Happy Frog Socky Socks

Yes, you read the title right. They're known 'round here as the Happy Frog Socky Socks. These get broken out when Sangye feels the urge to slide and wiggle on the tile and then purposely fall onto the bed. Oh, and laugh with great satisfaction. Tejan started the game and Sangye has taken over this particular pair of socks. They are mostly a riot to watch in the endeavor....I'm such a proud mama.

Artist at Work

For Father's Day, Tejan painted this large picture on foam board for Christian. It's our family under a gigantic rainbow. Chris and I are constantly blown away by, not only her beautiful work, but the quickness with which she formulates an idea and then makes it a reality. Really, she's so fast in her application. Each piece she does has so much love and care in it. For me, they are worth money. We had a great Father's Day, it was sunny and we played "survivor family" outside, as Tejan calls it. She has been inspired by Man vs. Wild to pretend our survivor-ship in the wild and woolly yard. It's hilarious and fun. Love to Christian for being such a great daddy. Love to Tejan for brightening up everyone's world and for being the most amazing daughter we could have ever dreamed of.

Yeah, but where's Mrs. Potato Head?

So, no, Sangye did not eat Mrs. Potato Head. He simply can't resist borrowing her hot spectacles. This is behaviour that drops me to my kness in adoration. He's such a hilarious little dude. His newest antics involve swimming alone with floaties on, throwing things accurately and with tremendous force, jumping side to side, cooking (he's a real chef), and trying out new words and phrases with gusto. Life is fun when you're with this little man. Love to the Sangye.

Scenes of May

I feel like I have gripped a lot of how crappy May was. But when I trekked back through the images of May, I realized that amidst the turmoil, we had ourselves some fun. Here is Sangye really getting into water painting....

And Tejan playing with her great friends, Zach and Sangye!

We had a Mother's Day celebration at Daytona beach, with harmony on the way there...

And great friends to share the day with...

Not to mention a sweet trip to Busch Gardens with our friends, the Gordons...

and Christian and Jay managed to finagle a Rays' game!

(They won that game by the way!)

And last, certainly never the least, the arrival of our new Fluffernutter, Ju Ju Bee...

So, in retrospect, May was ok, minus a few things. :) Looking for the joy, and never really looking back to hard. June is so bright and things are all right!

Love to you.

Lins

Meet Ju Ju Bee Jorn!

She's the coolest kitteh on the block!

   

Last Monday we got this part Siamese kitten and named her Ju Ju Bee. Of course her last name is Jorn, naturally. But she has come to us in a time of hardship and has brought lots of love, laughter, smiles, and giggles, where else it may have been a bit somber. Our family has been dealing with illness for the past month and she is our antidote. :)

Some of her nicknames include but are not limited to: Kittenbritches, Ju Bee, JB, Ms. Fluffernutter, Skippito Friskito. And Sangye calls her meow.

Sangye had a Birthday!

Wish I could have posted on his actual birthday, March 19, but you know how that goes! We had a celebration with Grandmommy the weekend before his big day, and then another celebration with Los Abuelos the weekend after. As you can see from the pictures, a good time was had by all. 

On his actual birthday, Christian and I reflected on the memory of his birth, which most of you know was a frightening experience, mixed with the joy of new life. There were lots of tears, first of old fear, then, of profound joy for new life, continued health and happiness, and the appreciation of every day we have to live together. May all beings realize the fragility and preciousness of the present moment. It's all that exists. 

So, here's to our two year old, 

SANGYE TENZIN JORN. He came forth with power and continues life with zany curiosity and full-time love. We love you Sangye, and all you who read this too. 

The Move

 It's been too long since I posted last and I'm glad to have finally gotten around to it. Been a little busy moving all of our stuff from one address to another. Here's a cock-eyed view of the side of the house that oddly enough is really a functional "front of the house" for us.

We are now living next to part of the UF campus. Only, instead of college age self-absorbed humans, we get to observe horses. Yes, you guessed it,

 we have in our backyard, the UF Horse Teaching Unit with approximately 60 acres to its name. So that's directly to the north of us. And here's a picture of a mare with her few day old foal.

