Thankful

If during the first period of life we create an atmosphere of gratitude around the children, then out of this gratitude toward the world, toward the entire universe, and also out of thankfulness for being able to be in this world, a profound and warm sense of devotion will arise.....upright, honest, and true. ~ Rudolf Steiner

Today, with the anticipation of Thanksgiving on our minds, we felt called to make something for each person who would be joining us for our holiday festivities. Nothing too involved, just something simple and from the heart. I saw this post on Pinterest from Woodside Kitchen. It is a dough ornament, but not just any dough ornament.....

 ** It's made with 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 1 cup of baking soda, and 3/4 cup of water! Combine all the ingredients in a cooking pot, cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and takes on the appearance of "smooth mashed potatoes". Pour into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth until the dough is cool enough to handle. Knead the dough, adding more cornstarch as necessary to keep the dough from being sticky. Roll out to about 1/4 of an inch or so on a lightly cornstarched surface, cut out using cookie cutters, decorate using rubber stamps or other stencils. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake at 175 degrees for about an hour (flipping them over after 30 minutes).**

So simple. So pleasing to work with. So beautiful and clean looking. It was a breeze to make and took well to painting and other decorating. The only thing I would recommend is to be mindful of the time in the oven (varies by size, I think). Our ornaments were quite small in size so they baked up really quickly. I didn't have that thought in the forefront of my mind so I over baked them a bit. The sides curled up and they browned a little on the bottom (I also didn't have any parchment). BUT, all is well. We painted them and/or sprayed them with a clear acrylic and sprinkled some glitter all over them

 

 

There is so much to be thankful for. Everyday I am reminded of the many blessings I have received. These little ornaments will serve as a little token of our gratitude for those we love so dearly and their presence in our life. It is hard to imagine our days without the smiles, love, and laughter of our dearest friends and family, those we see often and those we only see once in a while. We have big hearts for those we are missing and keep their legacy there.

 

This time of lessened light and inward process begs me to remember that although are days are full to the brim with moments that may seem more than we can handle, it's important to remember that we are surrounded by angels, seen and unseen. Those that hold us up and walk with us through our darkest times and those that quietly keep that spiritual space through the veil. We can honor them in this lifetime by living a life of gratitude, for all of those who have touched our lives in one way or another. Who and what are you grateful for right now?

 

I am, humbly, honored that you have chosen to walk with me in this space. Thank you.

 

Enjoy your holiday with those you love so much. Blessings to you and yours xo



Preparing in Gratitude

Blessing on this room of ours,
Blessing on the garden flowers,
Blessing on the birds and trees,
On the butterflies and bees.
Blessing on the dolls and toys,
On our quietness and noise.
Blessing on the children dear,
On the grown ups who come here.
Blessing on our work and play,
God be with us all each day.

 

 

We're preparing for Thanksgiving time in our home. As a Waldorf inspired home, we incorporate the teaching of Rudolf Steiner in much of our daily lives........

 

"An immense enrichment of the soul is achieved through the experience of feeling gratitude. One should see to it that, even in a very young child, a feeling of thankfulness is developed. If one does this, a feeling of gratitude will be transformed into love when the child is older. In every situation in life, love will be colored through, permeated with gratitude. Even a superficial observation of social life demonstrates that a valuable impulse for the social question can be fostered when we educate people towards a greater feeling of gratitude for what their fellow human beings are doing. For this feeling of gratitude is a bridge from one human soul and heart to another. Without gratitude, this bridge could never be built." ~ from Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy 1922-24 lectures by Rudolf Steiner

 

Cultivating gratitude within our children is in fact a lifestyle. It is not something that can only be acted on just one day a year. The mere  existence of gratitude in our society requires that we feel it and live it every single day. How will our world continue without it? We already can see the upsetting occurrences of what happens when gratitude fades to entitlement; our Earth's resources are being depleted, some children have grown into adults that have lost their reverence for how precious all life is, there is a lack of respect and responsibility in our ever growing populations. We are a culture of constant consumption.......if only a tear drop of gratitude could be injected into the ailments of the planet and our connection as human beings, might there be a shift in the dire situations of so many?

