A Treat for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is fast approaching. In years past I haven't given much thought in to how Mother's Day would go, but this year, as I'm surrounded by my ever expanding brood, I'm realizing that in celebrating this day given to being a Mother, it's important that I, too, experience the day as I wish.

This year, in honor of Motherhood, I will be doing a three part series on how to celebrate the Mothers in your life, including  yourself. Yes, I am suggesting you celebrate just being you, the radical, amazing, beautiful Mother that you are! This series will include many wonderful things including a mind blowing giveaway from an amazing artisan who creates absolutely breathtaking pieces of work! I can't wait for you to see it!

Today, I would like to direct your attention toward a lovely discovery called Treat, a part of the Shutterfly family! Here is their description from their website::

 

www.treat.com

"Welcome to Treat, your online home for making, sending and putting some real love and personality back into greeting cards. Treat is all about customizing, personalizing and making your cards one-of-a-kind creations that could only come from you. We're talking about adding your own words and pictures so your cards stand out from the crowd and the person who receives them will be totally psyched—blown away actually. These aren't your typical boring greeting cards from the drugstore—these ones actually have thought behind them.  Our reminder service will make sure you never miss a birthday, anniversary or important milestone. At a loss for exactly the right words? Our Message Library will help inspire you. Need a gift on the fly? We got you covered with integrated gift cards printed right inside the card you create. Treat is fun and easy to use, but more importantly, helps connect you and all the people in your life in a more personal and caring way."

I was immediately intrigued because I am a sucker for a unique card and because of that, we always make our own cards or seek out those ultra unique ones at our local specialty stores. Our children really enjoy the process of creating a card; thinking of just the right words, what pictures to draw, and so on. Using Treat, you create your own card with the help of various templates available to you that you can make your own by adding your own photos and creating your own personal message. Your littlest ones would need assistance with the process but it would be a cinch for the older ones. Our eldest daughter, who is 11, created one all on her own. She uploaded a photo to the card she liked the best and changed the words in the template to create her own unique message. I also joined in on the fun and created one for my own Mother. We received our cards in the mail just the other day and they are beautiful. The cards are a heavy card stock paper, the photos are matte, and the colors are vibrant. I was most impressed with the quality of the photos. They are clear, no pixels are visible, and the colors are just as I would have hoped them to be. This is quite an improvement as our printer tends to give us photos of an interesting color palette, not like I would have hoped most times. 

If you'd like to check out some of the other templates available at Treat specifically for Mother's Day, click the photo below!

These are our cards! Aren't they beautiful?!

More Mother's Day Cards
 

There is a card for every season at Treat; birthday cards, holiday cards, and your everyday greeting cards. I can't help but think of the next birthday around the corner with a family of our size! What I absolutely can get behind is the scheduler that is available for your cards. You can create and schedule delivery of your unique card up to a year in advance! For me, that is revolutionary because typically speaking, I'm the one that ends up calling a day to two after the birthday has passed. That's not the most fun place to be and I look forward to growing out of that particular experience :)

 

 

I hope you come back tomorrow to see how we've been inspired through our Pinterest board and for a lovely craft idea that we're making for the Mama's we know and love xo 

 

 

Homesteading

“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss.” 

~Wendell Berry, Bringing it to the Table: Writings on Farming and Food

Our little homestead is growing by leaps and bounds. Living in community we have the great gift of living among many farm animals; we care for them and in turn they provide for us. It has been our greatest dream to contribute to the provisions by having our own little team on our plot of land and this weekend, we began to see our dream to reality.

We welcomed six chicks into our family this weekend (along with the newcomers you'll meet below). Kiki adores them and has spent every waking moment tending to them, singing to them, holding them. For just three years old she has given us a glimpse into what amazing care she is capable of. Her tenderness, quiet, gentle devotion. It's almost like she goes to a meditative place while she is with these chicks.

We were also gifted this beautiful Lionhead bunny. While he won't necessarily produce anything akin to food or materials he has already produced a softening of heart, a smile within us all, a gentleness that we all needed after this long, long winter. His name is Little Lionheart.

This beautiful Black Sexlink is Beatrice. She is a wise old gal and happily and immediately made herself at home. She is gentle, sweet, and so far, has enjoyed begin carried about by various little hands. She also have us our first egg!

