Exactly

Lyrics by Amy Steinberg. I have been listening to and belting out this song a lot lately. It's just so perfect. I needed to write the words down. I wrote these lyrics without Amy's permission, and I omitted part of the song...you really need to hear it for yourself. If you check out her site, she has all the lyrics posted for all of her songs.

I am exactly where I need to be I need to be exactly where I am I am a blessing manifest

I can undress the moment naked time unwinds beneath my mind and from within I find the kind of beauty only I can find

I am exactly where I need to be I need to be exactly where I am I am surrendering so willingly to be the perfect me inside this now and truly how else could it be destiny she blesses me destiny she blesses me

When I try to fight or run I only wind up back at square one and when I think I know what's best for me, Fate, she takes me back to exactly where I need to be

I am exactly where I need to be I need to be exactly where I am I am divinely timed and shining brightly, Yes I believe that there's a purpose just for me, Yes, I believe that we are light and we shine infinitely

I am exactly where I need to be I need to be exactly where I am I am not aimlessly existing see...I am in perfect harmony with universal energy and I am truly free when I accept my own divinity

...and when I am alone and full of fear I just remember the rising sun always appears, everyday miracles that I see, well, they take me back to exactly where I need to be

Getting out of the Way

I am a total recovering control freak. I am also a recovering perfectionist. I like things to be just so, and to be done well. This part of me has been getting in the way of my kids. Sometimes they have these really BIG ideas, and I think I have to break them down into manageable steps so that they will accomplish the desired end result. This seems like a good idea...in theory. It has, however, discouraged them from doing some of these big ideas. I get in their way, make their ideas seem too big, too complicated, that they won't be able to do it. So they stop before they get started. I am really trying to stretch this part of me. I really want to get out of their way so they can DO these things...I have to keep telling myself that whether or not they end up achieving the desired end result is not necessarily the goal.

About a year ago, the kids wanted to make a movie of "The Spiderwick Chronicles". They had read the series and loved it. They just started filming, and I kept on them, telling them they needed a script or screenplay, that it wouldn't work out to just start shooting. The screenplay was too much for them, and the project got shelved, waiting for Dad to help them write the script. Low and behold, the big time movie version is coming out, and they were all disappointed that their version hadn't even been started.

Moving forward to a couple of weeks ago, they decided they wanted to make a spy spoof movie. This time, I said, go for it. No script, no screenplay. I just let them do what they wanted, I got out of their way. They had a blast. They made costumes, learned lines, filmed scenes, added music, edited their work, etc. Wow. I just had to get out of their way and not want them to do it perfectly. I had to let go of the idea that this needed to turn out a certain way, to end up with a certain result. Hopefully, I'm stretching and growing enough to continue getting out of their way, and to focus on the joy of their doing and exploring, not their end product.

Gratitude Journal

I was inspired by Madeline to make a gratitude journal for my sister for her birthday. I had so much fun making it. I wanted to photograph my favorite pages so I can remember what I did and try to recreate some of the general ideas when I make one for my mom.

Holiday Pictures...Finally!

Cousins Eating Christmas Cookies at Grandma's

Kids Christmas Gift Exchange

Sophie Choosing her Gift

Max's New Metal Detector

The 6 Year Old Cousins

Alex and Mommy

Christmas Eve Dinner

Makings for New Year's Eve Champagne Cocktails

New Year's Eve Amazing Apple Pie

Because it's New Year's...another pie!

Ella Sneeking a Peek through the Kitchen Window

Sparklers to Celebrate 2008



Lounging at our Resort Hotel in ST. Petersburg, FL

Bird Journal

Max won a bird journal in the gift exchange and took these pictures of the birds he saw at Busch Gardens so he could include them.

The Northwest Passage

We had some really heavy rains that left us with awesome run-off streams, waterfalls, and pools. The kids decided to check it out and have some fun in the woods. A couple of hours after they took off, Sophie called me on her cell phone. She asked me if I could bring a plastic container because Alex had found a crayfish he wanted to bring home.

When I brought the container, Sophie informed me that she was Sacajawea, Ella was Kaya, Alex was Lewis, and Max was Clark. She said they had discovered the Pacific Ocean. How cool is that? Funny how we have never studied this topic, done a unit on it, or any other such stuff. They just knew this information through following their passions, living life, having fun.

They ended up bringing the crayfish home and worked together to create a habitat. Sophie immediately looked up what crayfish eat so they could get it some food. Today, they decided to put the crayfish back in the stream where they found it. They figured it was too much of a hassle to keep it fed, and they felt a bit of a responsibility since they took it out of it's natural habitat.

John went down with them so they could show him where they had been exploring. On the way out the door, he asked the kids how they knew all that stuff about Lewis, Clark, and Sacajawea. Sophie said she just knew. Alex said he remembered the Simpsons episode highlighting Lewis and Clark's adventures. Following their passions, living their lives, having fun...and learning all the time!

Nuclear Family

We've been traveling and staying friends and family since Dec. 22. Last night was the first time we have been alone as a family for almost 2 weeks. I never realized how much I enjoy our private family time. I was really tired after our drive down to St. Pete, it was freezing! I really wanted to just veg out in the hotel room and eat what we bought at the grocery store, but John found this really cool Northern Italian restaurant (exactly what I had requested earlier), so I put on all my cold weather gear and went out. As I enjoyed a great bottle of wine with John and watched the kids around the table, I felt so happy for it to just be us again. We had a fabulous meal: sea bass, mussels, home made pasta, soup, calamari....yum. It truly was a wonderful night, and I so enjoyed my nuclear family. I really enjoyed all of our visiting, but it is perfect that we get to spend the last couple days of our holiday with it just being us...a very restorative and relaxing end of 2007 and beginning of 2008.