Year 6 is off to a snowy start

Zeb's birthday present? A snow day.

For breakfast we had chocolate pancakes. We built 2 lego sets. He played a kinect video game while I got some work done. Then we set out to hike to Golden Gardens to play in the snow with Iko. We had many stops along the way to sit in the snow, tip it off of tree branches, slide down steps, roll down the trail, eat "snow cones" (from the top of wooden fence posts in the park), slide down the slide, then walk the hill and stairs back to the coffee shop for hot chocolate (and they even had rice milk and non-dairy chocolate to make him a hot cocoa!). We took the bus for the last leg of the trip home then warmed up with dinner and a movie.

Photos from yesterday are in the Year 6 set.

Happy Birthday, Zeb!

Farmer's Luck

On New Year's Eve, I posted the following to Facebook and want to share it here as well:

I've been living "The Farmer's Luck" story the last few days. You know the story? The farmer had a horse. It ran away. The neighbors said, "such bad luck." The next day the horse returned with two more, "such good luck." The best example from the last few days: as I'm driving, my car starts beeping and flashing an oil container symbol. The owner's manual says, "pull over. stop driving. call your dealer." Dealer says put in 1 quart of oil and bring it in. Get to the dealer, "Are you prepared to leave your car over the weekend?" "Um. No. Could you help me arrange a rental?" "I can do better. Here's a loaner. We're closed Monday so the soonest we'll get your car back to you is Tuesday." The free loaner? It's a bright red, 2011 Audi A4 with 900 miles, Sirius radio, heated leather seats, and goes really really fast. "Maybe good luck and bad luck are all mixed up. You never know what will happen next."

Looking back, being now, hoping forward

2011 was a year of empty spaces: creating them, exploring them, letting go of the need to fill them. Twelve months of new moons: darkness, letting go, purging fruitless thought patterns. It was a year of self-love: acupuncture, therapy, practicising saying "no." A cycle around the sun of expanding spirit: playing piano, meditating, spending time with me. A year of parenting: kindergarten, swolphins, my son as a mirror shining light on my inner child.

My hope is that 2012 will be a year of clearer spaces: less dust, discernment, welcoming what is desired. May it be twelve months of full moons: lightness, joy, receiving blessings. A year of love: myself, my family, opening up to "yes." 365 days of: shining, joyful, bold bountiful beautiful being.  A year of mothering: first grade, coaching, a cycle of meaningful and memorable rituals.

And, I intend to take Neil Gaiman's advice and make mistakes...and enjoy the wisdom that comes from learning rather than the criticism of imperfection.
Happy new year and much love to you all.