The Beginnings of a Celebration

We had the beginnings of a birthday celebration yesterday, but then the festivities were cut short by a sick birthday girl. Everything seemed fine in the morning (although Josie seemed a bit tired from getting up at 5:30am!) But halfway through the morning she came down with a fever and spent the rest of the day sleeping on the couch. Poor Josie. After months, literally, of preparation and anticipation for her fancy tea party, we have had to postpone it.

First thing in the morning the birthday girl and her Daddy'O went on a date to go pick up donuts for breakfast. That was the special birthday breakfast treat she chose. Donuts, baby yogurt and juice, to be precise:

Ruthie ran and got her gift for Josie and it was opened at the breakfast table. A purple water bottle that matches the pink one that Ruthie got for Christmas. Ruthie knew what her sister wanted! It's fun to see Ruthie at an age that she can start to take such pride and joy in finding the perfect gift for someone she loves.

Ruthie also made a book for Josie. Here she is 'reading' it to her:

She had us all laughing with her storyline! I don't remember what it was, now, but nothing that made very much sense as she made it up as she went along:)


Josie opening her gift from Anna (a fancy dress to wear at her tea party, earrings, and a few other fancy things). I'm not sure who was more excited, Anna to give her special gift, or Josie to receive it.

Opening the books from Grandma Jo!

Butterfly finger puppet that Anna made for her:

After skyping with Grandpa and Nona Josie said she was tired crashed out on the couch. Poor thing. This is pretty much how she spent the rest of the day.

I have to say, though, that it made for a relaxing birthday for Mommy! There has to be something positive in it all, right? It was pretty special to just sit around and snuggle with Josie on her birthday, read stories, listen to music, and give her some special attention that usually feels like we are fighting to find the time for on birthdays because of all the work that needs to be done to pull off a birthday party for our special girl.

Josie does seem to be on the upswing today. We're hoping she'll be all the way better by tomorrow and we can have the much anticipated fancy tea party in the afternoon.

Our plan for the rest of today is just to rest and knit on this rainy/snowy afternoon. Soup is cooking on the stove, I'm making some rolls soon, and we're just taking it easy. One of my gifts to Josie for her birthday was some yarn and knitting needles because she has been asking me to teach her how to knit for a while now. What better day to begin knitting lessons than a chilly, wet day and a sick/recovering girl who needs some motivation to stay still on the couch!

Celebrating Mitch

We sure do love this Daddy'O of ours.Josie had been making and collecting and wrapping gifts for him for at least a month and a half:
You are one well loved father.
I love the cries of "Daddy!" when you walk through the door each evening and Ruthie running as fast as her little legs will carry her to be swooped up in a hug by her Daddy'O.
I love when we meet up with you on the creek path as you're riding between work and classes and we're on our way to or from picking Anna up at school. I love how fast Josie's legs start spinning on her bike as soon as she catches a glimpse of you through the trees.
I love the laughter that fills our house as you chase three little girls around and tickle them to cries of "Don't tickle me!...Tickle me!...Don't tickle me!...Tickle me!"

I love the smile on your face that you always have for us, no matter how stressful your day has been or how tired you are because you were up late the previous night getting work done.

Celebrating Mitch means spending a day doing what he likes best. We got serenaded in the morning with guitar music. Some of us joined in:

We went for a family bike ride, Anna in the lead, then Mitch, Josie, and Ruthie and I bringing up the rear. Yes, I am taking pictures while riding:)

Birthday dessert was my own creation of berries, peaches, and thickened, sweetened cream all baked in the oven for a while per the birthday boy's request:

We love you, Mitch, and we loved celebrating you on your birthday!

Anna turned 6

Another milestone marked, a pause to celebrate my special little girl. A whole day dedicated to making Anna feel special and know how much she is loved. A day to pause and reflect on the fact that another whole year has passed in our lives since Anna first joined our little family. The time really does pass so fast, and marking the passage of time helps me to pause and reflect and remember to live present and take advantage of every moment we have of childhood in this house. This is my big girl who goes off away from our family on her own everyday to kindergarten confident and secure in who she is, exploring the world around her, kindhearted and compassionate, delighting in all the little daily wonders of life, who still snuggles into my lap and grins up at me, who truly has two best friends in her younger sisters, a bond that warms this mama's heart.

