I think there comes a point. You are so happy, and so you have so much love to give, and then more love comes to you, and so you are so happy BECAUSE you have so much love to give. Etc.
Not that it's all been like that. Beds of roses and garlands of gratitude. Etc. But, almost. Too much, sometimes. Heart-broken-open-and-still-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-this-joy sort of days, of an amazing family and blessings all over the place.
We are adopting another child.
We don't know her face yet. We are waiting. We are ready.
I will write more soon. Details. Etc.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Still on Spain ...
Off to a new campground -- this is about Day 4 (don't worry, I take fewer photos as the trip wears on ...)
Taking a break from our drive
Dessi found this feather
Bundled up in PJs at our next campsite,
Where we wore away the evening climbing up and down this stump
and looking for tiny purple mountain irises. ("Dessi! Let's go find purple!" She was soooo excited.)
The view from outside our camper van
And the view from inside . . . the temperature dropped quickly!
Taking a break from our drive
Dessi found this feather
Bundled up in PJs at our next campsite,
Where we wore away the evening climbing up and down this stump
and looking for tiny purple mountain irises. ("Dessi! Let's go find purple!" She was soooo excited.)
The view from outside our camper van
And the view from inside . . . the temperature dropped quickly!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The True Cross, etc.
So, this was our outfit for three weeks in Spain.
It was a pretty tight ship, but not that much of a stretch for a family that up until 18 months ago lived in a 550-square-foot one-bedroom in Montana. I would say that campervaning rocked 30% of the time, it was okay 30% of the time, and the remainder was a challenge. We thought we'd be light on our feet, but this van was big, so parking was difficult in almost any city or town we wanted to visit. But we had fun! Oh, don't get me wrong! We laughed (we had a contest of who was funnier, Eric or me. It turns out, we are not terribly funny people) and ate and laughed and packed and unpacked and slept like leaden logs.
We ate these things every morning.
I don't know what they are. Spanish cookie wafers. They were so fun, and kept Dessi busy while we washed the dishes.
Here is Santo Toribio de Liébana, the Franciscan monastery near Potes in Cantabria, which houses what is possibly the largest surviving piece of the True Cross -- the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. The piece at Liebana is said to have a hole where a nail went through, and some blood. We journeyed all the way there but somehow we -- wait for it -- we weren't able to find the actual relic. We were within 400 feet of it, I am sure. We were on the site. We found the church and monastery
and the hermitages
(you had to walk to them -- here we are en route to one)
and then just a lot of other tourists
But no cross fragment. (We know it was there. Other people seemed definitely to look satisfied and like they'd seen something. Sigh. It's hard not speaking Spanish.)
We did see in one room a large gold cross that is thought to have been an ornament for the top of the cross. The room was dark, though, and they had the cross locked behind some iron gates so we were at least 25 feet away.
It does seem unlikely that all the pieces of wood scattered around the world that are said to be from Jesus' cross are all legit. I had an idea on this trip to do DNA testing on all of them and see if even any two of them matched. But, you see, this is probably why we weren't able to find the relic. This kind of attitude.
It was a pretty tight ship, but not that much of a stretch for a family that up until 18 months ago lived in a 550-square-foot one-bedroom in Montana. I would say that campervaning rocked 30% of the time, it was okay 30% of the time, and the remainder was a challenge. We thought we'd be light on our feet, but this van was big, so parking was difficult in almost any city or town we wanted to visit. But we had fun! Oh, don't get me wrong! We laughed (we had a contest of who was funnier, Eric or me. It turns out, we are not terribly funny people) and ate and laughed and packed and unpacked and slept like leaden logs.
We ate these things every morning.
I don't know what they are. Spanish cookie wafers. They were so fun, and kept Dessi busy while we washed the dishes.
