#4 – I went to Graz w/ Mom!  (Dad couldn’t make it on time.)

#8 – I went to the Netherlands and saw 174 Van Gogh paintings.  Lovely, wonderful, beautiful.

Progress:

#1 – I have serious plans in place for spending the Summer of 2012 in a Russian village with my boys.  I am SO excited!

#18 – I joined a gym.

#19 – We moved to Baltimore and live in a lovely stone home built in 1936.

#35 – I just made a lovely skirt.

#20 – 4 day-old chicks will arrive here on May 10th.  We’re also on a list to get a beehive.

If I have time, perhaps I’ll post more about these events individually.  But it is nice to see I’m making progress in some areas.

Serious progress made on Dream #35 -

I made twin-sized quilts for both of my boys for Christmas!  I had lots of help.  Mom showed me the ropes and guided me through it.  I had sisters and friends helping w/ ironing and the hand quilting.  The quilts turned out beautifully and I am quite pleased with them.  Although, they would need MUCH more hand quilting before I really considered them done.  The actually quilting was so much harder than I thought it would be.   The work was absolute torture in some moments – I even shed a few tears that last hour or so.  I have a whole new appreciation for those old, beautiful quilts.

Surprisingly, I have also made some progress in my spiritual goals.  Dreams 24 & 26 are in clearer view than they’ve been in a long time.  I can’t believe it.  I thought these dreams would be some of the last to develop.  I feel much better . . .

Dream #32 – I’m still really hoping for an English concertina.  Anyone?

Dream #36 – I’ve been preparing to write some articles for publication.  Does that count?

Dream #37 – I applied to two different Waldorf schools for their First Grade teaching positions.  We’ll se . . .

Dream #38 – Thanks to my eldest sister, we seven sisters now have a blog.  : )  Check here.

Not too shabby, eh?

Every day my husband and I must have at least one kiss that lasts at least 20 seconds.

It’s pretty hard not to feel a little closer to someone if you manage to squeeze that in every day.  And he’s game!  : )

Try it.

The Kiss - Francesco Hayez

Image: Open Heart Leonard Morales 2007

This week I’ll be working on having a more open heart.

For Valentine’s Day last year, my father gave my mother an Open Heart necklace from Jane Seymour’s line of jewelry.  It was a little on the cheesy side, but sweet.  This has me thinking about my parents and the ways I knew as a child that they loved each other:

• I often saw my parents kiss – usually when my Dad was on his way to work, or when he came back.  It would sometimes last for a while.  Not just a peck.
• I often saw my father pinch my mother’s rear end upon his return from work or a meeting.  My mom would usually reply with a slightly annoyed, “Hub!”  But it always seemed to me like she kind of liked it.
• If I needed one of my parents in the middle of the night or in the morning, I often found them “spooning” or facing each other with arms and legs entangled, fast asleep.
• My father sometimes talked in a ridiculous baby talk voice to my mother, using terms like “Wifies”.

As far as I know, all of these things continue to happen.  My father has said before that he is so in love with his wife that he can stay mad at her for no longer than seven minutes.

I love that my parents love each other like this.  I want to be more like them.  I will try to do this by being more open-hearted – letting the love pour out (and in).

What did your parents do that let you know they were in love?

I also saw this video today, which made me think of the open heart it takes to be a parent.

Sometimes it’s not so much about doing something to work toward your goal, but more about just keeping that dream alive.  This is especially true for Dream #1.  I will get to Russia again someday!  I will become fluent at last!

If I were going to choose one dream on my list that stirs up the strongest, deepest feelings of longing – this would be the one . . .

Yesterday I stopped in at a small “international market”, which is really just a Russian market.  I went in with my 9-y-o to see if there was something we could buy to supplement our bagel lunch.  I, of course, had to buy some tvorog (a Russian dairy product that is one of my favorite foods on the planet – especially when made into sirniki).

The shopkeeper addressed me in English and I had to decide if I was going to go with that or practice my Russian.  I chose the latter and really enjoyed talking with him.  After inquiring about how I had learned Russian, he expressed his amazement at how good my Russian is for having only lived in Russia for 6 months.  He told me I clearly have a talent for it.  I often get comments like this when I decide to speak Russian with Russians.  I’m not trying to brag, because – believe me – it mystifies me a little!  But I think what is coming through and what these people hear when I am talking to them is that I love the Russian language. And everything connected to it.

So, we left the store with a box of tvorog, a loaf of black bread, a “hunter stick” for the boy, and two chocolate bars the shopkeeper gave us out of the kindness of his heart.  As I walked down the sidewalk wondering if the hunter stick is the Russian precursor of the Slim Jim, I felt a renewed excitement and resolve about making this dream come true.

Perhaps the first place to start in my goal towards being more open is with “open ears”.  I am going to try to listen to what people are really saying to me.  Starting with this:

“Mom, you keep telling me to do things over and over.  And you keep saying it too fast, too close together.”  My 9-year old has been trying to let me know for years that I am too demanding – that wanting him to respond NOW doesn’t work with his temperament (or anyone really).  So, I’m going to try to say less.  Give him more time.

Wish me luck.

#12 – I have started taking one baby aspirin a day.  This is in preparation for trying to conceive and maintain a pregnancy – something that is difficult for me.

Do you have this problem too?  You may have one of the problems explained here at Dr. Beer’s site.  I have antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) that make my blood clot excessively and prevent nutrients from getting through the placenta.  Taking a blood thinner (aspirin) one whole cycle before trying to conceive is essential.  After that, a reproductive specialist can prescribe injectable blood thinners such as heparin.

This is a big step for me, as I had almost given up.  It’s hard to gear up for, because I know it can be heartbreaking . . .

#26 – I prayed this morning.  And listened for some kind of . . . input.  That’s a start, right?

Dream #17 already came true just from me putting it on the list.  It’s a long story, but my youngest son has been homeschooled since last November.  I was hoping he could rejoin his class this year, but was told there would be a delay and that he wouldn’t be able to start until November.  I knew this would be too long and hoped and hoped and hoped that something else would work out.  It did!  His teacher called me up and said he’d like to take him early.

Check.

Each  month I will be choosing one of “My Values” to focus on to help me accomplish my goals.  I will choose from the list each month based on what I feel I need right then.  This goes against my usual tendency to try to set up the whole thing in advance – determining a theme for each month based on seasons, holidays, colors or whatever else comes to mind.  I suppose this is the beginning to being OPEN to inspiration.  :)

In what ways will I be trying to be open?  With my heart and my mind.

What kinds of things will I try to be open to?  Ideas (specifically OTHER people’s ideas), options, possibilities. This will mean that I’ll have to do more listening.  Not my strong point.