I went downstairs in the basement with liam today to look for puzzles and flashbacks of you girls playing barbies down here immediately took me down memory lane. Of course the memories are not from too long ago but it’s been a while since the 3 of you have played together. The Barbies are still set up, and look like they’re super busy and really happy! The homes, the community, the shops you all created together with so much love and passion are alive down here. Hours of playing, creating, learning, imagining, building, inventing. These barbies had real lives, families, farms, businesses, jobs. Their homes were carefully and intentionally decorated. Children had beds and lots of toys and artwork that they created hung in their rooms. Shelves were organized and furniture and tableware was abundant for their large family dinners. There was storage and parking areas for family cars. Each barbie had a name and a personality. They had hectic schedules to be followed. There was soccer and gymnastics for little skippers to be at. Art classes, sewing school and I think some of the kids were homeschooled. There were meals to be made and backpacks to be stuffed. There were baby nurseries, playgrounds oh and lots and lots of children. Families with 6 to 21 kids. But if those kids became too much, you just got rid of them. Things can change quickly in barbie land, like the amount of kids you have, or what you do for a living or it can last up to 5 months, like thanksgiving or christmas. There were elaborate weddings with up to 150 guests, with cake and a ln incredible spread of food. There were christenings, bat mitzvahs, adoption celebrations and lots and lots of holidays. Grandma’s looked amazing and moms wore the most stylish clothes. Barbie makes raising 20 kids so easy!

Cousins played here too, bringing up to 30 or more of their own barbies. They celebrated together and shared in eachothers barbie events. These barbies had a good life and soon we will have to be put them away. So many lessons learned and memories made that will last a lifetime. Maybe, one day,  a new generation of girls to bring them back to life again. Liam is going to need a man cave!

Happy 3rd birthday!

Our fourth miracle, our 6th seat at the table, our sunrise, our sunset, our moon and stars. We love you to every moon and back. You fill our days with light and excitement, curiosity and laughter. Your love for baseball is contagious and we wish you a lifetime of homeruns!!!

Ps. Your sister Lia made your birthday cake! Yum!

Your laughter is contagious
Your energy is overwhelming
Your ambition is inspiring
Your heart is admirable
Your soul is unstoppable
Your mind captivates me
Your quirks amuze me
Your light is luminous
I love you

Yogi Bear, Jellystone camping resort. One of my favorite family trips! Nothing like a tiny little cabin (without a bathroom) to keep your family close! Waking up with a river view, waiting for your siblings to hit the bathrooms, some uninvited crawling night guests, morning fishing, walking to park and pool, lazy river! Morning eggs, evening bbqs. Midday walks to ice-cream shop, little brother in diapers playing mini golf at least twice a day, lots of snacking, nonnas smiles, roasting marshmallows, cabin squabbles. A lifetime of memories made.

Every evening at about 8:30pm the fireflies start showing their glow. I’ve been enjoying taking a walk during this exact time and I call it the lightning bug walk. I let everyone know “It’s time for the lighting bug walk” I got the kids to come with me on this magical summer walk and they excitedly collected 32 fireflies, releasing them upon catching them. I used to put them in a jar and watch them for a while but they couldn’t bare the thought of that. I tell Liam, these are nature’s fireworks without the loud noise. He’s not a fan of fireworks, fireflies are his preferred lightshow.
what a beautiful summer night activity. My most favorite next to making smores.

Too worried, too anxious, too inexperienced, too afraid, too caught up to know just how beautiful and perfect you are right in this moment.

I hope you “enjoya” and have fun.

Our old coop was destroyed by a racoon early last fall. Along with ripping apart our coop, the racoon viciously attacked and killed 3 of our 4 chickens. Knowing how much I loved and enjoyed our chickens, Amir made it his will to build me a brand new chicken coop, one that he would design and build from scratch. I’m never surprised by what he’s capable of building, more like mesmerized and curious to know how is brain and hands work together to create his creations. I don’t think I can call this a chicken coop, it’s more like a country club for chickens. He not only poured blood and sweat into this project, but he poured so much love into it. I think that’s what surprised me the most. I spent several years convincing him to get chickens and through experiencing them for a couple of years he’s learned to love having chickens in our yard. This coop was a labor of love, not just for me and the kids but also for these beautiful egg giving girls. He built the coop for me, but with the hens in mind. He thought of every little detail to make sure these girls would be safe, protected and happy. No different than what he does for his family. Everything he does for his family and those he loves is done with pure passion and adrenalin. Thank you! There is no better feeling than rising up early and going out there to feed those little ladies. And the exitment of finding eggs in the coop never gets old. The first eggs layed in that coop will be made into a delicious omelet for you.

“…for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  Galatians 6:7-8.

“Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

His hands are small but his enthusiasm is big. Sometimes he makes little tasks more difficult than they are and take longer than they should, in the end though, he is learning and one day when his hands are bigger (hopefully his enthusiasm stays the same) he will be a big help.

We barley miss a dinner together. In a world of such unpredictability, the one thing you can be sure of is dinner together at 6pm. As the kids are getting older, I started recently realizing that this ritual our family has will slowly start to change. We started off just Amir and I, and soon enough Isabel joined us at the table, 2 and a half years later, another seat was taken up by Melina, followed by Lia 21 months later. For 8 years there was an extra seat at our dining table and the kids always felt uneven about it. They often stated how we needed another kid so that all 6 seats would be filled. And here we are, our 6th occupant, Liam, is now 2 and a half years old. Boy our table is a full one. Lots of home cooked food shared, some take out here and there, Friday night pizzas, extra seating added for friends and cousins, school complaints, work complaints, debates, arguments, chaos, even the occasional fist slam, and people leaving the table. But one thing is for sure, every evening at 6pm those people come back to the table and we start all over again.  I wish I could freeze time and keep all of these individuals at my table, soon they will blessed to be part of others dinner tables and I pray they will always feel as welcomed as the table they will always have at home.