i cannot say for sure because i have not actually counted but it would not be an exaggeration: i must smile 100 times a day…every single time i look at him. who wouldn’t? i love that sweet face!

{day 9 of august break}

i have been busy chasing the sun with my boys, staying cool in the proper summer that the end of june and july have generously delivered, and shortening my  to do list of projects…..

i will be back next week with more.

p.s.  i found this as i scanned headlines earlier this week.  i’m in. it is going to be good.

(more…)

sometimes late in the evening, after our boys are tucked in and the house is still and quiet, my tall dark and handsome plays guitar down in the basement and i curl up next to him on the sofa to enjoy.

he is amazing.

in the video he is singing one of my favorite songs, über den wolken.

we saw off the last of our guests at the beginning of the week and already it is the beginning of another four day weekend for us. the days ahead will be filled with the goodness of opas, omas, favorite cousins, laughter, garden breakfasts, grilled lunches, late bonfire nights, music, did i say laughter? 
we will drive across country tomorrow (the bebe’s first road trip) to celebrate uncle loy’s birthday- we love uncle loy.

in other news {my big news}, the plans for my big project are slowly coming to fruition…i am really excited and looking forward to sharing more soon!

wishing you a lovely, sunshiny, relaxing weekend!

gabriel arrived january 22nd

into our hearts

currently being showered with love as he is passed along from the eager arms of one to the other

his big brother is so proud

and our hearts full of graditude and happiness

more photos here

a birthday breakfast,

a birthday walk…

kite flying,

and a  masterpiece presented to papa.

it was a perfect weekend.

one of the things that i find very attractive about my husband is his life story. i am intrigued by it. i love to listen to him talk about all that he has seen, learned, and experienced growing up- especially about his life as a young man in communist east germany.

today marks the 2oth anniversary of the collapse of the berlin wall. it is fascinating to hear him describe life before and after this historic event and how it changed his life- i enjoy it so much. to witness, and live such a historic event is wealth beyond measure. i literally feel as though i am living with a piece of history.

not to mention, i am lucky girl that wall came down, or else i wouldn’t have my tall dark and handsome!

some historic events that i feel lucky to have witnessed are of course the election of barack obama, the ending of the civil war between eritrea and ethiopia, the dot.com era in the 90s, the evolution of the internet and the positive and negative impacts it has had on globalization…

there are so many. this is why i will always own my age- no hiding it, and will stand by it with pride, always . after all, your age is only a sum of your life’s experiences and i embrace with gratitude every year that i have lived to see, hear, meet someone, learn, or do something that has changed my life. 

üeberlingen, poloroid week 2009 submission

regarding my inner voice as a source or searching within myself for answers has not always been a spontaneous reaction

i never could do it fearlessly 

it is an easy choice now, a peacful, gratifying, path

and i am so grateful for it.

 

my father

my father and mother escaped from eritrea (at the time it was part of ethiopia and after years of civil unrest and tension a war had started that lasted close to 32 years). my father’s life was in danger because he is an eritrean that served in the ethiopian air force. when they escaped in the middle of night, it was a secret that only my mother’s oldest brother knew. they made arrangements for me to stay at my grandfather’s house because they had no idea where they were going. i was 3 years old. they crossed the border into sudan on camel and were lucky to make it through because thousands of people were killed attempting to leave the country daily. they were safely settled in khartoum for three months before my father risked is life again and returned to asmara to get me. he had his mother deliver me to him in the country side outside of asmara (where my mother’s family lived). today, he tells me that he was astonished at how easily i remembered him and was so happy i was to see him when he picked me up. he told me that was afraid i would forget him. this time we crossed the border in a little white van. it was 1975 and at the time it was rumored that the ethiopian government was conspiring to over throw numeri, president of sudan. so we were stopped and searched, and jailed at the border. they separated me from my father because i was female and he male. i stayed in the women’s cell while he in the men’s. i can still feel the pain and horror that i felt when they separated me from him. i remember a lovely eritrean lady named hewit (translates to life in tigrinya) befriended me and took care of me for two weeks. i got very ill. there was hardly any food to eat and i was very dehydrated. i was so sick that they finally took me to my father. he was outraged and he demanded that we see a doctor. we were accompanied by an officer to the hospital where i have my first memory of a tongue depressor being stuck in my mouth making me gag. after i was treated, this was just for a few hours, the officer that had accompanied us with no authority, decided to let us go free. i don’t remember how we got to my mother, but i remember i was sitting on my father’s shoulders when we got to the door. my mother, who had been mourning our deaths, because we were two weeks over due, thinking we had been killed by the ethiopian army dropped to the ground and started crying when she opened the door. i had no idea that our lives were in danger and that we were lucky to have survived. as a child, this experience stayed in my memory. i would talk about it and mention it growing up and my parents just couldn’t believe how much of it i remembered. they often would say oh elsa, you overheard us talking about it, didn’t you? about five years ago, my father and I spontaneously told the story together to other family members for the first time. as he spoke and recalled details, people, and conversations, i for the very first time heard the fear, anger, and sadness in voice. it was also the first time that this story made me cry. i also learned that he decided to risk his life and return to get me because my mother cried for me everyday. i think about them everday. now even more than ever that we are so far apart. and on days like father’s day, I feel overwhelming love for my father as I do everyday. i think about how he saved my life, took it in his hands and changed it forever.