We sure do love you a lot Anna.

The whole family, even Grandpa and Nona who were visiting for the day, got to come with Anna to Kindergarten for a special birthday celebration. Josie and Ruthie joined Anna for circle time and tried the motions to their songs:

Anna got to bring in one of her favorite stories, Lighthouse, for me to read and share with the class during the birthday celebration:

Her sisters picked out some special gifts for their special sister and enjoyed giving them to her. Even Ruthie kept the secret!

We gave Anna the choice of having a big party with lots of friends at home or choosing two friends and doing a fun activity for her birthday. She chose to bring her two friends, Adisyn and Olivia, and go to the local paint-your-own-pottery studio. Each of the girls decorated their own plate, which was later fired and we picked them up today. Beautiful works of original art!

After pottery time we had a fun playtime in the courtyard.

All three Clement girls playing with bubbles with Adisyn and Olivia:

More of our courtyard friends joined us for cake and ice cream. White strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting in the shape of a heart with sprinkles on top, per the birthday girls request:)

The day was made complete with dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Sombrero girl! Walking home after dinner at the end of a full day with three tired, content girls the consensus among the three of them was that "this was the best day ever!" I love those precious grins!

Four Years Young

I swear, it is so hard for me to get good pictures of my Josie girl. She is a beautiful girl with a sparkle in her eye. I love her smile and how her whole countenance lights up when she smiles. I wish you all could be as present in her life as I am to see all the things about my four year old that make her so unique that I never seem to be able to quite capture with my funky camera or my words. But I will never cease to try.

Here's my birthday girl, in all her spunky glory.

We're about to take the rag curlers out, first thing in the morning. She's showing you she's four. Quite an exciting moment in this little girl's life, finally being four. She waits for so long for her birthday to come (I know, 365 days, just like you). What I mean is, all the other members of her family have a birthday in October or November, so hers seems such a long way off.

Her Anna sister wanted to get her a gift herself this year, with her own money. We had a fun time walking all around the toy store looking at EVERYTHING in it. Anna was so excited thinking about what Josie would want. At one point in time she was talking about getting some item she saw and from the way she said it I couldn't tell if she meant getting it for herself or for Josie, so I asked her. She quickly assured me that she was only shopping for Josie that day, that she only wanted to look for things that Josie would want, not for herself. She was so focused on her little sister, on making her happy, and she was beaming with the knowledge of how excited Josie would be opening the gift that she chose for her. I felt privileged to watch my five year old, and a bit in awe of her selflessness. I have much to learn from you, my sweet Anna girl.

Here they are opening the gift Anna got for Josie:

This, my friends, is a picture I am also quite proud of. That is the dress that I made for Josie.

Quite a feat for me. I've never made anything like it and let me tell you, I learned a lot! Reading a sewing pattern is a whole other language. I kept thinking about you, Grandma Ginya, and how you made ALL the clothing your 5 little girls wore their entire childhood. How did you do it?


This is not the greatest picture, but I also wanted to show you the cape that I made Josie. She's been begging for one since Christmas, when I made one for Anna. This was a little easier, since it was my second time following that pattern. Practice makes perfect, right? As Ginya would say, material is very forgiving, it stretches. And sewing is an art, and there is no such thing as perfection in art, only creativity and uniqueness. That's what I remind myself of as I sew:)

The smile on my little girl's face makes all those late night hours of sewing so worth the effort.

I love you, Josie Joy.

In the afternoon we got out the ice cream maker and made vanilla ice cream. Mmm mmm mmm. You can't beat homemade ice cream in pure yumminess.

Putting the ice and rock salt in the bucket around the ice cream canister:

Josie cranking the handle:

We've still got some in the freezer if you want to come on over and try some!

