What's going on with us individually:

(This is a continuation from the last post)
KEZIA is getting curious about words and reading. She has partially memorized some books and often she reads them to herself or to Ivy. She still thinks she’s a dog “Dancy the Dog” to be precise (“and Ivy’s Sister Dog and Mommy’s Mama Dog and Daddy’s Dingy Dog”). One time we were at Grandma’s for dinner. Grandma was serving chocolate cake and said to Kezia that puppies cannot eat cake. We thought we might witness at transformation from dog to girl, but instead Kezia thought about it for a bit and then said, “This puppy can!!” Since our creation of a height chart, Kezia has been so proud of how tall she is. She is growing so quickly- 2 inches in two months. Kezia got into Joy School, a home-based preschool that is based more on ways to find joy in life than academics, and she is loving it.

IVY is talking more and more. She is still into beauty and fashion, sporting socks, hats, and dressing like a ghost. She likes to brush my hair, usually forming rats’ nests in certain sections and then look at me in the face and ask, “You look pretty?” We went to an Easter party last Friday. The kids waiting in great anticipation for the Easter Bunny to come hoping their way. As soon as the big, tall, white bunny came hoping toward the kids with his larger-than-life smile, Ivy started pulling me away with a look of fear on her face. “No Easter bunny! No Easter bunny!!” Could you imagine how she must have felt, thinking that was a real bunny?!? Here’s a funny story: One morning I asked Ivy how she had slept. “Good”, she quickly responded. I remembered she had slept with her stuffed cheetah and asked how Cheetah had slept, expecting her to give me the same answer. Her eyes shifted as she thought about it for a moment, then laid her body out on the couch with one arm above and one on her belly. “Like this”, she said.

NATE and I are loving life. Nate has been itching to ride bigger waves with his stand-up board, and on the way to a hike with Nate’s mom, we stopped by the beach and saw Nate over at Avalanche, a surfing break known for its size. He got to surf that break with just a few guys, including Bonga Perkins, one of the world’s best surfers. If you want to check him out surfing, go to www.hawaiianswell.com. Go to Surfing Galleries then to 3-30-07(it says something about Avalanche and Bonga). Go to the second page of pics. His pics start at #3396.

I (HEIDI) am so grateful for my health. From Thursday through Monday I was sick. And I think it was longer than that, a sickness that came and went since February. I thought I had a kidney infection. On Saturday I decided to go to the ER after reading about the danger of not getting medical care for a kidney infection and seeing I had the symptoms of a severe one. My tests came out ok, but, having had one before, I believe I was probably on the tail end of one. Anyway, here’s the cool thing: We had just gotten health insurance and I had been praying that we would be alright during the time we did not have insurance (with a bit of nervousness that all the sicknesses and injuries would be postponed until we did have insurance). When I went into the ER, I thought we had had insurance since April 1st, but when I got back home from the hospital, Nate said he read the card and it said our benefits started that day! Wow-I am so grateful I hadn’t ignorantly gone in sooner only to be shocked by a huge bill!!
After a looooooong debate about what to do about our kids' schooling (the schooling options here are below par), I have decided to go ahead with starting a Montessori school. If anyone knows anyone who has taken on such an endeavor, whether Montessori or not, will you please let me know? Thanks. And wish me luck.
We just heard of two friends who had close ones pass away. It makes me sad for them, and at the same time, grateful for one more day with people I love.
I have a list of favorites from this past month that I’d like to recommend:

1. A favorite new recipe: Lettuce Boats: Having come across this use of greenery due to lack of tortillas, we have found this to be good with falafels as well as burritos! For falafels, Use a whole leaf of Romaine lettuce, the kind that is curved on all sides and resembles a boat. Top with wheat berries (or rice, but the darker the rice the better), falafel, cucumber, and sour cream or yogurt. Kids like it too because they’re eating boats!

2. A new favorite audiobook: Secrets of the Millionare Mind. Not just for inspiring millionaires, this audiobook dishes out a lot of good, practical ideas for everyone who wants to be successful at whatever they do.

3. A new favorite movie: Einstein’s Big Idea by Nova. It’s really good, despite some cheesy drama. It’s probably not your Saturday night thriller; It’s a documentary about how E=MC2 came about, and all the minds that helped create it before Einstein. It moved me about the power of a persistent mind, and what E=MC2 really means.

Have a wonderful month!

Love, the family Kezia wished had fur and tails