Chivalry

I am enchanted with a time long since passed...

A time where words, gestures and deeds set the tone to who one was.

Character, integrity, and dignity were important...

A time of Chivalry...

A time where women respected their men, 

and men valiantly were worthy of that respect...

I dream of a land of green, lush, rolling hills, laced with sparkling blue streams...

A place, where I would call home...

A castle set upon the hill, overlooking the vastness of our land...

A place and time where creativity flourish and beauty abounds...

 and time seems to stand still.

With my Prince, my Knight by my side ....

My Man who is strong, courageous, protective, and willing to fight for me,

yet, he is kind, sweet and poetic....

Yes, my Knight is chivalrous...

My dreams have not gone unrealized...

Once upon a time, a long time ago on my first evening rendezvous, with my man -

He greeted me with flowers, opened doors for me always,

and told me, "They say chivalry is dead, but I say No!"

He wrote me poetry, called me his princess...

played beautiful music for me on the piano...

and  I knew...

I had found my Prince.

My Love.

A piece of my soul that could not be filled with any other...

While my castle still awaits its realization...

I know..

Someday, we will find our castle on the hill,

surrounded by brilliant skies, singing birds, and sweet smelling roses...

Until then, we can just pretend....

The Ocean

I love the Ocean...

I love the smell of the salt in the air.

I love the sounds of the waves crashing upon themselves, serene.  Heaven...

I love the rhythmic pattern as the waves...

While at the same time...

the ocean is unpredictable...

 I love (and kinda dread) the chill of the cold water against my body

 I love how the sun glistens off the water....

 I love the feeling of the sand beneath my toes.

 I love seeing my kids being able to love the ocean too.

I love that there are creatures that swim right there with us...

Even if  some are a little scary and bite and sting sometimes.

These guys are just amazing.

and 

Nothing could be more magical..

then 

Sunset on the Ocean

Perfection...

Bliss...

Love...

Indygo....

My baby Blue-Streaked Lorikeet...

She is waving "Hi" - this afternoon
I swear she is my favorite Creation that God has ever made!
(next to the Hubby and kids of course)

She is truly magical.
When she greets you -
She dances for you!
She has the sweetest personality.
She loves to snuggle.
There is nothing more precious than having this girl fall asleep on your chest...

What inspired me to write a love note about Indy, aside from the obvious cuteness? She wasn't feeling well today, so we took her to the vet. Much like children, seeing Indy be poked and prodded when she already didn't feel well was really hard. I tried to keep it together and not yell at the Vet or assistants much (but seriously wash your hands people!)... I don't deal well with my babies being sick. Luckily, Todd was there. Indy was very Lethargic, decreased appetite, and her droppings had changed, so we took her in... She is on antibiotics (boy, I almost SMACKED the Vet for HIS CRAZY torturous ways of demonstrating how to give my baby medicine)... It looked like some form of military torture technique.. Come on, the bird is more than a physical body, she has a little bird soul and feelings! Anyhow, she was looking REALLY bad when we got home for hours. Would NOT eat, drink or anything.. Then Kayla spent a couple of hours just sitting next to her in my room, while Ind rested in her room. Indy took a good long nap and when she woke up she ate TONS! Kept eating and drank and drank. She seems a bit better, but I can still see in her eyes they don't have the sparkle they normally do. We will find out the results from the cultures on Monday. I am just praying with all my might that she just snaps out of it, and whatever it is we caught it and she will be fine!
Thank you God that she ate something!!!

Indy's story:
Once upon a time in late 2002,
we were told about a bird store that was supposed to have good prices.
We were looking for a cage, not necessarily a bird...
Well, when we were there we saw the sweetest little Red bird and fell in love.
It was the middle of December (which is a dangerous time for me to be in a pet store), because that is after my birthday and means I MIGHT just have birthday money, which I did.
This red bird was NOT Indy, she was a Red Lorikeet...
We were told she was unfriendly, and not a great pet...
I looked at her, asked the store people to go away, and let me talk to her.
This little girl jumped out of her cage right into my arms.
That was it - I was in love...
The store people were shocked and gave her to us for half price.

We named her Lolly and Loved her.
We found out, previously she had a best friend that was a blue-streaked Lorikeet for whom she was very attached. Well, her friend was sold, and she didn't cope well - and was super afraid of hands. Darn people and their impatient GRABBING of birds!
It took months but we built her trust and she was a wonderful baby...

Anyhow, back to Indy...
Well, Lolly's love for Blue-streaks intrigued me.
I mean they are amazing looking, but very rare...
The owners of the store had a few though, and one last breeding pair (that was aging)...
I expressed my great desire to adopt their next Blue-Streaked baby..
They weren't sure if there would be anymore...

