twin b-day

i love, love, love this picture of jo (on the right, people)! it doesn't seem like that long ago that we were there, celebrating our 21st, wasn't it? that makes me feel so old.

on her birthday, i would like to share just a few of the many gifts jo has given to me. i thought anyone who reads this might like to do the same.

without my sis i have zero fashion sense. this goes back to when i was 4 years old and would wear the exact same sweater over and over again until my mom pried it off me to wash it. my trouble goes back a long way. jo has always believed in more variety, more style, and more quirkiness too. she's got great taste!

jo has taught me a lot about compassion and thoughtfulness. she's been known to cry for others' sadness, even if she doesn't know them. she has a big heart.

one of my favorite things about jo is she's a great listener. i always know if i talk to her or share a problem with her she won't ever judge me or give me unwanted advice. she always lets me vent without repercussion. i love that about her.

well, i could go on, but i'll just say happy birthday to my lovely sister who i love and miss so much. you are a beautiful sister and friend to me.

happy birthday, lovely nene.

of course this is a christmas picture, and not one of us on our birthday, but i don't have any of us together on our birthday scanned into the computer. this is nene and me on a christmas morning, mid-eighties, ('86? '87?) oh so many moons ago.
nene,
back then (or even just a few years ago) i never could've imagined spending a birthday apart. now that our lives have changed and we live in our happy little homes in two different hemispheres, i'm glad that you have such a wonderful family down under to take care of you and have fun with on your birthday. but i'm selfishly so sad that we aren't together on our special day.
here are some birthdays from olden times that i remember:
1. our first surprise party, when we had no idea and the shock was so great, and there were kids from church and kids from school, and we got so many presents that i thought i was going to burst with excitement.
2. our seventh (i think seventh) birthday, when mom and dad took us to disneyland (our first time, and my only time!) and you had just recovered from the chicken pox but were still covered with scabs, and people must've looked at us strangely but we were having too much fun to care!
3. that party we had in high school, when we were juniors or seniors (my memory's bad) and so many kids came, (even some of the cool kids) and everyone had a really good time, and then the cops showed up because our neighbors had seen some kids in the front yard holding plastic cups (that really had punch in them) and thought we were drinking or something. that was freaky. and cool.
4. in college when pretty much the entire apartment complex threw us (and brentar) a party and there was music and tons of people and you gave me that cd you made for me (the first mix cd i ever got) and it was so amazing that i played it over and over and over and seriously, to this day, it's one of the best presents i ever got.

i love you, big sis. even though our birthday is hardly on the same day anymore (blast the time difference!) i will always think of it as our birthday and never as my birthday. and i can't wait till the one we get to spend together again. (let's throw a big party!)
jo

a song to make you happy.

so i've loved the shins these long years, that's no news story. and then when their latest album "wincing the night away" came out, i was really predisposed to like the song "australia," what with having the ties with australia that i am blessed to have. but then i heard the song, and it was bouncy and happy, and i really liked the music. and then i listened to the lyrics, and they were really good. then yesterday i stumbled upon this video. and what can i say, it makes me happy! i hope it does the same for you.

saturday at the show

saturday was our second year at the royal melbourne show (for americans, that's like a state fair). it was fantastic! j. enjoyed everything more now that he is nearly two, and we took him on some of the kiddie rides. we also had a good time eating chocolate from our cadbury showbag! here's some pics of the fun:


and yes, i managed to pick the only one-eared horse for j. to ride on.




the little lamb loved nibbling j's fingers. he didn't let it bother him though.

little c.'s photo shoot

charley harper

due to a happy accident, our kids are now proud owners of charley harper's abc's, a beautiful board book of animal drawings by the amazing modernist ilustrator charley harper.
i found out about charley harper a while ago and fell in love with his simple colorful illustrations. so i added the abc book to my amazon wish list. hubby thought he would purchase a book for me from my wish list for my upcoming birthday, and not realizing it was a children's book, bought this one. but i couldn't be happier. it's a gorgeous asset to my kids' libraries, and i'm so glad they have it!





get your own here

cupcakes and imperfect perfection

tonight sweet m. and her papa baked some cupcakes, and then she and i decorated them. she kept saying, "this is so much fun. i love this." and it made me happy to see how much she enjoyed everything she was doing.
while we were frosting and decorating i was thinking about how wonderful it is that kids just enjoy themselves and don't get caught up in trying to be perfect. sometimes i tend to worry about making things look just right, but i love how sweet m. just threw the sprinkles on and let them fall where they may. she wasn't worried about making them look perfect, and she helped me to remember that there is more than one right way to do things. i think they turned out just right.

where i live

haystacks at sunset, originally uploaded by jowrites365.

this was taken across the street from sweet m.'s school, maybe half a mile from our house. yep, i live in the boonies.
i apologize for the lack of posts lately. i'm going through a rough time, but i know things will pick up soon.
see you on the upside!

my little man these days