Happy Holidays

The late fall/early winter brought several holidays to our house. There was Hanukkah, then the Solstice (and the auspiciousness of 12.12.2012), then Christmas. Here are snapshots of our families fun times.

Meeting Santa. Havana got in her request for a LeapPad 2.

David lighting the Menorah. We celebrated
Hanukkah with the girls cousins, David, Jenny, Ben & Theo

Then there was the annual Christmas Eve at Aunt Paula's house. Mama had to miss out due to illness. But the girls were thrilled to see their aunts, uncles and cousins. Here is Havana with Uncle Dick.

Uncle Edd, David, & Ben.

C

This looks like it must have been present time!

Cousin Sasha and Aunt Paula.

Cousins Emily & Joanna.

Singing carols; Amara with cousin Scott; Aleksy, Sasha & Aunt Paula in the background.

 

Our Christmas tree.



 

Havana got a little overwhelmed at first. Sweet girl is senstive.

But she quickly got over it, especially when she opened her LeapPad 2. Amara was just as excited that her sister got her wish. Here she is reading to Havana all the things on the LeapPad!



Christmas being the last holiday of this season culminated with a lot of presents. But I didn't want the girls to think that was what these holidays were all about. I made sure that throughout the past month the girls knew what each holiday meant, the symbolism behind the stories and rituals and the importance of having gratitude that we have so much. And the importance of giving to others. I have been thinking of ways to start teaching the girls to give back on a more conscious level while helping them learn gratititude for all they have in their lives. So that will be something we are working on in 2013 and beyond.

Jingle Bells

Thanks to our friends Molly, Mike, Max & Charles, several families got together for the 2nd year for Christmas caroling. The kids had a great time singing carols for Molly's neighbors even with the drizzling rain. I had never done carolling before last year and was surprised at how much joy it brought to bring holiday cheer to strangers. I hope this becomes a tradition for many years to come. 

At the last house, we were surprised with homemade cookies.

12.21.2012

Heavy rains & winds brought cleansing & purification today. And then we were blessed with this rainbow.

Atop a Mayan ruin, deep in the Belize jungles (it took 4 hours to reach there by jeep.) (2003)
(I have no clue who those other travelers are!)

Mayan Ruins, Belize Jungle.



Tikal; a most magnificent city in the jungles of Guatemala. The Mayan were brilliant people who lived in harmony with the earth.



This is a date that has been thrown around for many, many years. There is a lot of misconception and confusion about 12.12.2012, 'the end of the Mayan Calendar'. So interesting that so many just assumed it meant the end of the world. I guess many give the Mayan's a lot of kudos in the predicting the future category. But the truth is it was never meant to signify the end. It is only the beginning.

I have been most fortunate to have done some powerful, life changing work with some of the indigenous peoples of this planet. Some of the Shaman that I have been blessed to have received healings from have talked about this date and it's significance. I learned a long time ago that we have been in the momentum towards a huge paradigm shift which officially begins on 12.12.2012. For the past ten or so years we have seen a huge shift in the personal growth movement (who hasn't heard of Dr. Phil or Deepok Chopra?), mainstream acceptance of healing and Eastern spiritual practices (yes, many of us have been studying the ways of the East since the 60's but the mainstream acceptance and commercialism is a rather new phenomenon) and a shift in global awareness and the reality that we really are One Family (Fair Trade, climate change.)

All of these  things are part of the bigger picture, which is about us humans living more in balance with ourselves, each other and the earth. It is about us remembering who we truly are (our essence), remembering all we really need is within us (not talking food and water here but rather a shift in thinking that material items and other people with make us feel better or even complete us), and remembering that our actions effect others. It is time for us to live more in balance and that will not be an easy task. Many will resist and the results will be (and have been) catastrophic. We have seen too many school shootings,  too many terrorist attacks, tribal wars, oil wars, tsunami's, hurricanes and other natural disasters that have wrecked havoc on countless thousands of lives. These things are part of life on earth and we may never see the end of them completely but as we continue to awaken these things will lessen more and more. But the process of waking up will prove very challenging to many and so there may be a long period of time when it really does seem the world is ending. And it is. The world as we know it is ending. And if we want to live more in balance today, 12.12.2012 is a chance to set our intentions of how we want to BE over then next decade as the human race settles into a new way of being.

So as I prepare to step forward into the new era I set up my intentions and I call upon those who are wiser and stronger (in the unseen world) and well as my True Self to guide and support me. I humbly accept that I have much to learn, that I am not as strong as I wish and that if I want to no longer be a sleepwalker I must go within and live from within versus living externally focused. No easy task. But my intention is evolution so I must make the efforts to do that which is not so easy to do.

I also intend the following.

I remember who I am more than I forget.

I am mindful, patient, aware.

I treat my body as the temple it is and I will teach my children to do the same.

I give thanks daily for this life and the blessings that I have and I teach the girls to have the same gratitude.

I continue to do the work of my soul's calling and move toward taking further steps in my souls work.

I treat others kindly, respectfully and with compassion.

I speak my truth honestly and directly.

I support my community both locally and my global family.

I remove myself from fear and negativity and that which harms others.

I am awake.


I look forward to sharing this era with my brothers and sisters on the planet. I am excited about the intentions being set today. I trust that this ending is the beginning of the rainbow after the storm.

Taking in the view of Tikal. (1998)



View of the Jungle; I can still feel the energy of this sacred place.

Papa & Amara Date

Papa & Amara before heading out to dinner and the Nutcracker.

Amara so loved her date with her favorite guy! She talked about it for days afterwards!



Our Furry Friends

Our furry friends are back in the area. A few times a year the herd grazes through the Pinole Valley. The past few weeks we have seen them up on the ridge by our house and along Alhambra Valley Road on our way to dance class. The girls and I expressed our excitement with ways and hellos and lots of pictures!

Ms. Havana's Almost Didn't Happen Dance Recital

Havana with her pal, Ashley.

I had expectations. I had my own ideas.
I wanted Havana's recital to be sweet.
I wanted it to be full of fun.
But when my baby saw her Papa
and the room full of people;
She didn't want to dance.

I got quite upset.
Then I got mad.
But when I took a deep breath I realized I was sad.
I had to let go of what I thought should be.
I had to let go of what others might be thinking.

And when I let it all go that is the moment when,
Havana decided to dance with her little friends.

Papa trying to persuade Havana to join her friends.

Havana mad at me for being mad at her.

Giving it a try while keeping her eyes on Papa.

I knew things took a turn for the better when she turned her focus on Ms. Christine.





Havana enjoying herself, the way she usually does in class.

All the children looked so sweet and pretty. And they did such a great job.

The gymnastics part of the routine.