Yesterday was a whirlwind of fun, friends and work. We were hoping to get down to the Santa Maria river for a day of playin' in the sun and floatin' in the river. But when we awoke and affirmed our suspicions with the weather channel, it was not river weather and we changed our plans to go bouldering in the dells. We packed a lunch, loaded the dogs and headed to pick our friends Melanie and her son Oliver for a morning of play. The wind was in full force and the temperature was teetering around freezing. The kids did great and for the most part didn't complain about the weather until the way home (Perrin was really the only one complaining). I let them know that the rainy weather we were experiencing could be very similar to the weather in Switzerland, so SUCK IT UP.
After our outing I dropped the kids off with Sandra, who has a 6 year old Nicolas in Sam's class. She is the one coming to Switzerland with us to watch the kids while I work. Sandra was so excited to have the children over and her and Perrin played and played and played. Upon my arrival Perrin asked when could she come back! She walked away with multiple stuffed animals, books and a few toys. Sandra was glowing and kept saying how much fun she had with Perrin and how much she's looking forward to our adventure in Switzerland. AWESOME! How blessed am I to have a wonderful friend who loves my kids and plays with them. So cool.
Last week Sandra had Sam and my dear friend Christie had Perrin for the afternoon and evening. My hiking/gardening/wreath making/adventure Buddy Suzi Hill from Seattle was in Sedona for the week hiking and I took the opportunity to go and have lunch with her. It was delightful to spend time with her and it was even more delightful to know that my kids were having a great time with their friends. Perrin and Christie Hamman had a tea party, played with dolls, baked a cake and watched Yogi and Mac play all afternoon. Both Perrin and Christie remarked that they so enjoyed themselves. It's a good thing as Christie will be watching the kids for a week while I'm in Switzerland, until her daughter gets home from Malibu to be my nanny.
Meanwhile, I headed off to Skyview school to participate in the hiring process for the primary and secondary positions. It's a confidential process but I will say that I am more and more impressed with Skyview and their teachers. It's remarkable the standards of education they adhere to, the collaboration they expect between teachers and the intentionality they put into everything where it concerns students. Amazing, simply amazing. Having taught for a few years I appreciate the process and the amount of effort these educators put into their professions. I don't think Balin and I could have found a better public school for our children - we are really blessed.
The evening finished up with a babysitter coming over with two other children and me heading over to the Coffman's for an evening of wine, good food and amazing conversation. Robyn presented the idea of a "Clearing Board" which is a Quaker experience where a small group of people sit in a unadorned room and listen to one person "process" their ideas. The people listening have a neutral posture and ask no questions or pose no comments, they just listen to the one who is speaking. The one speaking has the freedom to speak about whatever they need to process. After the initial presentation, if you will, they take a break and then return to ask questions and dialogue about the subject at hand - with out judgement or pretense.
We took this concept as our subject for the evening going around and asking everyone what their dreams were. We asked questions and got excited for each other and the possibilities of each other's dreams. People talked about living on the beach, writing a book, opening a tea shop and traveling. (guess which one is mine) It was fun to live out of the box and share our souls out loud.
Balin's comment on all of this was we dream all the time. Let's restate that a little bit. I dream and Balin provides the commentary. His favorite thing to hear is, "I was thinking...."or "what do you think about..." Balin just smiles - has a somewhat vague response and validates one of the many ideas that come to me daily. Sometimes those dreams come true; living somewhere other than Seattle, studying spanish in Mexico, taking road trips with the kids, backpacking, a greenhouse, the Park House, Switzerland...but more often than not the dreams were just bad ideas that needed some fresh air.
After our outing I dropped the kids off with Sandra, who has a 6 year old Nicolas in Sam's class. She is the one coming to Switzerland with us to watch the kids while I work. Sandra was so excited to have the children over and her and Perrin played and played and played. Upon my arrival Perrin asked when could she come back! She walked away with multiple stuffed animals, books and a few toys. Sandra was glowing and kept saying how much fun she had with Perrin and how much she's looking forward to our adventure in Switzerland. AWESOME! How blessed am I to have a wonderful friend who loves my kids and plays with them. So cool.
Last week Sandra had Sam and my dear friend Christie had Perrin for the afternoon and evening. My hiking/gardening/wreath making/adventure Buddy Suzi Hill from Seattle was in Sedona for the week hiking and I took the opportunity to go and have lunch with her. It was delightful to spend time with her and it was even more delightful to know that my kids were having a great time with their friends. Perrin and Christie Hamman had a tea party, played with dolls, baked a cake and watched Yogi and Mac play all afternoon. Both Perrin and Christie remarked that they so enjoyed themselves. It's a good thing as Christie will be watching the kids for a week while I'm in Switzerland, until her daughter gets home from Malibu to be my nanny.
Meanwhile, I headed off to Skyview school to participate in the hiring process for the primary and secondary positions. It's a confidential process but I will say that I am more and more impressed with Skyview and their teachers. It's remarkable the standards of education they adhere to, the collaboration they expect between teachers and the intentionality they put into everything where it concerns students. Amazing, simply amazing. Having taught for a few years I appreciate the process and the amount of effort these educators put into their professions. I don't think Balin and I could have found a better public school for our children - we are really blessed.
The evening finished up with a babysitter coming over with two other children and me heading over to the Coffman's for an evening of wine, good food and amazing conversation. Robyn presented the idea of a "Clearing Board" which is a Quaker experience where a small group of people sit in a unadorned room and listen to one person "process" their ideas. The people listening have a neutral posture and ask no questions or pose no comments, they just listen to the one who is speaking. The one speaking has the freedom to speak about whatever they need to process. After the initial presentation, if you will, they take a break and then return to ask questions and dialogue about the subject at hand - with out judgement or pretense.
We took this concept as our subject for the evening going around and asking everyone what their dreams were. We asked questions and got excited for each other and the possibilities of each other's dreams. People talked about living on the beach, writing a book, opening a tea shop and traveling. (guess which one is mine) It was fun to live out of the box and share our souls out loud.
Balin's comment on all of this was we dream all the time. Let's restate that a little bit. I dream and Balin provides the commentary. His favorite thing to hear is, "I was thinking...."or "what do you think about..." Balin just smiles - has a somewhat vague response and validates one of the many ideas that come to me daily. Sometimes those dreams come true; living somewhere other than Seattle, studying spanish in Mexico, taking road trips with the kids, backpacking, a greenhouse, the Park House, Switzerland...but more often than not the dreams were just bad ideas that needed some fresh air.
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