Josie also wanted to make tie-dye shirts on her birthday. Mitch was the ring-leader of that operation. Here they are twisting up the white t-shirts and putting rubber bands around them to direct the dye into the fun pattern of each girl's choosing:


Putting on the dye:

We'll see how they come out in the end. It's hard to get the dye to take to the fabric with the intesity that we're always looking for with tie-dye. The shirts are still drying, but sometime I'll have to show you a picture of the final product.


Josie got the game Guess Who from her grandparents. It's a great one for this age! We all had fun playing a couple of rounds of the game yesterday. I even remember playing this classic game when I was their age with Grandma Ginya. The actual board has been changed a bit, but everything else is the same.

My four year old Josie Joy. My fun loving, daring little girl. May you never lose that smile on your face, may the brightness in your eyes never dim. Follow that spark inside of yourself and stay true to your own uniqueness. Your laughter brightens our days, your silliness makes our hearts lighter. The ways you care for those around you and work to give of yourself to meet their needs is an example to everyone in your life. Thank you for being you. We love you, sweet girl. This world is a better place because of your beautiful spirit.

This Is Torture!

We have new bikes in the house and nobody has been able to go for a bike ride!

Rain, illness (me) and a lack of time (Mitch has a gazillion final projects due this week) are keeping us off our sweet new bikes.

I did take mine for a spin around the courtyard when I first brought it home:

For all the biking I've done in my life (six months riding all over the country with my hubby, 24 hour rides...) I had never actually even been on a road bike before this week. Just an old mountain bike actually sized for my tall sister that I had put road slick tires on and rode almost everyday, everywhere. Now I know what I've been missing! Look at that bike! And at that grin on my face:) Mitch decided that for his graduation he wanted to get me a bike. He found this one on Craigslist and we went and got it last week. FELT 86, my size (52), aluminum frame, one sweet bike! It felt so tight and fast riding it! Thank you, Mitch. You do know what your wife loves!

Mitch also got a new bike for graduation from his parents. He might have to tell you more about it because I won't be able to do it justice. This bike is the top of the line. Specialized Tarmac S-Works, if that means anything to you. It was a demo bike ( top of the line rental) at our favorite bike shop here, has very few miles on it, had a full tune-up before and after each time it was used, is the 2008 model, and because it was a demo bike from a previous year it was half-off. One incredibly nice bike that was actually in the price range Mitch was looking in! Carbon frame, dura-ace components (this is what professional racers use), you can lift this bike with your pinky finger. You should see the grin on Mitch's face!

Now if only we could go for a ride together!

Lying In the Grass

Isn't she a cutie pie?

What mom can lie in the grass and not have a little one sitting on her, grinning and bouncing up and down? Can you see little Ruthie back there?

Enjoying the warm sun, the green grass, the blue sky, the smiles of little ones, and my new earrings.

P.S. My new earrings were made by Jillian Lukiwski of The Noisy Plume. You can read her blog here and visit her etsy shop here for more fabulous jewelry. I love them!

Anna's Artwork

Anna spent quite a long time today finishing up this picture that she started coloring last night. She wanted me to post it on the blog so "everyone in the whole wide world can see it!"

Here it is!

Anna's artwork, carefully and meticulously done. (It's a prefab picture, obviously, that she colored in. No, she can't draw quite that good!)

She told me she drew it for her Daddy'O.

My Favorite Corner of the House

It's not really a corner, it's a wall. These last two weeks have been tough. It was one of those times when you feel unable to get on top of anything, life gets you down, emotional tensions run high in all directions, you are kept busy with sick kiddos all day, all week, it seems impossible to keep your house clutter free and feeling peaceful. I was feeling pretty low and stressed to the max in all directions.

And my friend Michelle made me this banner:

"love lives here"

Our reminder, even in the tough times, of what it is that keeps us going, of the good that we do have, of so much to be thankful for.

I was inspired to create my own artwork that symbolized our family to grace our wall: And then I cleared that wall of everything else, so these reminders stand out to us of who we are and what we have.

Even if I have been unable to keep the floors or counters or desktops cleared of 'stuff' in the craziness that is our lives, there is a simple space in my home that reminds me of the peace and grace and love that lives here. My favorite corner of the house.

