thankful faces

It was a great Thanksgiving.  And I'm most thankful for checking my expectations so I could enjoy it even more.

Smiles when we left for DC, and smiles when we left for home.

Joaquin's feeding Aunt Leah Ann's dog, Ivy, some popcorn.  Dogs are great entertainment, but I'm not falling for one yet.

Carmen latched on to this mini piano--it didn't even have batteries in it--and the thing ended up at our house somehow.

Cutie cousin Jon.

Uncle David...he looks a little like a scarecrow on a pole in this picture.

Aunt Leah Ann cooking away.  She whipped up a great lunch for us on NO notice...sorry about that!!

Cutie cousin Evan.

There's that Ivy again.  She just won't stay away!  Carmen wanted nothing to do with her and clung to me for dear life.

Onward to DC.  We thought about going to the zoo, but we arrived pretty late and changed our minds.  See?  Who cares?  We're working with low expectations here.

Aunt Beth has some pretty cool art in her house.  

Isabela taught Carmen why it's good to help out in the kitchen.

I, of course, am useless at Thanksgiving.  Little Carmen was on my hip most of the night.

Cutie Joaquin.

And the whole family...this was taken just before we left DC at 10pm.  We love Thanksgiving.

fun with leaf blowers

Who knew leaf blowing could be this much fun??

I like to call these next two:  "Where's Diego?"

I know, I know.  We have a lot of leaves.  At one point, Joaquin declared, "There's more leaves in our yard than people in the world."

I think the size of the final pile from the front and back yards was about 20 feet wide, 50 feet long, and 3 feet high.

Isabela said her hands felt smooth after pushing that blower for 30 minutes...more like numb from vibrations, I'd say.

See that little pile of ashes to the right of the fire...that's all that was left of those poor leaves in the end.

And Diego learned a good lesson:  don't drop your marshmallow on the dirt.  Oh, and guess what!  Today, our yard looks like it hasn't been raked all fall.  I don't know if it will be as much fun the second time around.

expectations

This is the season where my expectations of life are often unmet with what reality brings.  

A happy family decorating the tree while singing Christmas carols, often turns into a room full of boxes and tissue with a tree jammed with ornaments on one side that I missed seeing  get hung because I was changing the baby.

Here are some wise words on the subject:

Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise.  Alice Walker

Do what you can with what you have where you are.  Theodore Roosevelt

I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine.  Bruce Lee

Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.  Charlotte Bronte

A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes. Mark Twain

Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.  Mary Kay Ash

When you say or do anything to please, get, keep, influence, or control anyone or anything, fear is the cause and pain is the result.  Byron Katie

Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.

Alexander Pope

A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.  Jonathan Huie

Wishing you (and me!) many happy surprises this season.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

fall nature walk

I remember long ago...years ago...trolling the aisles of Target in the early morning with a toddler in the cart, passing time until I could start my to do list of bank and library errands.  The shelves of that store are displays of order and beauty that moms of young kids long for.

But many kids later, and not enough money... and now, Target is just me asking for trouble.  I can't even remember the last time I was in there.

In my old age, I've discovered something even better that restores order and beauty...the fall nature walk.

Glistening yellow trees....

...crunching leaves beneath tiny footsteps...

...lazy cats napping on our patio furniture...

...happy giggles that are free to roam and touch and throw and squeal...

...treasures that fill hands to overflowing...

...new sights that thrill and bring wonder....

...vivid blue skies .... (Carmen was pointing at those circling vultures above)...

....smells of pine, cedar sticks, and lots of oak leaves that have been burnt into overflowing piles of ashes...

...animal friends that follow us around....

....and even let us boss them around!

Go outside!  Forget your daily to do's and worries.  Breathe deep, collect acorns, and enjoy beautiful fall.

images of fall

True to tradition, we had some last minute costume changes the night of Halloween.  It was pretty cold out there, so we raided the dress-up for something warm for Carmen and came up with this mouse costume that we've had since we moved back here from Bolivia...in 2007.  It was a little big, but made the mouse all the more cuddly.

Diego couldn't wait to be a Power Ranger...and I have to admit, those muscles were fun to squeeze.

And Joaquin was going as a bobble head with that giant mask until about 15 minutes before we were leaving.  We knew he wouldn't have much fun walking around with that big head on.  I told him to look on pinterest for some scary face paint (he always wants to be something scary), and he came back with this.  He remembered this sweatshirt he had hidden away in his closet, and that was one easy costume.  He loved his face paint so much, he wanted to wear it to his soccer game the next morning.  I said no.

And Isabela stuck with her red riding hood costume and it kept her pretty warm, although the hood kept falling down so she often looked like a typical almost-teen trying to get candy without dressing up.

We must have mice on the brain because somehow our pumpkin got carved like a mouse, too.

Here's proof that fall has finally hit...our fire ring is back to work.   Juan Pablo has an unorthodox way of laying entire branches across the fire ring without cutting them, and somehow we never burn the house down.

Diego is feeling the heat, but is really a safe distance away.  You would think that the fire would climb right up the branches, spreading across the yard, but it must be a magical fire ring that keeps the fire right around it.  (Isabela was nearby with our fire extinguisher, just in case.)

Carmen loving on her big brother.  

And I just had to include this picture of Diego.  He came across this hat in Old Navy yesterday and he loved it, we loved it, so I had to buy it.  He should be on the cover of a magazine...thinks his mom.  He was quite disappointed when I told him you're not allowed to wear hats at school.

Happy Fall, Y'all.