Snowy Saturday

Mia had her first reconciliation today. I joked that she can now officially feel guilty like the rest of us.  Kidding aside, I'm really proud of this girl.  She chose to pursue Reconciliation and her first Communion on her own and has taken it seriously.  She memorized her prayers and believes in this path right now.  I told her that no matter what she believes, or doesn't believe, she will always have her family standing firmly in her corner.  At the end of the day, we only have to reconcile with ourselves. 

Luca is always a sweet supporter.  Well, not always, but today he was. 

There should be a website for awkward altar photos.  Those of us who grew up Catholic all have them, don't we?

Snow day.  Love these kinds of days. 

Who we are...

We all have interests and past times....Living as a family unit can be tough because it's always a struggle to find time to develop the SELF, you know, that throbbing and needy creature buried under the other layers of duty.  Yoga helps me feel good.  Calm.  Strong.  I'll practice in my room sometimes just to feel more balanced.  I am posting this to prove to my older self that I should have never complained as a younger person.  I should have never wasted a breath saying, "I'm not enough" because, I am enough.  I'm standing on my hands for God's sake.  That's enough. 

Nutballs 

Luca is here setting up an art stand.  The kid made 10 dollars selling his pieces of art!

Just proves that in iPhone can be fun. 

You write to me, and I'll write to you....

My tradition with Luca started with this simple card.  I put this in his lunchbox one day as a simple way of saying I love you.  He can read a few sight words and these are among them.  I found the card in his backpack at the end of the day and he told me he loved the card, but that it did make him miss me.  I told him I wouldn't write him anymore because I hated to think of him sad at school and he said, "NO!  Please, write more." 

And so I did. 

This was the next simple card I put in his lunchbox.  It took about two minutes to draw and was embarrassingly elementary.  It is him, on his beloved front yard swing.  I thought of the image quickly, the first image to come to mind when I picture him.  He swings a lot, sometimes roughly and playfully and sometimes just quietly and full of thought. 

He loved the card and asked for me to draw us surfing next.  We plan to take a surf trip and we talk about it sometimes.  So, I took a few extra minutes and created this card...the two of us hitting the waves. 

The next night, he whispered that he wanted me to draw us in space.  I pulled out the box of crayons that now sat near my bed and set to work.  I placed myself in the window of the space shuttle.  When he got home from school, he was beaming and he said, "I saw you in the window!"

Next was a request for us horseback riding.  I could have drawn us horseback in any scene but I was currently totally engrossed in the show "The Outlander" and was so inspired to draw us in character, as a princess and a knight.

One sleepy night, he requested us playing soccer.  "Of course" I complied and drew us the way we play together...with him aggressively going after the ball and me cheering him on. 

That next day, I was cleaning out his backpack and saw this drawing.  I looked closely and saw the two figures on the field in his picture, holding hands.  I saw the endless blue sky and the goal.  The grass.  And the matching long strong legs.  It was us. It was us playing soccer.  I realized it was his note back to me.  He wrote back. 

I actually cried.

Being a mom can be a brutal work.  Thankless at times.  Grueling at others.  Being a working mom can be all of that plus some. 

But this note made everything suddenly spin a little more clearly.  This note made me pause and take stock in everything I value.  This note made me feel loved. 

Thank you Luca Lane. 

Moments...

We took the kids to see Cavalia and it was spectacular.  Both kids were lulled into the beauty of horsemanship and athleticism. 

One night, Mia was at a friend's sleeping over and Luca and I had a date.  I took him to dinner and then let him order whatever dessert he wanted.  Do you see the size of this sundae???

Over fall break, the kids and I slept in and relaxed.  We hit "Snooze" one morning and indulged in the best breakfast. 

Hiking at Red Rocks

Yet another hiking adventure at Red Rocks, this time with an ice cream afterward.

Halloween 2014

This is Mia's pumpkin.  Against my taste, Mia wanted her pumpkin to be throwing up.  She carefully created the vomit with flour, food coloring, seeds, etc. 

Luca wanted his pumpkin to be a scary baseball player. 

A colorful witch and a Rockies player.  Troy Tulowitzki to be exact. 

We just like our poodle to sometimes wear skirts. 

We went to a Halloween party and I dressed as a cat.  So not original but with limited costume options, and the clock ticking, I did what I could. 

My pumpkins sitting with pumpkins.  Couldn't resist. 

We had a dessert party with friends and look what Mia and Luca created.  Darling!

Spooky at night. 

They are already scheming what to be next year.  Until we meet again Halloween!