We have a Red Sexlink as well (her name is Ruby). It has been of utmost importance to her to figure out her new digs as she's feeling pretty broody. I found her nestled into the coop working on laying her first egg so I didn't want to disturb her with a photo op.

This is Max, our Rooster, and his lady love, Gwendolyn. She follows him everywhere. They are both still a bit nervous but have warmed up to us and have let us help them into the coop at night. Our coop is our old outdoor rabbit hutch, modified with nesting boxes and roosts to accommodate our brood. It will require a bit of assistance on our part to get them in and out of the coop, just until they're comfortable with the process on their own.

Our landscape is a beautiful one. The sheep add an element of olden days and when living off the land was how you survived. We're getting closer and closer to that place of self reliance. Our dream is not to live as if it were the 1800's but to embrace and accept our gifts and primal calling to be connected to  the land, to keep our children connected and focused on the sanctity of caring for and working the land, working with our hands, and allowing the realness of providing for ourselves to be at the forefront of how we build our home.

"The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” 
~ Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture

  

Being a Waldorf inspired home we are fortunate to live where we do. The daily tasks of tending to the animals, preparing the garden for the season, integrating the childrens daily play and rhythms into the ebb and flow of the natural world around them is so beautiful and unique. 

"As child, one has the magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unselfconsciously to the soughing of the trees." ~ Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this Earth

The Art of Spring Cleaning

Well! We certainly wasted no time upon reentry of our 10 day holiday to dive right in and create mayhem in our home. These past few days have been warm and quite Springlike so we threw open the windows and inch by inch tore up the stacks and stuffiness of the back of the house (which inevitably means the rest of the house, too).  It all started with these shelves.......

 

These are my craft supply shelves. Over the past few months I haven't been the best at keeping things organized and when I am afforded the time to create I usually just leave everything laid out on our dining room table. Of course, we have to eat so everything gets quickly shoved into where ever it might fit. Ironically, these shelves still haven't been straightened! LOL

 

This is where we chose to begin. The closet. This 8'x10' room was a closet for 5 people! Me, Lee, Charlotte, Kiki and Seraphina. Utilizing dressers, shelves, and a homemade armoire we somehow (kinda) made it work. There is no door to this room so we  hung a curtain in the doorway to keep visitors eyes from drifting too deeply inside. We very rarely could keep it neat; clothes would easily pile up after being laundered, baskets captured most of the dirty clothes, and a myriad of other non-clothes items would find their way into this space simply because we lack the storage and space in this 1000 sq. ft., one floor, home.  Needless to say, I'm glad we made my craft shelves wait.

 

This was an in between shot. Partially finished but with plenty more yet to do.

 

This is what happened to the bathroom.....yes, that's a ton of stuff just piled into the bathtub!

 

This is Bella's room. The poor Dear had just cleaned her room and we took full advantage of the space while she was at her riding lesson. She just about cried when she saw this picture. I assured her it would be back in order before she went to bed, at it was......more or less!!!

 

This is the laundry space. Just stacks and stacks and stacks. Oy! I dreaded getting in here because a.) I couldn't just close a door and hide it, this space is right in our hallway. There was no way to avoid it and b.) all of the storage that exists was currently being used for other stuff. Where and how the heck was I going to somehow make room!!!

 

 

In the end, it was all well worth the suffering.

 

This is our finished bedroom. Just to give you an idea of why this is a monumental moment, my husband and I had shared a room with the 3 littles. A 10'x10' room that held a queen size bed, bunk beds, a dresser, a shelving unit, a co sleeper, a micro book shelf, and the cozy corner. Cozy in every sense of the word. For the first time in 7 years, Lee and I have our own room, we do share it still with Seraphina but we still feel like grown ups! Big people! It's just so nice.

 

 

This is my side of the room. Heaven!

 

 

This is now the "somewhat organized, at least manageable, I can reach what I need" laundry space. That huge black case to the left is my massage table. I'm finding that even though I'm not in school anymore (you can read more about that here) I'm still finding use for it, however obtrusive, it'll have to stay there for now.

 

 

The bathroom is back in order except for some shelves that need some minor organizing. For now, it's manageable. In case you were wondering, NO, there is nothing hiding behind the shower curtain!!!

