Satvinder told her Papa today...

"When I was at God and you were a little boy, I used to say 'I love you, Little Papa' because I knew that you were going to be my Pitaji and I sayed that until you were."

Merry Christmas

May you feel and celebrate the bountiful blessings - both seen and unseen. Love to all.
Satvinder with her ridiculous pile of "seen" gifts.

Christmas Eve - the night

Two pups in the snow

Satvinder danced and sang while Dadaji and Pitaji played tablas.

In the magic

Happy Eve - the day

We visited the Riordan Mansion built in 1904 and saw some bits from Flagstaff history. Here we are in the front entrance.

The icicles were big, as was the house. I liked that the style focused on using local materials that blend with the environment. It makes sense for those days when buying local was a practical consideration...but I also like it for today when we need that kind of common sense.

Full Moon Last Night

Playing in the Snow

In Flagstaff for the holidays, we get to play in the snow.
Satvinder and Fynn



Pitaji got out the snowboard and the sled.

Pinky and Pitaji taking a ride down sled hill - with Dadaji, Nonni, and Fynn

On Stage

Last night Satvinder's school had a holiday performance where a bunch of wiggly kids sang songs. Here's a picture of Satvinder's class:
Satvinder is the second girl in from the right, in case you are having trouble locating her.

With us was Maria, who also had a class performance. Just the night before, I had the blessing of being with Maria and her parents as they welcomed a new baby into their family: sweet little Greta. Their birth imprinted some truly beautiful images/memories into my mind that I have been replaying a lot since then. It was a wonderful experience that continues to bring a smile to my heart.

Sometimes the only way I can negotiate for a picture is if I promise we'll do silly ones too.

Awareness Inspires Change

I recently found a website that provides information on the ingredients used in body care products and I could not believe my eyes as I found what disturbing things are commonly smeared on our bodies (and on the bodies of our babies!)

Think about how much we absorb through our skin. It really is true that we wouldn't want to put something on our body that we wouldn't put in our body. And yet, most products are full of ingredients that encourage cancer cell growth, hormone disruption, neurotoxins, reproductive issues, and on and on. Even products you would assume safe because they are sold in natural food stores or are called "natural" or "organic".

Go to this website: Skin Deep Cosmetics Database and you can search by product name or ingredient name to see the level of harm. Some products will be fine. But as I found, many are very much not okay.

I am not sharing this information to freak you out. I am sharing it because with awareness, we can make choices that are better for our bodies and better for sending a message to the industry that makes so many products full of harmful chemicals.

Can we avoid all the chemicals in the world around us? No. Can we avoid rubbing chemicals into our skin? Yes. (The above listed website is making that a lot more possible for me so I had to share.)

Generations

We had grandparents and great-grandparents in town for a bit this week. It was a very sweet visit with very sweet people.

This is Satvinder with her Great Grandma Hart and Great Grandpa Hart. Satvinder insisted on wearing her coat backwards - she found it quite hilarious of herself.

Several generations in this picture. And still with the coat face.

The Story of Stuff

Find 20 minutes to watch this video:
The Story of Stuff

Seriously. You need to know.

Christmas Traditions

Satvinder and Logan in line to see Santa. There was lots of hugging.

I love sleeping children

Oh, the Cuteness!

Satvinder went with me to visit our friend, Siri Narayan, and her sweet new baby. One of my early blog entries showed the 120 day celebration our community had for them (in pregnancy) - and I also was blessed to be at their birth.

This is a picture of Satvinder trying to measure how big? that little foot is.

Puppet Show

Satvinder and her friend, Elia, put on a puppet show for me. It was mostly a stall to avoid bedtime (which worked for a while) but it was quite entertaining.
It was a story about two characters: one named "Sprinkles" and one named "Joni Mitchell". Sprinkles and Joni Mitchell like to do ballet and eat candy.

At the end, I invited them to take a bow. Satvinder was annoyed by this request.

Austin - a quick trip

I spent the last few days in Austin, to be with my mom while she was in the hospital, recovering from surgery. It was good to be there with her and see family and, thankfully, all seems to be progressing well for her.

There were certainly images being in the surreal hospital environment that my photographic mind wanted to capture. However, that was not my mission...and here are the few pics I've got:
Satvinder stayed in Phoenix with her Pitaji while I was away. I took this on the way to airport so I'd have a picture of Satvinder to carry with me to Austin. It wasn't really what I had in mind...but Satvinder had other ideas for the departing picture.

Two cuties in Austin: Jayden and Rascal

As I was leaving the hospital one day, I heard a strange voice singing Christmas carols. Peeking into the cafeteria, I found this guy - a singing and dancing (almost life-size) Santa. He kind of freaked me out.

Please send my mom prayers as she continues her healing. Thanks to all who have given their love and support in this process.

Tree is up; Cold is on

Since Thanksgiving, it has cooled off here in Phoenix - which is nice since we are approaching Winter! So we've had some winter type activity going on...
Satvinder and I put up the Christmas tree

One night we went spent the evening around a backyard fire with friends, drinking apple cider for seasonal effect.

