Children singing can heal an anxious mind
My children singing is like wine
Laughter rolls through my inside
Washes away pain and time

Roxalana sparkled and glowed
Vance stood tall as his staff
Francesca spoke with poise
I'm grateful for Christmas Cantata

A cruise ship of family docked here yesterday
Silblings, parents, cousins and the usual stranger added in
Children ran in for food without stopping their play
A carnival of words. Conversation is our game
Frankie's banner spoke for all. Mom, Happy Birthday!

The Storm

A few days ago we had a rain storm. The first rain in like two years! Sheets of water came down from the sky and when I stepped outside my hair got drenched. The earth seemed to be screaming with happiness.
Vance, Roxy and I went outside and played in the rain. We stomped in a puddle that after an hour of rain turned into a lake. Our little stream went from being about one and a half feet wide to being more than a yard wide.
My brother, sister and I were singing and screaming, we were so happy too.
When we couldn't feel our hands anymore, because we were so cold, we went back inside the house to get warm.

Gratitude comes with an attitude
Appreciation of time, energy in the nude
Mine comes from Joana,
Happiness maker for this lucky dude
She researches and writes
Cooks the best bean and kale stewed
6 treasures she gave me
SaviElena, Frankie, Vance, Rox, SaviLucia, and Jude?

Lizards, Holidays and Friends

I'm thankful for my friends and for Christmas and Halloween. I 'm thankful that once my mom and I were resting and I saw a lizard on the windowsill. It looked liked it was resting too. I'm thankful for Mrs. Brownlow, who let me join the Children's choir so I can sing for the Christmas program at her church. I'm thankful for when my friends came to my house and played with me, especially my friends Landon and Julian. I'm thankful for the time when Santa Claus came to our house for Christmas. I know it was Santa Claus, because it really was Santa Claus.

Whatever is Next

I'm thankful for Tomorrow.
She isn't here yet, but I know she will come and bring the next day with her. Will she bring tens of clouds in her wake and rain and new life to the dry land? Will she stay warm and dry and quiet instead?
I don't know yet, but I do know things will be different when she arrives.
And we'll never get back to Today.

The Great Outdoors

You know what I like about the world? You can just do some easy work and then you get to go outside to the great outdoors and sing and laugh and play. Then you can form a club or make a fort. Then you guard the club or fort and you can play you are pirates or that you are a great adventurer and that the vines are snakes and you can pretend anything you want! Take my advice, just get your school work or chores or Kumon done and go outside and get fresh air. You'll love it. Trust me.

A Club with Exceptions

I am very glad that my cousins are visiting. We get to play, play, play! We made a club that was a "girls only" club, but with two male exceptions. So, most of the club was made up for girls and I got to be one of the boys to join. Roman, my cousin, was the other boy that joined the club. But, no other boys got to join.

Purses, Parties and a Caring Daddy

I am thankful that once, when I got hurt and there was blood all over my knee, my daddy took care of me. He put band-aids on my cuts and then he gave me ice cream!
Another time, my Uncle Steve had a party for adults-only but he let me and my sisters and brother join in on the party and we danced and had so much fun.
And once my sister gave me something that I really loved, it was a little aqua-ish colored purse.
I will say good-bye now, but first, would you please write a comment for me to read. Have a great time. Good-bye!

Frankie Knows

While tucking Frankie in to bed tonight I told her, "I love you and I think you're wonderful."
"I know. And you got me" she said with eyelids dropping.
Mission accomplished.
She turns ten years old at 11:50pm tonight. Of all the things I want my kids to know, the most important is that I love them and think they're wonderful.
It began 7 or 8 years ago. In those words, every night at bedtime I summarize life as I see. It started with Savielena and has grown with each child. They now try to beat me to it. I work it into the story of whatever bedtime book we're reading to catch them off guard. They add it to songs they're singing as they get their jammies on.
Sometimes I ask, "Do you know what?" and they jump in with, "Yes! You love me and think I'm wonderful."
I'm grateful that Frankie knows.

