The Turn of Another Year

New Years Eve will always be bittersweet for me.
My baby,
oh my baby,
How did you get to be Nine?
This little girl has taught me
so many things.
To love, to live, to give, to look at random butterflies,
to appreciate the small things, to be awed at the big things.
As the year closes I look back ever so wistfully
at the year and years gone by.
Happy Birthday
Miss Shannon!
Mommy Loves You
more than you could ever know.

See the world the right way!

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.
~Walt Streightiff ~

The moon, how it calls to me

There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery.  ~Joseph Conrad

Winters Beauty

The poetry of the earth is never dead.
~John Keats~

New Year's Day:  Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions.  Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.  ~Mark Twain

We are coming to the end of the traditional year.  I have spent the time between Samhain and now reviewing the past year.  Accepting my mistakes and learning from them, congratulating myself on the things I have done well, and being quietly thankful for the joys in my life.  As this year winds to a close, I brace myself for the joys and challenges that the next year will bring.  With the love and friendship that surrounds me, I will grow and become a better person.  My wish for all of you is that you will do the same.  

Believe

Believe in the magic,
Believe in the joy,
Believe in the wonder.
Don't be afraid to feel
that little spark
that makes it
all possible.

Happy Christmas!

For a very Special Lady

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.

~Washington Irving~

Happy Birthday!
~I Love you Mom~

Santa is Coming!

"I like smiling!  Smiling is my favorite!" ~ Buddy Elf

From 2005.  The sheer joy on her face as she meets "The Man" makes me smile.

Wee Tree

This year we planted a wee little
Christmas Tree in our yard.

We plan on decorating it every year
forever.

This year it is getting eaten up by
the decorations.

It makes me smile.

One of the many reasons I homeschool

You may not know it, but this is what part of the ocean floor looks like.  Well, it's what it would be if two 5th graders sculpted it out of play dough.  Personally, I like the funkiness of the play dough versions a lot!  Each girl used their play dough to make the continental shelf and slope, the abyssal plain, an atoll, and a guyot.  Kim and Sarah are almost done with The World's Oceans and next we move on to The Earth's Atmosphere.

I love teaching these girls.  I watch them learn and it makes my hippie heart trip along happily.  I know Becca feels the same way.  Do you remember when you watched your child take their first step?  That feeling was so amazing.  We are lucky enough to see so many of those "a-ha!" moments while we teach and learn.  Make no mistake about it ~ we learn as much (if not more) then the girls do!

Angel Chimes

When I was a child the Angel Chimes
could captivate me for hours on end.
This year I unpacked them and set them up for my kids.
The look of pure wonder and joy on Miss Shannon's face
brought back so many happy memories.
Family loved, remembered, no longer with us, still with us,
missed, and always in my heart.
The Chimes make my Hippie Heart Happy!

Tradition

Since before I was born, the youngest member of the family crowned the top of the tree with our angel.  For as long as I can remember, until Kim was born, I put this angel on top of the tree.  Now, as I watch my only child place this angel on our tree, I am feeling so blessed that tradition lives on. 

"It is a tradition.  And because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is.....Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as ....a fiddler on a roof" ~Topol from Fiddler on the Roof

Clouds in the middle

Every rainbow has it's pots of gold
But sometimes you get stuck
in the Clouds in the middle.
Just remember that on either side of you
there is great beauty.
You just gotta get through
the clouds to see it!

Worries

I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love and abundance. Then, whenever doubt, anxiety or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal - and soon they'll forget my number.
~Edith Armstrong~

S.C.J.

My Sean is 12 today.
I am so proud of the young man
that he is becoming.
He is smart, kind, funny,imaginative,
caring, giving, loving, devious, fun,
and most of all
he will always be my baby.
I LOVE you
Sean.

Contentment

 

No pithy, witty, or funny caption.

Just contentment.

Childhood Joy

My little
Miss Shannon
won the Mayors heart
with this picture.
She thinks it was
the Fish
with a scarf,
I just think it is
WONDERFUL!

http://www.cob.org/features/2010-12-13-holiday-cards.aspx

Make It Any Way You Can!

Sometimes, when you're surrounded by water, you just have to make your own island.

Puddles

When life gives you puddles
be brave enough
to call it
Lake Front Property!