happy father’s day baba! i love you more than i can say!

“to commemorate the end of our two weeks of moving madness, i’m taking you to the frühling (spring) concert. i was moved. tall dark and handsome had just co-managed the big move, handled all other daily usual business, and thought to arrange for a babysitter and plan an evening out to please me. i am so proud of him and feel like the luckiest woman on earth. i was presented with a beautiful spring bouquet, whisked off to dinner at our favorite and very fine restaurant and then off to  The Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra of Constance spring concert. the music was mesmerizing, (smetana, beethoven, and dvorak), the conductor was amazing, and the evening was magical. sitting in the sixth row was ideal for watching the conductor lead the musicians. i love to watch their eyes follow his stick and respond to him as he sways in their direction adding, mixing, or separating instruments to make beautiful music.

here the arts or kultur as they call it in deutsch is at your finger tips. it is everywhere and very affordable. there are orchestras here in every town. if people don’t attend as spectators than there is a very high chance that they are in the performance. even tall dark and handsome played the bassoon in an orchestra until we moved. where i lived in texas, it was not usual to frequent the symphony or opera. first of all, it is significantly more expensive and if you did go, you were either a music teacher, a student attending for extra credit, truly had a passion for the classics or had a friend to support in the event. sadly, sometimes one could be considered pretentious or a snob even for enjoying such performances (frazier comes to mind). it’s a shame because the germans say that classical music is good for the soul. it is so very true. it is also a wonderful way to welcome this very special spring: 

~ coco, a very dear friend from texas was in the area and paid us an unexpected visit on moving day. it was so good to see her (such a gracious guest, she didn’t mind the improvised accommodations one bit!).

~ i have recently re-connected with very old friends and am enjoying renewing our friendships. i am grateful for these special people and the memories they bring.

~i have especially been thinking about the ones that are welcoming this spring in true classic form: madly in love. they are all in the center of my heart.

~ i also have had the two in the golden state in the center of my heart. they know who they are and why.

~ building a new nest for our family full of love and joy. it feels so good. what a way to welcome the spring!

the birthday party, my treasures

for having you. for inspiring me to be a better person. for your endless reserve of patience with me. for choosing me to be your life partner. for your parents having you and raising a sensative, thoughtful, loving and responsible man. for coco introducing us. for persistently asking me out-i’m so glad i said yes! for your wonderful parenting skills. for the late night complete sentence conversations. for knowing me so well and still liking me. for your confidence and amazing intelligence. for taking me on my first cross-country motorcycle trip. for your fine objectivity- uncanny ability to see both sides of every story. for climbing my first mountain with me. for being such a wonderful father to our children. for teaching me to stand up for myself, to defend myself, and be true to myself. for the moments that you reach for my hand when we are walking with our babies or late at night when the house is quiet and still. for all the memories that we have created. for the time i have shared with you. for the life i have the honor of sharing with you. for your love with no conditions. happy 41st birthday sweetheart.