treasure

Isaac and I were cleaning out his room over Labor Day Weekend.  I love Labor Day weekend.  We almost NEVER go anywhere and it's heaven.  After a full summer of activities, hanging out at home is perfect.  And historically, it was the weekend we prepared for back-to-school.  Well, that little ritual ended when the boys were in about 4th grade.  After that, there was no joy in preparing so we just waited it out -- no back to school shopping, no cleaning out backpacks . . .  nothing.  We just braced ourselves for the first day and jumped in.

Anyway, our cleaning had an easiness and purpose.  Sam was moving into Ben's old bedroom and Isaac would have his own room.  Motivation was high. :)  Isaac is deliberate and thorough.  And so I love to clean and organize with Isaac.

As we cleaned and sorted, we would often linger over mementos and keepsakes. . . the $2 bill tucked in a drawer from grandpa Marv, Pokemon cards, pictures from kindergarten, medals from basketball tournaments, and on and on.  Any DVDs, PS games, or CDs were surely opened and checked for contents.  They were often empty and so the search would begin for the missing disk.

Isaac picked up a CD case and opened it.  "Mom", he said.  I stopped what I was doing after the first request. . . we weren't in a hurry.  "Look", he said.  Inside the case, on the back of the cover was this amazing image.  "Isn't that cool", he said.  It was wonderful!  And my boy knew how much I'd appreciate such a beautiful image and magical words.

"I love it", I said.

"I know", he said.

. . . Danielle's post on acceptance and conscious relating

What if forgiveness isn't about forgiving? Thoughts on consciously relating to people who have hurt you. I’m not that into forgiveness. (Stay with me, this all gets back to love and liberation.) These days, I’m more into acceptance and conscious relating. Forgiveness is very tricky stuff. And I try to avoid the concept of it altogether. (Stay with me, I’m actually a very forgiving person.) What I’ve come to know for myself is this: When I approach forgiveness as a goal, it actually blocks me from my truth and love. In the past, when I’ve set out to forgive someone I just get all twisted up with who did what and why, and I start looking to validate my rightness. I distort memories of what happened, sometimes I judge myself even more severely than I do the other person, and the drama loops on. When, underneath it all, I’m simply just hurting or disappointed. If you want to consciouly relate, then forgiveness isn't the necessity, consciousness is. Firstly: Recognize the truth of your inner experience. “When you did X, I felt Y.” This recognition can be very difficult for many of us because we are habitualized to not genuinely feel our feelings, or to make ourselves wrong for feeling what we feel. Then… Secondly: Make a choice about how you’re going to relate moving forward. The choice is this simple: Are you going to open up more or close down some? Sometimes, staying open is the most divine act of courage. You keep loving. He bruised your heart? Open up anyway, tender and trembling. She slayed your ego? Show up and ask for more. Dare to open after the contraction of pain so you can move to the bounty of light on the other side. That kind of daring mindfulness has no need for “forgiveness”, it only longs for full integration and immersive relationship. Sometimes, staying vulnerable to what has wounded you is insanity and you need to erect boundaries, pronto. Those boundaries could be full on barricades, or you cut, cut, cut ties. Or, less extreme, those boundaries could be a new set of lite rules for engaging, as simple as saying, “It would be really awesome if you could meet me on time from now on.” Again, this consciousness isn’t about who’s right or wrong and who needs to be forgiven. It’s about designing a healthy way of relating — all things considered. “All things considered”, includes how much you love someone; how many old wounds you brought into a relationship; your degree of self-respect; your commitment to awakening. If you want the freedom that forgiveness promises, if you want to be liberated, then acknowledge the divine in the other person — it’s in there somewhere, even in cases of extreme darkness, it’s in there somewhere. Acknowledging the divine in someone who has hurt you, no matter how severely, doesn’t mean that you condone bad behaviour. You are not making a wrong a right, and you’re not engaging under false spiritual pretence to “play nice”. You’re seeing a spark of truth, and you’re making intelligent choices about how to proceed — all things considered. Feel your experience — fully, deeply.  Decide whether you will create openness or boundaries.  Acknowledge the divine.  Choose where to go. There is healing in the choosing. Holding no prisoner to guilt, we become free.  - The Course In Miracles