 

 

 

This is Charlotte and Kiki's room. Where the long dresser on the right sits is where our bed used to be. Their room is largely acceptable. We still have clothes piles to contend with but they can be assimilated slowly and at a more leisurely pace.

 

 

This is a view to their bunks. Just out of bed but so much more room to jump into from bed. They have a huge bit of space to play in now, thank goodness. Next in here will be a new floor and some minor details like silk curtains and taking those stickers of the bed!! Those stickers used to go on our car window (we were those people!!!) I'll have to figure out another way for them to keep their prized "visit to the bank" stickers.

 

 

Now, I just have to clean off the dining room table and.......

 

 

.....reinvent this corner. This used to be Rosco's window. His bed was right under the window and gave him the perfect spot to watch us from his resting spot. The window will get spruced up, the radio in the corner will be moved, along with the stash of boxes from various trips to the basement that never got returned. My hope is that my craft shelves can fit here, those drawers can stay and be used for homeschool supplies and the like and a few really beautiful plants can sit atop the dresser  and soak up the sunshine from the south. For me, it feels really important to make that space a beautiful one to look at. I miss my boy everyday and to leave his spot empty just reminds us that his little body is gone. Gotta bring some life back into his space, make it a shared space.

 

 

This mess is our home.....and even though it feels so good when it's not quite as messy, it's doesn't feel any less like home even when it's the messiest.

 

Are you spring cleaning? How's it going for you?

 

Chocolate and Shrove Tuesday

Sometimes chocolate is just a good idea. It comes in a variety of sweetness levels, satisfying the severest sweet tooth to just one that needs a lit kick in the pants and everything in between! We're working on lifting spirits here this week. After another week of "fever baby" we could all use a little lift, and so what if we use chocolate as a motivator?!

 

 

Luckily for me (and really, do I need an excuse?) Valentine's Day is this week and today just happens to be Fat Tuesday, perfect time to indulge a little and bring out the bulk chocolate that's been sitting in the freezer since Christmas! 

 

A few weeks ago I bought a few packages of dried fruits: cranberries, blueberries, cherries, and plums. My original intention was to bake with them but then I realized.....who doesn't love chocolate covered dried fruit? Chocolate covered raisins has always been a hit, maybe we could take a walk on the wild side and try something new! Thank goodness we're a fearless bunch because these are just simply divine!

 

The littles we're thrilled to get their hands in a plate full of melted chocolate. I didn't have my eye on them the whole time so I wonder how much actually made it on the plate as opposed to in their bellies :)

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Then there is always the cliche of chocolate covered strawberries.

 

As this is the start of the Lenten season, I feel a very strong pull to just let the spirit flow and do whatever it is that I'm being led to. I haven't always allowed myself that luxury, and well.....having five children can make that a wee bit challenging at times. Our Lenten journey is described well here in this older post; how we hold on to the reverence of this time and nourish our spiritual bodies. As I form a clearer picture of our current state as a family, I'm realizing that nourishment for our collective and individual selves is paramount. We've all had to sacrifice quite a bit as of late, it's time now to figure out how to manage the difficulties in our lives without sacrificing our family body. I am really quite inspired that all of this seems to be culminating at the time of Lent.

 

"I believe Lent is the time to work with what gets in our way - the obstacles to our desire to fulfill our destiny." ~ Lynn Jericho on the spiritual practices of Inner Lent.

 

You can read her full post about Inner Lent here.

 

How will you work with what gets in your way this Lenten season?

 

Breathing in and Letting go

Photo courtesy of Laura Shea

 

"The essence of life is that it's challenging. Sometimes it is sweet, and sometimes it is bitter. Sometimes your body tenses, and sometimes it relaxes or opens. Sometimes you have a headache, and sometimes you feel 100 percent healthy. From an awakened perspective, trying to tie up all the loose ends and finally get it together is death, because it involves rejecting a lot of your basic experience. There is something aggressive about that approach to life, trying to flatten out all the rough spots and imperfections into a nice smooth ride." ~ Pema Chodron When Things Fall Apart


It seems that lately not many things have gone as anticipated. Many of the crucial foundations from which my days are built (as of late) have been altered in some way. I'm sure, in time, I will see the reason behind why things worked out as they have but in the meantime, I feel like a little girl stomping her feet and pouting out of disappointment and well.....because I didn't get my way!

