{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A SouleMama Friday ritual. 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're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. We wish you a weekend full of happy!

Introducing Sugar and Violet

A few weeks ago a friend of mine from high school posted on her Facebook page that she was in need of a new home for her families two guinea pigs.  They were moving and were not able to take them along on their new adventure.  Having had a couple of guinea pigs as pets when I was a kid I chimed in and said that we would be happy to take them.  Originally she thought that they would be leaving in September but their departure date got moved up and so we hatched a plan that involved her dropping off the piggies at my parents house.  Since I was waiting on a friend of mine/doula client to have her baby we were not able to scoot down to be there when they were being dropped off.  Finally, the baby was born and our schedule was out of its holding pattern that happens when I have a doula client.  After some discussion it was decided that the girls and I would head down to Connecticut (apologies to all the friends and neighbors that we did not see during the brief 24 hours we were there) yesterday to visit and pick up the newest family members.  The girls had no idea that there was a surprise waiting for them.  They were simply over the moon to be heading to Gramma and Grandpa's house for a visit (though the surprise awaiting them would surely be the cherry on top of the sundae)!  We arrived, chatted, had some lunch and then Mom and I brought the girls upstairs to see the surprise she had waiting for them.  From the first moment that Grace and Emma laid eyes on them they were head over heels for Parsnip (renamed Sugar) and Ginger (renamed Violet Ginger after we told the girls about my friend, the piggies and the three kids who previously snuggled them).  Violet and Ginger have barely been put down since we introduced the girls to them.  They seem to be very happy to have some kids to snuggle them again, and they did great on the two hour car ride home today.  Thanks to JoAnna and her family for having us adopt their very sweet piggies.  We are so happy to get to be their new family and will surely keep you updated with lots of pictures and stories!  



Bunnies and Ponies and Chickens! Oh My!

This Saturday we went to the 4H Fair for the first time.  We had no idea such a fair exsisted until the girls brief membership in 4H this past fall, and when a message was posted last week on a homeschool yahoo group about this very fair it was a nice reminder that we had wanted to go check it out.  We arrived and the first thing that the girls spotted was the horses.  We spent a fair amount of time talking to one of the women who was a leader for a 4H equine club.  She was so sweet to the girls and even gave us the "backlot tour" of her clubs horess.  From there we swung by the bunny section, "ooh"ed and "aah"ed over the adorable rabbits before heading into the Poultry Barn.  Grace could have easily spent the entire day in that barn looking at  dreaming about chickens.  Pony rides and rainbows painted on arms and cheeks just made the day even that much more fabulous.  And of course, no trip to a country fair is complete without a visit to the sheep. Em has always had a soft spot for sheep and it won't surprise me when the day comes that she has some sheep of her own.  We were all surprised that there was no baked goods or home canned goods being judged at the fair.  It seemed like the only thing that was missing from what was a classic country fair!  All the clubs did a great job and we were really impressed by how professional everything was.  It was a perfect way to spend a glorius late summer day.



A Girl And Her Bike



Saturday Night in Instagram



A delicious dinner of lobster ravioli, lots of laughter (maybe from a little too much wine!), lots of time spent outside and the beginnings of a new project make for a very full Saturday night. Our bellies and hearts are indeed full.  



Anniversary Celebration

Ten years ago, Dave and I had the most amazing wedding ever!  It was so much fun to plan and such a joy to experience that we did not want it to end.  Like all weddings, it went by way too fast and there were surely many people we did not get to spend nearly enough time with.  We have been planning to do something for our tenth anniversary pretty much since the day we got married.  We had originally wanted to hold a vow renewal and backyard celebration, but after much discussion we realized that we should wait a little longer for that (maybe for our 15th?) and instead chose to have a small gathering with only our families present.  I believe it was my mom who suggested heading back to Salem (where our reception took place) for an afternoon of beachy, boardwalk fun.  We decided to follow that with a lovely dinner at the Hawthorne Hotel.  And so, we gathered this past Saturday (the day after our anniversary) to celebrate.

Ten years, two kids and a lot of adventures later, life sure is more amazing than we ever could have imagined.  Through the good times and the not so good times (though the good times surely outnumber the not so good times) we have laughed, loved and supported each other.  Thank you, David, not only for being my husband and best friend but for taking this marriage and parenting journey with me.  I could not imagine life without you there with me every step of the way.  Here's to the next ten years!  May they be filled with as much love, laughter and adventure as the past ten have been!  XOXO

 

And to our families:  thank you so much for coming to celebrate the past ten years with us.  Thank you for your love, support, encouragement and advice, and thank you for helping us kick off the next ten years in style! XO