A Full Decade

I am thankful to be here, sitting at a large dining room table thinking about this decade. This time between the arrival, ten minutes shy of midnight, of Francesca into the world and tonight, warm in so many ways.
At one her smiles came easy and she slept like an angel.
At two she wore red boots even on hot summer days and learned to write her name.
At three her hair curled a thousand ways to reflect the sun, she danced for hours and arranged wild flower bouquets, one for each room in the house.
At four she rode a palomino horse named cowboy, wore jeweled sandals to town and became her older sister's best sidekick.
At five she lost that sister, stopped dancing and quit praying for miracles.
At six she listened to and watched: she waited on and wondered about the idea that is Life.
At seven she sold dozens of fresh eggs to neighbors and built a house under weeping willows. She played long and saved her brother from fears; she told him "Good always wins."
At eight she learned to swim hard and fast, changed her baby sister's diaper and played the piano with both hands.
At nine she loved History and Science, memorized long, complicated poems and learned to surf.
Today she is ten and my heart swells with gratitude for her and I know I will always feel this way about my dear girl.

My 10th Birthday

I'm thankful for my birthday!
Today is my birthday, the 25th of July and I had a blast at my party. I am turning ten. I really liked the water balloon fight. We had two teams. I led one and my friends J.T and Landon led the other team. Each team had its own territory to protect. My team won because the other team ran out of water balloons first. Both teams had the exact same number of water balloons. I know, because I counted them. I filled up the water balloons and my dad, my brother Vance and my friend Julian helped me.
I am so thankful for my birthday.

Sleeping Baby

The instant my baby's eyes close and little arms go limp as she enters the mysterious state of infant dreaming...that is a moment I am grateful for.

The Best Thing To Do In The World

Books are wonderful. When you read them they can unleash adventures more powerful than the world has ever known in reality. My favorite books of all are when the hero gets away from all the bad things. Sometimes authors have a villian win in the end, but I like stories with happy endings. But sometimes authors make the end a mix of good ad bad.
Here's some books you should read:

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series
The Hobbit
The Mysterious Benedict Society (I & II)

Read the above books in that order, because it will be funner.

The Beach

I am thankful for the beach. We take kitchen utensils to use to build sandcastles. I like it best when it is almost empty of people, on a warm summer morning when the water is nice. I love buggy-boarding. I love getting hit by the waves and then feeling numb from the cold Pacific Ocean. When my dad comes, he buries our bodies with sand, just leaving our faces uncovered. I take time to collect shells and rocks that have been eroding from water washing over them over and over and over. I love the beach!

I'm thankful for song birds

I'm thankful for song birds because I like music and I love all the different songs they bring to the world and music.

Ten Things I Think Are Just Great:

1. Wind blowing by


2. Raindrops on orange poppies


3. Faces that smile


4. Hills covered in poppies


5. Laughs, giggles and chuckles


6. Ancient history


7. Songs that stay in my head


8. Birds twittering a song


9. Sun shining on my face


10. A good surprise

The Heart of the Planet

I am grateful for what marine biologist Sylvia Earle calls "The Heart of the Planet"; the world's oceans. Earle, this year's TED Prize Winner, recently gave a beautiful presentation about our oceans and their precarious status as sustainers of life.
We truly live in a beautiful world.
But as humans become more efficient at finding and exploiting food sources our collective responsibility grows.
I am grateful I can do my tiny little part to restore the oceans' biodiversity.

• I can refuse to eat fish or fish products.


• I can limit my use of bottled water to the absolute bare minimum, as well as reduce use of other plastics.


• I can start saving my pennies to purchase a clean-running car someday.


• I can tell everyone I know about the role we can all play to keep our earth beautiful and full of life.

I am grateful I live in health and enjoy the beauty of creation and I am thankful for the hope of my grandchildren being able to do the same.

Our Puppy

I am happy for the puppy I own (along with my family). Our puppy's name is Magic. He is a Labradoodle. He is very excited and will jump on you, especially if he has been outside for a few minutes or more. He is black, not apricot color. Some people think he is a poodle. When we first got him, his nickname was "killer." But he is nowhere near being a killer. He is a kid's "joy and delight" kind of dog. I am so thankful for Magic.

Hope

I am thankful for hope, because it brings happiness and joy about the future. Hope makes you feel like there is a bright tomorrow. Nothing is lost and you can keep going. Hope is the jewel of life for people all around the world.
Right now I am hoping to know a lot about hawks in the future. So I am studying all about them.
I also hope our seas and oceans will be restored to health in my lifetime.
And I hope we get a good guard dog soon.
I am thankful for hope.

