day 54 {blue} & Corner View

when i read that the theme for corner view this week was blue,

these paintings straight away came to mind.

they have only lived in my home a

short time. they were

painted by my

grandma.

i miss

her.

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Good Times with Little House Braids

Hello !!! Has it been forever since I posted or what ?!?! How are you all ? I'm well. Life has been so busy lately. I've managed to keep The Beans Blog going but this poor Simple Beauty blog has been a bit neglected since May ! I can't promise that it will get better any time soon ! ha ha

But ... I'm up early this morning ... 4:30am ! I'm watching Spain vs Netherlands in the World Cup Final. Come on Spain !!! You.Can.Do.It !!! Anyway ... I thought I'd pop in a write a quick post. Maybe get the ball rolling again ...

I have been taking lots of photos. Maybe I'll just start posting some of them ... without too many words. We'll see.

Did ya'll know I took a quick trip to the States in June ? My Grandma died and the day after I got the call, I was on a plane, by myself ... off to Ohio to spend 10 amazing days with my family. I'm so thankful that I was able to go. All of my aunties and uncles on that side of the family were there. My parents were there. All of my siblings. And all of my cousins. AMAZING !! It was sort of like we were all kids again. Just being together. Doing what we do so well ~ loving each other. There were sad times, to be sure, but mostly there were lots of memories. Lots of stories told. Plenty of laughter. Plenty of tears ... Lots of preparations. A beautiful memorial service. An impromtu service at the lake, scattering ashes that was the highlight of my trip.

I'm going to go ... halftime is over and I can't watch and type at the same time ... ha ha !! The tension of this game is about to kill me ... SCORE ALREADY SPAIN !!!!

I'll leave you with this photo though. It's from when we were cleaning out Grandma's apartment. Mom and her sisters have always told us about how they used to put panty hose on their heads when they were little .... to play Little House on the Prarie ! Hilarious, no ? One of the sisters reckons they used to wear three pairs and braid them. Mom doesn't remember this so she had to try. She's the one in the middle ... I'm the one in purple 'hair' ... and the one in the purple hat is my sister Ellie.

Ahhhh ... good times ! goood good times !!

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Quotes {I} Love

This is me ... I am who I am ... nothing more ... nothing less.
(ok ... in recent years, a bit 'more' than I'd like ... but I'm working on that !)

I love being me.
I love being a the daughter of Jim and Kathy
( you may see them comment as 'Sabba and Nanny' and 'Kath' )
I love that who I am is so much because of who they are.

I have two great quotes from them that I want to share.

One from my a facebook status my Dad posted ...

"After dinner, we read together for a while, basking in the glow of an evening well spent and sharing thoughts, feelings, laughter, warmth, appreciation for one another and our appreciation of the love of one who loves us more than we can ever comprehend. Finally, I spent a marvelous time with my son on the back patio, braving the cold and continuing our conversation, enjoying our time together and sharing our hearts with one another, our appreciation, our lives, our love. How long? Who knows? Thirty minutes? An hour? Time is meaningless. On Shabbat, we have a taste of eternity. That time together ... "

And one from an email my Mom sent me ...
It's a small quote from a big conversation we had
back and forth but you'll get the picture ...

"One gets tired sometimes, but life is for LIVING, and for sharing, seeing, trying, tasting, helping……..you get the picture! It’s part of the dance ………."

Yeah.
They are special people.

Extraordinarily so ...

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The World Needs More {SPECIAL} Hearts Like Hannah's !

This is my sister Hannah ... and below is an email my Dad sent me last week ...

Our daughter, Hannah, age 29, with Prader-Willi syndrome, wrote this touching eulogy to her friend, Johnny, a man of 68 years, developmentally disabled to about the age of two or three, who lived with the same host family as Hannah. Johnny passed away recently, and the eulogy was read at his funeral.

