Good wombs borne bad sons--Shakespeare

Girls who will not be beauty queens or mothers
Boys who will not be homecoming kings or fathers
Angels all who are walked out of this Life and into the arms

 of a loving Father

This is not your Home anymore He cried

He sobbed as they arrived

I have prepared a place for you

He embraced them each and welcomed them in

This is your new Home
be at peace

His son appeared

just as bloodied

just as dead

He hissed and seethed at the actions of Adam

He coursed through the throng of angels to reach Adam

Fallen Adam

God took Adam by his forearms and shook

Why?
WHY? He screamed at his son
Why must you choose this path?
You took your own life

The life I promised you

You rejected my goodness

You made your evil choice

You took off your crown

You rejected your goodness

You took their life

And now I will take yours

This is not your place

You are not welcome here

This is not your home

He shook Adam, He tortured him and punished him 

Adam wept

and then God rejected him

released him to Fate

You took their lives He said

and now I will take yours

God cursed Adam

threw him off the coil and watched as he 

tumbled and twisted and hurtled into his 

judgement.
He heard his screams

his pleading for repentance

his begging for forgiveness

He shed a tear for his son Adam

but remembered His promise

And He turned His head. 

And He walked away.

He walked back to His Creation

My Life,

My daughters and My sons

You are Loved and Yes you are Missed

You are Welcome here to join me by my side
Welcome these your brothers and your sisters

wait for your fathers and your mothers

who will have joy when they see you again

eyes clear and hearts full

You are missed 

You are loved

I did all I could
I gave him free will
Like you
I gave him a mother and a father
I gave him a brain and a heart
I am sorry that his heart was darkened
I am sorry that his brain was broken

I did not make this choice

Fallen Adam
took that role from me.

But fear not
I am here now
I am with you

I am here with you now
You are now 

safe

Home Jet Lag Sleep Blur Homesick

All a bit of a blur...leaving Wednesday night driving to Bilbao in a raging rainstorm. Beloved taking the car back to the airport and while he was away lightning strikes and takes out the entire city's electrical system. It was truly bizarre to see the hills and storefronts go completely black and then one by one get 'flipped' back on again.

We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and had a delicious dinner of pizza, spaghetti and veggie tempura (for me). Did a toast to Spain and tearfully shared our most favorite memories. That...out of the entire visit...is one moment I wish I could capture in amber. Carry it around my neck close to my heart as a constant reminder of why we did this and what we experienced together.

4 am came early though and we had a brief breakfast and then Beloved, Bumpo and Tank took the first shuttle bus to the airport and then Doe and I waited for the next one ten minutes later.

Got into check-in. All of our bags were heavily heavily overweight. The apartment scale was markedly off. We're talking kilos. It was painful. This was me yanking stuff out on one bag and stuffing into an underweight bag to try and balance out the weight jumping back and forth in front of and behind the desk watching the digital scale go lower and lower. Finally Beloved just said "Enough" and we left our bags with our wallets a few hundred euros lighter and headed for the gate.
Flight to Frankfurt was lovely.

Leaving Bilbao at 7 am...

Nearly empty plane. Got a picture of the kids as we were taking off.

From Frankfurt we went on to Denver. 

I am assuming this is the Rhine???

Pretty little clouds on our way from Europe...

The flight to Denver from Germany was nearly as seamless as the flight from Spain. The only hitch was I did not have an aisle seat and the seating was a bit cramped for our liking. Yes we flew Lufthansa and the service was still incredible, but I would have given anything for an aisle. In the end I took of my boots and just walked around in me socks ;). My seat neighbor, Mark, was a cruise director from Tucson, and he was on the closing end of a rigorous itinerary. He started his trip from Saudi Arabia and was Hour 12 into his journey when we met on the plane from Frankfurt? He was a funny and kind gentleman, and did not complain much when I asked to get up and be released from my seat ;).

On the flight I watched all of these movies:

Rock of Ages

I actually had to turn this off before it was finished it was so awful. 

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield. Enough said. One of my favorite movies of the year. Andrew Garfield is one of Doe's biggest 'crushes' and I can totally see why ;) 

I had seen this movie years ago but saw it in a 'new light' seeing as it was filmed in some of the same countryside we had traveled through. 

And last but not least...

I had seen Chris Pine in the action film "Unstoppable' which is one of the few recent action films I actually really enjoyed. I get distracted by him since I see an eerie resemblance between him and one of Beloved's former college buddies (I hope you take that as a compliment, Wil ;)  )...

But Mark, my seatmate, jabbed at this movie when it came up on the screen for movie selections and said "THAT is a WONDERful film. WONDERful film. You have to see it." Being a bit of an arrogant person at times I knew I did not want to 'succumb' to the recommendations of a stranger so I watched the other films first. 

Meanwhile, Beloved chose to watch this one. And he said at the end, intermittently giving me a thumbs up when asked how the film was throughout, he said "That was a great movie." He also shared that he 'nearly cried at the end'.

