New Chicks

Doesn't get much cuter than this!

Lara and Steve's Wedding 7-2-11

On Saturday we celebrated the wedding of my sister Lara to her new husband, Steve. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony, a beautiful couple. The happiness they share was evident in their eyes, as they basked in the joy of the day. Friends and family all felt the love in the air, as the simple ceremony allowed everyone to focus on why we were there. I wish them a lifetime of love and happiness together!

All of the photos can be viewed at http://sarabyrne.zenfolio.com/ They are not all there yet, but I will be adding them as I get them sorted through and edited this week.

Views of Summer... It's so Sublime

I came at this summer in the same direction I left spring. Hurrying. The immense relief I felt at the end of the school year was due to an intense schedule of homeschooling and daily running the girls around to activities. It seemed that all my spare time was spent cleaning and feeding everyone (and not just the people in the house; also the dogs, cats, birds, chickens, and sourdough starter). I was so looking forward to having time to pursue my own activities and spend leisurely time with my family.

To commemorate the start of summer I excitedly made a list. It was a beautiful moment that I savored. I got out a pad of white lined paper and a fresh Ticonderoga pencil. It resembled the first day of school, only in this instance the learning was on my own terms, with my own soon-to-be free time. I scribbled a good long list of nearly 20 things to accomplish by the end of June. I quickly realized that this wasn't going to happen, and immediately decided to postpone the start of our next school year to the first of August, instead of July, in order to be able to finish off my list. I needed time.

In a matter of what seems like 2 minutes, 2 weeks have flown by. So far I've only halfheartedly tackled a few of the things on my list. Instead, I seem to be drifting in a floaty place where my main goal seems to be simply to capture the essence of the day, and, of course, keeping everyone fed. We mustn't ever slack on that. Instead of taking a free course through MIT, which was one of the things on my list (yes, I actually want homework these days, it has a whole new meaning to me), I've been learning from the wisest of all creatures, my chickens. And a few other little friends in the neighborhood.

This is Susannah. She's a great teacher, always patient. She only yells at you if you let the cat out. Chickens know that cats belong in the house.

Susannah and the other chickens spend a lot of time helping me grow an organic garden. They spend time each day fertilizing it and making sure it stays free of bugs. This way I can take credit for having an organic garden.

These baby veges are so cute!

There are birds everywhere. So many kinds. It's fun to listen for the woodpeckers and then try to find which tree they are in. I enjoy my morning coffee each morning to the sound of bird music. I'm learning to identify which ones say what. Midge enjoys bird-watching too.

We have also been paying attention to the grass that grows around here. Why is it that taking pictures of grass has become more important than the things that were actually on my list?

The chickens told me that if you look closely there are often bugs crawling on it.

The pony down the street loves the grass too. Isn't he adorable? I could watch him for hours.

The chickens have noticed that there are always butterflies on the flowers. We both love the butterflies, but for different reasons. I prefer to photograph the butterflies, but they enjoy eating them.

Ruby spends a great deal of time watching the trees. She reminds me daily that I don't always have to be doing something, but if I want to I can always rub her ears.

Even thought it wasn't on my list of priorities, I am grateful that this summer my animal friends have reminded me the valuable lesson of listening to and learning from nature, and remembering to just sit and capture the essence of the day, before summer again passes by. There probably wasn't an MIT course on that anyway.

Mayfest!

Well, we were almost rained out for Mayfest. It rained all day yesterday. But fortunately Sparrow's teacher had chosen just the right song for her class to perform. At 4:15, just as the girls were arriving, the rain cleared up and the sun came out. Naiya's class opened with the song "I Can See Clearly Now", the rain is gone..... It was serendipity! The performances were wonderful, and the girls did a great job and had lots of fun. Just as we were leaving, the rain restarted.

Here are a few pictures. I wish I had not been so lazy and had taken a video. Maybe next time.

Firestar's ballet class performed Tarantella from the ballet Anyuta. It was a jazzy piece with tambourines.

Firestar's musical theater class performed an excerpt from their Will Rogers Musical. This song had to do with the Wild West Show, involving cowboys and Indians, movie stars, etc. You kind of had to be there to get what they were doing, but here are some cute pics anyway.

Celebrating Firestar's 10th Birthday!!!

Today we celebrate Firestar and a decade of her amazing spirit in our lives! We celebrate her passion, her beauty, her curiosity. The pure joy that sharing our life with hers brings.
Happy Birthday baby!!!

On Monday, Sparrow and two friends helped Firestar celebrate her birthday at Clary Sage with a special Miss Clary Spa Day. They were treated to facials, manicures and pedicures, pampering their radiant inner and outer beauty. They are all such special girls!

Starting out the morning with cleansing facials and a hand and arm massage. They were so relaxed!

Glowing natural beauties!


Next it was time for a pedicure.

Last came the manicure.

Our fun day ended with an ice cream treat at Cherry Berry.