Any excuse to snuggle up is good by me!

Super Awesome Fantastic!!!

I attended my first home birth today. And it was simply amazing. What a joy to witness birth in the peaceful, supportive environment of home - with family, friends, and skilled midwives. It was...divine.

It was such a contrast to most hospital births. Such a contrast in the feeling of peace, the respect for the natural flow of the experience, the gentle care - and the absence of fear. All the highs with none of the lows. My heart is full. And my hat is off to this beautiful mother and baby. Whahe Guru - How great is God.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving blessings to all. Here's a few pictures from our day:
Satvinder wearing the fantastic new dress and jacket that Sewa Kaur made for her birthday.

Thanksgiving meal at the ashram - a vegetarian feast

Playing games with friends. I won.

Making Pies

Friends came over today and we made pies together. This pic shows Narsingh, Nirangkaar, & Satvinder working on the cheesecake. (We also made pecan pies.)

Important plans for tomorrow: eating pies.

Birthday Party

Satvinder had her birthday party on Sunday at Build-a-bear workshop. It was a day of fun, family, and friends.
After picking out an animal and stuffing it, the kids gave wishes and love to the hearts for their animals. Here the kids are holding a birthday wish heart to put in Satvinder's bear.

Then they picked out clothes or accessories for their animals and we *tried* to get a group photo.

Satvinder and her bear, Belle.

Satvinder received a lovely princess cake made by our friend, Dominique...

...and many wonderful gifts to delight a 4 year old girl.

Thanks to all who shared the day with us and all who sent their love from afar!

Birthday Walk

Satvinder's school has a sweet way of acknowledging birthdays - they do the "Birthday Walk". Her birthday is this weekend so we did her walk today.

Here Satvinder is showing the healthy snack she brought to share with her class.


The class sat in a circle. In the middle was a table with a candle, representing the sun. For each year of her life, Satvinder had the opportunity to share something about herself at that age or share a picture.


Then she she carried a globe around the sun for each year. Afterwards, the children were given the opportunity to give her birthday wishes. Their wishes were things like "I wish you a happy birthday" or "I wish you lots of presents" or, my favorite, "I wish you would come to my house."

It was a really peaceful, calm, and sweet experience.

Happy Birthday, Mangala Sadhu Sangeet Singh!

On this day the Lord gave you life
May you use it to serve Him (Her...It)
All our loving prayers will be with you
May you never forget Him (Her...It)

May the long time sun shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on

Sat Nam

It's in the genes

Satvinder has become enamored of computer games - which is not a surprise given who her father is. She has the best monitor in the house - our tv. She sits on the coffee table and enjoys her gaming on the big screen. She is really skillful with the mouse and navigating new games on her own, considering how young she is.

It is good in small chunks of time. The tendency to be totally engrossed is already showing itself. Whatever you do, don't try to TALK to her while she is playing.

Weekend Pics

Just getting around to posting some pictures from the weekend:

Satvinder had her first sleepover on Friday - with her friend, Elia.


Going to Gurdwara on Sunday.

The Business of Being Born

I want to encourage you all to see The Business of Being Born,a new movie about birth in our country, as it could be a great eye-opener. You don't have to be a birth junkie to benefit from this movie - Awareness inspires change...and we are all agents of change.

Watch the trailer at thebusinessofbeingborn.com

Special screenings (like the one I went to tonight) are happening all over - keep an eye out in your area. It will also come to select theaters in 2008 and will be available on Netflix.

For women, giving birth is an experience we will never forget - and one that forever changes us. For all of us, how we come into the world affects us. It affects us as individuals, as a society, as a human race.

I believe this movie can be a great starting point for reflection, discussion, and (I pray) change. Check it out and share it.

Thanks, Mimi

Satvinder got an early birthday present from her Mimi: a new baby doll. It has been exciting for The Pinky, as she shares my fondness for pregnancy and babies.

She has her own ways of showing that fondness...in song, for example.

Song to the new baby
by Satvinder

"You are so so beautiful
very beautiful baby
I love you
the most of all my daughters"

Less Clutter, Less Waste

We are entering into the season of Catalog Overload...here's something you can do to reduce paper waste and clutter:

Go to http://www.catalogchoice.org

Catalog Choice is an easy, free service that allows you to decline unsolicited catalogs, reducing the number of catalogs in your mailbox and lightening your footprint on the environment.

I find it quite satisfying.

Fortune Cookies: Tasty and Wise

Halloween

Pictures from our Halloween:

I got tired of the usual - so I did a peace pumpkin.


Community meal at the ashram. This happens every Wednesday night - People cook a nice dinner and we all come and eat together. Our evening started here.


Trick-or-treating with friends.


Kids & pumpkins: Sat Darshan, Aletha, Nirangkaar, & Satvinder


Rai Singh, Nirmal, Me, Mangala Sadhu Sangeet, and The Pinky


After trick-or-treating, Satvinder parked herself in our front doorway and handed out candy. Lucky for us, we still get away with dumping Satvinder's gathered candy into our "give-away" bowl. She gets a few pieces and then the rest disappears!