the settling

We arrived in Boulder one month ago already. the time has flown and yet my panama existence seems far far away. I close my eyes and try to put myself back there with all the smells, sights and feelings of that time but the picture is getting less and less clear. It feels so much like home here i just want to lie down and wrap myself up in this place. I feel so at peace and so grateful for being here now.

I love everything here. i know this fresh look may fade but for now i am like a kid in a candy store. I walk around town with eyes wide open amazed at the simplicity and ease that this city holds.

Panama Tour: Isla Contadora

Our Papa-day/Abel bday weekend getaway to Isla Contadora, one of the 100 Pearl Islands off Panama's pacific coast...50 miles from the city

we took the ferry at 8 am...a bit early for us but we made it!

it was a totally smooth ride on a new, clean catamaran

$78 roundtrip p/person

one and a half hour ride

(and yes, aiyana is wearing long sleeves and layers in this heat....it's what she does and i choose my battles)

my little cutie sportin her pink panama hat

once we got the island we had to take a little boat to the sand...no piers...and the water?...well....ya

we stayed at Villa Romantica which has one of the best locations on the island but desperately needs a little remodeling help

and the perfect view from our window...we napped with the doors wide open listening to nothing but the lapping of the waves...and i fell asleep wondering if i might just turn into an island gypsy

and to keep the littles occupied they had a huge chess set

we left our perfect little beach and decided to walk around and find another through the thick rain forest

and down a little road until....

we found another little piece of paradise

and played in the tiny little waves and soaked up the ocean air and a bit too much sun

there was a little river that ran to the sea where satya compiled her treasures

and aiyana basked in her perfect "papa-day" (as she calls the weekends)

and i fully inhaled the serenity of escaping from the city to a most magical place even if just for a night

and i soaked in those sweet moments when life feels complete and sweet and where i have to stop myself from gobling up these delicious babes

and then we walked back

and ate and breathed in our last moments of our little isla getaway

our february/march days

Well, almost 2 years since we moved to this crazy city and i am finally learning to appreciate a few aspects of living in the tropics.....especially in february and march when much of the US and Canada is freezing their buns off!





The girls are so into their little kitchen. While i cook in the evenings they get busy too. I give them all sorts of old spices, beans, cheap flours...and they create amazing soups! True chefs in the making!







And a sweet little just-turned-4 year old on a special date with mama at a coffee shop eating whip cream!

feeling the love, feeling grateful

"oh my beloved,
kindness of the heart,
breath of life
i bow to you
again and again"



i am flooded with grace. time with these angels is my fairy tale come true.

joy is available in every moment...even when i don't choose it

in the moments that i can drop all "shoulds" i steep in the magic of chilhood

water, bubbles, sand, mud, flour, rice....the simplest things

they are like little mirrors... i see so clearly that when there is chaos, i am disconnected from my center. i feel strongly the great responsibility as a mother to hold the emotional balance for my family. i know that it is human to lose it and to be overwhelmed, stressed and tired but how i choose to react to those feelings i model for the family and that choice has an affect. i am growing up with my children. i am consciously choosing in more moments than before how to "handle" myself.

they are my teachers

my loves

(the building in the middle is where we live, 8th floor and the ocean is to her left)

tears well when i see these little ones love each other like i love them