family connections

i have been in california since last friday for my family. my grandmother passed away last monday. she had been ill for 4 1/2 years since she had a stroke. i was able to fly out with just baby blaise for a little time away from our life on the east coast to be a support. thanks to my dear husband, his parents and our babysitters, i was able to go to the funeral.

my grandmother and i were not close. i wish that we had been. but one thing i know is that she was a really wonderful person. she was an artist, a sculptor. she was an italian american. born in brooklyn to immigrant parents. she was a war bride. she was a mother of three. she was so many things that i am now. its funny, that when you begin to focus on someone's life, and what they did, who they were, there is this an amazing connection that you can have -- you begin to discover why you are the way you are. i am going home tomorrow and i go home with a stronger, more unique identity, ties to my grandmother and my auntie that i am so proud to have.

life

yesterday i did not party with you'll in my cleaning spree b/c i had to get to the doctor's office for a quick visit. my grandmother passed away monday. so i am taking the baby and flying back to california for a few days. dear husband is staying with the kids, with the help of our wonderful babysitters and my incredible in-laws. (thank you!!) i was running around getting errands done before my trip, so there was no time to work on the home. but when i get back i will just resume where i left off! i am really looking forward to it. this system is so stressfree, it seems. maybe part of that is the house is already spotless. no dustbunnies, no dust. period! but i won't have bragging rights (as you all will) that i, myself, cleaned the entire house from top to bottom!

so life happens. and death too. my grandma june was in her mid-eighties and had been going downhill since a stroke about four years ago. she is with the lord and no longer held back by this world. she was an amazing artist (sculptures) and i know that i have a lot of her qualities, as well as favoring her (looks wise). we weren't as close as i had hoped to be with her. but i know that she loved me and prayed for me. if i can find it i will post the poem i wrote and recited for a grandparent's day event at my elementary school. i will also try and find a picture to post of she and i.

please do pray for my dad and his siblings especially. (my grandfather has already passed on). thank you!

easter 2009

after church

easter basket goodies



portuguese easter bread


holztiger figurines courtesy little bits



blaise with his new hat knit by grams



graham with blaise

my easter bunny 8 mo.

i wanted to share some of our easter with you'll. we had a wonderful weekend with friends. tommy and amy lowe were in town, along with the some other navy friends, the betz' (formerly jess morris with new hubby ryan). church was wonderful. awe can remember the sacrifice that our savior made for us and the victory we have in his resurrection.

oh death where is thy victory, oh death where is thy sting?

the reason for a clean home ...

i love this quote from simplemom.net in today's post:

We clean our homes because it's sanitary, because it's enjoyable to live in a clean space, and because when our haven is organized and neat, we're able to focus on the things that really matter to us - like relationships.

facilitating real relationships and fostering a loving home, through hospitality is one of my heart's desires. this is a topic i plan to explore more at greater thing. does anyone have any resources to share a theology of the home?

day two: get out of the way of the professionals!

before.

before.

before.


today it was raining and damp here in newport, so it made for a bit of a challenge with the kids. i knew that i had to take rhys to preschool and that rosangela was coming at 11:30am to clean the house. in between, we were running over to my friend's home for a quick rainy day playdate. i was trying to figure out what we were going to do outside the home all afternoon (during when the boys are usually down for their naps and the girls and i get our quiet times). but another girlfriend (who has come over with her kids when her house was being cleaned) let us crash for a few hours. it was not until almost 5pm that i got a call from rosangela!! they had just finished.

yep folks: 11:30am to 4:45pm they cleaned, non-stop. and the house was amazing. AHHHH-MAAAA-ZZZING! it smelled so fresh and clean. god bless her!! it was a two-women job. that means if i had tried to do what they did it would have taken me at least 10 hours and probablylonger without a "system" and even longer had i had the kids with me, underfoot.

because of yesterday's clean sweep i have two tasks for tomorrow. one: make use of the "sell" and "give" boxes; and two: declutter all of the drawers and baskets that i stuffed full of junk that i "swept" off of the surfaces! its most likely going to continue raining here, so its a perfect day to do this. i will be modifying the spring cleaning party list to fit our home and pictures will be included. also ...

the spring clean party will go on a little longer here in our home b/c i will be heading out to california on friday for my grandmother's funeral. i am sure with jet lag and such i won't get back in to the party groove until next weekend. i am really enjoying this event so far and i think each time i come in to a space that has been cleared up and decluttered, my soul feels a little less burdened. clean, free, at peace, calm, zen-life.

today tsh at simplemom.net posted a very inspiring thought that sums up my feelings:

And the most important goal to spring cleaning in ten days? Decluttering. Getting rid of stuff. Saying goodbye to those things that are clogging your living spaces, and therefore causing visual stress.

When you have only what you need or love, it’s so much easier to clean - cleaning those surfaces several times a day isn’t as big a deal, because there’s not much stuff to begin with.
I encourage you to focus on getting rid of stuff. Make a hard-and-fast decision to kick out those things you don’t need or love. It sounds painful, but once you get into it, it’s cathartic, refreshing, and even fun.

join the cleaning party!

today i have headed over to simplemom.net to join the spring cleaning party. kind of reminds me of the folding parties my mom would have us kids do together (you know, folding the dreaded mountain of clean clothes!) but this will be way more fun!

i have hired a cleaning woman to come every two weeks to help me out. with four little ones under 5 1/2 and not getting the sleep i need b/c baby blaise is cutting teeth, and also being buried under the immense loads of laundry and piles of dishes -- i know when i need to call in the reinforcements.

but that means i have to prep the house for her. which is where this spring cleaning is coming in handy. plus who knows when we will be moving to our next duty station - so i need to start now with the decluttering. it will be a segway into my quest for more order and organization in our crazy home.

more on this later ... for now i am off with my two boxes for the "sell" and "give" stuff ... i will have a few pics of before and after (hopefully!)

cute japanese fabric site

www.nuno-plus.com

this site makes me just crazy excited about making little things for the girls and boys in our home! now if i can just get the machine to the shop for servicing - my goal this week! enjoy the site.