QUOTE
Psalm 24
The King of Glory and His Kingdom

Johnny and I met 7 years ago, and he was the sweetest young man I knew on the face of the planet. I loved helping getting his outfits for him, feeding him, but most of all I liked being mother hen to him. I want very badly to be a mama someday when I grew up, but sadly it couldn’t be. I love him a lot, I will always be sad, and will always remember him way deep in my heart.

I would like to close with a short reading from Psalm 24.
“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and all therein; for
He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may
ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness
from the God of his salvation.”

May your heart be eternally at peace, Johnny!

Love, Hannah
ENDQUOTE

Now Hannah had asked me to help her find a verse to read for Johnny. I thought and thought and searched high and low for something that would be truly comforting and meaningful and not cliché or sappy. I came up empty, but Hannah’s choice was perfect.

At the funeral, the priest told everyone that when Johnny met someone, that person immediately became family. What a world it would be if everyone had that attitude.

It wasn’t too many years ago that I learned what the term “special needs people” means. These people are special, and they have been placed on this earth because we need them. Though they are often maligned and disparaged as something less than “normal,” these special people are often much closer to humanity’s ideal, i.e. they are humane, merciful, humble, compassionate, giving, sensitive to the feelings of others, loving and expressing that love unabashedly.

Here’s a story from Hannah’s life that I have told previously. One Sunday morning Hannah and I were driving across town to Sunday School. (Kathy had been called in to work unexpectedly at 3:30 in the morning so was not with us). Out of the blue, Hannah says to me "Dad, I wish everyone in the world could be as fortunate as we are." I was moved to tears. Here was Hannah, who was born with a rare syndrome affecting her appetite and emotional control. Because of the syndrome she will never be able to have children, which she loves more than anything in the world except perhaps dogs and horses. She will never drive, likely never marry. She will never be truly independent (she lives outside our home but in a host home with another family, who take care of her). Throw in a mild case of bi-polar disorder, and Hannah has enough problems to give her a hundred excuses to complain, but rather she says, "Dad, I wish everyone in the world could be as fortunate as we are."

Hannah often says to us that she is thankful that God put her in our family, that she has the best parents in the world. Last night Kathy asked her whether so-and-so might think their parents are the best in the world, too. Could they have the best parents in the world, too? Hannah matter-of-factly answered that they could--the best parents for them. We call people like Hannah "special." Some may think this a euphemism, but it is not. She is special, and we are so thankful that God put her in our family. We have learned so much from her.

Before closing this email, I want to talk about two other very special people: Angie, with whom Johnny lived for 15 years, and Itha, who initially obtained legal custody of Johnny in order to get him released from institutional living. Itha found Johnny languishing in an institution and made it her mission to get him out. She went through legal channels and did just that. While Johnny lived with Angie’s family, Itha would often take Johnny away on special travels and fun, local field trips. The word special doesn’t seem big enough for this lady.

Angie is the big-hearted woman who, along with her husband, Zeke, took Johnny in and treated him as if he were her own son. She is the wonderful person who loves and treats our Hannah is if she were her own daughter. Angie and her husband have a family of their own, but find overflowing love to shower upon those they’ve taken into the heart of their home. For Hannah, this is an opportunity to move out “on her own,” as she has seen her brother and sisters do, although she can never be truly independent. Kathy and I spend time with Hannah on special occasions, weekends, take her to therapeutic horseback riding and Sunday School, but Angie is there for her constantly. We can never express the depth of our gratitude to Angie for all she has poured into Hannah. She, indeed, is a special person with a big heart for the special people who have been specially placed among us to fulfill our special needs.

Wishing you the best always, Jim and Kathy

For more information about Prader-Willi Syndrome, check out the web site of the national organization here, or the Colorado group here.

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Mah-Jongg

My family has a long history with Mah-Jongg ... my Dad wrote a post about it back in October.

I learned to play as a kid and I remember loving when the Mah-Jongg set
(or sometimes sets, if there were enough people)
came out at my Grandma's house !

We'd set up at card tables and play all afternoon.
I loved it. I still do.



