Stones and Things

Brad and I love Easter season, especially because it was our first holiday together way back in 1999.  Wow.  That was thirteen years ago.  Since then, we've made a life for ourselves specially marked with traditions that help reveal the love and wildness, the peace and creativity that make up our lives.  In a recent blog post written by Emma, she tells the story of stones and the meaning they bring to her personally, and to our family.  She describes our tradition as a "mindless habit" - something we are all subconsciously drawn to collect - whether in the woods, along a lake shore, or while on an urban stroll.  In reality, a single stone was one of the things that drew Brad and me together, so it's no wonder they are integral to our Easter celebration.

When we spent our first Easter with Emma in 2000, stones were an intentional part of her hunt.  She found stone eggs and stone bunnies, and every year as her collection grows, the meaning behind each one feels more ingrained.

When Misa was born, her collection of spherical stones started along with stone animals of all kinds.  She describes them as "stone zoo animals," and it seems every year as she gets older, she has a special remembering behind the one she found the year before.

For John-Pio, he gets rocks - pure and unique from all parts of the world.  His other special find are animals made of Tagua.  This year, his newest Tagua animal was a horse - an animal he has a special affinity for.  And it's beautiful.

Before I put away the kids' various stone collections, I took one last look at each one.  I turned them in the palm of my hand, loving the texture and image of each one.  I carefully tucked them away all the while looking forward to next Easter season's traditional hunt of love and wildness, peace and creativity.

Here are some pictures - Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Emma's stone eggs.  She found the amber (top center) stone this year. 

Stone bunnies! 

John-Pio's rocks from all over the world.  

His Tagua nut collection.  He was psyched to find the horse this year. 

Misa's stone spheres.  Her new stone was the ocean jasper on the left. 

Misa's stone zoo collection.

Here's a fun slideshow that captures Easter: Hunt, church, barbecue with Peter, Ruth, Chris, and Lisa at their place.  And a fierce game of kickball!