In the spirit of gratitude, we've been telling a particular story, a bit adapted to help capture the importance of being thankful. We discovered the story of Hugin and the Carrot (adapted from the story Hugin and the Turnip) over at Natural Kids .

The first part we adapted is where the Caterpillar asked if Hugin knew the right way to pull up the carrot.

We added "Did he first give thanks to the Root Gnome and ask if he might pull up the carrot?" Then Hugin put his mouth close to the ground and called: "Gnome, good Root Gnome. Many thanks for helping this beautiful carrot to grow so big and beautiful. May I take your carrot home so that on Thanksgiving Day we can eat a soup that tastes of carrots sweet?"

We also added at the end where everyone is helping each other up:

"Many thanks for you help. So sorry to have knocked you over."

The last line of our story is read like this:

"And nobody was hurt, and everybody laughed. All their hearts were full of thanks for the help each one did give and for that beautiful carrot that would make their bellies warm and full. "

It was very sweet to know that the message was received. Here the littles are meeting the characters and reciting the story as they remembered. I heard many "thank yous" being shared between characters and "oohs and ahhs" for how beautiful the carrot was and how thankful they were for such a lovely treat to eat. It is so beautiful to me how children really are much more readily available to give gratitude. Their wonder, their beautiful attunement to love and how each individual creature is just as important and valuable as the next. I never tire of watching this grace in action.

Another little piece that we've woven into this tapestry of thanks is the song "Johnny Appleseed". We sing an adapted version, for no particular reason, this is just how I was taught to sing it.......

Oh, the Earth's been good to me.
And so I thank the Earth
For giving me the things I need:
The sun, the rain and the apple seed;
Oh, the Earth's been good to me.

Oh, and every seed I sow
Will grow into a tree.
And someday there'll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share.
Oh, the Earth is good to me.

 

Here is a photo of a little craft we did the other day.......it's a turkey! I'm sure you guessed :) I'm not entirely into these kinds of crafty things, I much prefer something that is a bit more purposeful; but that being said, Charlotte and Kiki are very much into puppets lately. Everything is a puppet ready for a show. We happen to have many gloves that are missing their other so it seemed a perfect thing to turn them into puppets; and why not a turkey?! Gobble! Gobble!!

How do you incorporate giving thanks and living in gratitude with your littles? xo




Glimmer, lantern, glimmer

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer

Little stars a-shimmer.

Over meadow, moor and dale,

Flitter, flutter, elfin veil

Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik,

Rucoo, Rucoo

 

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer

Little stars a-shimmer.

Over rock and stock and stone;

Wandering, skipping, little gnomes.

 

The weather has turned quite quickly to wintry. Martinmas is upon us and I can only think of how much we need the warm, heavenly glow of candle light. There has been so much upheaval over the last few weeks. Hurricane Sandy hit hard areas around us, those we love have suffered great loss and millions we don't know have suffered as much, if not more. We have been faced with the reality of looking long and hard at how we live our life......what we depend on for survival, what we can do without. We live in a world of constant contact and movement and I know there have been many who have been living quite frontier-like, although it hasn't been dreamy at all.

 

The story of St. Martin is one that encompasses all that is compassionate and unconditional. Martin gave to another human being when no one else would. He sacrificed some of his comfort so that another fellow human could experience warmth and generosity. Martin acted out of grace.......and I feel like at this time when we are usually more focused on turning inward we are also being called by our neighbors to look outward.

 

It is bittersweet to sit in our warm home with all of our luxuries safely around us, wood stove crackling, lights on when needed, and hot water at our beck and call. How I wish we could somehow alleviate those who haven't had a hot shower in days, if not weeks. How I wish to offer a hot meal to a fellow human who has been stranded in their multi-story apartment building with nothing but what they were able to grab in advance of the storm. How I wish that so many were not looking at so much devastation and loss.

 

Our family is one of action! We aren't idle in moments like this so with all those "how I wish" statements above we've managed to use that energy and put it toward looking outward. We are in the planning stages of a massive event. One that could potentially bring hundreds of people together with just one common goal, thanksgiving. We are looking to bring those who have lost so much together with their neighbors and give thanks for what is left and what can be restored. We will feed their body and souls with the unconditional grace and love and good old fashioned home cooking! Martinmas comes at a time where there is so much to give and we can certainly be inspired by the Light that shone so brightly within him.