My two have 'played' a couple of times when we've been at my parents house.
Usually on teams, although, I think Jono was able to hold his own last time we were there.



But yesterday, the four of us were able to play together.
Alia is finally old enough that she 'gets' it !
In fact, she mah-jongged TWICE !



I love coming from a family of game players !
And I love that our children love playing games as well !!

***

PS ... I've forgotten a few of the details. I'm hoping someone in the family will help me out ...

1. Is it Right In Left Out or the other way around when building the wall ?
2. Do you count clockwise or counter clockwise on the first roll ? (counting the walls)
3. Which way do you count the tiles on the second roll ?
4. Do you go backwards for the flower pile ?
5. If you already have punged, and someone puts down the 4th tile, can you pick it up or does it have to be the person beside you who lays it down ?

Ok ... that's it !
We were able to play ok without knowing the answers but I'd like to know we're doing it right !

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Sabba Hoo ?

My Dad ... affectionately know by his grandchildren as Sabba ... has always loved owls. Well, I don't actually know that he LOVES owls but he's always had a collection of owls for as long as I can remember. Consequently, whenever I see an owl, I think of him ! I saw this one when we went walking the other day.

Ps ... this owl is made out of wood.

Pss ... Sabba means grandfather in Hebrew.

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Lizardage ...

We went to the Botanic Gardens yesterday and had a bit of an explore. We walked for a couple of hours, took lots of photos, talked, marveled, laughed, cried (not really, it just seemed like what should come after laughed ...)

We had fun.

I have a ton of photos but I'll just post this one for you today.

Jono took it and I love it.

And a little video of a goanna we saw while we were walking ... He was a decent size ! I took a couple of photos but he was pretty camouflaged & that didn't work with my point and shoot !! He's hard(ish) to see in the video too but at least he's moving ... not so in the photos !

I'm glad it was a lizard (sure, a large scary looking lizard) and not a snake. There won't been any video footage if we ever see a snake ... unless of course, the camera turns itself on and records the inside of my pocket ! Seriously, snakes are not something I want to meet in the wild ! or on a plane ...

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My {alia} Girl

She's an individual.

UNIQUE.

With her own sense of style

and

FLAIR.

I love that about her ...

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just the headlines

• I finally replaced my hot rollers that I could not bring to Australia with me 12 (almost) years ago.

• Our 7 year old son is soaking in a hot bath with a good book. (There will never been any doubt this kid is mine !!)

• Rory had laser eye surgery today. He took his prescribed sleeping pill hours ago. He may wake for dinner. He may not. As much as I'd like to see him, I hope he's able to sleep through the night ...
  

• We had an amazing weekend away with the whole family:

nine adults
six kids
lots of food, laughter, and sports
time on the beach
plenty of hugs
sleepovers and snoring
a birthday celebrated
fishing and sumo
cousins and aunties and uncles
grandparents and nieces and nephews
brothers and sisters
japanese, american, australian
sunshine
and heaps of it

• I'm off to put the kiddos to bed and make a simple Spaghetti Aliolio dinner for myself ... and enough for Rory ~ just in case.
  
  

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{weekend}

We've just had the most amazing weekend ! We had the whole family here Saturday and Sunday. Half of them stayed 'til Monday. There were 9 adults and 5 kids staying in our new house and it was fabulous. All of the adults ( and the toddler ) were in rooms. The 4 bigger kids thought it was great that they got to 'camp' ... in the living room !!

We did spend some time in the outdoors ... just not in a tent ! We went bush walking through the rainforest on Sunday morning. We love bush walking and it was great to be able to do it with the rest of the family. Grandad's knees and Auntie Gina's 'due in three weeks' belly meant that they didn't come on the whole walk ... oh and Uncle Eddie and 20 month CJ neither. They turned around after the boardwalk and grabbed a coffee while the rest of us headed up to the waterfall and back. Grandma did come along. Not only was she able to do the whole walk, she got some great shots. Here's a beauty ...

