The Circle of Life

I had the privilege of helping host two quite meaningful gatherings last weekend: a memorial for my good friend Alex on Saturday, and a baby shower for another good friend Corrie on Sunday.  The Lord coordinated the entire weekend with so much meaning and lessons to be learned.  Once I knew what he or she was up to...I listened in carefully, knowing there was much more meaning than I could possibly comprehend or certainly begin to explain with words. 

The passing of my friend Alex was such a humbling experience for many, and this family handled the entire situation with such strength and compassion.  This is one solid rock family, which I will forever adore.   I just love how they were able to keep Alex's True and fun loving nature alive, and sprinkle that spirit to all of her loved ones who were able to attend the gathering. 

The party was held at Fiesta Island, one of Alex and Ryan's favorite places to chill.

Now Merrick on the other hand, you can occasionally find him chilling.  However, more times than not, he is exercising everything, including his mouth!  Yes, he is HUGE into chatting and scaring, believe it or not!  He hides behind doors, curtains, corners...you name it!  He knows I really despise being scared (I think it physically hurts me), so he randomly spares me by telling me he's had a change of heart.  BAHH!!!!

What is the epitome of chill?  ...Kierce reading a novel.  She just loved this photo of herself reading...even more incentive for me to share.  The girls read anywhere from 8-12 novels or more per month, and are so into learning anything through adventures inside of a story.  On the other hand, all of the kids thoroughly enjoyed plenty of swim time and just plain fun with the other kiddos at the party.  It was a very full day of fun in the sun!    Kierce has always loved taking pictures and definitely has a natural talent in the area of photography.  She had a lot of fun helping me with some edits and was so excited about the final product.

Two really awesome ideas surfaced at the end of the day- a) lets make this a yearly gathering to celebrate Alex's life and keep her memory alive, b) sign and date the banner (which was so kindly created by a friend) every year at the gathering.  Rowan is always so careful and thoughtful.  Whatever she puts down in ink with be the Truth and very well thought out.  After much reflection, she settled on a very gentle and loving message, a True reflection of herself.  This girl has certainly kept me on my toes lately, however has given me more and more opportunities to simply love on her.  

Alex lived at the property I manage, and of course there were a few loose ends hanging around after the family had packed everything up and left.  Before meeting Alex I saw this pink ribbon (breast cancer) wind chime hanging outside her apartment, made of metal rings.  Quite a while after officially meeting her, she proceeded to tell me about her condition, which then explained the story behind the wind chime.  About a week after she passed, I found myself looking at this wind chime, wondering what on earth to do with it.  At last, inspiration sparked to take apart the chime ring by ring, in hopes to bring the pieces to life again someday.  Well, that someday came sooner than I had ever imagined.   

My gorgeous friend Corrie and her family Gal and El are expecting a sweet new addition to their family very soon.  ...a baby boy.  I was honored to be apart of showering her with love and all things good in preparation for this new bundle of joy.  I just loved the rustic and wise Native American theme set for this party.  The energy of the women in attendance was so sensitive and gentle, yet fierce in the love they each expressed.

Notice the ring?  Corrie's good friend's Stacey and Dawn had a great idea to make the baby a dream catcher.  The night before the party, we still hadn't quite settled on how to implement the idea, so I mentioned we should sleep on it and added that I just knew that everything would fall into place by morning.  Guess what...?  Of course it did.  I looked through my jewelry making supplies and found the most perfect rings to bring this dream catcher to life for this pure babe.  

In the afternoon, the most glorious circle of women formed, ready and wanting so deeply to rain love on this beautiful mother.  One of the stories brought me to a place of intense emotion.  The story was about an African tribe giving every child a song before the child is even conceived.  The mother goes under a tree and waits until the song arrives for the child that wants to be birthed.  The tribe then sings this song to the child at special events.  As the child ages, if ever he were to commit a crime, the tribe then creates a circle around the person and sings his song to remind him of who he really is, remind him of his Truth in love.  When you recognize your own song, you have no reason or desire to harm another.  This is when this overwhelming urge to sob came across my chest.  What if- we all chose to see others for their Truth in less than desirable situations?  What if- instead of incriminating others for a crime, we instead chose to shine a light on that person to help remind them who they really are?  What then would the world be like?  ...absolutely gorgeous.  Many tears were shed during this time of sharing; I am so grateful to have bared witness to so much unconditional love.