Oklahoma Music Achievement Auditions

Today the girls had the opportunity to perform at the Oklahoma State Music Achievement Auditions, after both receiving a top score of "1" at the regional competition in March. It was a bittersweet day, which I'll explain soon. These competitions are a great way for students to have performance experiences under pressure, as well as to show off what they have accomplished and have something to work hard towards. The girls were so enthusiastic to be there and from their standpoint, this is way better than the recital, because you have the opportunity to receive a trophy, or at least a ribbon!

Firestar played Carnival of Venice, a lively waltz, and was rewarded with a super-best score of 1+! Her judge's sheet was full of only glowing comments about her excellent tempo and perfect dynamics, wonderful staccatos and exceptional legatos. Not one negative comment! We are so proud of her hard work! And a 1+ earned the big trophy, so she was super proud. As you can see in this picture, she was equally as proud of the $1.00 treble clef straw that I bought her in the little gift area.




Little Sparrow learned a very difficult lesson today on the theme of "life's not fair". She has been working on this piece since January, and has been playing it absolutely perfectly for months. Her teacher has said that this song was just made for her. However, her teacher failed to read the Achievement Audition rule book. Rule #5 on page 27 states that all performance pieces must be written for piano, no arrangements allowed. Her song was an arrangement for piano, a version of Hayden's Surprise Symphony. She was so excited to perform today, sure she would receive her first trophy, and was so devastated not to be allowed to have the opportunity to do so. My heart broke for her, as it was so important to her and she's worked so hard, and it was not at all her fault. To try to make her feel a little better I bought her this lovely cloisonne piano in the gift area; a "trophy" for her hard work, because we know she would have done so well. She is very proud of it, and knows that we are very proud of her too. Not only are we proud of her hard work in piano, but also for gracefully learning to handle an unfair disappointment. When she was first upset, she said that she would never do one of these competitions again. By the time we left, she was already looking forward to trying again next year. I love her spirit!

Happy Mother's Day!

“Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.”

I love Maya Angelou. She is a courageous, inspiring woman who speaks to all people, telling it just how it is. One of her books is titled “Letters to my Daughter”. Can you believe that she doesn't even have a daughter? She wrote a book for a daughter she doesn't have! Here is a passage from this book's introduction.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution. Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood. Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity. I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters. You are black and white, Jewish and Muslim, Asian, Spanish speaking, Native American and Aleut. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you.”

Wow. The whole world is her family, and she has the voice and confidence to mother us all. We are all Maya Angelou's daughters. If only we all could break out of our shells and look beyond our personal lives to remember that we are all interconnected, all of the time.

I am so fortunate to have a mother that upholds these virtues that Maya Angelou advises. She taught these things to me in a way even more challenging to do than speak them; she modeled them through her actions. She is a mother to anyone who needs one. Courageous, compassionate, uncomplaining, patient, and exceptionally humble. She couldn't have done anything differently or better in raising us. I am forever grateful that my life began with her in it.

These days, when you go to the store to buy a Mother's Day card for your mother, you have to search past the Mother's Day cards for aunts, sisters, friends, daughters, grandparents, expecting mothers, etc. It's not just about your own mom anymore, it's about all the moms you know. This makes me reflect on the women in my life, all of them. Not just my mother, but my grandmothers, aunts, sister, mother-in-law, close friends. All of them have had an influence on my life. They are all compassionate, loving beings that I am thankful to know. The awareness of my connection to others is an important entity in my life; not just those people I know who have influenced my life, but total strangers who I meet in passing, read about in books, or only have a vague idea of. They are all mothers or at least daughters. They are all just like me. We are all sharing the vibration of this beautiful life.

I am beyond blessed to have my two spectacular daughters, and to have the opportunity to be a mother to them, my life intertwined with theirs. I could go on and on and on about how wonderful and complete my life is with these wonderful children in it. Trust me, it's all there. Today I will savor the privilege of being a mother to them, just as I do every day. But this is not about me, and was never about me. I am yet one tree in a forest of other strong trees, who have influenced my growth and allowed me to form my own shape, sheltered and altered by the other women in my life, especially my own mother. They have given me the strength and space to stand tall above the saplings who have chosen to take root under me, blessing me with their own strength, as we together form an ever-evolving community.

This year, this is what Mother's Day means to me. It's far greater than the small but infinitely extraordinary cocoon of my own children and family.

That said, I have been a terrible daughter this Mother's Day because I wasn't able to manage getting cards in the mail! My only excuse is “post-vacation brain”, an unfortunate but very real affliction. So, to make up for the lack of sappy cards for the grandmothers of my children, I am gifting a last-minute attempt to invoke tears from those wonderful women who have earned the titles of “Grammy” and “Nana”, as well as anyone else who is taking the time to read this far. The following videos were taken on the first day of my life as a mother, nearly 10 years ago in an orphanage in Viet Nam. No baby was ever more divine, magnificent and adorable as this one, especially on that day. Dan pulled this video out from who-knows-where yesterday; I hadn't seen it in years! Enjoy!