A Day Dream Believer

I have a dream... well it's more of a day dream, or maybe a fantasy.

Danny and I, both, have a huge desire to live by the ocean (the details of our fantasies maybe differ a little bit, but for the most part we're on the same page). But when I'm talking about "by the ocean" I don't want you to get the idea that we want to live in a town that is close to the ocean, no, no, we want to live on the beach.

I want a large porch with a picnic table on it. A place where we can eat breakfast as a family and then, after, turn the kids loose to find oysters, play in the tide pools, and build sand castles (while mom and dad finish up our coffee). Danny can take our little groms surfing on the weekends, and when they come back I can make them a snack and we can all take a lazy afternoon nap outside in a hammock or on a beach blanket laid out in the shade. I want to be able to go out kayaking with my husband and be able to chase my kids around on an endless beach. I want my kids to grow up outside with a continual supply of sand in their ears and no shoes on their feet. I want to live in another country, and send our kids to school there, learning that countries language. Our ministry can be right there on the beach, and maybe scuba diving will even fit into God's call on our lives.

So is it a tall order? YES! but I really believe that God sees our dreams, I even believe that he gives us those dreams. So, now we're just waiting for God to send us to this paradise, we'll take the bugs and all.

~what this doesn't mean is that we've completely shut down here... No, we still have a ministry here, and are not wishing time away... our hearts are just a little closer to the ocean.~

What is your dream?

Life according to Sati

Our little one has been doing, saying, and signing all kinds of great (and sometime hilarious) things. She's 19 months old and is truly getting a grasp on language, social skills, and life in general (at least as much as her age allows). She isn't as talkative as most kids her age... that might have something to do with the fact that she's trying to learn three languages at once... but I'd say she's doing a pretty good job.

• She calls the little boy that I babysit... "Baby Doll" (but she calls her dolls "baby")
  
• She can sing a whole song without any words (and you would totally know what song it is that she's singing)
  
• She just learned how to climb up on the table... yeah
  
• She points to my belly, says and signs baby, and then asks to kiss it.
  
• Her first language is sign and she can get around with it pretty well. She surprises us with the signs she knows, and with the ones she makes up to get her point across.
  
• She is almost always smiling or laughing... she really enjoys life!
• She loves going for walks in "Bob" (our stroller) and can finger-spell "bob".
• We never taught her "animal sounds" so she copies the animals real sounds and actually sounds a lot like them.
  
• When we go for walks and I make an unexpected turn in "Bob" she says "WOWA MAMA!"

There are a lot more things that she's doing that really crack us up, but I don't want to write a book or anything...

Updated (photo style)

The babe, the belly, and the beginnings of dreads.

Pink or Blue?

We're not finding out the sex of our little one until the day he or she enters the world. That doesn't mean that we're not guessing, though.

So, what do you think? Will the next Harmon come home in pink or blue (most likely he/she will come home in brown, but you know me). Do you have any theories on how to tell if it's one or the other?

I also have a little pole on the left side of the blog if you want to enter your guess there.

Sadly, this is the best "belly picture" I have (from a month ago).

The Land of Sunshine

We just got back from a trip south, where the sun seems to always shine. We absolutely loved it!

at the beach, south of the boarder

a birthday party in La Mision, Mexico

a total cheater picture that danny took at the aquarium in La Jolla

My little niece with a young tiger at the San Diego zoo

Now, back to reality (as I watch the snow falling, back at home in Portola). What have you guys done for fun recently?