In other news ... tonight should be Rory's last night working night shift ! Wooooo Hooooo ! Most of you don't even know he was doing night shift. I don't like to post stuff like that on my blog til after the fact. I'm just weird like that. He's been leaving the house between 9 and 9:30, SIX NIGHTS A WEEK, and getting home between 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning since the 19th of April !!! We are all so ready for it to be FINISHED !!! We have made the best of it but my goodness are we ready for 'normal' again !!

I'm pooped. I love visiting and hanging and talking and laughing and just being with family but when it's finished, I'm pooped !! I think tonight, I'm going to go watch some tv and finally get my knitting needles working again !! I haven't knitted since we moved in here ... I'm missing it.

I'll be round to visit everyone soon. I haven't even opened my google reader to see what you all have been up to ... I'm a bit scared at how many unread posts there will be after three days of not checking !! I'm not even going to look until tomorrow ...

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SOOC - Saturday Morning Breakfast

This morning, before we even made it out of our pajamas, we cooked and ate breakfast together.

Alia and I did the eggs and pancakes inside.

Rory and Jono did the bacon and chorizo (left over from dinner) outside on the BBQ.

A perfect start to this fine Saturday ...

****

Visit Melody at Slurping Life for more SOOC.

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mothers day 2009

we spread blankets on our 'tuscan' patio



opened the umbrella

enjoyed a meal



prepared by Rory



watched the very few clouds in the sky



marveled at the quietness of our neighborhood



and enjoyed being together

***

happy happy happy mothers day !!!

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My Dad, the blogger

What does Yesh Li Blog mean ?

"We would translate (i.e. interpret) yesh li blog to mean "I have a blog" in English, but the literal Hebrew means "There is for (or to) me a blog." You cannot literally say "I have" something or other in Hebrew. It is always "there is for me," or "there is for you," or "there is for us," etc. Hebrew, the language of the Bible, is showing us that we are really stewards of what has been provided for us and for our use. Rather than private ownership, perhaps a better term for what we "own" would be private stewardship.

Languages have been my passion since at least the fourth grade, when I studied Spanish from a library book called Fun with Spanish. In high school, I was the rara avis that became enamored of Latin. In later U.S. Navy tours of duty in Spain, Italy, and Japan, we did our best to learn the local languages. Along the way, I studied some Russian and picked up some Greek by studying etymologies and some Chinese by studying Japanese writing systems.

My first introduction to Hebrew was in the early 1980s, when I took a correspondence course, but it was not until the past decade that my primary focus has been on this wondrous language. It has been deeply rewarding, and especially in the past few years since we met Ori, an amazing Israeli woman, who has become not only my primary Hebrew mentor but also our good friend. Moreover, the small group of people who meet weekly to study Torah in Hebrew in Boulder have become dear to us and enriched our lives greatly. Further, reading Jewish commentaries on the Web of the weekly Torah portions has deepened my own faith and opened up new understandings of the scriptures we share and of Christian writings based on those scriptures.

The pursuit of words has been an essential part of my life for many years (since birth?). Many things have changed in my life, but I don't see that part of it changing any time soon (until death?). Lehitraot! Shalom, Chaverim!"

I love that my Dad has a blog. I love what he has to share and what I learn each time I go there. I love the old photos he digs up of my siblings and myself for the birthday posts he does for us each year ! I love his knowledge of words. His love of language. The fun stuff he and my Mom like to do together. Bed and Breakfasts. Opera.

Seriously, my parents know how to live life to the fullest !

Always have.

Check them out ... this was in 1978. I think this could be my all time favorite photo ...

Aren't they cute ?

Yeah ! I think so too !

Every blogger knows how fun it is to get comments ...
I wonder, would ya'll pop over to Yesh Li Blog and say g'day to my Dad ?
Make sure you stay for a bit and have a look around, you're sure to learn something new !!

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Mile High April

This is my Dad, barefoot and shoveling snow !!

Gotta love Colorado !!

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