Around the Farm.

It is a small farm - no doubt. Just 16 acres ... littered with all manner of wild fauna ... 2 goats, 16 chickens, some dogs and some cats. But we get our eggs and milk in this way. And the future may hold other farming ventures here on this fertile land ... just 2 miles from the city's shopping center. Till then, we are more than content with the life we have here. Simple ... yet just minutes from the chaos and entertainments of the city. A strange set of circumstances brought us here ... but now we can't imagine being anywhere else.

I recently met a guy up here from my hometown area of Nashua, NH. He was just passing through and asked me "So, what are you doing up here?" I replied, "Loving every minute of it." And I do ... at least most of the time.

I thought for today I'd share some of the pictures that I took around our place this weekend. Enjoy:

Love,

Jodi

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Silhouettes : Disney Part 5.

Silhouette crafting is everywhere. Apparently it is quite "in vogue" right now, and I must admit that I have caught the bug too. I bought this one for Dad for Christmas. And I am coveting all these ... as well as these. It is certainly a classic art form, but has gained a recent upsurge in popularity.

There are plenty of books written on the subject too. And I am likely going to purchase a few within the next year. I hope to inspire some of my own creativity by adding some silhouettes to my sewing / quilting. (You may remember when my girlfriend created this gorgeous silhouette of her daughter --- on a sweatshirt!).

Apparently, it is a tradition of sorts to have your silhouettes crafted on paper at the Magic Kingdom. Halis has several from his youth ... and I have seen many DisneyWorld framed silhouettes grace the walls of various homes throughout the years. So, during our recent Disney vacation, I was excited to have our family silhouette created by a Magic Kingdom cast member.

Here is Halis's pose for the artist ...

And here is the outcome ...

It took alot of candy to have Isaac sit still long enough.

I am really enjoying the beauty of this timeless portrait --- and am feeling as though I have just taken part in a classic American tradition that I somehow missed as a child. Looking at the new family portrait makes me smile ... and also makes me wonder if and when we will be adding more little babes to our family. I am hoping soon.

Enjoy the weekend!

Love,

Jodi

P.S. Meaghan also had hers done as well. It is very sweet & I hope she will treasure it always :)

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Imitating Snow.

One recent night, Halis and I were treated to some time alone. We chose to use that time to "play" with one another ... something I always beg for ... time alone to create, laugh, and share with one another ... like children do. So, I grabbed paper, scissors, and my favorite snowflake making book: Grandma's Magic Scissors. We sat at the kitchen table ... chatting and laughing ... creating snowflake after snowflake ... totally enjoying ourselves and eachother. These are my favorite times together ... when we play.

We did our best to imitate the beauty of natural snowflakes. Okay - not really. Well, maybe some of mine could pass for authentic, naturally made snowflake designs. But Halis - well, he made the frog snowflake shown above (if that were a real snowflake, I could freeze it and sell it on Ebay for thousands).

We even got so good at cutting Grandma's Magic designs that we ventured into cutting some of our own designs ... freehand...

Halis made this tree snowflake without a pattern. It is a favorite around here.

So - moral of this post: get out the scissors and papers, grab a loved one, and start cutting. Laughter, inspiration, awe, and loving compliments will follow. Good times on the cheap. And fabulously rewarding. Play is good.

Enjoy your day.

Love,

Jodi

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2009.

It is 2:35 AM on New Year's Day ... and I am lying in bed ... reflecting on 2008 ... having just rocked in the New Year with our new Wii Rockband 2 (Mama on drums, Daddy on guitar, Meg on the mike and Isaac on the grumpy, why-won't-anyone-play-with-me-right-now). I am usually not one for new year reflections ... but 2008 was a truly wonderful year for our family. And I am feeling the need to pay some respect to the joys we experienced.

Please join me (or bear with me) as I show some appreciation for the following events that we enjoyed in 2008 (not in any particular order & likely missing some key events):

* We sold our home in the country.

* We moved into our new city home.

* Isaac started peeing and pooping in the potty.

* I began successfully selling handmade goodies on the internet.

* Halis joined the Hampden gun club and took up target shooting.

* My health improved considerably (I am almost 100%).

* We were able to sponsor Isaac's biological siblings in Haiti to attend school.

* We were able to communicate with Isaac's bio 'mother' with the help of 2 incredible friends.

* One of those incredible friends shared a hug with my son's bio 'mother' --- from me, all the way to Haiti.

* One of Isaac's bio-siblings sent us a sweet letter.

* Facebook brought my high school best friend and I back in communication after 15 years or so.

* Halis, Isaac and I paid a visit to that friend and had a great time!

* I became seriously committed to my photography and greatly improved my skills.

* Halis and I paid off all our debt!

* I was able to generate over $5,000 for some of my favorite charities.

* My Memere celebrated her 85th Birthday.

* I made some amazing friends in the blogging world (likely including you!).

* Halis and I enjoyed more "dates" than we have throughout our entire marriage.

* Isaac greatly improved his vocabulary, math, and soccer skills.

* Halis was able to spend more time with Isaac and I due to cutting his commute time by 75%.

* We increased our time spent with the Goodales by about 300% since moving to the city.

* Halis and I read several books that we have been meaning to read ... including the most profound book I have ever read (you can e-mail me for details if interested).

* Halis asked me to marry him again (down on one knee & with new "bling" to boot).

* Isaac moved right next door to his Bobo & Poppy and visits them whenever he wants.

*My brother secured a good job.

* Meaghan made the local hockey team and chose Halis's jersey number for her own.

* Isaac fell in love.

* We purchased Rockband for the Wii --- how did we ever live without it? Our family totally rocks now.

