I'm back!

Hello blog. I've missed you, sort of. Actually, I've been having a really good time in real life. Trying to really stay present in each moment. Remembering who I am, getting back to basics, to the things I know for sure, what matters most. I can't believe its been so long. I'll let the photos do most of the talking.

We finished up T-ball season. The boy was totally in his element. He was sad it was over "already".

My babygirl turned...

Spring finally came!

With summer not far behind.

My middle girl wow'd us all at her violin recital. I'd post a video but we're having technical difficulties getting it out of hubster's phone and onto my 'puter for some reason. You'll just have to trust me. It was amazing. :)

I got busy around the house. I've been painting my head off. I've painted the kitchen and all the bedrooms. Here's our totally redone room. It used to be dark, cozy, brown walls, red curtains, and very, um..."lived in". Not anymore.

I can't believe that is the view of my room from my bathroom. I want to take a nap now. :)

Other than that, its just the little surprises of everyday life...

Ordinary joys...



That's making time go by so fast.

And So It Begins...

My boy has wanted to play baseball for as long as he has known what baseball is. Here is the unfolding of a night of firsts, a night of a dream come true for my sweet boy.

Here are all the fella's. The Braves. A team of "Doug Newberrys" (quickly becoming the team inside joke...notice the fine print) My little Doug Newberry is #2.



OH. Be still my heart!





GO TEAM!!!





OH! Be still my heart...





Sorry...did I mention the hubbo is coaching this year? HOT!


Anyhoo, let's get back to the action! Check out the look of total anticipation and joy. Bubs is about to take his first swing, in his first game. Ever.




I so want to write "RUN, FORREST, RUN!!" here.




AND, he's safe!




He's a natural, I tell ya!




And here he comes, rounding the bases, for his first run scored!! Ever!! (Again, note the total-joy-moment on the face)




Can I just say again...I LOVE LOVE LOVE this boy.

I'm still here!

Oh, its been a long time since I posted! Time seems to be flying right now! Much has happened since the last post. Getaway weekend with the hubster, an outdoorsy family weekend, and the SUN made a brief, but glorious return. I'm feeling like I'm reaching a place of sort of arriving at the starting gates if that makes any sense. I've done so much wishing, dreaming, soul searching as of late, I think I'm finally ready to get to the DOING! I'm getting into a fairly good rhythm of writing, and I've even sent a few things out for publication! Woo-hoo, go me! I don't think I'll hear anything back for a few months, but I'll keep you posted! There's been a lot of good, good soul reads lately, May Sarton's "Journal of a Solitude", Sabrina Ward Harrison's "Spilling Open", Christine Mason Miller's "Ordinary Sparkling Moments", and the works of Mary Oliver are filling my mind and heart with lots of new inspiration. There's more, but I want to get on with the photos!! (I'll update my Random Books list soon!)


Sorry, just have to start this off with this pic of my middle girl at her class presentation on Australia. How cute is she?! (she's the one in the uh, middle)



I got away with my hubby for a weekend in Arizona. I think this may count for #15 on the list . The Grand Canyon really is quite grand. The jacuzzi tub in our room was pretty grand too.



We went away with some friends to their amazingly huge property in Oregon. My kids were in absolute heaven. There were horses, boats, fishing, and general stomping around in the bush for 3 days straight. They came home completely exhausted, but totally happy.



And THEN...the SUN came out! Glorious, heavenly sunny warmth blessed the Northwest for exactly 3 days. It. was. awesome!



When the sun went away, I took the kids to see Monsters Vs. Aliens in 3D Imax. Please excuse the serious camera shake on this next one. Trying to shoot in the dark without a flash is tricky. Still, its kind of fun that it actually kind of looks like a 3D photo! Maybe if we all put on our glasses it will be clear! Taking them was a total blast, and the movie was very fun. The best part was seeing my kids totally enchanted, wearing their ginormous 3D glasses. Including the babygirl, but unfortunately not in the picture, as she was sitting in my lap. Another reason for the camera shake!



My oldest daughter has suddenly become a HUGE help taking care of her baby sister. Here we are at the kids hand's on museum. These two shared some serious sisterhood while we were there. Too cute!