. . . a post from Danielle's blog

A few thoughts & actions that will help you open up more. It’s easy for personal growth teachers to say, “Be open.” Be open to what life is dishing out for you. Be open to the pain. Be open to what’s possible. Be open to other ways of seeing things. It sounds easy. But it can feel impossible. In the face of pain, or subtle fear, or the disorientation that change can bring, being open is anything but easy. Openness is not a passive exercise. You actually have to "do" openness. Sometimes opening up means ripping your heart open. Sometimes, it means staying just one minute longer when you’d rather run. Openness is a three step process: 1. Open. 2. Stay open. 3. Open some more. See, I made it sound easy. But here’s what’s in-between Steps 1 to 3… THOUGHTS & ACTIONS THAT WILL HELP YOU OPEN UP MORE TO LIFE : Doubt. Think twice. Be skeptical. Yep, it’s actually useful to fully feel your cautious emotions about a situation — so you can choose to open up despite them. Look at your fears and get in front of them.  : Sweat. Tremble. Stretch. If your mind is in fear, it will show up in your body — tight chest, shallow breathing, muscle tension. As you steer your mind and heart to open, the fear will need a way of leaving your body.  : Wince. Moan. Holler. See above. Constriction has a sound. So does openness.  : Declare. Affirm. Announce. I’m afraid, but I’m doing this. I want what’s on the other side. I’m willing to open.  : Ask. Pray. Invoke. Life, help me expand into this opportunity. Angels, give me courage. God, show me how to unfold.  : Recall. Remember. Recapitulate. I’ve done this before, I can do it again. I have heroes who have gone before me.  : Trust. Lean back. Have faith. When you open, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get what you want, or that you won’t get injured. But you’ll be more … open. And that’s the only way that your strength, your truth, and the power of life can move through you.

Aaron and Emily

We celebrated the marriage of Aaron and Emily last Saturday in Northfield.  

Captured this pretty picture of Lissy.

Sweet little Henley fell asleep on Grandpa Anderson's shoulder.  

 So so cute . . .

 Grandpa and Grandma Anderson . . .

 Dad, Jo, Jason, Erica, and their families . . .

 I love to take pictures of interesting objects . . . this is the grill of the "party bus" that picked up the wedding party from the church:)

 Grandpa Jeff and his precious boy, Henley . . . I'm going to edit this photo when I have time.  It's adorable!

Jeff and Kim leaving the church.  Everyone headed from the church to the reception at the Grand.  

 Another picture of Henley on Grandpa's shoulder, visiting with Steve in the parking lot.

 I love this photo . . . I think it might have to be framed and hung in their living room:)

 The reception and dance were held at an old theatre in Northfield.  It was such a cool building with so much character.  The atmosphere was amazing . . .

 I love the old front door.

 This was painted on the wall as we walked in.

I love the way people are reflected in the glass.  I just noticed my reflection:)

I could have snapped pictures of the beautiful building all night long.

 . . . just like the way this photographed.

Lissy and Zach at the head table . . .

It was fun to visit with family.  And it was fun to just watch family enjoying each other:)

Lissy looked beautiful and I took a ton of pictures of her:)  I'm only posting a few!  She is visiting with her sisters-in-law.

Happened to catch this sweet photo of Emily sharing her wedding ring.

We shared a table with Schultes and McCulloughs.

It was wonderful to see family that we don't get to see often.  Sarah's husband, Julio, and their son, Jacob, were up in the balcony and I managed to capture this cute photo.

Kim's mom and her aunt . . .

Adam and Madison . . . cute photo:)

Zach's brother, Josh, talking with his fiance. . . 

The bride's bouquet . . .

adorable . .

bridesmaid's bouquet . . .

 Cousins killing time with cousins between the meal and the dance :)

. . . gorgeous ceiling tile

Ben visited with Julio . . .

Jeff and Bill . . .

Isaac, Seth, Sam, and William got to sit together during the reception.

 Aaron and Emily cutting the cake.

funny picture . . . he was enjoying his cheetos before the meal!  

Sam and William . . .

orange . . .

Jeff and Sarah . . .

more orange . . .

Maggie and Lissy . . .

Gloria and Sarah . . .

Love this!  Whenever glasses clinked and the bride and groom kissed, they drew a couple's name out of the "hat" and that couple had to stand and kiss!  This is the reaction when Jeff and Kim's names were drawn!

 head table . . .

My dinner plate . . . what    in    the   world?!  I had a HUGE serving of prime rib and amazing potatoes.  What a generous meal!

 cute photo of Aaron and his friends . . .

Grandma Sherry and Dennis . . .

Bill and William . . .

It was a wonderful day!

 A bottle of wine was given to the guests that stayed at the hotel.