I am so blessed to have such a pure, gentle and loving friend.

Lots of little joyful hands helped create the dream catcher for the baby.

Women and children of all ages helped bring this dream catcher to life.

Much gratitude to this mother and little babe for allowing the circle of life to be so complete, real, meaningful and even healing in this circumstance.  The circle of life and love includes SO much: our first breath, so much love, allowing tears, big hugs, mindful and not so mindful steps, gut laughing, curious exploring, so MUCH LOVe, earnest listening, open dreaming, genuine smiles...and even our last breath in this vessel, to breathe our most genuine breath in spirit.

   

"Dream your dreams with your eyes closed, but live your dreams with your eyes open."

Eric Collier

Let us forever keep that precious childlike joy and silliness alive...

...free and open to express to the world what the loving circle of life is all about.

A Picture Story About Gamma's Easter Visit

 

Gamma thought she wasn't a beach babe...until...

we gave her the beach- packed with her sweet son, grandchildren, daughter and a little shade.  The sun and peaceful waves certainly didn't hurt.  Eventually I wanted to whisk her off to visit the Farmer's Market, where I just knew we would find all kinds of adventures staring us in the face, literally.

Oooh, what is this...

...sea urchin.  Yes, she talked me into trying it too!  Hmmm,,,it tastes like ocean :-)

It was time for a little rest, and some behind the counter shopping.  With a some relaxation under her belt and her new bling around her neck, she was ready for more fun!  

Here in OB, we are all friends.  Everyone speaks to each other, behaving as if they have know each other for years.  She took every opportunity to exercise that freedom...

...while enjoying the hand painted artwork at the hostile too.

On our way to the zoo the next day, we took the best detour EVER, to the Before I die... wall.  Before she dies, she desires to be happy with all of her family, oh and bungee jump too!  Wahooo!

Breathe in. Breathe out.  The precious moments while observing my mother-in-law communing with the birds  at the San Diego Zoo were priceless, and will last me a lifetime. 

Rowan and Kierce received so much love during this super fun visit!

...and Merrick found some extra love too, while waiting for a table at the famous OB Noodle House.  This kid is forever making new friends of all ages, he actually prefers adults.  It's so fun to watch him captivate just about anyone.  He certainly didn't give up a tickle this easy for the ultimate tickler- Gamma. 

Now this was the place Colleen had been just dying to experience.  These cuties dove right into some sake after watching a celebratory, birthday sake chugging contest.

This was one of the best meals out I have ever enjoyed.  Thank you Mom for getting us there to try some new and exciting dishes!

Although, we couldn't let Gamma leave without trying a GIANT pizza!

...or a staring contest at the famous Phil's BBQ,

with a side of uber yummy onion rings, and sloppy ribs.  Don't forget the bib!

While Gamma rested on Easter Eve, we enjoyed some egg coloring with our dear sweet Abigail,

featuring all natural food dye, and Crayola creativity.

On Easter Sunday, the kids enjoyed an egg hunt and, see the paper strips in Kierce's hand?  ...scavenger hunt too!

After church, we thoroughly enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at my brother and sister-in-law's homestead.   As you can see, Rowan was not in any mood for a picture, but check out the photo below. 

She does indulge me from time to time, and I feel so blessed when she does.

It was really difficult to say goodbye to this gem, but I find peace in knowing that no amount of distance could ever unsync our hearts.

Picacho Here we Come!!!

Ryan prides himself on his skill of packing perfectly.  His Mom is sure he gets that skill from her, and we are just happy he has the perfect packer gene.  3 younger cuties + 2 older cuties + 1 little hybrid vehicle + 1 cargo box + supplies for a long weekend camping trip = 5 happy campers!  Our destination?  Picacho State Recreational Area.  

The path from the main road out to this off gird haven is a long one.  It takes at least 45 minutes to drive this 18 mile gravel road stretch.  I am learning that the drive is a part of the process, a part of letting go of the go, go and more go and easing toward the slow, slow and more slow.

When initially approaching the Colorado River Friday afternoon, a time of rekindling the flame took place.  A long moment to really cherish the silence, and then a listening in transpired.  What do you hear?  ...a swarm of bees, the quiet rustling of the trees, water whispering, gravel shifting with each scarce footstep.  We began to hear LIFE again.