They have a magnetic poetry wall there. These words stood out to me like a little message to my heart.



I will try to get better at keeping up here. Thanks for checking in!

Having Fun

I had a wonderful gift of time given to me the past few days. My mother in law took my littlest one for a few days of "special time with Grandma" so that meant I had some extra special time with my boy, and by myself. The boy and I went into the city, to the science center to be exact and had a total blast. He really is a fun little guy to hang out with!

OH, OH, and look what I made! I have to say that I feel a mix of pride that this my first foray into mixed media collage turned out pretty cool for a first timer, and also I feel a bit lame-o since its a total copy of Kelly's style, and I just followed her directions in her awesome book. I am really interested in pursuing this artistic medium, but I wonder how I will ever come up with my own style? I suppose I'll just keep trying, and see what happens! This collage is made up of bits and pieces of copied pages of my grandmother's journal. She wrote down little anecdotes of my first 5 years of my life. I've always cherished this, but I recently found entries that were particularly meaningful to the journey I currently find myself on, that is, becoming a writer, artist, and who knows what else. She actually saw little bits and pieces of this back then, and wrote about them, not knowing how important it would be to me now. Also, she was a frustrated artist and writer, and I want to honor her, as I move forward in my own vision for an artistic and literary life. Her words are there, cheering me on as I remember my "inner child" who thought she could do anything, and loved words as soon as she knew what they were, saw beauty everywhere, and thought birds were "magic in the sky". I'm going to put this up somewhere, to be my little muse whenever I need a bit of help. Oh, and the child's writing is mine. Its an actual post card I sent to my Grandma from Colorado where we were on vacation in 1976, so I was 4 years old. Its very likely the first letter I ever wrote. It says, "My bed is cozy, It is nice here." 'Nuff said, right? I like that its like a little message back to Grandma, telling her that all is well with me, 30 years since she passed on (30!, wow), and her words mean a lot to me. I remember now. Thanks, Grandma. Love you still.

Favorite Things, Part II

I love reading.  

I love books.  

I love learning new things.  

I love my husband.  

I love kid 1, kid 2, kid 3, and kid 4.  

I love staying up late. 

 I love sleeping in.  

I love time to myself.  

I love time alone with my husband. 

 I love time alone with each kid. 

 I love family outings.

I love massages. 

I love libraries. 

I love getting new books.  

I love getting packages in the mail.  

I love my computer. 

I love email. 

I love facebook. 

I love all my friends past and present, new and old. 

I love my first family.  

I love writing. 

I love my new camera.  

I love my new camera bag. 

I love my new notebook. 

I love ideas.  

I love feeling inspired.  

I love my memories.  

I love listening to just the right song at just the right moment.  

I love going somewhere I have never been.  

I love long hugs.  

I love long kisses. 

I love being surprised by the first scents of Spring. 

I love surprise snow storms.  

I love Kansas.  Lawrence, in particular.

I love traveling.

I love the colors pink and purple, all shades.

I love God.  (ok that should have come up sooner...just keeping it real, not editing that)

I love hot, summer nights.  (I miss Kansas for that one)

I love the smell of Fall.

I love fireplaces and campfires.

I love the smell of books.

I love the smell of crayons and school.(I think that actually IS the smell of school)

I love the opportunity to reinvent myself at age 37.

I love the TV show Lost.

I love looking forward to the future.

I love bubble baths.

I love hot tubs.

I love snuggling up with the hubby or any of my kids, or all of them at the same time.

I love my bed, especially with flannel sheets in the winter.

I love making this list, because even these things are all mostly very fluffy, material things, it makes me realize how very truly blessed I am.  I could probably add to this all night.  But for now, I will bask in the loveliness of broad horizons, children sleeping, soft music playing and a moment all to myself.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

These things make me very, very happy.

Squam, here I come

I have THE best hubby in the world.  I waited and hemmed and hawed, and almost talked myself out of asking to do this amazingly dreamy thing in the Fall.  I asked.  He said yes.  I'm going.  It was part of #38 on my list.   It will be a catalyst to many other things on my list.

Maybe you want to go too?

I honestly feel like I am about to make a quantum leap in my life.  Scary.  Wonderful.