be encouraged.

click here to see my friend's daughter + isaak's favorite friend.

a beautiful spirit.

a heart of hope.

we celebrated isaak's fourth birthday at the circus.  isaak's cousins + family joined in the fun.  we wore party hats, clown noses, masks, rainbow hair and necklaces. we laughed.  we ate cotton candy.  we had good old fashioned fun at the circus. including the birthday boy... who was soooooooo excited to go, he didn't nap in anticipation.  creating one tired FOUR year old!  happy birthday my dear son.

yarn pom poms... a good thing!  

1. choose your yarn

2. wrap yarn :: i used a dvd case & wrapped 150 times, more wraps would yield a puffier pom!

3. slide yarn off & place on top of piece of yarn :: for tying

4. tie in the middle :: tie tight & knot twice

5. cut all loops and give a few shakes, then give pom a good trim all the way around for form

6. the perfect addition to our gift bags for isaak's 4th birthday party at the circus :: for juggling of         course!

also good for wrapping gifts, kitty toys, parachute play with your preschooler... plain & simple fun.

our sweet baby ezra.  just take a look at that hair!  a happy boy bringing tremendous joy to us all. we love you precious son.  we are grateful for you.

flowers delivered today by my man!  thanks love.

our atelier + isaak yielded more creations to add to gallery- i.  he joyfully proclaims "look mama, i'm an artist!  a really great artist!"  indeed.

1.  "the grass, the sun, the ocean & a boat" [papa took isaak sailing over the weekend!]

2.  "mama giraffe & baby giraffe eating grass"

3.  "a robot + a kid"

heartbroken:: before isaak's food allergy testing.  eczema was horrific.  

healing:: after isaak's food allergy testing.  going gluten/casein free.  it's been 20 days of healing so far.  much improvement.  

i still need to go back to the lab with isaak to get the environmental allergy testing done.  just giving isaak and mama a little break before we do it again.  it was NOT an easy thing to do.  but we are so grateful to have some answers and to begin healing.  praise indeed!

a sunday so divine.  grandma watched the boys.  [thanks grandma!]  scot and i enjoyed glen ivy spa. a couples massage.  and a long awaited treat... my favorite sushi.  yum.  followed by a sweet treat. kisses and cuddles from the boys upon our return.  and a flick in bed.  mmmmmmmm.  a good day! 

into each new day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work, hope, fidelity, kindness, rest, prayer, meditation, and one well selected resolution.  put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits.  a dash of fun, a pinch of folly.  a sprinkle of play, and a cupful of good humor.

what a beautiful thing our dogs can teach us about unconditional love.  if, that is, we are willing to watch and learn.  be encouraged to take some time to observe the love of dogs.  why is it that we people tend to hold on for so long?  why can't we just let it go?  wouldn't it be great to choose everyday to sit pretty and patiently and actually be happy with any morsel of goodness that comes our way?  thank you autumn for reflecting such unconditional love.  i hope to someday fully understand and obtain the ability to give it too.  and now... i must go give her a bone!  good girl!

autumn was born on my birthday, october 28th.  with my love of all things fall, autumn seemed the best suitable name for her.  her full name is autumn in gramercy.  this also reflects our love for all things NY and the beauty of gramercy park in the fall.  autumn was a gift to isaak on christmas day in 2007.  although he battled a bit of eczema even then, we had read that introducing animals to children at a young age reduced the risk of being allergic to them.  we thought this was a good thing.  just a few months later, we realized that isaak's skin was reacting to contact with autumn. sadness came.  ever since, our sweet girl has been an outside dog with a retreat inside our laundry room, through a doggie door.  she receives minimal love.  (playing, petting, walking, etc.)  not because we don't love her.  simply because of isaak's eczema.  (don't get me wrong... she is well taken care of & does receive love, just not the kind we WANT to give to her.)  we have seen improvement with his skin reacting to her.  we are hoping that it continues to improve.  we will be taking him in to do more blood work to test his environmental allergies.  if he does indeed test allergic to dogs, we will need to find a new home for our autumn girl.  if he does not test allergic, we will wait.  and hope that his skin continues to greatly improve so that we can give our girl the love and attention that we know she so desperately needs.  and is waiting most patiently for. hence, the lesson in unconditional love.

[p.s.  do you haiku?  i have rekindled my passion for this form of poetry.  the words on the photo, being my haiku.  challenge yourself to capture an image and haiku it.  express yourself.  enjoy poetry.]

today i am grateful for precious moments like these.  what are you grateful for?

one of isaak's favorite activities is watering the garden.  the other day, i watched him engage in his passion and i began to think how important the process and product of watering is.  fostering and receiving growth.  i ponder my watering habits.  how am i watering my children?  my husband? myself?  we cannot grow if we are not receiving nourishment.  what are we nourishing ourselves with?  how are we being stimulated to grow?  how deep are our roots?  are there any weeds sucking the water away from us?  consider this.  may the sun warm your spirit and may you be encouraged to enjoy the process and product of watering your family. 

enjoying the delights of the season.  what are you doing to celebrate summer goodness?

the guns and roses girl in me says "every rose has it's thorn." the anne of green gables girl in me says "would it smell as sweet if it was called a skunk cabbage?" i simply say, if life gets a little thorny... buy [or pick] some roses! [or sunflowers, or tulips, or orchids, or lilies... well any flowers really!] my roses... they are indeed thorny, but oh so beautiful. kinda like life don't ya' think? romans 8:38 says:: and we know that in all things god works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. it reminds me that god has a plan. that we have a purpose. the roses that bring beauty to my life also bring a little prick. god had a plan when he created the rose. those thorns have a purpose. to protect. and maybe even, to teach. be reminded that all is good. be encouraged to see your plan. your purpose. and embrace the little pricks of life as we continue to find everyday beauty in the midst of our thorns.

tonight we headed out to concert in the park.  scot prepared a scrumptious meal.  there is something so delightful about having a picnic dinner, complete with wine and fun music during summer.  isaak enjoyed scooting on the skateboard up and down, over and over again.  tonight's music included a fiddle and an accordian... always a good thing.  papa and isaak scouted out the playground for an upcoming play session.  ezra finally fell asleep on mama.  good times.

another masterpiece to add to gallery- i.  in the spirit of this from soulemama, us naraki's sat down for a family draw night.  although unplanned, we all ended up drawing trees.  it was so amazing to see the variations.  isaak began his creation with no direction from us... only his intent. he drew with concentration and happiness.  i love this stage, as he learns how to represent his world through the language of art.  i was amazed at his skill.  he was proud.  the communication was also delightful as he described both scot's and my tree.  he was overjoyed that we were all drawing together.  it was fun.  we have also been enjoying time together in the rocking chair, creating our own stories.  tales of birds and frogs. trees and bugs.  i keep hearing him say "mama, can we tell another story?"  yes, my love... we can.  so to play off this new passion, we sat down together and i had him narrate to me his tale of this drawing. too precious.  this could be your story indeed!  and i can't wait to hear more.  what's your story?