tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-14777 2013-06-16T23:20:00-04:00 Reflections and recounts of our family journey... TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef0191036f55ff970c 2013-06-16T23:20:00-04:00 2013-06-17T02:24:10-04:00

...a time came when mankind aspired not to co-creation but to analysing God's creation... when human thought faltered, aspiring not to creation but to the accumulation of knowledge... " - Ringing of the Cedars, Book 4: Co-Creation, by Vladimire Megre. Today, we honored Fatherhood, and the important relationship of a father in the creation of a family. I pointed out to the kids that they should look to their dad for his reflections on his own experience, but not for knowledge to substitute for their own reflections. This is what co-creation is, and it makes family life seem more like...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/06/family-circle-fathers-day-2013.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef0192ab328727970d 2013-04-22T23:30:00-04:00 2013-06-16T12:53:09-04:00

Since it's been a busy month, and we hadn't had time to have a family circle, we decided Earth Day was the perfect day to prioritize making time to be together. Monday's are usually "Media Free Day" in our house, so we figured it was as good of time as any to get the kids' attention! And, Earth Day is also good fodder for discussion. We opened our circle by reflecting on this quote and inviting awareness and peace. The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/04/family-circle-april-2013-earth-day-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef01901d743887970b 2013-03-22T23:45:00-04:00 2013-06-16T12:53:38-04:00

Today we celebrated the beginning of Spring, though it still feels like Winter outside. We wrote the things we're looking forward to about Spring in our family journal, talked some more about meditation and watched a short video on the topic, and closed out the circle with a prayer. Love these moments together! ~~~ Springtime Prayer O Dancer of Creation, the earth awakens to an urgent call to grow. In the hidden recesses of my wintered spirit I, too, hear the humming of your voice, calling me, wooing my deadness back to life. My soul yawns, stretches, quickens, as the...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/03/family-circle-march-2013-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef01901d74384e970b 2013-03-16T23:04:00-04:00 2013-06-16T12:53:57-04:00

To celebrate my 40th birthday, we decided to head into DC for the day to meet my mom and Tom, and check out the NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo. I was sort of disappointed by the event, as there weren't any natural food vendors, and the only foods served were Philly steaks, french fries, sodas, etc. Nonetheless, we walked around for a bit, and had fun in DC, stopping off at Khepra's Raw Food Juice Bar for a yummy lunch. I've tried their food at various vegetarian/health festivals over the past couple years, but never got a chance to stop...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/03/fun-day-transitioning-to-midlife-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef01901d743844970b 2013-02-12T21:45:00-05:00 2013-06-16T12:54:41-04:00

It was late on this mid-February evening, but we missed our January Family Circle, and finally had a night where everyone was home, so the kids set up our table. We spent a little time chatting, watching a short video on "meaning" from the the Spirit Science YouTube channel and writing things we "love" in our family journal. It was a nice way to wind down the day. Today's prayer: As the day falls into darkness, I ask my soul's teacher to help me recognize what is finished, not to manipulate the powers of life and death to keep alive...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/02/family-circle-february-2013-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef01901d743876970b 2013-01-24T21:24:00-05:00 2013-01-24T21:24:00-05:00

Zofia is always busy rearranging the house. Today she decided to set up a kitchen on the ottoman. She's been making little "kitchens" and "fruit stands" all over the house this week. I keep finding apples, lemons, oranges and bananas in different rooms. She's definitely a child of the digital age, because every time she assembles one of her creative collections of stuff, she yells to me to come take a picture. We certainly wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to document all this five-year old Zofia goodness!

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/01/chef-zo-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef0191036a2f6e970c 2013-01-16T22:46:00-05:00 2013-01-16T22:46:00-05:00

Joe had his annual heart check-up today. They do an echocardiogram and just check things over. When he's a little older, they'll do a stress test. But, he's in great shape. Even though we knew that, it's always reassuring to get a good report. It reminds me of those scary days when he was an infant and we didn't know which way things would go. Today, the only worry was about Joe's annoyance with with all the sticky goo left from the sensor sticker things they use to monitor his heart. He had to tediously peel them off, one at...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/01/healthy-heart-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef0192ab3286c1970d 2013-01-15T17:34:00-05:00 2013-01-15T17:34:00-05:00

Since we were already out for her piano lesson, afterwards, Flo and I sought out a quiet place for her to study her Spanish vocabulary a bit, before her tutoring session tomorrow. We ended up at Martin's grocery store cafe. Flo got caught up on things, and we had a good laugh about some of the words... like "leisure suit." Ha!

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/01/what-color-is-your-leisure-suit-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef0191036a2f60970c 2013-01-05T22:05:00-05:00 2013-01-05T22:05:00-05:00

Flo had cabin fever after our quiet holiday week and then being stuck at home with the flu. She really wanted to get together with her friends. So, we cleaned up the house, rounded up some holiday snack leftovers, called in the homeschooling teens, and provided a social op for Flo and friends... Fun! The unfortunate turn of events for me, was that I was all set to get to bed at a reasonable hour and be alert for the teen get-together! But then... the pilot light on the heater went out! Around 1am, I noticed the smell of gas,...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/01/cabin-fever-teen-night-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8342002ae53ef0192ab32871a970d 2013-01-04T01:59:27-05:00 2013-06-16T12:56:58-04:00

Darren and I met in French class, in 1988 at Kennebecasis Valley High School, in New Brunswick, Canada. I had just moved there with my parents when my Dad's job transferred him there. We dated from 1988 to 1993, when I left college in my second year, and had to return to the United States, since I could not work in Canada, as a U.S. citizen. At this point, we were faced with the issue of which direction our relationship would take.... should we get married (I was only 20) or give the long distance thing a try? Well, we...

Tara Petite http://www.petite.net/2013/01/about-us.html