As I consider those many things here is one that stands out as it runs deep, on many different levels:: Several months ago I was pleased as punch to see my dream of being a body worker begin to culminate by being accepted in our local school for Massage Therapy. I began classes in October and have done really, really well! I was passing, in fact, I'm proud to say that my grades are better than I have ever done, ever......going back as far as my early school years! I loved what I was learning, I loved my classmates, my teachers, the drive to and from school, and I even loved that special coffee treat I'd get for myself occasionally for the ride home.

In other posts I've shared with you how our little Seraphina has been struck with some odd fever syndrome. We haven't gotten any new information as of yet and are kind of in a stand still, waiting to see if she spikes yet another fever. From the last two fevers they seem pretty cyclic so we're holding our breath a bit until the middle of the month to see if it indeed comes back. If that be the case, more tests and other work-ups will be performed to see what the best course of treatment would be. I have fear of so many things.....I pray everyday that all is as it should be and try to find peace in that, within myself and Seraphina's bright blue eyes, and in the comfort of my family. Because of these unforeseen instances, I had to withdraw from school. It didn't really take much thinking over, it was the right decision because first and foremost I am a Mother. The paperwork was finalized today and so long as all goes well over the next seven months I hope to begin again. I know, it doesn't seem that big of a deal, especially since a restart could be in my future.......it's just I had a plan, ya know?! I had things all worked out, dreaming up a business name, how I would be of service to my community, I dreamt of being able to help provide financially for our family easing the burden a bit for my husband. Mostly, I dreamt of rediscovering those parts of myself that still seek the sunlight.......

I'm breathing in and letting go. Like the tree above.......absorbing all that is and releasing it back; an ebb and flow; and give and take; a breathing in and breathing out. Sometimes life doesn't go as planned......we forget dates, are in bad moods for the littlest things, fight with or bring anger to another, say hurtful things out of fear and the unwillingness to just let it go, and sometimes we don't get what it is we had hoped for. Life is hard sometimes, but the best part is we can begin again any time. We can have a restart, even if it's months down the road. Once we give up and lose hope a piece of our spirit has died. One of the biggest obstacles of this has been to not wallow in my despair but to rise to the challenge to show my children  that even as adults, we too, don't always get what we set our hearts and minds to. We cast our sight on our dream and aim for it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.......accepting the sadness for what it is but refusing to be defeated.

So, I will continue to breathe, continue to wake up, be a Mama to five amazing souls, a wife to one dreamy man, and in the meantime I will keep my eyes on my dream. It will come, one day. Even if in seven months it still isn't the right time I will find a away to keep those soul parts of me alive. After wading through the murkiness and sadness I've rediscovered that all that I am in a day is also the place where those pieces of me that get stuffed live. They live in my children and in my work as a homemaker, teacher, lover, friend, sister, daughter, blogger ;) Sometimes I forget......it happens. We get so caught up in what the picture in our head of how our reality "should" look like that we forget that it's the experiences that matter.

"To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again. From the awakened point of view, that's life." ~ Pema Chodron When Things Fall Apart

 

I'm looking forward to pushing the restart button here at home. Reconnecting, digging deeper, and improving on what I can here at home. It feels good. There is peace after all......

Candlemas

 

 "At the beginning of February, when the infant light of spring is greeted thankfully by the hoary winter earth, it seems fitting we should celebrate a candle Festival to remember that moment when the Light of the World was received into the Temple, when the old yielded to the new.”

~ from All Year Round

 

I was a bit overwhelmed on Friday when I realized that the first of February was upon us and I hadn't prepared at all for St. Brigid's Day and Candlemas. This past week was filled with wonderful  distractions but the re-entry into reality was a bit of a rough landing! As always, what's meant to be will be and and things don't always need to go as planned. Being alright with that and letting go of expectations is the trick! I'm learning :)

 

It seems as we've studied more about St. Brigid we've come to really adore her. As I stood at my counter this morning and began to piece together the cross above (with Iris leaves that my hunny picked just for this occasion), we sat there, watching it come together and were struck by the reverence and especially beautiful rhythm making this cross possesses. It's simple but divine. Hanging this on our entryway seemed only fitting and as we learned, that is part of the tradition! I believe, we as a family, have found our patron saint!

