this moment

this week i am grateful for:

michael's successful completion of his 3rd semester of medical school

our 2 weeks vacation time together here on this beautiful island

ezra saying, "i love you too peoples" after michael and i telling him and each other "i love you"

michael helping ezra and i

ezra's call for group hugs

good friends

what ezra says...

after i climbed these stairs with my 35 pound 3 1/2 year old on my hip, i set him down to walk the rest of the way. it is so hot here. and humid. and a lot of the time, ezra does not want to walk when we are out and about. when this happens i can be carrying 3 grocery bags in each hand and be at the bottom of the two flights of stairs that take us up to our lobby. i have often said to him, "you are a big boy! you can walk!" with as much enthusiasm as i can muster. but, ezra says, "i'm a small kid now! i can't walk!"

i took about 7 shots of his cute stubbornness before i picked him up and carried him back to the car. sometimes i wish i were 3 1/2 again and stubborn still looked cute on me.

ezra still insists that cookies will make him grow up big.

he is looking pretty big here (too big to smile even) don't you think?

p.s. ezra has said some funny things in the car lately:

"daddy is a big man and mommy is a small man."

when jon complimented ezra on his crocs he told him they were from santa claus quickly followed by, "thank you daddy."

sint maarten skies

it seems everyday this week i have pulled out my camera to capture the amazing skies we've been having. from lightning storms at night to the beautiful puffy clouds dotting the sky during the day, my eyes have been drawn up to the skies a lot this week. these skies make me cheerful while driving in the car as my mind is drawn to the heavens above. at the beach they have shaded the hot summer sun for a while. at night they have lured us all out to the balconies to stand in awe at the beauty and power of mother nature.

this week i am grateful for:

these beautiful skies i live under

my morning swim in the ocean today

the delicious summer fruits we've been enjoying

the nearing end to michael's 3rd semester

fun beach days with friends

long skype sessions with family

my body's responsiveness to the raw food diet

my life, my family, my friends

this was what i saw before i went down to swim this morning. it is such an enticing view!

this was taken last night from our main balcony and it looks like a painting to me

also taken last night from our kitchen balcony

michael pulled these from my camera by making freeze frames of a little video i shot

this was taken earlier in the week from the kitchen balcony

you can see the island saba in the distance

also taken earlier in the week

i will never tire of seeing cruise ships go by

taken from where i sat for lunch earlier in the week

the evening sky at dawn beach

this moment

plum bay

today we went to plum bay aka baie aux prunes, one of our favorite beaches just up the road in terres basses. driving through the hilly streets surrounded by lush green vegetation, beautiful gates that lead to secluded holiday mansions, and the brilliant blue sky decorated with puffy clouds up above, i was instantly put into that wonderful "i live in paradise" mindset i sometimes get while living here.

all the stress from packing, carrying, and unpacking our beach things (i know my life is not that stressful) melts away when i see this view. i think it is beautiful in this picture, but believe me when i tell you it is so much more vibrant and awesome in real life.

ezra and i had a great time with some of our island friends.

we were having one last hurrah with our friend alicia and her sweet baby kendall who leave the island forever this friday. we have loved spending time with them talking about life and motherhood. ezra has gotten a chance to try out the role of big brother and he has since been asking for a baby sister. i shot these pictures at the beginning of our visit just to document the beautiful setting and people we were with.

with us were our friends leah,

her daughter arden,

and laura.

after i took these pictures leah and i went snorkeling for my longest swim yet, while ezra played on the beach with the rest of the gang. we saw several schools of tropical fish, urchins, coral, and blue, green, yellow, silver, and purple fish swimming solo looking for food. it was so dreamy that i wish i could go everyday. afterward arden went snorkeling and pulled ezra and i along in a blow up boat while she collected a small white urchin from below to take a closer look at it. she said, "it feels just like a fork" but ezra said no when she asked if he wanted to touch it. then we traded places and i snorkeled again and pulled arden and ezra along in the boat. after that we followed the adventurous arden to go fishing from the rocks. ezra pulled out the bait of squid and shrimp and threw some of it in the ocean and sweet leah didn't mind. in between these fun little escapades we had some popcorn, watched baby kendall eat sand, applied suncscreen, and had some conversation. but, i'd say 85% of our time was spent in the water and that made me so happy. this was by far one of my favorite beach days yet!

playing with the wind

a beautiful blustery afternoon at dawn beach

ezra was so excited to fly his new airplane kite for the first time

our friend erica was there to help

holding those kite tails was a lot of work

and a lot of fun

grooving with the wind

you can see jon in the background helping michael to get that airplane to fly

and he did it!

happy michael

that plane flew with the dark clouds moving behind it for awhile

this was the way the sky looked behind me

a beautiful sea turtle sand sculpture some boys made on the beach

it was a perfect end to our day being at dawn beach together with michael and friends to celebrate after the last block exams of their third semester. one more week until finals and then we have two weeks filled with days like this one! we are so excited to get michael back and spend time on this gorgeous island together. it feels almost like we're on vacation! but even better.

a year around the sun living on sint maarten

one year ago today we landed on the little island of sint maarten which would be our home for the next 21 months. michael was beginning medical school at auc and i was beginning my new life as a stay at home mom to our 2 and a half year old son. we were both excited about our new ventures in life, michael starting a second career, and me leaving my career as a school teacher to do what i've always wanted to do - stay home to raise a family. a year into it, and we are both facing the joys and challenges that come with these worthwhile endeavors and feel right on track with our decisions. here are the most significant events and milestones of the last year that come to mind:

ezra's uncle christopher and aunt annie came to stay with us in our new home before michael started school. we experienced our first tropical storm with them and got to explore the island together and enjoy some fun family togetherness before school began for michael. a month later auntie di di came for a couple of days since she was all the way in puerto rico. we had one of my favorite beach days ever at orient beach.


michael has completed 2 semesters of basic sciences and is 2 weeks away from finishing his 3rd. hooray michael! i am so proud of you in your accomplishments so far. i watch you work so hard everyday and every night. your dedication to your studies is highly admirable.


michael turned 40 and we celebrated with a party in our home with some of our new island friends.


ezra began sleeping through the night, turned 3 and entered into a world of awesome imaginary play. he has grown into a 'big boy,' eats more and more food (other than his favorite bread and butter), says bonjour and bonsoir, loves to skype with his relatives back home, and is learning to ride a bike.


gigi and poppy came for a 3 week visit over christmas and new year's making what could have been a sad holiday time for us a special one to remember.


my lovely friend lena came to visit in january and we had some memorable snorkeling adventures and dinners together.


inspired by the blogging world i have come to know, i started michael and i on the 'green smoothie challenge' and we have been on a 75% raw food diet ever since.


ezra and i went home to california to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday and although it was our first time away from michael and ezra had his first sad feelings of missing his beloved daddy, i got to see mine and we both relished in the time spent with our sweet loving family.


one of my closest island girlfriends got married in a beautiful ceremony on dawn beach that we will always remember as a highlight of our time spent on st. maarten.


i started this blog to keep family and friends connected to us while living so far away and also as a place for me to keep our memories of this extraordinary time. at the same time it has opened up a community of bloggers around the world to me, all of them mothers keeping their memories and sharing tidbits of their lives. i have enjoyed becoming a part of this blogging community a lot while living far away from family and friends and living on this island, a foreign country, where i often feel isolated in my days of being a full-time mom. it has given me a place to be creative with a subject most close to my heart - my family, my son, my life and the world around me. thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing your world with me as well.