Here is Santo Toribio de Liébana, the Franciscan monastery near Potes in Cantabria, which houses what is possibly the largest surviving piece of the True Cross -- the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. The piece at Liebana is said to have a hole where a nail went through, and some blood. We journeyed all the way there but somehow we -- wait for it -- we weren't able to find the actual relic. We were within 400 feet of it, I am sure. We were on the site. We found the church and monastery
and the hermitages
(you had to walk to them -- here we are en route to one)
and then just a lot of other tourists
But no cross fragment. (We know it was there. Other people seemed definitely to look satisfied and like they'd seen something. Sigh. It's hard not speaking Spanish.)
We did see in one room a large gold cross that is thought to have been an ornament for the top of the cross. The room was dark, though, and they had the cross locked behind some iron gates so we were at least 25 feet away.
It does seem unlikely that all the pieces of wood scattered around the world that are said to be from Jesus' cross are all legit. I had an idea on this trip to do DNA testing on all of them and see if even any two of them matched. But, you see, this is probably why we weren't able to find the relic. This kind of attitude.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Picos de Europa
Here's our first and finest camping adventure -- Picos de Europa. As we pulled up to this beautiful place, Eric said, "Welcome to car camping in Europe." Truly a beautiful site, and since we were there off season (early October), it was quiet and lovely.
We planned to take a telefereke trip to the top of Mount X (I can't remember -- Fuente Dey?) but the wait was almost 2 hours. So we took a little walk around while we waited.
Dessi liked this hiking backpack for about 20 minutes. Eric liked it for about 10. After which, she rode on my back in the Beco carrier. Here they are in happier moments:
The view (and this is the view from the BOTTOM, mind you):
Team Young:
By the time it was our turn to ride to the top, the rain was light but persistent, the mountains were fully socked in, and Dessi was due for a nap. But, being Slow Learners, we went up anyway.
She fell asleep on the ride back down.
We planned to take a telefereke trip to the top of Mount X (I can't remember -- Fuente Dey?) but the wait was almost 2 hours. So we took a little walk around while we waited.
Dessi liked this hiking backpack for about 20 minutes. Eric liked it for about 10. After which, she rode on my back in the Beco carrier. Here they are in happier moments:
The view (and this is the view from the BOTTOM, mind you):
Team Young:
By the time it was our turn to ride to the top, the rain was light but persistent, the mountains were fully socked in, and Dessi was due for a nap. But, being Slow Learners, we went up anyway.
She fell asleep on the ride back down.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Spanish Adventures -- first few days
Is anyone even with me on this blog anymore? I think even The Grandmas have lost interest. I couldn't blame you -- what a blogging slackerhead I've been. But as it turns out, we're going to print this blog up and turn it into our photoalbum for the Dakar Years, so, on I go.
Here are some photos from out fabulous three-week campervaning adventures in Spain. (We just returned to Dakar a few days ago.)
The road ahead:
Eric and Dessi rockin' the campervan:
She was a pretty good sport all around. We tried to not drive for more than 2-4 hours on any given day (which, as it turns out, doesn't really get you very far), and we always began our drive at 1 pm -- nap time. Overall, very little fussing.
One of the things we loved about Spain was that, basically anywhere you pulled over or any town you drove through, there was some fabulous thing to see or do. Here's our first day, making our way north to Picos de Europa, stopping for lunch and, voila! Random Town Footbridge, Random Town Beautiful Stream and Skipping Stones.
Beautiful husband, beautiful kid.
And this face. I just cannot get enough of this face.
Here are some photos from out fabulous three-week campervaning adventures in Spain. (We just returned to Dakar a few days ago.)
The road ahead:
Eric and Dessi rockin' the campervan:
She was a pretty good sport all around. We tried to not drive for more than 2-4 hours on any given day (which, as it turns out, doesn't really get you very far), and we always began our drive at 1 pm -- nap time. Overall, very little fussing.
One of the things we loved about Spain was that, basically anywhere you pulled over or any town you drove through, there was some fabulous thing to see or do. Here's our first day, making our way north to Picos de Europa, stopping for lunch and, voila! Random Town Footbridge, Random Town Beautiful Stream and Skipping Stones.
Beautiful husband, beautiful kid.
And this face. I just cannot get enough of this face.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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