I am THAT Mom! (in Pictures)

Inspired by Flo's delicious post here and Ronnis's post here. Join in!

That said YES to a beardy

That said YES to mixing the brownie mix by hand

That said YES to writing on the floor

That said YES to eating in the bathtub

That said YES to painting in the shower and eachother

That said YES to wearing roller skates in the house

That said YES to jumping in the mud with a PRETTY dress on

That said YES to writing on the wall

That said YES to lighting his own cake

Love

This was an awesome day! Here is a video!

Please Come VOTE for Mataya!

Isn't she CUTE!
Please help us win a free photography shoot with Velvet Owl Photography by voting for Mataya in their Cutest Kids Contest. Just click here: Velvet Owl Photography to become a fan. Then click the "LIKE" button to vote! Mataya is #37! If you "like" others feel free to vote!  If you see anyone else you know...you can click "LIKE" on as many photos as you want. PS my nieces are #36. :) I didn't know you could do siblings! Dylan is very sad :( and I am very sorry to my son.


Thank you everyone!!!

From Velvet Owl:
Okay folks grab a cup of coffee and come on over to cast your votes for the cutest kids contest on the Velvet Owl fan site!! Click the "like" button to vote. It's up to you to rally up votes for your photo! The race is on!!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE CONTESTANTS!! One of these cuties WILL WIN!!

I'm running another facebook contest! These pictures were submitted by YOU ~ my facebook fans!! First you must be a FAN of VeLvet OwL Photography on Facebook. Then click the "LIKE" button to vote! You can click "LIKE" on as many photos as you want to , the winning photo will be the one with the most votes. The winner w...ill receive a FREE photo session with me! ($150.00 ) and that includes a $50.00 print credit to spend on your print order!!

Suggest that all of your friends become fans and vote for your picture!! EASY PEASEY!!
Contest runs until April 1st @ 1:00 pm. 

we need a new hammer!

funny

Rockn' out!

Happy Fall....late

I did it myself!

Happy

yoga kids!

Cute!

Dayna Martin Quote

Children are forced through punishments and rewards to act in a manner that is easy for parents. Such coerced behavior meets parents’ needs, but rarely takes into account the children’s needs. We need to look deeper and realize that we are not here t......o train our children to be obedient. We are here to raise free-thinking, strong, confident individuals

~Dayna Martin

Owen 65th Anniversary pictures!

Doing some catching up... This is from the my Grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary Party on May 9th 2009!

Hammock

This is the Hammock in our living room! Uncle Mike was visiting for Dylan's birthday.

He really does love her!

Even though they fight I know he loves her!

From the office window

A little bird was "stealing" from our window box.

"Fishing"

LIFE IS GOOD PICTURES 2009!

Click to view the slide show!

Catch up

I will be catching up soon. I have taken some time off. I am thinking about redoing the Blog. Not sure yet...

Loved LIG and seeing everyone. So many thoughts swirling around.

Daily OM... perfect timing!

Today's Daily Om...

This is perfect timing since LIFE is good started today!

May 21, 2009

A Life of Learning
Earth School

Life is the province of learning, and the wisdom we acquire throughout our lives is the reward of existence. As we traverse the winding roads that lead from birth to death, experience is our patient teacher. We exist, bound to human bodies as we are, to evolve, enrolled by the universe in earth school, an informal and individualized academy of living, being, and changing. Life’s lessons can take many forms and present us with many challenges. There are scores of mundane lessons that help us learn to navigate with grace, poise, and tolerance in this world. And there are those once-in-a-lifetime lessons that touch us so deeply that they change the course of our lives. The latter can be heartrending, and we may wander through life as unwilling students for a time. But the quality of our lives is based almost entirely on what we derive from our experiences.

Earth school provides us with an education of the heart and the soul, as well as the intellect. The scope of our instruction is dependent on our ability and readiness to accept the lesson laid out before us in the circumstances we face. When we find ourselves blindsided by life, we are free to choose to close our minds or to view the inbuilt lesson in a narrow-minded way. The notion that existence is a never-ending lesson can be dismaying at times. The courses we undertake in earth school can be painful as well as pleasurable, and as taxing as they are eventually rewarding. However, in every situation, relationship, or encounter, a range of lessons can be unearthed. When we choose to consciously take advantage of each of the lessons we are confronted with, we gradually discover that our previous ideas about love, compassion, resilience, grief, fear, trust, and generosity could have been half-formed.

Ultimately, when we acknowledge that growth is an integral part of life and that attending earth school is the responsibility of every individual, the concept of "life as lesson" no longer chafes. We can openly and joyfully look for the blessing buried in the difficulties we face without feeling that we are trapped in a roller-coaster ride of forced learning. Though we cannot always know when we are experiencing a life lesson, the wisdom we accrue will bless us with the keenest hindsight.

LIFE is good!

The third annual "LIFE is Good" Northwest Unschooling Conference will be taking place just outside of Portland this year, May 21-24th, 2009.
http://www.lifeisgoodconference.com

This is truly an unschooling conference - there are no "experts" lecturing, and no "curriculum" or "educational" items being feverishly pitched. Families are the experts and fun is the name of the game - every activity is for the whole family, children are the feature of the event and everything is open to them. The speakers are either parents of unschooled children, or grown unschoolers themselves. There are also more intimate interactive circle chats on a wide range of topics, and loads of "Funshops" - like workshops, only so much more FUN - where you can discover new talents and skills, or share one of your own! The unschooling talent show is always a huge hit, as is the big family barefoot boogie dance! Folks of all ages can hock their handmade wares at the "Un"trepreneurial Fair. And Amy Steinberg, who performed a fabulously energetic concert last year will be back to do it again this year:
http://www.myspace.com/amysteinberg

And because we cannot bear to part at the end of all this fun, we spend the Monday picnicing at a terrific nearby park.

Dads are a huge part of the event too, speaking, leading funshops, and having gatherings of their own that are sometimes referred to by the beverage-inspired moniker "SSUD"s (the Secret Society of Unschooling Dads).

It is a pretty cool feeling just to be surrounded by families of all ages who live unschooling every day, and totally get your life without you having to explain a thing! We literally take over the hotel, which is a sight in itself.

For a sneak peek at what the conference looks like, check out these videos from past years.
2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txdBOES235k
2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyysoHMuz_o&feature=channel_page

En route, Seattle and Portland both offer amazing museums, science centers, zoos, and children's museums. It is the perfect excuse for a road trip!
Check out the conference website for all the details on speakers, main presentations, circle chats, funshops, registration, hotel reservations, FAQs, etc. (http://www.lifeisgoodconference.com/).

There is also a Yahoo Group set up for questions, chatter, intros, ideas, etc. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LifeisGoodconference/)

You are encouraged to pass this message along to any other lists/ people you think might find it of interest.

Grandparents!

Hi All!

My Grandparents in the newspaper! You can even sign the guestbook.

Just in case you didn’t get the paper or see this!

http://www.legacy.com/Columbian/Celebrations.asp?Page=Announcement&PersonID=126797384