Every once in a while we would call and check in, nothing...
after months...
I could feel that Indy was hatched.
I could feel her sweet little soul...
I knew she was meant for me.
I insisted to Todd that we go over to the store and find out.
He thought I was a bit silly...
(which by the way, he is probably use to by now)
But, that afternoon, my precious little baby with a beak was discovered.
Usually, a baby bird will stay with her parents until she is around 4 weeks of age before being pulled for hand feeding. Indy was only 10 days. There had been a problem with the nest, her sibling was lost when the nest tumbled, but my sweet Indy is tough and she was ok.
However, 10 day old birds need to be fed every hour-2 hours round the clock, and are NOT very easy to keep alive. I prayed for my little girl. I knew she was special! Also, I knew she was in good hands. There isn't a bird lover out there more dedicated to her baby birds than Brenda!

The first time I saw Indy

Sweet little thing!
My heart melted in an instant...

Todd and I came to the store every day after that and helped with hand feeding and caring for her, and cuddling her... So that she would imprint with us.

She slowly transformed from a little naked thing,
to a gray baby, to brilliant shades of red and blue peaking through...

I could hold her forever!

She has always been more than a little feathered friend, but a baby, and even a little sister to my kids. We sing to her, we cuddle her, we talk nicely to her, and we all adore her!
Just seeing her makes my heart fill with joy!

I truly LOVE my baby Indy!

I am thankful for her EVERY Day!

After we got home from the vet.
What exactly is Lily doing in the background?

Please say some Prayers that Indy is A-Ok too, will ya?! (:

Dinner around the table!

There is something so wonderful about a family meal around the table. (: We, usually, treat dinner time as a 'special' time. We try to have dinner together EVERY Night! It isn't always at home or home cooked, but we always try to eat together. It is a special time that I really enjoy with the family. Especially, if it is a meal that EVERYONE Loves and eats (Ok, or if we are eating out, no prep or dishes)... Yes, that is a tricky one, but some favorites currently are Mexican night, Pizza night, Spaghetti night, breakfast for dinner is always a hit, and sometimes they even humor me and tell me they love Veggie/Tofu stir fry night... That one is MY favorite. It is a wonderful time of day when we can all take a break from the busy-ness of life, spend time together, talk, and enjoy being a family.

I even love when we have a little friend that comes to join the meal!

(Pic to follow, eventually couldn't find it right now)
Imagine everyone around the table with my Indy baby smiling!

I know I am going to miss these special times when the kids grow-up and move out... However, there is still something magical about a meal with the one you love! (:

Treats (:

I LOVE Making Treats for my family!
Probably Way more than I should!

I love to experiment and try new things!


Tonight Smores-Brownie-Bars!
(Click on pic for recipe)

I highly recommend them!

It's the little things in life that make life that much sweeter...
Happy memories, warm smiles,
the wonderful aroma that fills the house
while something yummy is cooking in the kitchen...

I hope that when my children are grown-up ...
as they smell a yummy treat cooking
they are filled with warm, happy memories
of childhood and that they remember
HOW MUCH THEY ARE LOVED!

Sunsets

Throughout my day, I am constantly struck by the thought - I LOVE this or that, and how quickly I forget as I get busy. I am going to try and record more frequently my loves, so if/when I forget what makes me smile I will have a reminder!


(I didn't take this pic, click on for reference)

Tonight...

I was reminded how much I love Sunsets!!! I went for a brief/ fun hike with Todd in the hills behind where we live. The views are beautiful, but I was most impressed not when we were up on the hill, but when we were back down in reality and the sun began to set. The skies became a glow with breath taking colors lighting up the wispy clouds that were scattered throughout the sky. I didn't have my camera with me, but trust me it was gorgeous.

A beautiful sunset energizes my soul!

When I die, I hope that those that I love will always think of me as the sun sets, and know that I am smiling down on them!

Chocolat

I LOVE Chocolat..

This movie came out in 2000.
In 2000, we had a 6, 4.5, and 3 year old.
We did not go to movies, ever...
Well, not 'real' movies. Our movie adventures, at best, included squeaky little voices in animated little bodies, and silly little songs that would not leave your head (or your child's mouth) for days...
Then, one magical evening -
Todd and I had the opportunity to go to a movie, together, alone... An ADULT, no animation type of movie. A very rare occurrence at that time. I remember it being something that we hadn't even planned, but we were so excited.
We didn't even have a movie that we were planning on seeing.
So...
We decided to see this movie we knew nothing about, Chocolat, as it was starting in just a few moments.
I had NO expectations from this movie.
But, right after we sat down, the movie began and from the very first moment -
I was carried away to a magical land, in a far away village.
I was instantly in love with this movie.
I loved the artistry.
I loved the characters.
I loved the sentiment and the depth of character that was developed.
I loved the feel of the film...
While watching the film, I was no longer in a theatre worrying about what I need to do when I got home or if the kids were ok, but was transported happily to a distant time and place.
...
I was completely enamored, and that does not happen easily for me...
Half the movies I see, I don't even remember that I saw them a year later...
This movie, however, 10 years later still has captured my heart.
... and not just because of the delicious, subtleties of my favorite Earthly substance intertwined as a central theme (although it doesn't hurt)...
Oh, how I love this movie...
...
Which leads me to another thing that I love...
Having daughters to enjoy it with me, as Todd does not share my devotion...