Living from the Heart

The Beach Is That Way We started off this week by trying some new beaches.  We visited Cramer Beach which has a lovely view of Buck Island, soft sand, bathrooms, and covered picnic areas.  The beach is well protected by reefs.  We read that the beach was well used on the weekends, we went twice, once during the week with Kim and once this weekend with the boys.  It was pretty sparsely populated both times. Day 1 at Cramers Beach: Buck Island in the distance. Those our my toes. :) Queenie A Pelican waits for us to leave his fishing spot. Self pic on the paddle board.  Day 2 at Cramers Beach Boys will be boys I added the sea fan Sweet Lil' Than Sweet Model Christian Big Sweet Boy Dashon Mystery Vacationer... It seems that there are not a lot of visitors on the island right now.  Well, except for one really well known one, who I believe is my neighbor.  I only say that b/c the Secret Service is camped out at the end of my street a

The Gift of Life Here on the island there are many gifts; warm weather, new experiences, sunny days, new friends, time together, ....just to name a few.  Often times we look to the Christmas season as a material holiday.  I, like many others, have fallen into the wrappings and trappings of gift giving and receiving.  This year we wanted to keep a little of the old and infuse a lot of the new.  As our awareness grows and values shift we begin to learn what is really of value.  While it's important to let children be children for as long as possible we also want our children to appreciate that everyday is a gift.  We want them to begin to see the little moments in life that often slip by unnoticed and begin to see them for what they truly are, gifts. I am so thankful and so blessed.  Being here has helped me realize what loving and wonderfully diverse family and friends I have in my life.  I appreciate each one of you for your individualism and the life you've lived to shape

Where to begin....We have had another full week here on St. Croix.  Even though the energy of this time of year feels much different then our usual Christmas in Virginia, it still is full tilt, non stop activity.  My dear childhood friend, Kim, is here with us to celebrate Christmas.  It has been wonderful having her here, picking up where we left off many years ago.  It has also made me realize what a different dynamic having another girl in the house makes!  So ladies, come visit!!! I am outnumbered!!! Christmas morning started very early, around 6am.  The boys were super excited, of course, to open their gifts from under the tree.  Shopping proved to be a more difficult task, than in years past; and of course I spent the two days before getting last minute gifts from around the island.  Although tiring, I really enjoyed exploring downtown Frederiksted and visiting new shops in Christiansted, which has the most unique and creative home town stores. After our gift exchange, we had

Christmas is in the Air The air energy was aggravated on Thursday.  I honestly think had something to do with the planetary alinement and of course the cool breeze on the island that day.  :)  Rob, Dashon, and Christian worked on the half pipe.  The afternoon cooled just so and made for comfortable working conditions.  Nathaniel and I began our winter lesson of cursive today.  My goal is to have him comfortable writing in cursive by the end of January.  The boys have convinced themselves it is Christmas break somewhere and so it should be here.  Now is the time for the fun task of manipulation, turning everyday moments into learning experience.  For instance, building a half pipe aka geometry...and wood shop! Fight or Flight An alarm went off earlier.  We are in a valley so it's somewhat difficult to determine where exatly sounds are coming from, at least alarms anyway.  It was a valuable lesson that one needs a plan for emergencies.  I found that my children have the Fight

Another beautiful day on the island, the sun is out and just a few clouds, the seas have calmed down and the water is clear.  We are making the most of our time with Dashon and Sadie, we explored Rainbow Beach and Limon Beach in Frederiksted on Saturday.  We paddle boarded and swam, the kids played chicken, and had an overall good time.  We finished out the day with tacos on Limon Beach and snorkeling for Chaney. Thanks to Sadie for all these great photos! The family that plays together... Rainbow Beach Almost looks like a heart :) Snails on Limon Beach Entrance to Shoy's Quicksand! Saturday we took the kids to Shoy's.  Rob will never get enough of that beach I don't think! We did more paddle boarding, there were some waves coming in and the boys experienced quite a few wipeouts trying to catch one. We finished the day, with all the children, big and small alike, making gingerbread houses.  We ate a nice family meal and hit the