New Year Haiku's

1.

end of the year

not enough fingers and toes

to count my blessings

2.
hello to promise
first moments are potent
new year upon us

3.
I made them hold these

the numbers 2  0  1  3

how fun to photo

4.
the year ends with snow

fireworks out our window

 our sweet home is warm  

5.

I capture our life

with boys Anders and Jakob

both image and word

6.

it's late and I write

 knowing what morning will bring

energetic boys

Alphabetic Musings of Gratitude in 2012

 These are some of our families favorite things

  and stand-out moments from 2012:

Anna's Achilles Tendon, Anders & Anna, Art camp
Ben, our Barn, Blokus
CCS,  Cape Cod, Cormac, Clio, Cathy Hunter, Cooking, Circus de Barn
Doughnuts from Poorhouse pies
having Enough, Ethan from Mr. Eric's
Kuba turns Five, the Fair, Fiona, our Family
Gus, Grandma & Grandpa, Glee
Hazel, Hiking, Harry Potter, Hannah, Hayday, Home
Icky Icky bacteria, Iris, IAA
Jessica's Wedding, Juicing, Judy, Jasper, Jen, Jack and Annie books, 
      walking the Jetty in Ptown
Kissing

LOVE, Lea
Mr. Mack, Mormor & Morfar, Morgan, Mitchell
Neighborhood
Obama's second term, the Ocean
Plasma car
hot dog Quiche (Kuba's best dinner "ever")
Reading - Kuba and Anders reading explosion, Rob, Rocks- collecting & smashing
Swedish Visitors, Sara's Pre-school, Swimming confidence, Anders turned Seven,  
      first Snowstorm in 2 years, Aunt Sandy, Sledding, so long Scaredy Cat
the Thousand Islands, wearing Ties, Tooth fairy, Tiger, Eagle on the Trapeze bar
Uncles - Tim, Paul, Mark, Claes, Pete
Aunt Vicki, Valentine's day, Vacations
Weekly dinners with Hazel and Beth
FeliX
Buttermilk Farms Maple Yogurt
the Buffalo Zoo

Anna's Bright Red Cast

Anna is a pretty amazing athlete.  She is naturally inclined to any sport, especially soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, etc.  Give her a ball, give her a team, and she'll perform...and really well.  She won the golden key award in high school for the most athletic girl.    She is so very coordinated that she catches on to all things kinesthetic quickly.  So, you can imagine her shock when her right foot just stopped functioning during a soccer game.  She ruptured her Achilles tendon.  She was incredulous.   She is now in a cast and will be for at least 8-12 weeks.  I must mark it here in the blog, because it's real news in our life.  I feel like I need to say "Anna does not get hurt!"  She even said this to the doctor at the hospital...."I've played sports my whole life and I have never been seriously injured." 

Anna is the "active" mom.  The mom who initiates taking the kids out hiking, skiing, skating, swimming, sporting...I am just the tag along photographer, or the athletic wannabe.  And now, the tables have turned.  With winter here in it's full snowy glory, and snow sports pretty much a right of all Vermont citizens, I have been taking the boys out in the snow.  We've been sledding, sliding, digging, and today we went x-country skiing.  This cracks me up.  I will not move for myself, but for my kids I seem to be able to do anything.  Amazing, truly amazing.  All I can hope for is a speedy healing of Anna's Achilles.   Otherwise it's going to be a long and active 12 weeks of winter for me.   But wait...maybe that's a good thing!

This is Home

It is Christmas week and we are all home on vacation.

Anna with her bright red cast and ruptured achilles tendon.

The boys with their exhuberance and absolute innocence.

Me with an eye on keeping things running smoothly as we take up this holiday week.

It is December 25th and I am finally winding down from a very busy few days.

Anna's mom, and brother Claes and family have been here to celebrate with us.

Our friends Beth, Carrie, and Hazel, Anders best friend were also here.

Christmas is nearly over.

Right now, the boys are asleep. 

Anna read the very first chapter of the first Harry Potter to them tonight.

I told chapter 6 from a story I am making up about an old grandfather

who gets adopted by a family just like ours.

The boys were happy when they fell asleep.

Exhausted as well.

I am unbelievably grateful for five more days off.

We all need it. 

We need the rest.

Snow is coming later this week.

8-14 inches I hear. 

Perfect.

The boys have 2 new red zippy sleds, numbered 1 and 3.

Anders and Kuba received some wonderful gifts this year;

a nice mix of games, lots of books, silly toys, clothes, and whimsical stuff.

I loved their felted chicken slippers the best. 

My personal favorite gifts were two beautiful new feathered birds for my tree,

and a brightly colored dala horse mug.

Anna loved her new down coat.

It is a magical mysterious holiday.

I feel absolutely aware of how lucky we are; how truly blessed we are.

This is love.  

This is home. 

The Kind of Child He is....

My son Anders.   This is the kind of boy he is:  he lovingly would give anything for his brother.  If Kuba gets hurt, he goes to Anders or Anders comes to his rescue.  If there's a tug of war between the two, usually he gives in.  His loyalty to Kuba is pretty much iron clad. 

He has been working hard on a Christmas gift for Kuba for over a week now with Anna.  Together they made a life sized Kuba doll.  It can even wear Kuba's clothes.  He and Anna measured and made the pattern together, sewed it together, embroidered it together, dressed it together, wrapped it together and the whole time Anders enthusiasm kept increasing.  This evening it is finished.   As Anders was laying in bed tonight before sleep, he was so completely blissed out about the gift that he couldn't fall asleep.  His insomnia wasn't about Santa coming, or his own gifts that will be here....it was about this doll that he could not wait to give to his brother.   Seriously.  

These are emotional qualities that I am grateful for.  My boy is a sensitive soul.  His bravery can at times take a back seat to fragility.  But that kind of sensitivty, that emotional intelligence, that heart of his, this is something to write about. 

This is Kuba's expression when Anders gave him his doll.

Here is Kuba asleep with his Kuba doll that night.

Our Happy Home

Today when Mor Mor reprimanded Kuba for throwing a toy down the stairs, he stomped down and told her -
"This house won't be happy until you go home!" 

Ten minutes later he was happy again and holding her hand.  
Thank God she is a retired pre-school educator and totally understands the mecurial quality of a 5 year old's emotional state.

Photo of the Year

I think this was the best photo taken of the boys this year.  It was from this past summer; the boys had just finished swimming in our friend Cathy's pond and this is a place they love.  After swimming they were playing all sorts of games in her hammock.  Anna happened to take some photo's of them as they played.  It is such a sweet snapshot of a moment in time.   I think they look absolutely beautiful and so soulful.   I could not help but choose it for our holiday card. 

Runners up:

Tis the Season

It's here.  The busy season.  And tonight as I sit and write I am reminding myself that life is good, even if it feels like it's picked up speed and I am scrambling to keep up with all of the things that need to be done.  Shopping, baking, planning, work, and then the regular chores of every day.  Anna is just as busy.
Together we don't seem to have a combined minute of calm.  I think that's the part that I'd like to change.
That even with the whirl of the holiday season, here at home we are a calm in the storm.  So that is my goal for this evening.  Remembering.  Remembering that right now, in this moment all is calm, all is bright.