Snapshots of our California Christmas

Nothing can every fully encapsulate a time in our lives, there is no way I can share with you completely about our time in California over Christmas. But I wanted to share with you a glimpse into our fun times, memories and bonds we made that will last a lifetime.

Our little family was in need of some times of connection and rest, time to remember what we care about, who we care about, time to feel alive and around family we love again.

Our time staying at my sister's house was definitely full of all of those things.

What can be more relaxing than spending time in a hot tub? Spending time with 5 little kids in a hot tub! Here's Mitch with all 5 cousins:

I can't even count for you how many good meals we ate, gourmet meals Uncle Trace cooked and we enjoyed. Family and friends gathered around a full table, good conversation, lots of laughter, eating to our hearts content. The center of life.

We went on many hikes with all 5 cousins and Grandma Jo on the trails in the woods around my sister's house, following Jack-the-fearless-leader: lots of identifying trees, stomping down the frost heave icicles, playing in the mud, counting rings on tree stumps to see how old they were, listening to the birds, being outdoors in my native Sierra Nevada mountains, the essence of peace for me.

4 of the cousins eating their snack on a log, a break in our hike:
(l-r:Caroline, Jack, Anna, Josie)


Reading books with Uncle Trace: Josie reading with her Papa, my Dad.

Jack and Anna enjoy a game of Candyland:

Downtime activities. Let your hair down, make yourself at home, be yourself.

Three sisters and our Mama! Together at last!

Life is made up of a series of so many special moments.

We even took a day and went to the beach! Our girls had never seen the ocean (well, Anna had but she was only 6 months old the last time). Here we all are out on the Marin Headlands, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background:

Yes, it was a chilly, January day. Don't let the next pictures deceive you.

My beautiful sister Becky and my beautiful niece, Caroline:

Daddy'O, Anna and Josie, dipping their toes in the ocean water for the first time:

I love when my girls have such special times with their Daddy.

Run! The waves are coming!

Remember that picture of us all in wool sweaters and hats? Now look at Anna and Jack and Caroline! Anyone else for a dip in the ocean in January? We were on a beach at Point Reyes National Seashore just north of San Fransisco. Yes, there were other people there, but we couldn't figure out why none of them were in the water, too.

Little Ruthie played in the sand to her heart's content:

And got all covered with it! Look at that smile!

This is one of my favorite beach pictures, it says so much about who each person is. Jack, leaping into the cold waves laughing and exhilarated, all boy. Anna and Caroline, a bit more timid, holding Mitch's hands, yet out there in the water playing the whole afternoon, running, jumping, dunking under the water and screaming with delight:

I loved getting to know Jack and Caroline (my nephew and niece) better, getting to spend so much time with them and watching them play with Anna and Josie and Ruthie. Two kindhearted souls who love life, love the people they are surrounded by and seem so mature and self-confident for their age.

Another highlight of our trip was taking the girls on a little hike up Sugarloaf Mt in Nevada City to show them where Mitch and I got engaged.

Fun to share with them a little piece of our history, a little spot on this earth that is dear to our hearts. Not that you can see it in this picture, but we had a view out over the Sacramento Valley all the way to the coastal mountain range despite the overcast skies and the rain that was beginning to fall as we hiked down.

And the Beltrans!

What trip home would be complete without getting to see my dear friend Lupe and her family?

(l-r: Ben, Lupe, Andrea & Ben -we didn't get to see Carolina)

The girls had a lot of fun playing with every member of the Beltran family, and Mitch and I always love hanging out with our good friends.

Here we are, the Clement clan after we returned home:

(picture take by Grandma Judy Clement)

Thank you, Holly and Trace, for hosting us and giving us such a wonderful space in your home to relax and enjoy the company of all the people around us. Thank you for making us feel at home in your home.

It was a time that truly exemplified the essence of what Christmas is all about to me: giving, sharing, loving, accepting... God among us.

I hope each of you were able to experience a piece of the same this Christmas season.