Baby Sister

I am thankful for my little sister, Savi. It's fun to watch her chase my ball or crawl under a table or sit on the computer box. She likes to yell, "AHHHHH!" to get our attention. She isn't supposed to sit on the computer box, but she doesn't know it. She's a baby. We have a little, extra, computer keyboard that isn't connected to anything and she likes to pretend she's typing. She bangs her hands on it. And makes it look like she's busy typing, but of course she isn't. She makes me laugh every day.

Ziuooowaiooo

The laser gun hummed in my hand. I finally figured out this four pound hunk of triggers and buttons. Blam! The red dome hit indicator flashed red. My life force dropped two levels. The power of suggestion was so strong I actually felt weaker.

I remembered the shield button and pressed. My face glowed green from the shield light on the back of my laser. As I ran for cover I discovered my gun was a girl. She said, "Your life force is dangerously low."

I mentally rejected that and jumped into the dark hall firing as fast as I could. Although the game ended for me right then, I still reject that idea. My life force is stronger now than before the laser tag game with my kids and friend Paul Zak.

I'm in a home where everyone plays.

My Life force is high.

Light and Darkness

I'm thankful for light. With light you can see all the color in the world. You can see what you are doing. You can see your friends' faces.
I'm thankful for darkness and nighttime. In the dark, we can play games like laser tag, hiding go seek and "the scary game," which is a version of hiding go seek, but you scream when you find the person. When we play with my cousin Zack, it is so scary. Zack loves to play that games, and we, younger cousins, love to play it too.

Peter Pan II, the movie

I love the movie Peter Pan II. My favorite character is the Octopus. The Octopus is real funny. Tinker Bell doesn't like Wendy's daughter also. Captain Hook is the most evilist villain. I'm thankful my mom let me watch it.

Life

I'm thankful for life. There can be good and bad in it. But it is always a surprise, because you can't predict the future. It can be really bad or really great or really medium. When you fall and break your arm, that is really bad. But when you get a Chirstmas present that you really wanted, that is really good. When you are playing outside and you are happy, that is really medium.

All The Candy In The World

I am thankful for yummy candies to eat. Like, I love licorice even though it disappears down my throat really fast. I also love this candy covered nut because it is crunchy, but not jaw-breaker crunchy. And I love chocolate coins. Last I ate those were when my grandmother, Abuela, gave one each to us kids.

Rain

I am thankful for rain and the joy it brings. After it rains I see little green sprouts popping up everywhere. Weeds, flowers and any seeds that have been dormant in the ground pop up and bloom and grow and offer their faces to the sun. The rain cleans the air too. I love going out to the rain and playing in puddles and getting soaked and muddy. Every time I come back in the house I have to change my pants and socks. I love the rain!

Wildness!

I love having the gift of wildness!

Like, you should have seen me go crazy on Halloween. I went crazy trying to pick which costume I would wear. I finally dressed as one of the Three Musketeers.

Like, all the time I jump around doing weird stuff, to get my energy out. But when I stop and think I need a rest, it is really just a chance for my energy to come back full force!

Another example of being wild is like one time we were scootering and I went down the hill without the brakes on. And I love making tire marks with my bike.

Being wild and full of energy is great because when I run in a triathlon at least I am good at the running part.

Snacks For Me

I love yummy snacks. I am always hungry. That's why I write about snacks. One of my favorite snacks would be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Another one would be chocolate milk. Another one would be an energy bar that I love. My dad said he got it from Trader Joe's, or was it Costco? I am thankful for these snacks because I love to eat.

The Music of the Stars

I am thankful for stars. They're so pretty when you are in the country and there are no artificial lights to interfere with the light of the stars and the moon. My dad and I like to sing a song called "The Stars are Ours Tonight, " when we see a sky full of stars. They are so pretty.
Stars make me think of happiness and the goodness of life and I always think of music too.

Great Authors

I love wonderful stories. Like for instance, these are my four favorite authors: Roald Dahl, Rick Riordan, Trenton Lee Stewart and Ron Roy. Rick Riordan is the author of The Lightning Thief. Trenton Lee Stewart wrote The Mysterious Benedict Society, Roald Dahl is the author of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Ron Roy is the author of a collection of books called A-Z Mysteries. Those four authors all write really cool books. You should get them. They'll fascinate you.

