Interrupting our regularly scheduled post to introduce the newest member of the clan!

The past several days have been filled with a lovely flurry of unexpected activity as we've prepared to welcome the newest member of our clan.  Okay, so IronMan's sister did the most to prepare considering that she was the one giving birth - I pretty much just obsessively stuck to my phone for text, email, and call updates.  I also exercised admirable self-control and DIDN'T drive over to sit outside the labor and delivery wing waiting for this little one's arrival.  Lucky me has been by twice to visit with my wonderful sister-in-law and the little girl that she has blessed us all with.  What an absolute gift to snuggle this little bundle of newborn wonder!

Introducing my newest niece (well, her sweet little toes, anyway)...

Adore!

We'll return to our regularly scheduled posts about our adventures of the past week tomorrow.  Happy, happy Thursday, friends!


"Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the Everywhere and into here."
~George MacDonald from At the Back of the North Wind

It is official - RunningMan is now an IronMan!

Back in March when I introduced the cast of characters that is my family, I shared that my husband was training for his first IronMan triathlon.  For those of you who may not be familiar with this type of race, it is comprised of a 2.4 mile open water swim, followed immediately by a 112 mile bike ride, and finished by a 26.2 mile run.  In other words, this event is no small thing.  I am very proud to share that after a full year of training, and nearly 12 straight hours of swimming, biking, and running this past weekend, my Running Man is now an IronMan.  I'll be back with more about our family's adventure later in the week, but in the meantime I'll post this photo taken just after his big finish.

Introducing IronMan (formerly known as Running Man) and his support crew.

Way to go, Babe...we're so proud of you!


"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the vest, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."  ~Theodore Roosevelt

This Moment - Labyrinth kids

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you feel so inspired, please share your moment here, too!

Happy Friday, friends!


"Returning to a more tender, heart-inspired place is one of the wisest, most pragmatic, sacred ways we can walk in the world."  ~Sharon Salzberg

Ritual Roundup - Keeping kids in touch with extended family

Hmmm...I started this post last Tuesday, but clearly I haven't managed to do much - okay, any - posting over the course of the past week.  This post has been rattling around in my mind, because the topic itself has been on my mind (especially since our most recent family reunion), and I'm excited to finally get it written.  I'm also hoping that those who stop by this space will share their own ideas and experiences on today's topic.

As I mentioned in this post, I am a big believer in establishing and nurturing family rituals both for big events and for everyday moments.  Not only do rituals and traditions offer a sense of fun, home, and continuity, but I think that they also offer opportunities for connection.  In the case of extended family members living in other towns and states, I would like to find a way to establish some rituals or semi-regular activities to help keep us all connected (especially for my children and their cousins).

The May 2007 issue of Family Fun magazine had these ideas to offer:

* Create a perennial birthday calendar.  Keep a list - organized by month - of family member birthdays decorated with family photos and craft materials from around the house.

* Host an annual Christmas ornament exchange.  Each cousin/family member is randomly assigned the name of another cousin/family member for whom they will make or purchase a holiday ornament.

And my personal favorite:

* Start a linking letter.  Create and circulate a newsletter supplemented with photos, mementos, and holiday treats.  One family sends this "care package" to the next, which adds its own materials and pops it back in the mail to the next branch of the extended family.  When the package makes it back to the original family, they simply remove their old news and photos, add updates, and send the whole thing on its way again.

The ideas presented in this article, and what has been on the forefront of my mind, have been focused on children.  Of course, I'd love to hear any ideas that others have about special ways of staying connected as adults with siblings, parents, cousins, aunts and uncles, etcetera.  Between Running Man and I we have three siblings and only one of them lives in the same area.  We have some fun little ways of staying connected and, oddly enough, they all seem to involve some item of questionable value.  Take this clown, for example.  Creepy, don't you think?  I'll share more on this little guy, his history, and his adventures another time.

We found our favorite scary clown wrapped up like corn-on-the-cob in our grill...about 7 months after it had been placed there.

So I ask, what do you do in your family to nurture fun and connection with family members who don't live in the same area?

Happy Tuesday, friends!


"A cousin is a ready-made friend for life."  ~Anonymous

Thrift Share Monday - Lego love

I haven't done much thrifting these past several weeks, but on the way to our family reunion over the Independence Day holiday we happened to drive past a yard sale with a lot of toys so we hooked a U-turn and went back to see if they were selling any Legos.  I didn't see any out with the masses of other toys, but I asked the gentleman running the sale if he had any and he proceeded to pull two big bags out of the back of his truck.  As I mentioned in this post, ours is a family of Lego fans - Running Man and E2B especially - and the vast majority of Lego bricks that we own have been thrifted.  Although this often means purchasing incomplete sets or sets without building directions, the beauty of Lego is that you can easily find instructions for any set packed back to 2002 online.  Also, with enough random bricks and partial sets, it is fairly easy to find most missing pieces that you might need.

It was clear when I was first looking at the Legos - which the seller dumped into a box for me to get a better look at - that there was at least one set of Star Wars Legos in the mix (it turns out that there are significant portions of three sets) along with some plates and pieces from an Indiana Jones set.  The seller offered the lot for $25.  I gladly paid the asking price and loaded them into our vehicle.  In the week and a half since then, E2B has been feverishly building every chance that he's had.  That, my friends, is $25 well spent!

I'm linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

Happy thrifting, friends!


"There are all sorts of things embodied in the LEGO brick - geometry and mathematics and truth and proportion and shape and colour...It is a faintly spiritual activity that everybody connects with."  ~James May

Weekending: Mountain Love

We spent a laid back weekend exploring in the mountains, playing in parks, and splashing about in the hotel swimming pool.  It was the perfect summer getaway and, despite the fact that we were only gone for about 30 hours, it was quite relaxing.  Add to that that dinner out with old friends and an impromptu visit with family...I tell you, it was just about perfect!

"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness."  ~John Muir

This Moment - Happiness is catching a butterfly...or six

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.  A single photo (or two, or three!) - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Update: Based upon some of this morning's comments I thought that I would provide some more information about the butterfly pavilion.  It is from this Insect Lore kit and we raised painted lady butterflies in it about three years ago.  We kept the pavillion and filled it this week with butterflies caught using a bug net on the coneflowers by our front porch.  It turns out that this was the gift that just keeps on giving!  Of course, we let the butterflies go at the end of the day.

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish Blessing