Thanksgiving chéz nous

...a few photos from our wild, wonderful and chaotic Thanksgiving dinner at M's parents house. We were in Vail for the preceding days, which was a lovely break...although there was none of the snow I'd been hoping for. Sigh. Well...we're planning another trip closer to Christmas, and by then hopefully it will be a bit more wintry.
I haven't had as much time to write lately - I've been busy with other things. But, that happens sometimes. Life takes over. In any case...I have plenty of photos!
QQ bonding with cousin Victoria.
Being reintroduced to cousin Abigail (who was a tad more on the wary side this time around)
QQ definitely wanted to be a part of the action, and though she was occasionally bowled over by the chaos of the bigger kids, she is a tough cookie and was undeterred. The kid can hold her own.
A hug from Victoria.
Safe in daddy's embrace.
Susan and Rebecca cutting the turkeys.
Mommy and Q.

The whole fam-damily.
Q was a little wary of grandpa at first...she's had plenty of facetime with grandma since her first surgery, but has missed out on her grandpa time. All it took was a good dinner-bottle in grandpa's lap to jog her memory, however. After that it was all smiles and giggles.
M playing piano with the twins. He's definitely the popular uncle with the kiddos...though I think I noticed a bit of jealousy on QQ's face every time there was another child in daddy's lap.

Warming up to grandpa all over again. Look at that smile!
More piano practice with Abigail
...and QQ wants in on the action.
I don't think grandpa is going to have any trouble convincing QQ to take piano lessons. She's all about the pianos.

Some one-on-one with grandma.
It's good to share the holidays with such a thundering heard of little ones. That's kind of what the holidays is all about, isn't it? It was a delight to hear the twins talking in their twin language - I've heard of it before, but never heard it in person until now. It's a little like whalesong...fascinating and kind of beautiful! And to see Victoria and QQ really bonding for the first time. And it was really good to see QQ holding her own and nosing in on the action. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - in the orphanage, she would have had to make herself heard amid all those babies, defend herself and her toys against arms and feet reaching through the crib bars, communicate with her many roommates. It's only natural that she would be able to hold her own even in a roomful of bigger kids. But it's good to see. It was a delightful first thanksgiving with our wonderful daughter.

A tribute to my father

I can't say that my father and I always had an easy relationship. Later in his life, things got difficult between us. But when I was a child, there was no better father I could have had. Edward Chavez was an adventurer, an artist, a home-builder, a folk singer, and a bit of a cowboy. He also played a mean flamenco guitar. He made my world beautiful, and my life full of excitement, travel and all the wonders of the world. I was not raised as a princess of a girl (although I had my princess moments). Our life was, for the most part, more rough-and-tumble. We rode horseback together and drove rough terrain in an open jeep, made mud pies and slept under the stars. We drove through Spain and France in an old British Land Rover, visited the Al Hambra and the Louvre. We drove cattle together on the ranch, caught snakes, stalked coyotes. Once, he brought me home a wild tarantula in a box full of nails. We kept it for a while and then set it free. Nothing was out of the ordinary in our world, and anything was possible. I have a lot to be thankful for, and although we had some difficult times near the end of his life, the best of him is always with me.

My father, reading to me in our hammock in Woodstock.

Skiing in the alps.

Edward Arcenio Chavez as a young WPA artist.

His abstract work.

An early painting of ranching life.

His posthumous portrait of Billy the Kid.

A family that loves children

OK, finally getting back into sequence here, I'm going to post our pictures from Memorial day, which we spent at M's sister L's house in south Denver. Here's Opa with (I think I can safely say) Gideon. The twins are finally starting to look individual enough that I can start to tell them apart...if I can only remember which is which!

I had a little epiphany while downloading these pictures. When I was first getting to know my husband, I was constantly amazed by how focused he was with children, how he would light up with them, what a natural he was...as an only child of peripatetic parents, with a family scattered around the world, I did not spend my childhood around infants, so it did not come to me as naturally. I don't think I'd ever met a man who was so joyful with children, so at ease, as if it was what he was meant to do. Looking at his family here, with their ever-increasing brood of grandkids, I realize what it is: his is a family that loves children above all else. And isn't that how it should be? These are people who are never as happy, never as fulfilled or as joyful as when they are with their progeny. What a gift that is - and how lucky I was to find a man who hails from such a family.