The Boy

The boy turns a year older this week.

I know that Becca will do an amazing post for him, but I felt the need to take a moment to kind of look back at the last few months.

This is an amazing child, turning into a young man that any mother would be proud to have.  He's loyal, loving, smart, funny, silly, and all around amazing.

I love you buddy!

Relax

Don't let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.

~Astrid Alauda~

Love Transcends

 

Through all of life's trials and tribulations

Love Transcends

Taking the Time

As the Holidays quickly approach
*GULP*
People are running around
*CRAZY*
Don't forget to take the time
*Hard I Know*
To bask in the wonders of the world around you
*You Will Thank Me*

I do fairies, I do, I do!

 

The exclamations of a 3 year old in a downtown cafe

come to fruition 5 years later

when her papa dons the garb

and shows that he too believes in fairies.

My Christmas List

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies
Well, I'm all grown-up now
Can you still help somehow?
I'm not a child, but my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself, but for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in that blind belief can we ever find the truth

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal our hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end

This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown-up Christmas list

A small ray of sunshine........

Wrapping up the unintentional pet week here on the blog is CC.

She's soaking up some the nice sun that we had at the beginning of November.

I love the way she's claiming the van as her own; as if she merely loans it out to B.  

~We need a word for all the kitty-prints that are all over my windshield because the cats like to lie on my hood when the car is still warm. - Megan Coughlin~

Slow My Roll

There's a new day on the horizon
There's a rising in the air
Somewhere somebody's tryin' to tell me they care
So I'm a lift my head to a new day
Plant my feet on the ground
Look at life in a new way and what's goin' down
Cuz today's the day, I'm gonna take things slow
Try and change my ways, forgive and let all that go
Tell the ones I love, what they need to know
I'm gonna turn around, settle down
And slow my roll
~Kid Rock~

Today I'm gonna try and change the world

Becca and I have a fun game.  We roll down the windows in all kinds of weather (read: once when it was raining) and we stick our arms out and wave at other drivers, joggers, dog walkers, people hanging outside the Coconut Grove, or anyone we see.  Why do we do this?  We do this because it makes people smile.  Even when they look at us like we are crazy, they usually smile.  Many people wave.  Occasionally, some people even roll down their windows and start waving at other people to make them smile as well.  It's all for the smile baby!

Today I'm gonna try and change the world
Gonna take it one day at a time
I've made my resolution
I've opened up my eyes
Today I'm gonna try and change the world

I'm gonna say hello to my neighbor
Greet him with a smile
Shake the hand of a stranger
Sit and talk to him for a while
Tell someone I love them
From the bottom of my heart
Today I'm gonna try to change the world

Gonna make sure my children
Know right from wrong
Never turn my back
On those who need someone
Always gonna try to see myself
Through another's eyes
Today I'm gonna try to change the world

Today I'm gonna try and change the world
Today I'm gonna try and change the world
Not for me, but for those I'll leave behind
I've made my resolution
Change it one day at time
Today I'm gonna try and change the world

~Johnny Reid~

Dana Lyons

Dana Lyons is an AMAZING person.
Now that I got that out of the way let me tell you why.
Yesterday Alderwood Elementary School had the great privilege of having Dana Lyons be our kick off for the Green Schools program Susan and I are so excited to start.
Dana has an amazing capacity to give a damn, which my happy hippie heart just LOVES.
Then to top it all off he is a very genuine person, which is just an amazing quality to find in anyone. Thank You Dana for all that you do, all that you are, and for the shared dream in a better world. Your Happy Hippie Heart is appreciated.


"When you say you are afraid I understand
In a place where one can rarely smell the land
But the ocean breeze still blows here, that will never end
The seeds are lying dormant, it will never end "
~Willie Says~
~Dana Lyons~



http://www.cowswithguns.com

Big Buddy

Apparently it is Pet Week on Happy Hippie Heart.  Sparkle tried on Aubrey's sweater and wore it like a dress.  Sparkle is the big buddy.  He's 18 pounds of kitty cat and we love him so much.  Even Kevin, the anti-cat man, loves the big buddy.  Sparkle is a cat of many talents.  He can be the king of the forest, a lamb, or little bunny foo foo.  He enjoys it.  Trust me.  I keep trying to bring him home but Becca catches me every time......One of these days.........