredible temperature ended up playing and napping on the sand. Later, we shared a marvelous feast with our friends Jeff and Nysa. (Nysa's mom did all of the cooking, so I was able to simply relax and enjoy.) Sam loved the feast, particularly the pumpkin pie with whip cream. As my boys are already fast asleep, I just wanted to take a moment to marvel at some of the blessings in my life:

• family-what a gift to create a family with someone you love. I also find it fascinating how the immediate family unit shifts throughout the generations.
• little ones-from the first breath to the present is so rich with life. This fullness is sometimes more challenging than anything I have experienced, yet it is this struggle that brings so much joy.
• health-this body, this mind, this spirit, this breath, this earth, this sky, this sun, this moon, this ocean, this mountain, this bird, this flower....we are all connected. I am in awe of the female body through pregnancy and labor doing exactly what it is designed to do, and so thankful for the tools and trust that have been passed down to me from my mother.

Blessings to you on this beautiful Thanksgiving Weekend.........

Introducing....."Sam on the drums!"

Camping in November

Perhaps the more appropriate title would be "Camping Nine Months Pregnant". Yes, we made it and had a great time.....well, great for the most part. This past weekend we braved the wall of traffic heading north to LA and then east to Joshua Tree National Park. It is a new experience dealing with bumper to bumper vehicles for miles just to get out of town. This turns a two and a half hour drive into four and as many of you know this is not ideal when you're traveling with kids. We arrived at our campsite well past light. Luckily Sam's friend Kendra was anxiously waiting to see her camping buddy. They immediately took off running around and climbing the surrounding boulders by the light of the moon. What a beautiful night and an incredible setting. I was excited to see what everything would look like in daylight.

Not too worry, we wouldn't miss a single moment of the following day. Sam woke at the crack of dawn, actually I think that it was still slightly dark. It is a difficult combination to have adults up late talking around the campfire followed by little ones up before the sunshine. (This would catch up with me later.) In the late morning the troupes gathered for a hike out in the desert. Joshua Tree is a well known spot to climbers and provides ample opportunity to free climb the rounded, grippy, granite rocks. I headed out with the group planning to stay on the dirt and enjoy a relaxing stroll. For some reason the rocks pull you in. I knew my limits and would turn around when I needed to, but absorbed in the moment I ended up higher than I had anticipated. Joe decided to head back with me considering he was carrying Sam in the backpack. Why is it that going down is often harder than going up? I definitely felt and looked awkward on the descent. Imagine a very pregnant lady crawling on her bum. We made it back to camp safely, ate and took advantage of any shade we could find to rest.

The desert in November is hot, at least on this particular day it was probably in the 80's. That evening the wind began to blow and continued through the night making our new family size tent an ideal sail. Sam slept next to me on a blow up air mattress and didn't seem to mind the shaking and snapping. Joe next to us in sleeping bag also didn't seem too bothered by the sounds. For me, it was a constant disturbance to an already restless sleep (too many bathroom breaks to count). Sam was up again at 5AM. This time it was my turn to get up with him. Due to the wind and cold we spent most of the morning playing in the car. When 7:30am rolled around I was losing it, totally exhausted and ready to go home. I realize now what camping involves for parents....a lot of work: packing, cleaning, unpacking, cooking, loading, unloading, etc., etc. Was it worth it? Of course. I loved watching Sam totally engaged in the freedom of playing in the wild: dirty, wearing his pj's most of the day, eating at all times, running barefoot, seeing shooting stars, singing around the campfire, climbing and jumping on rocks, harassing the ant hills and trying to do most things "all by myself". We'll get better at this and the lack of sleep hopefully won't be as disturbing when I am no longer prego.

We're staying home now and nesting until the baby arrives. Thanks mom and dad for all of our camping memories as kids. We love and miss all of you...xoxoxox

"Scary"

The Belly

The belly feels bigger than I remember it being with Sam. However according to measurements it is pretty much the same. Currently I am almost 35 wks. and nearing the final countdown. We still don't know what sex the baby is. I am back to guessing girl. Joe keeps trying to get Sam to pin down what he thinks it is. It varies for Sam too. It won't be long now and we'll be celebrating either way.

My dear friend Kate (we did our yoga teacher training together) was just in town and took these photos. She thinks the belly holds another boy, at least she keeps calling it "he".

Ahhhhhh.......beautiful sunsets on the beach, perfect opportunity for yoga. Sam and I in Trikonasana (triangle pose). I am savoring these final moments of time with Sam alone. We are sending love to all of you and especially Grandpa Jim (it's his birthday today). Happy Birthday!

Future Kayaker?

Over the weekend, Joe took Sam kayaking in the harbor. Sam insisted on wearing a helmet like Dad's even though it is several sizes too big. He also helped man the paddle. (You can imagine how much help that actually was.) About 30 minutes into the adventure, Sam was passed out between Dad's legs. There must be something about the rocking motion. While the boys took the afternoon to play, I enjoyed a yoga date with the little one in my belly, a hot bath and then sat down with a good book. We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. FYI: Sam is no longer using the s-word. Phew!

Potty Mouth

Yes our sweet little Sammy has discovered how to use one lovely swear word: sh....t. I noticed it a couple of weeks ago and ignored it hoping it would simply go away. Joe finally was witness to Sam's naughty word last week at dinner when Sam 's guy fell off the table. We both could hardly contain the laughter. Of course that didn't help. So last weekend we are at a new 3 yr. old friend's birthday party when Sam accidentally drops the crayon he was coloring with. I bet you can guess what came out of his mouth next. Yes and he didn't just quietly say it. He yelled so that all around could hear. Those near were laughing and amazed at his ability to use it in perfect context. As responsible parents, ignoring this behavior is no longer an option. We've given him some new words to use like "oops", "uh-oh", or even "shoot" (despite that it is so similar to the real deal). This is working part of the time, but Sam still prefers the effect of the big S word. Yesterday when he used it once again I told him that it is not a nice word to use and that if he says it, he'll need to take a time out. Sam shaking his head from side to side says, "No, no, no-sh...t." I guess the next step involves washing the mouth out with soap-uuuhh-. Two can be so entertaining.

Sam enjoying the party.