The Spirit of Love :: Welcome Spring

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

It's Spring! It's Spring! The birds are celebrating! The flowers are bursting from their Winter beds! Father Sun is showering us with his warm embrace and Mother Earth is nourishing us with her abundant glory! Ahhhhh, to feel alive in the Springtime is Divine!

Our Springtime Seasonal Table

The littles upon waking and eager to see what the Springtime fairies have left them!

Joyous smiles and satisfaction in introducing Daffodil and Crocus to Mama and Papa Gnome!
We've joined Nicole at Frontier Dreams for her Keep Calm, Craft On series this week!
Thank you, Nicole, for offering your space to us!

We've been preparing for this day.......it's been easy as the days have been getting longer and the weather is just unbelievable! We've been planting seeds, prepping our vegetable gardens, cleaning out and making new flower beds, bestowing our Seasonal Table with new and wonderful gifts from the Earth. The littles have been outside almost all the daylight hours and the rhythm of life is as sweet as warm strawberries.

Speaking of rhythm (and changing topics for a moment), Rebecca at Bending Birches has recently reminded me of something I have been overlooking within her latest blog post and in an older article for Rhythm of the Home here. I find it profound and timely with the Spring Equinox upon us that I be called to reevaluate our home spaces. I find it a subtle message from the Universe that at this moment, at the beginning of a new season where balance is at the heartbeat of our next 24 hours, that I should seize this opportunity (with the bit of Spring fever) to accomplish a deeply meaningful goal......this is where it lead me::

I tend to cull out the children's toys frequently but never have I thought to keep them seasonal. So last evening as the family had wandered out to catch the last little bit of warmth and sunlight I began yet another digging in and purging of toys and books! I was amazed at how many books we had out and more than half of them were not ideal for this time of year. I left what I knew were favorites and took away what I knew hadn't been played with or looked at for quite some time! It feels so wonderful! You forget these little pieces when you try so hard to balance all the other areas in your life........how nice it feels to know that the children have toys that are appropriate on so many different levels; they're simple, quiet, they naturally stimulate their imagination, and even their books reflect the season (how silly would it be to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' on the first day of Spring?)! My goal is continue through the Springtime and go through, again, our personal spaces and gathering spaces and take out that which is not beautiful or needed any longer. My hope is to continue to create spaces that are inviting and relaxing, spaces that allow the Spirit to refresh itself in peace and harmony among the serenity of a humble room. We are minimalists to begin with (our home is only 1000 sq. ft.) so we truly can't have too much to begin with, however, there is always the need to let things go OR just revisit the notion to only invite those items which marry the mind, body, and soul.

~ Thank you, Rebecca for your continued inspiration!

Here is Miles resting with our basket of shells

It will be a lovely, warm Spring evening where we are. We'll dine alfresco with candles and flowers. We'll share our deepest thanks for all the blessings on the day and for being together.........it is in the Spirit of Love that I wish for you a warm, abundant, fulfilling, renewing, and blossoming Springtime!

"Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. "~Rainer Maria Rilke