 

The littles and I made more lanterns today! I know, I've been a bit lantern crazy!! They're just so beautiful to have around and their warm glow will melt away and coldness in the air. We made very simple lanterns using the traditional method of pasting tissue paper on a glass jar. I'll end this post with a few snapshots of our experience and just one question.......

 

How will you be inspired by St. Martin this year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Souls' Day

"We here can help and work not only for those on earth, but also for the dead,

through the life-filled, spirit-filled thoughts that we bring to them." ~ Rudolf Steiner

 

Today we have transformed our seasonal table into a bit of an alter, if you will. Today is All Souls' Day or in some Latin countries, Dia de los Muertos. There are many traditions one could bring into their family culture from either celebration history. They are both rich and full with color, food, family, celebration, joy. On this day it is said that the veil between life on this Earth and those who have transitioned is thinner, thus making it possible to welcome home those who have left.....if only for a brief time.

 

 

 

Over the last few years, we have said Good Night to many of our loved ones. With children at an age where they are aware of what it means to die, as a parent, it has been so important to communicate as tenderly as I can so as to assure my children, help them to cope and understand that even though dying isn't something we wish for, it doesn't have to be scary. I've always tried to encourage them to hold on to the vision that death is just a shedding of this physical body, much like a caterpillar. We shed our bodies and transform into something so beautiful.......something we'd never even dreamed of. A complete transformation form this body that walks up right to something that will free us from any limitations; like the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. At one time it was captive to its land bound body and now flies freely to where ever it's heart wishes. I highly recommend this lovely book that we have read to our children when a loved one has crossed through the veil: Waterbugs & Dragonflies

 

 

 

In remembrance of those who we have known and love deeply and in honor of those who we don't know but have been effected in some way by their life and death we have made a strand of marigolds. We've made them in two different ways to bring awareness to the different way we love people and celebrate their lives.

 

 

We have added some photos of our loved ones to our nature table today and are leaving a candle lit to hold them in reverence. Such simple additions yet it changes the feeling of our nature table from being a beautiful table to honor the life and seasons around us to all of that but then so much more. Seeing the faces and smiles of our loved ones in such a hallowed place.......it's quite profound. The littles have really enjoyed hearing stories of these faces and learning of their connection to them. They love them even though some of them they have never met on this plane. I can only hope that they have been visited by these beautiful souls in their dreams........maybe after seeing them today, they will!

 

 

Will you celebrate the lives of those who have left this Earth? Will you laugh and be joyful for the life that was shared? Will you gather with family and friends and tell stories and eat good food? How do you remember the lives of those who you might be missing today?

 

"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come." ~ Rabindranath Tagore

 

 

 

*shared on:: The Magic Onions



All Saints' Day

 

"I will spend my Heaven doing good on Earth". ~ St. Therese of Lisieuz

 

 

 I read in an article not too long ago about a Sunday school class that was learning about Saints. In it it the teacher asked if anybody knew anything about the saints? A young girl raised her hand and said, 'Saints are people the light shines through.'

 

Then......we are all Saints. We all have the light of grace shine through us all the time. I felt that this was especially poignant in that it really is a beautiful and gentle way to help our littles understand the festival of All Saints' Day. Our littles are still so connected to their Heaven. They feel the love and protection of their Guardian Angels. They can sense the peace of their God above. The relationship and connection is so different from ours, as adults. They don't need to think about it, question it, or worry. Our littles are so deeply connected and they just know that what they feel inside them selves is true and real. I hope to be able to keep that spirit alive in them  so when they are grown, they will have that deep sense of trust and reverence for their God of choice.

 

Today, our chalkboard drawing has changed to welcome in the Saints all around us. We will talk about what it means to "spend our Heaven doing good on Earth" and then have a visit to our local shelter to bring some goodies to those waiting for their forever homes.

 

Do you honor All Saints' Day in your home? I would love to hear how you bring this seasonal festival to life  xo