Running in Hawaii

Running in the dark, waiting for dawn, awake and moving, with so much to look forward to is better than dessert for me. Running through a new, unknown, city to witness the change from quiet pause to bustle, nodded greetings and fresh newspapers, with options to run beach side; that, is a bit of heaven.

I am grateful for running in Waikiki, early, still cool and with company.

I Don't Have Any, But

I am thankful for fur.

Tennis and All

I am thankful our family played tennis this morning. I love playing tennis. It gives me energy when I know exactly how I'm hitting the ball. If I'm hitting well I get lots of energy. If I miss, I still get some energy and I know I need to focus for the next shot. Tennis makes me feel strong, tired, weak, happy and filled with energy, all at the same time. After tennis, my dad often takes us kids to get a drink at Jamba Juice. Then I feel renewed.

Today, when we got home I practiced my cursive writing and then I am here, posting on my blog. So, I am thankful for tennis and for all the things that happen afterward.

Flying fuzz

Green fuzz particles exploded in a puff, left behind the tennis ball that shot out at the imaginary "Svetlana." The flying fuzz swirled suspended in the air around Frankie's head. After 30 years at this game I could smell the fuzz. I knew the satisfaction Frankie must be feeling - solid, loaded-up, driven, victorious. That ball's not com'n back! The wiz-swang sound as the ball spun past my head. Warm sunshine. Vance & Rox crawling after baby SaviLucia on the side court. Magic sleeping in the shade. A basket-roller half filled with tennis balls at my side. It's great to know tennis. It's great to know it so that I can give it to Frankie, Vance, Rox and soon to SaviLucia. It's great because of moments like this. Flying fuzz off Frankie's topspin backhand. She's going to load-it-up!

A Moment With Roxy

I am so grateful to be here on earth this minute. Everything seems just right. The breeze blows and my little girl's hair flutters. She twirls around a green patio umbrella post and stops to tell me "I 'm a little mad to be here."

"Why?" I ask, not surprised really. She doesn't ever hide her feelings.

"Because," she doesn't finish. She wants to talk to me and thought I probably wouldn't. But I said "Why?" in just the right tone of voice. I left her speechless for a moment, in a good way.

"Well," I said, "That's O.K. Because I love you even if you're a little mad."

She smiles.

I'm so glad she loves me anyway, too.

A Funny UnderDog Story

I am thankful for wonderful stories that I can read. Like right now, I have been looking at the book "SuperDog: The Heart of a Hero". It will interest you a lot. It is about a dog who looks like a sausage on meatballs. He works really hard and turns into a superdog with big muscles. He helps people who are in trouble. I had never heard of superdog, I had only heard on "underdog." It's a funny story.

Catching And Releasing White Beauties

I am thankful for butterflies. They bring so much color to the world. As you may have noticed, I've written a lot about color on this blog.

One day, a Tuesday, my friend Hunter and my brother Vance and I went butterfly hunting (catching, really). We were looking for Monarch or Swallow-tail butterflies. We didn't catch any of those kinds. I got about a centimeter away from catching a swallow-tail butterfly but I missed it. Hunter also tried several times, but he couldn't catch any either and neither could my brother. We did catch other more common ones, white ones, which we see a lot here in Southern California. The butterflies kept us company while we worked on our studies. I worked on my Egypt studies and Hunter and Vance worked on their Dinosaur studies. We let the butterflies we caught go free, after a few hours, so they wouldn't die.

P.S.: I hope that whenever people catch butterflies, they let them go soon after. That goes for most other animals also.

I'll Love You Best If You Laugh At My Jokes

I am thankful for my dog Magic and for all the pets we've ever had: Our dogs and fishes and chickens.
Yesterday our family went to the beach, and I'm thankful for that.
And I'm thankful for Uncle Jesse and his family and that the kids come to play with us every day. I really like to play with them, when they are nice to me. My favorite kid in Uncle Jesses's family is Kinzie because she is very nice every single day. She pushes me on the swing and she laughs at my jokes. Last time they played with us we played a game called "Martin and Chris's ABC's". It was a game about pirates that were attacking us and were trying to make us slaves. Roman and Vance were the pirates who were after treasure; which in the game was a bag of popcorn.