Now, to the south of us lies Payne's Prairie ("Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is located in northcentral Florida in Alachua County. It is known for its outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities including bison, cracker horses and cattle, alligators, sandhill cranes, and over 270 bird species. The principal physical feature of the preserve is a 16,000 acre freshwater marsh/wet prairie known as Paynes Prairie. The preserve includes the Prairie and some of the surrounding uplands for a total of nearly 22,000 acres. Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is recognized as one of the most significant natural and cultural areas in Florida.") This is also a fabulous place to see the sun rise and set, and so far we have been several times and enjoyed the mighty setting of the sun. We get to see so much wildlife as well. Tejan and Sangye love it. 

Also, a dog named Porkchop has adopted us as daytime companions. It's kind of a long story, but you understand, he loves us and we love him! Below is the Chopster.....

Growing bigger with L-O-V-E

Sangye is saying more and more words these days. Let's see what we have here in our repertoire: airplane, choo choo, car, gar (garbage truck), more, eat, puppa (dog), meow meow (kittay!), hot, bath, drink, tweet tweet (bird!), hug, yup, hat, mil (milk), Tejan (not quite but close), maMA, daddy, ball, etc. I am sure there are several I can't think of. And each day now it seems like he gains a new ability or word and tries something new. They are growing up fast, these two. Tejan goes to the Medieval Faire tomorrow with her class and she's excited to see how people dressed in "the old times". Those dark ages. 

When I picked Tejan up from school today, Sangye was sleeping next to her. She leaned over and felt his arm with love, rubbed her cheek on it and looked at his angelic face. Then she said, "Mommy, I love how my brother feels. I love him." This is what I imagined for my children in having each other, love. 

Christian's B-day at Busch Gardens

We spent last Saturday at Busch Gardens enjoying the roller coasters, the Land of the Dragons, and the general splendor of it all. 

We saw elephants.

         

Here is a picture of Chris and Sangye in awe of their majesty. 

And Sangye just can't get enough of his winged friends. 

      

All the kids got to pet a beautiful Clydesdale horse...

The mamas and children waited patiently as Christian and our friend Jay waited in line for the front row of the Montu. It was a long wait, but worth it. The kiddos occupied their time in "Egypt", playing near a crazy wall and wallowing in some sand. See below for the craziness.

      

  

And by the end of the day, we checked out...

Time to Celebrate!

Tomorrow, the Jorns are treking down to Largo, FL to see our beloved friends, the Gordons. Then Saturday we will head out to Busch Gardens in honor of Christian's 29th birthday! Tejan is so thrilled and Sangye would be too if he knew what was going on. This is a picture of the Gordon and Jorn kids. And the love you see in this picture is only a fraction of the love that emanates when they are together in person. These four kids are bonded in such a special way and their parents aren't too bad either... :) 

Tejan made a funny...

Tonight, Christian went to bed early after an exhausting day of work, so I took it upon myself to put Tejan to bed for him. We read What Eats What? If that isn't funny enough, when it came to the forest, Tejan looked at the woodpecker and said, "The woodpecker eats (pointing to the grubs) the NERBS." This is when I began to laugh my @$$ off. She thought it was pretty hilarious herself when I mentioned that they were, in fact, grubs instead of nerbs. We both decided that nerbs was a better word for them and "grubs" have now been offically renamed. She also called a manantee a mammoth, but this is only because we went to the museum of naturaly history today and saw one. Not as funny, but got us rolling again. These are times I love. 

Waiting for Tejan

Sangye and I had a nice day together, especially since yesterday was right out of hell. He had a fever that was not kidding around and I was like an island for his hot little body. We literally just SAT ALL DAY LONG. So this morning, after his fever broke, he greeted us with happy chattering and all kinds of crazy new schemes. We spent lots of time outside running around, chasing garbage trucks, and finding new animal friends. So at the end of our solo time, we waited for Tejan in the car (hence the pic) because it was raining and the temp was dropping fast. Fun times. :)