I now have total appreciation as to why. Wow what a wonderful film about what it means to be a family and what defines family and forgiveness and overcoming abandonment.

I sat there in my chair and silently wept as Frankie's story unfolded, scribbling quotes like "I will not give that man any more of my tears" and "I will not let him ruin the one good thing I have created" (well for me, three ;) . Because I related only too well to what she was going through. I think a lot of women my age have 'Dad issues', and if you are one of those 'lucky ones' (ha), i can't recommend this movie enough. It was sweet and hopeful and just lovely. The ending, while albeit predictable and formulaic, still managed to dredge the last remaining hyper-air-circulated teardrop out my eyes. In the end it was empowering.
It is a beautiful film. And Elizabeth Banks and Olivia Wilde were both stunning in their own fashion, and Michelle Pfeiffer really showed some bravado by appearing on-screen aged and vengeful as Pine's mother. 

I am asking for a copy of it for Christmas this year :) 

Anyway...after the film I was able to rest for a few hours and then blessedly fast we were back in Denver. I spent the next 4 hours in a fog...retrieving the bags (thank God for all of the orphaned luggage carts left standing by the luggage pick-up---) finding the shuttle bus to take home and making it back to the homefront...to find our Riley 

and Mollie waiting. 

There's No Place Like Home. 

Palacio de Magdalena Santander, Spain Nov 28, 2012

Beloved had told me about this castle in the northern Magdalena Peninsula in the Cantabria province of Northern Spain.

Magdalena was built in the early 1900s as a playground for Spanish royalty. It was built initially for royal family use, but has since been turned into a resort destination for Europeans. It was a beautiful magical place.

We first stopped in Santander, which was mostly memorable for its insane traffic. While most downtown city centers have lovely plazas and pedestrian walkways, there was really not much we witnessed in Santander. Cute city, some charming little buildings, but the only thing we readily recall is the traffic.

So we chose to drive North to the Palace much sooner than we had originally planned on. And I am so very glad we did.

Magdalena was precious. It had a warmth and a charm to it, with its reconstructed old galleons, mermaid statues and manicured lawns it was a nice reprieve from the hustle of Santander.

It was what EuroDisney wished it could be, without the safety railings and replete with numerous death falls :).

Tank is in "The Zone"...

Santander through the front door 

Aw nothing like a Lawn Jockey to make me want to start buying things

Ooh La la...

Infinity Pool 

First view of the Palace 

Beautiful beaches. 

Much rather prefer the Northern Spanish coastline than the South. The waves are much more fierce and intimidating...

Entering into the Palace. Admission was free. :) 

Santander Crest :) 

The seaside tourist attraction involved a meandering paved walkway (fully fenced) with the omnipresent risk of getting completely soaked. 

There's your first warning. 

There's your second warning.

Oh Look! Penguins! 

Beloved checking out the adorable flightless birds. Later he asked "Aren't there penguins that are so much taller?" Prompted a discussion as to whether or not there were penguins alive that were taller than Tank. 

Kids making a dash between waves to run past the seal pools. 

Beautiful cerulean skies and green teal seas. The colors are just not to be captured on print. 

There is no third warning. This picture was taken prior to the crest of the wave as it rose another 4-5 ft in height and promptly swallowed my children.
(On an aside---check out Beloved. Completely oblivious to the coming water affront and taking in the seals. Love this picture.) 

Soaked to the bone. Look at his sisters and his dad. Mark was such a good sport though, and was laughing throughout. 

It was quite cold. Poor guy :( 

Bumpo does the sisterly thing and offers him her dry jacket. Doe would have done the same but she was standing in front of her brother and the back of her jacket was completely soaked.  Beloved took the two younger ones back to the car to get dry shorts and another jacket for Bump.

By the way...park services came and closed the walkway entrance after Mark's soaking. Apparently they determined it was no longer a wise idea to let visitors walk on that section of the park ;). Made the experience all the more memorable. :) 

Santander shoreline

While the younger ones with their Dad changing, Doe and I checked out the boats. 

Fisherman

He wore a reflective orange safety vest and never stopped whistling. 

Still whistling...

Magdalena Palace. It is used as a hotel and as a meeting and conference hall. 

Love this. Sort of has a Maxfield Parrish feel to it. 

Lighthouse. 

Shipping barge 

There's my boy 

Tall palm trees 

Where the Wild Things Are 

 Southside of the Peninsula. The children and Beloved had wanted to go for one more dip in the ocean before we returned home, but after Tank and Doe's dunking near the seal pools, they decided to wait until the Holiday Inn.

Pier 

Cool idea.

 For being the last road trip outside of Bilbao to our hotel tomorrow, Santander did not disappoint. The Palace was a lovely experience with breathtaking views and some truly gorgeous scenery. We could only imagine what this place looks like in the summer months with nailing heat, clear blue skies and no clouds. I think the Northern Coast of Spain is truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth and I consider myself blessed beyond measure to have been to experience so much of it.

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