...wanting to capture the purity of the moment together.

Now off to choose the perfect campsite.  What a fun process!  This was our second time at Picacho, and this site looks completely different from the site we enjoyed last time, which billowed with gorgeous greenery.  The mosquito activity was high, so we opted for a dry site, with less foliage away from the water.  We just adored this site, which boasted a beautiful hill and ruins.  It was neat to walk around with the kids guessing which slab held each different room.  The small rectangle on the lower right, was a shower.   

After getting our camp set up, Ryan went to the river with Merrick and the girls relaxed, while I opted to enjoy a glorious and serene hilltop yoga at sunset.  I turned to the right and this was my view of our campsite!

A silly family game of Apples to Apples really got us chuckling and thoroughly enjoying quality time.

A quick Saturday morning hike lead Ryan and the girls up a steep cliff.  I spy with my little eye...

Later in the day, the girls enticed me to climb that same cliff, and "Wowee...whoa this is steep, steep!  Is this safe?" and "What was Ryan thinking?"  are a few of the thoughts that ran through my head while climbing this crumbly mass.  "Just get to the top girls, and then I will breathe."  Look at the wide array of gifts waiting at the top.  Two gorgeously smiling faces, a bird's eye view of this amazing territory and... 

...peace in every breath.

The main reason for our trip to Picacho was to participate in a trail cleanup.  We worked hard and fast in the morning before it got too hot.  My cousin Lorie (pictured on the right) helped coordinate this pre-Earth Day cleanup.  Lorie and her partner Steph (not pictured) have a huge heart for Picacho.  They have been supporting the recreational area for years.  They also provided a beautiful lunch spread for all of the volunteers.  We are looking forward to the next trail clean up day, which will be held in the fall.  But I have a feeling we won't be able to stay away that long.

It was awesome to see everyone pull together to help preserve this gorgeous place.

...especially the kids.  Yes!  They are up really high!!!

About an hour before trail work came to a close, Rowan got "attacked by a cactus" and had to be driven back to the lunch area by the ranger.  Kierce and Steph's niece Ashlyn, kindly walked back to check up on the victim. This "cactus attack" ended up being quite the adventure for Rowan.  The ranger came up with the idea to cover her hands in tacky glue. Then allowing the glue to dry, the glue peeled away the small cactus needles.  It ended up being a fun mess for Rowan (and she has always enjoyed getting messy) :-)  The best part about the entire ordeal was observing the wonder in Rowan's eyes while telling me about the adventures she encountered on the way back to camp. The ranger filled her with several different history, social studies and geology lessons along the way.  Apparently they even drove the truck on a set of old railroad tracks! This homeschool mom absolutely loved hearing all about her adventures!

So Merrick's "silly" has really blossomed over the past several months.  One morning about a week after beginning our homeschool adventure, Merrick smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.  That smile has only gotten bigger and even more goofy.  He even enlists his dad in this silly face making process.  I just had to capture this crazy and insanely happy moment!

See the short rock wall the kids are sitting on?  That was Ryan's favorite characteristic about our campsite.  The one thing we couldn't fit in the car with us were chairs :-)  Ashlyn, tagged along with Lorie and Steph, and the kids were thrilled that she did, they all had a blast together!  

Yay, Ryan caught a fish!!!  We all were so happy with him in this moment!

Merrick was stoked to become finally become a Junior Ranger.  Rowan and Kierce excitedly earned their badges the last time we were at Picacho.

The river was calling our name the afternoon of our last day at Picacho.  Lorie has a boat, and was giving rides all day.  The kids took a ride together first, then our family eventually just had to enjoy the beauty of the river with the best tour guide around!

Lorie pulled the boat over on the Arizona side of the river to show us a great place for gem hunting, as well as some special ancient writing left behind by the Indians.  This month and the last, the kids and I have been focusing on a science unit in the area of geology.  We are all genuinely passionate about crystals, gems and the earth in general, so this unit is a great fit!  Plus, this entire trip was the perfect place to learn all about a unit of this type.  Lorie was full of a wealth of knowledge, and our entire family had fun hunting for beauties.  The look on Ryan's face when bringing his finds back to show us was priceless. 

...one of Rowan's finds.

Could it get any better than this?

Maybe.