Sunday, December 27, 2009

boys will be boys...

...especially when given a roll of duct tape. The smiles they have are brightest when they have the ability to create. Even if it means taping up each other with tape & laughter.

Thank you Lord for their creativity, energy and the ability to laugh.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

hammock time

unable to read pages without interruption, i was not bothered. it was the laughter of my boys that caused me to lift my eyes from the pages. i watched, i smiled. i would read a few sentences more before my gaze returned to the yard where the sounds were being made.

what a blessing a 70 degree day in early november has become.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Mysteries, Yes


Gran and L race to the water, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Mysteries, Yes

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.

- Mary Oliver

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Joh and Flo Bjelke-Petersen

I just wanted to share with you Justyn, and 'Becca.... check out the smile on her face! I love this photo. The original is in her bedroom I think.
This photo came up on my flickr contact mix..... from the library of Qld.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A blessing from John O'Donohue...

For Longing

Blessed be the longing that brought you here
And quickens your soul with wonder.

May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire
That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe.

May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease
To disover the new direction your longing wants you to take.

May the forms of your belonging- in love, creativity, and friendship-
Be equal to the grandeur and the call of your soul.

May the one you long for long for you.

May your dreams gradually reveal the destination of your desire.

May a secret Providence guide your thought and nurture your feeling.

May your mind inhabit your life with the sureness with which your body inhabits the world.

May your heart never be haunted by ghost-structures of old damage.

May you come to accept your longing as divine urgency.

May you know the urgency with which God longs for you.

-John O'Donohue

Monday, August 31, 2009

For 'Becca.... this was shared with me last week....

you are me and i am you.
it is obvious that we inter-are.
you cultivate the flower in
yourself so that i will be beautiful.
i transform the garbage in myself so
that you do not have to suffer.
i support you you support me.
i am here to bring you peace.
you are here to bring me joy.

thich nhat hanh

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Silliness!


Silliness!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Oh, I just can't resist the silly photo.

When all is said and done, and Justyn, you are miles and miles away, I am so glad that I took a few silly photos of the farewells at the airport.

Levity brings a kind of common feeling to these moments.... anchors the bigger moments in their place within the day to day of life I guess... at leas this is how I feel. How I felt when I took the photo, and how I feel when I look at this now, and see these precious goofy faces captured in a moment last weekend, when we were getting ready for a big goodbye!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Something small and sweet!

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

There is nothing necessarily spiritual about this video. I just wanted to share it, because I liked it!

Check out at minute 2:40 when the saved guy is reunited with his kids. It's so sweet!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Sharing The Soaring Impulse

I found a really cool blog today.

The one quote that sticks-

We are not called to change this crazy world. We are just called to love it.

Monday, May 4, 2009

One of my spiritual teachers....


mother and daughter, originally uploaded by justynrebecca.

I adore this photo that Justyn magically captured yesterday.

Although K and I are having a plain ordinary conversation about whether she can ask G to come and work the bees later in the afternoon... doesn't it look more profound whisperings than that? It looks like she is whispering the secrets of the universe to me!

K has been a spiritual teacher to me, like I was never expecting. She has connected me to the Divine in ways that propel me forward into my life. She affirms my connection on a daily basis, by forcing me to use it! My second born has done this too of course, it's just that K was first.

: )

Thank You for this photo Justyn!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Inside this clay jug there are Canyons and Pine Mountains....


An empty nest we found!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Inside this clay jug there are canyons and pine mountains,
and the maker of canyons and pine mountains!

All seven oceans are inside, and hundreds of millions of stars.
The acid that tests gold is there, and the one who judges jewels.

And the music from the strings no one touches,
and the source of all water.
If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth:
Friend, listen: the God whom I love is inside.
-Kabir- Robert Bly

Sunday, April 19, 2009

He is Risen!

Happy Easter Justyn!

Orthodox Easter was only one week off Western Easter this year.....

Now we are all Easter People.... celebrating resurrection and transformation within my own heart.... : )

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Saying goodbye...

I took this photo today, the S. girls in line at a pretend "passport agency" we had set up for home schooling today.

B with her sweet vintage suitcase, Little Bird looking so sweet and full of enthusiasm. And me on the other side of the camera taking in the fact that this scene will be recreated in real life in only 2 months. Those sweet faces are taking off for another country, another continent! For at least a year....maybe longer!

Oh, how dear they are, and how they will be missed!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Love!


Love!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (The Message)

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Capture

The time I have with family feels so precious that I need to seal it in.
So I am thankful- deeply thankful to Justyn for providing some captured moments to seal the memory of the time I've shared with my family this Christmas.

Reflect::: Nourish:::