*** And the list could go on and on ....

But the greatest gift of 2008 was our move to the city. Though we loved the country life while it lasted, our family life --- the time we spend together and with family and friends --- has improved 3-fold. And I have to say, that in all my life, I have never experienced more joys than I did this year. More laughter, more friendships, more security, more romance, more personal fulfillment, etc. I know that part of it is because our conditions have improved (financial security, closer proximity to family & friends, etc.) but I also think that some of my joy can be attributed to my new & improving ways of appreciating and participating in what life has to offer ... of giving my time and energies into that which feels good and saying no to those things which don't ... feeling gratitude for all that surrounds me, etc. At least, these are the attitudes that I strive for but don't always achieve :) Life is good ... and I intend to live a life of believing that out loud.

So, welcome 2009. I hope to enjoy you as much as I did your predecessor.

And to my readers ... I sincerely hope you each enjoy the greatest year of your life!

Love,

Jodi

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Sorting Through The Past.

Since moving to our new place, I have slowly been going through all of our old photographs in an attempt to reduce the number of photo boxes that we have been storing for so many years. I mean, do we really need to keep every single photo that we took of Disneyworld in 1991? Only maybe 10 of those hundreds of photos actually hold any meaning for us ... the rest are endless photos of the rides and architecture because I was so fascinated by this "other world" when I was 18. At 35 ... well, I am no longer fascinated by those photos ... and I don't think my son will want to inherit them. So ... perhaps they will be turned into some crazy art work or something fun. Oh, but then there are photos like these ...

These are the keepers. These are the photos that bring you back to the time and space where they were taken. These are the ones that fill you with the emotions that you felt at that time. Upon seeing this photo, I remember that youthful *lust* I had for the boy that would become my husband. I remember how playful we were. How we were always touching ... how much time we spent talking about the day when we would get married ... about what our children would be like. Could this photo really have been taken nearly 20 years ago???

So, I will continue to paw through these old photos, and when I find the keepers ... I may just post them here. Perhaps you may wish to do the same.

Enjoy the day ...

Love,

Jodi

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Exploring Maine : Day 3 : Bog Walk and City Forest

Perhaps I should have called this series "Exploring the Bangor Area", because it seems that we have no intention of going anywhere else this vacation week. When I chose to move to Maine, I did specifically want to move to Bangor. It's just taken me 11 years to do so ( I have lived about an hour outside of Bangor for the past 11 years). Now that we are finally here for good - we have whole new eyes for the place. I think because it took us so long to get here, we are just now able to fully appreciate all the area has to offer.

Daddy suggested a walk through the City Forest as well as a trip around the Bog Boardwalk. Our new house actually sits on some of the acreage that is attached to the bog, so essentially, Daddy suggested that we check out our own backyard - literally. I had other ideas in mind, but Halis is very into the "exploring" thing lately ... I am very into my new camera ... and Isaac is very into looking for trolls and fairies ... so its all good.

I had no idea what a "bog walk" was ... but apparently it is a wooden boardwalk that takes you through (above really) a lush, thriving, bog-ish body of water ... full of incredible foliage, berries, and wildlife. I really need to learn more about this natural habitat so that I can adequately explain the wonder of it to my unschooled son ... and not call it a "bog-ish body of water"... especially since we live directly in front of it. That will come later ...

Anyway, during this walk, I couldn't help but to think of a local television news piece regarding the recent increased sightings of black bears in the City Forest/Bog. The news anchor expressed concern about the increased sightings, stating that several patrons of the park were frightened by the animals. This tickles me greatly ... first because black bears are relatively harmless and second because the reason those bears are making appearances in the area is because my parents feed them (remember that I live on my parents land). My parents are very much against bear baiting (when hunters feed bears in the same area for long enough to make the bears comfortable and then shoot them when bear season opens) ... so they do a little "bear baiting" of their own ... and bait them into a safe zone. I love it.

We didn't see any bears though. But we did find some very cool streams for throwing rocks into. And several benches for resting a while to tell some tall tales about the fairies, trolls and other magical creatures that dwell in our city forest.

Another great day in our favorite little city... the home of The Senior League World Series ... the American Folk Festival ... Stephen King ... and the best sub shop in the United States ... among many other things.

Are you enjoying the wonders of your little space in the universe? We hope so ... and we'd like to here about it.

Love,

Jodi

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Enjoying Maine : Day 2 : Cascade Park Trails

I thought I knew Bangor well enough. I was wrong. There are so many spaces here that I have not yet explored. Isaac and I have been to Cascade Park before, but we never knew that there were walking/running/biking trails that surround the park. We thought the waterfalls were the main attraction. It turns out there is so much more to the park then we first noticed.

See, when we bring Daddy with us - to the places that we have previously enjoyed - he will find new and exciting ways to better enjoy the place because Daddy is an explorer. I think it comes with his testosterone.

My favorite part of the trails were the spaces that felt very remote ... the wooded spaces ...

the spaces were one might imagine fairies resting under mushrooms come nightfall.

But mostly I love enjoying the three of us together - exploring new territory - right in our own "backyard". Vacations don't necessarily require plane flights or camping gear. Sometimes they can be thoroughly enjoyed right from home.

Hoping you enjoy your home ...

Love,

Jodi

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Enjoying Maine : Day 1 : Fishing

I chose Maine ... and Halis followed ... then my parents. I just love it here. Sometimes I think I might prefer the Northwest ... but New England seems to have a permanent grip on me. And I never tire of exploring it. There is just so much to see, do and enjoy here ... most of which involves nature and simplicity (my faves).

Halis took vacation this week, so we fully intend to do some more exploring ... and Day 1 started with fishing in Pushaw Lake. No fish were caught, but we enjoyed the sweet summer breezes, the boating and the company.

And Daddy even performed some "popcorn-in-the-mouth" tricks for us ...

... sometimes with mixed results :)

Good times.

Love,

Jodi

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