NaiNai with Gabriel.

Gideon playing peek-a-bo. How cute is that expression?

Look at the sparkly eyes!!

Opa revealing his grandson.

And here's Victoria, who is well on her way to learning the family skills...look how she protects her little brother! She has also inherited her mom's teaching skills - even when she was only three, she was already playing "teacher" with M and I as the "students", giving us assignments, patiently coaching us, and grading our papers with a stern but gentle hand.



Gideon going airborn. It was not the most clement of days for our Memorial Day barbecue - no fun in the sun for this gang. But that's OK. Didn't slow the kids down!

My sister-in-law L with one of her boys.

M playing grillmaster, and Sam checking to make sure he doesn't drop anything.

Victoria, minding her brothers.

M. in his "happy place": in a pile of giggling kiddos!

Cute, cute, CUTE!!!!

My sister-in-law C. seems to have maxed-out the photo capacity on her blog...again! Don't know how she does it. But for lack of the ability to post, she sent me these photos of Harrison (yes, the little baby that was sitting on the picnic table in my last post....look how he's grown!!)
I mean, seriously. Can you stand it? How handsome is he in that hat???
Apparently, bugs are his passion these days, and this is his "catching bugs" grin.
C. found him a ladybug, and he was ecstatic....until it flew away. They searched everywhere, but...no ladybug to be found. Until they spotted it...

...on Harrison's face!!!!

Mother's day past

My sister-in-law (who is currently waiting on the birth of her third little butterball) dug up this picture, and I had to snag it, because it brings back memories! This was taken of the younger generation of Larkins on mother's day a few years ago, when M and I were still living in Vail, and the rest of them were up visiting. We all look a little rumpled and very skinny, I see! And look how small our nephew Harrison was!! He is now a tall and handsome (and, he won't hesitate to tell you, very fast) young gentleman and it's hard to believe he was so little not so long ago! Isacah was not born yet, nor the twins, and Victoria looks so much younger too! Gosh how time flies. I'll never get used to it. Here's a good lesson in living in the moment! I do love our family...

Thoughts of motherhood

This is my mum and me. This is how we were, always. Body to body, heart to heart.

Even during the years when I was going through difficult phases, and our communication was less than ideal (fortunately, those times were the exception, not the rule), even then I still felt this close to her. I have been loved by a mother in the best way that anyone could be loved. I have had this gift of loving my mother and being loved by her, the gift of a lifetime. I can only hope that QiuQiu and I might be given that gift as well.

This is my mum and me more recently, in Jackson Hole, in front of the Teton Range, both with cameras in hand. While I don't get to spend this mother's day with her, I have the anticipation of spending time with her soon...something to look forward to!

This, if I even dare say it, is my daughter. I think of her on this mother's day weekend as well. I wish her comfort and sunny mornings and soothing arms to hold her until I can hold her myself. The idea of her, and of the opportunity of mothering her, is larger than words, larger than I can express. It's a great, swelling yellow balloon inside me, a secret behind my smile, a quiet tidal wave.

This is Mike and his mom, early days. We will also miss out on spending this weekend with her, since she's at a friend's birthday party in California this weekend. This is the first mother's day in recent years that we have not spent with her, and I do miss it.
As it happens this weekend is also the anniversary of our engagement, on top of Rubi Hill on the way to a mother's day celebration at her house...another happy memory!

And here, my sister-in-law, with her first two beautiful babies. She is close to having a third! I have so enjoyed watching motherhood bloom in her, watching her babies grow and the beautiful relationship unfold between them. It has been a joy I wouldn't trade for anything.

And, I am lucky enough to have another sister-in-law, as well! Here she is with two of her three beautiful babies last Christmas! With twins to corral, she has been a busy woman this year, and we haven't seen as much of her as we'd like, but it is always a pleasure and a surprise to see how much the boys have grown each time we get together! And of course you all know about our sleepovers with Victoria, her oldest daughter and our most devoted niece!

Here we are, the Larkin women, last summer. Me, LaoLao Susan, my sister-in-law C and her oldest daughter, and my sister-in-law L with her oldest daughter.
"That's a lot of mamas!" was Mike's comment when he saw this picture up on my screen. He's not kidding. A lot of reasons to be thankful this weekend.

- Love to all the mamas in my life, near and far! OX