Ringing in 2008

Dinner with our friends, "M & J" and 5 kids under the age of 10. A fun time. I want to ask them before I post their photo, but here's our crew.

Just Being Funny Together

. . . as we wait to ring in the New Year. Emma says her resolution is to eat grapes. Luke says learn to play guitar even better. Grownups shouldn't make resolutions (see previous post). But I do have hopes: for my entire family--health. For Troy--a good night's sleep. For my children--Dreams. Dream Big and Just Go For It. And what's the worst that can happen. As a friend said, "We always have band-aids in the car." Be kind. Give more than take. Love. Keep Dancing.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau

Our New Year's Eve Hike

Everyone indulged dear old me with a nice, rocky hike on New Year's Eve. It's a beautiful spot in one of the county parks in our area. We hiked up the hill and were rewarded with some outstanding views. This photo was one of the favorite parts of my day. We took it "old school style," just held the camera out in front of us, clicked the shutter and hoped we had our heads in the pix. Looks like we got it. Happy New Year. Here comes 2008. I'm looking forward to better things for all of us ahead. To our family and friends--much love, peace and joy in the New Year.
My resolution: To wake up inspired.

Christmas morning

These are a few of my favorite photos from Christmas morning. Luke & Emma are always hugging and kissing and just fooling around. Sometimes it makes it hard to get a good photo, but this one turned out cute and pretty much captures the two of them! Emma just can't get enough of her big brother and for the most part, Luke is a good sport about and soaks up all the attention.


The kids got these new robes and jammies on Christmas eve--a gift from the Christmas fairies. Christmas fairies are an Italian custom. They sneak in the house before Christmas to leave gifts for children.

Speaking of gifts, Emma's favorite gift was her "Just Born Rescue Pet." As usual, she loves anything having to do with animals so she also really likes her "Littlest Pet Shop" play set. Luke's favorite was his Nintendo DS. Santa finally felt comfortable with video games . . . Mom's still not sure! To say it was a "big hit" would be a big understatement.

To the left is Emma's "so cute" pose. She said Santa is "so cute" when she opened her rescue pet and her snow globe.

Santa Train

There was so much that was really sweet and right about Christmas this year. One of our favorite traditions is taking the "Santa Train" in Napa, which we did again this year. It is a nice chance to slow down and just be together. I have to admit I felt all "warm and fuzzy" when Luke said, "To me, this is what Christmas is. Not the presents or the shopping but being with family." There was hot chocolates and cookies and carolers, and finally a visit from the big guy himself. Kris Kringle, "Mr. C" . . . Santa Clause.

Getting the Tree

We got our tree at Moon Mountain Tree farm in Sonoma. It was a beautiful family-owned tree farm. You head up the mountain and pick your tree. Of course, you could just walk a bit and find something adequate. But not with our kids on the case. We went just about to the top of that mountain and then Luke declared he had found the "perfect" tree--a Douglas fir. Emma found all the baby trees and just had to talk to them. She looked so cute in her Santa Dress and boots.


And here is a link to our Christmas photo shoot. There was varying degrees of fun being had, but the kids mostly went along with it and I was able to capture some nice moments. Just click on the photo and the album will pop up.

Christmas 2007