With Daddy.

On your mark.....
Get set.....
GO!
We've been so blessed to be able to live in such a wonderful place! There is no need to drive to experience the great outdoors. Just leave the house and go for a walk. Each season, each time of the day, each kind of weather offer plethora of opportunities to explore, observe, learn, become amazed and forever fall in love with the wonders of nature.
Daddy's spirit just adds to the fun!

I don't need to eat. Just let me take pictures!

This morning we woke up to a thick, thick fog. By the time we had breakfast and sat down to read new books from the library, it had started to snow. The flakes were enormous, coming down so rapidly, but not staying on the ground or the branches. Within half an hour they had turned into rain, making mess on our freshly cleaned windows, that my Mom- in-law so graciously had helped me to do. Well...she cleaned them all by herself, for what I am thankful from the bottom of my heart! If it wasn't for her, I don't think the windows would have been cleaned any time soon. Learning to set my priorities straight has helped me a big time to not to fuss about certain things.
In about an hour after the rain had stopped the sun came out. The sky was bluer than blue, and we headed out to visit our friends in the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, we had no treats to bring for the animals (no old bread or bagels). But Ms. Tara had some for the girls to feed the goats and chickens. Leona is a "no animal lover", big time! She was petrified of the chickens running around her, pecking on the bread crumbs. She was a bit calmer this time around the cutest Nigerian Dwarf goats I have ever seen. But twice the size of her, a beautiful German Shepperd, a dog named Sam, had a privilege to give her a kiss on the cheek. I was surprised that she decided to come closer to the dog and let it lick her in the cheek!
Ivana was on the cloud nine! I could hardly keep an eye on her. She was so busy running around with her friend Livi, being silly, chasing the poor little kitty and exploring on the farm.

And the fun part for me was the fact that I was appointed to be an official photographer of the animals! My friend had asked me to take the pictures with my camera, so that she could use them on her website. She'll be breeding the goats and needs nice pictures of her priceless four legged friends to show what adorable animals they are! I took upon the assignment with responsibility. I had seven super models to document and it was not so easy! They were on the move all the time. The lighting was perfect, but since it was later in the afternoon I didn't want the shadows to overcast. It was a challenge to isolate each of them as they were mostly herding where the feed was. And trying to make them to smile, forget it! I had a lot of shots of goats' rear views! The animals probably thought of me to be a bit intrusive, so then I had to surrender and let them rub their scent glands all over my jeans and coat, so that I'd become "one of them"!

Everyone, meet Vincent!

Vincent is my friend's favorite! He is calm, friendly, has a personality and is her true "buddy".
I am also excited to be able to try to milk the goats in the spring. Something to be looking forward to in those long cold winter days!

Future Puppeteers.

We've come a long way with the kids in my Creative Dramatics class. Since the September we've done a lot of theatrical games, skits and improvisations. And this months we've been focusing on using recyclable materials and our creativity to make hand puppets.

The "old Daddy's sock dog puppets" were a huge success with the children. It was a bit of a challenge to use the hot glue gun and make sure nobody gets hurt. But I got another Mom helper to volunteer and we managed without any problems. I wanted to keep the puppets till next week , but they were extremely excited to take them home and show their creations to Dads.

For the next week they had to promise me to bring them to the class, so we use them for our puppet theater. Let's see how they can keep their promises.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I came across this article about Thanksgiving and I thought I couldn't have said it better...

By Dr. Bob Hoffman, Co-founder The Masters Circle

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million that will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a religious meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than 3 billion people in the world.

If you have a refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world.

If you have money in the bank or in your wallet and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold somebody's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over 2 billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a great day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed they are as well.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remind ourselves of all we have to be grateful for ... our health, our families, our work, the freedoms we take for granted and the opportunity to make a difference in the world while we create a happy and fulfilling lifestyle for ourselves and others.

You live among the top few percent of all of the world's people. Feel your power and be thankful. Instead of stressing, see how good you already have it, and appreciate the unlimited potential you have to make it even better.

Choose to be grateful when life treats you well and graceful when it doesn't. Make this year's Thanksgiving a time for you to really feel blessed and then do whatever you can to become infectious and spread that blessing around.

Remember that the purpose of this important holiday is to be thankful, as compared to just being full.

Snow so early this year!

"Mommy, I've been praying for snow! And it is here!", Ivana was telling me today.
It was one glorious day! The weather was perfect to go outside sledding and playing snow ball fights. We couldn't make a snowman, though, it kept on falling apart. Ivana was the only one being pretty successful in keeping the snow more or less together, but Leona thought it was more fun to step on it.

What a difference an extra pair of hands mean! "Babicka" (grandma, in Czech) is visiting and staying with us till the beginning of December. So we were able to leave baby Milanka at home and go outside with the older sisters. It felt like I was missing something, I am not used to leaving her. But we had a great time and came back almost right after she woke up from her nap.

I just love to see girls' red cheeks and watch the snow flakes melt and turn turn into crystal drops of water. We found icicles and they couldn't resist the temptation ...they had to lick them.
"Oh, it's better than ice cream, Mommy!"

That just brought the special memories of my childhood. Those rare occasions when we had snow stay for a couple of days, and the chance to fool around in it.