beautiful things

there but for the grace of God...

There but for the grace of God, go I.

I'm sure I first heard this phrase from my mom. I had never liked it much...with it's yoda-like grammar structure. Plus, being young, it just didn't make much sense to me. The young are invincible and untouched by tragedy, for the most part.

But now, the phrase is often silently whispered in my thoughts.

And once the other day in Maymont.

We ended up getting separated here. The two older kids had gone to the bathroom with dad, and I got sidetracked taking cute pictures of Diego. When we came back up to the bathrooms, they were all gone, so Diego and I headed on to the waterfall, where I figured they'd be.


We cut through a bamboo path and came out close to the waterfall. People were drenching themselves under it, so we sat down to watch. We dipped our feet in the cool brook that was flowing by us, and I kept a tight squeeze on Diego's arm so he wouldn't go plunging down below. And we waited. The others weren't there. After fifteen minutes, I figured they must have gone on to the japanese garden, so we packed up and headed over there.

And we found them crossing the stepping stones. Joaquin was going full speed yelling, "Watch me!" And Juan Pablo was unusually quiet. Isabela was holding his hand.

Before I had a chance to fuss about being left behind at the bathrooms, JP says, "It was a good thing you weren't with us."


It turns out, Isabela had slipped off a very high rock. And here's the God part. Juan Pablo was below and reacted fast enough that he caught her. To hear Joaquin tell it, Isabela said, "Hey this looks like fun," then slips and starts screaming and waving her arms around. And it is quiet funny to see him do it.

But really it's not funny at all.

It could have been much worse. But the only injuries were a banged up ankle, a bleeding pinkie toe, and Juan Pablo scraped up his arm and pulled some shoulder muscles.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

So does this mean, if something worse had happened, God's grace does not exist?


I don't think so.


Afterall, it's just a saying.


But it gives us pause to think. And be thankful.


The fall didn't stop us from climbing high....


...or hoping to.


But we're glad there are others to help us down.


We finally made it up to the Dooley mansion, and this day we decided to take the tour. Only, two minutes after it began, Diego started squirming and whining, so before we could get kicked out, I excused myself with him. The guide said, "Come back when you're older!" Oh yeah, and see those black grates on the house like a dungeon? Joaquin pulled one of them off.


So Diego and I hung out waiting for the others. We made a new plant that reminded me of Horton's clover from Horton Hears a Who...and acted silly.


And even though I kept a close eye on this little runner, at one point, he stood on the edge of a rock wall gazing down at a tumbling waterfall. Although I was too many feet away to be comfortable, he stayed put.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

celebrating two

Birthdays of the past have always been a huge thing here. I'm not sure how that happened. They evolved over time.
Until some I had even started planning months in advance....remember Mary Poppins? go here...or Star Wars here or even last year's Curious George here.

And while I enjoyed every minute of hand painting decorations and googling games and activities that went with the theme of the party, I decided it was too much. And really, somehow we had stopped celebrating the person who was born that day, and instead celebrated how detailed decorations, food and activities stuck to the theme.

So this year, Juan Pablo and I agreed to do away with parties. Gasp!

And as the date for Diego's second birthday neared, I got a familiar pang of anxiety. I hadn't started planning decorations....and themes were slapping me in my face...like Peter Rabbit, Dr. Seuss, and spring gardens.

Maybe we should give him a party? Maybe it's unfair? Maybe he won't even feel special? My mind was racing with doubt.

His birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we headed off to church. There were the familiar grumbles, and others like "but it's Diego's birthday"....but I wanted to start it off right, so their complaints fell on deaf ears. And even after church, I still hadn't planned what to do. The tentative plan was eat, Rita's ices for free (first day of spring!), and a park.

We agreed on Panera Bread for lunch. The kids love their soup in a bread bowl (and so do I!). As we discussed which park to go to on the way over, I gazed at the gray, cloudy sky and wondered if the rain would decide our plans for us. Ideas were thrown out....Sunday Park. The Wishing Well. The backyard.

Then we thought of Maymont. It's always fun and there's so much to do there...someone voiced a concern that there was no playground, and I quickly replied, "Nature will be your playground." (That turned out to be much more truthful than I thought at the time.)

We ran home to change, grab snacks, and I snuck the wagon in the car while JP wasn't looking. (He never likes to take too much anywhere...doesn't like to carry it later.)

Rita's was surprisingly NOT crowded compared to Sweet Frog's the day before (yeah, we've been celebrating the whole weekend). Five regular ices for $0, can't beat that! We chilled for awhile on the bench, then decided to head on.



Diego caught a snooze on the way over.


When our eyes met the amazing blossoms on this cherry tree as we walked in, it took all of our breaths away. The kids immediately wanted to climb into it's branches, and Isabela eventually lost her fear of falling out as seen in that pained look on her face.


And this boy was unstoppable...now these are the bars of real monkeys.


The tulips were gorgeous in the Italian garden.


Joaquin, get down off of that sundial!


The wagon did present a bit of a challenge going down hills and stone steps. And while I grumbled and got a bit upset when I got stuck with it in the Japanese Gardens, we both agreed it's what made the day so enjoyable. The kids were able to sit and rest on the long hauls, and we could cart all the bags and coats that got flung off during our trek.


The amazing Japanese Gardens....bamboo and it's hidden trails lets the imaginations of kids, big and small, run wild...




...Where koi fish seem like giant sharks...


And there's even time for yoga....



or to take in the beauty of spring.





Joaquin was in his element on this real life rock wall. This is definitely why I limit his intake of movies like Spiderman.



And Karate Kid.


Wouldn't you know, there was even a slide.



And we stared in wonder and contemplation as the longest train in the world went by right when we were at the train tracks. Really, could I have planned a better party?


We passed the bears, the eagles, the children's farm, and the bison...I couldn't help but feel sorry for them, who once numbered 60 million roaming free....


But Diego was amazed.


That's the whole entire park...and the kids were still going strong. (thank you, wagon.)



And I believe I heard it said on the way home, "This was the best day of my life." Spoken for all of us.


Happy Birthday, Diego.

We love two.

We love you.