Art

I am thankful for art to look at. This morning I looked at one of the paintings hanging in our dining room. It isn't famous but its vibrant colors do so much for my world. There are, of course, famous pictures in the world, they are a thought frozen in time. Like the Mona Lisa or Salvador Dali's Spain 1938.

I Write Faster in Chinese

I am thankful for our new dog.

And I am thankful I have a family.

And I am thankful for fake snoring, because it makes me laugh. Frankie and I were just taking turns fake snoring and we broke out into laughter each time. And it was so funny!

Frmqo Mokmammmy orwwowkrkkwpfffkwdfrtgfyhgvbnjmkiol,khtghbrechb hgfyfvbnmjjuyhgtfrdeswaewrtgfc (I am trying to write in Chinese).

grydghgnbvnmjiutsaqwedrftgyuofgrygffgfffetteeyvfgtbhngvfcdswerfgghhbvccccfedrtyghbyredfcxerr

gyftygy98ugtygfcdxsefgbhnjmkiuyhbgfrdeswgbnmhgfdxxdertyuijhbgfdrtyurdesxcvbnmjhgfdsapoiiuyttttttfd

Oh the Things I Will Do...

I am thankful for my new computer, because it is really cool and I've never had my own computer before and I don't have to have the same e-mail address as my parents. It's really small and it can fit into a very small suitcase, one as big as a folder. I want to use it to play games on and to type up clues for treasure hunts and maybe even go onto a dot.com bookstore and order kid's books.

Music Calms My Soul

I am thankful for music.

I have posted about music before. But to me it is worth posting again. Music helps me calm down. When I'm nervous about something and my stomach seems twisted, I turn to music. I have written a couple of pices for the piano. I love playing the piano; I spend about 7 hours a week on the bench playing everything from Fur Elise to simpler songs and anything else I am to practice. I also play throughout the day whenever I feel like it. I also love singing and enjoy my voice lessons. I like to listen to others play all sorts of other instruments too, like the cello, mandolin, violin, and just about any other instrument.

Chocolate is Oh So Good for Me!

I am thankful for chocolate. Sometimes my mom gives us "chocolate for the day." Did you know chocolate is good for you in small amounts? That is, if it is dark chocolate. It is also very poisonous for dogs.

Four or five years ago, my older sister and I went to the Museum of Natural History in San Diego. My sister was studying chocolate and the museum had an exhibit on chocolate. We got to taste so much chocolate that we almost exploted! You would think I'd be sick of it forever after, but I could never be sick of chocolate.

New Puppy

The day before yesterday we got a new, blacker-than-night, puppy and named him "Magic." He is a two month old Labradoodle. His fur is really curly and he's gentle and sweet. After we picked up our puppy on Sunday, we went to my cousin Gaby's house. Everyone there thought our new puppy was really cute. Then, we didn't know what his named would be yet. We were considering the names "Rush," "Darwin," "Blaise Pascal", "Percy," "Puck" and "Stormy." Everyone liked the name "Magic" so that is why we named him that. I am grateful for my new puppy.

Francesca and Her Hand-Tied Blankets

Three new blankets, colorful with soft tassles tied by Francesca's young hands, are keeping three children warm and feeling loved. Frankie picked the velvet fleece, each color a favorite for it's meaning.
Green stands for all things hoped for;
Red for vibrant life;
Royal blue for an imaginary sky and orange for the summer sunset;
Purple for royal dreams and yellow for springtime flowers.
She cut the cloth, and tied a hundred ends, then gave a blanket to each child who'd care. One for Vance, one to Roxie and one for herself. A blanket for each to remember love, warmth, heaven and earth, and the beautiful girl who made them. A blanket for each to think on the place where such ideas and realities live:
home.

Brain Stimulating Life

A small brown squirrel blends into the woodchip surrounding a tangerine tree. I notice it outside my window when it flits nervously, acorn in hand, searching, seeming to know her little moment counts for much. She is like me, a mammal with brown hair and a family to grow. I may never see her again, but she's now inside my head; a bundle of stimuli from the world I inhabit. Millions of stimuli push through my cornea and stay, every minute of every day. How my brain sorts them all, I am only beginning to learn. I am so grateful for how my brain does this conciousness thing.

This New Year I am grateful for my brain and all its machinations and I am thankful for the world in which I move that provides so much richness, beauty and possibilities.