The littles and I also made our super, special Celtic Tea Cake this morning in honor of St. Brigid

 

We even braved the blustery, winter day and ventured out to finish our ice lantern and earth candles.

 

Tonight, as we sit down to a pancake supper by candlelight, we will gather our thoughts toward the Light; thinking of what it means to begin anew, accept what works and what doesn't and somehow make sense of it all. I'll lovingly look at my children and my husband and thank God that I've been given this chance to shine my light with them. They help me to remember who it is I'm meant to be, who I was, why I'm here, what this whole thing called Life is about. Candlemas is such a reverent time, honoring the Light that lives within us all, reminding each other that we're each good enough just as we are.

 

 

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."

Wild One

 

We had a lovely mid-week visit from out of town family members and decided that a good way to spend a rainy, blustery winter day would be to take in the sights at the State Museum. Charlotte and her Papa had been there for a father/daughter date a few weeks ago so she already had some insight on exhibits she really wanted to show everyone. Kiki, however, hadn't been as a young lass so she was quite eager to explore this new and oh so interesting place all on her own. Divide and conquer :)

Charlotte gave the tour to the others while Kiki and I had an a bit of discovery all on our own.

 

Seeing the museum through your toddler's eyes is like seeing it for the first time yourself. I was awe inspired by her gasps and shrieks of delight when she spied a new animal, the birds (oh she just loved the hall of birds), the mammoths. She was a bit apprehensive when we walked through the Long house exhibit and listened to a story by a Native American Grandmother (the lighting is quite dim so I'm sure her imagination was running wild!). We found a little nook just for kiddos and she aimlessly walked around focusing her attention of little bugs, turtles shells, beaver hides, and pretending to dig for dinosaur bones.

 

 

 

 

Kiki is proving to be our unadventurous one. She doesn't like rides of any kind, carnival, park, even escalators! There is an old Carousel that runs on the top floor of the museum; it is lovely. Kiki thought so too, so long as she didn't have to go on :)

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Charlotte's favorite spot is the waterfall with the deer leaping from the stream. It is a very serene setting, I have to admit.

 

The one thing Kiki keeps talking about is how she "fixed" the elephant. It was a skeleton puzzle that she worked on for quite some time. Each piece she carefully examined and needed very little assistance to find the correct spot for each piece. She lovingly place every piece of the puzzle and when she was finished, she stepped back, sighed and smiled and patted the "fixed" elephant and assured him that he was OK, he was fixed now. She picked up her little basket (her little friends accompany her everywhere these days) and was ready to be on her way.

 

 

So, to say the littles have been a bit over excitable these past few days is an understatement. Company always makes them a bit wilder than usual. Last night they had become quite unruly and had a real hard time settling in after our long day out and late evening of games and ice cream. After many attempts to bring them to bed I finally came to my senses and brought in the magic serum. I gently massaged some oil onto their chest and asked them to breathe deeply and nice and slow (I put some on me, too!!) Within moments they were out like lights!

 

The power of Moor Lavender oil is amazing!!! Have you tried it? What are some of your favorite ways to soothe the savage beast in your littles?

Eleven Years

 

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Long ago a little angel flew from star to star gatheringlight and compassion, which came from all around her. At each star she metbig angels who showed her the way. One day Big Angel said, “It is time to go tothe Sun.” Little angel followed to a place of warmth shining like gold. Therebees and butterflies sang to her of love. Big angel led her to the moon, cleanand crisp like new snow. From the moon she saw the most beautiful sight- aplace of flowers, trees, rolling oceans, and two special souls who seemed to besmiling up at her. “May I go there?” little angel asked big angel. “It istime,” Big Angel said. “Use the gifts of light and compassion you havegathered to carry you over the rainbow bridge. There is a mother and a father  who have been waiting for you.” Little angelcarried her gifts over the rainbow bridge to her new home on the Earth.

From the first moment her parents loved her and they calledher Isabella, and Isabella was her name. When she was born it was a cold winterevening and the full moon and a million stars were smiling down on her from thesky. Her Aunt Sandy saw her first and cried. She cried because Isabella wassuch a beautiful little angel and she knew that Isabella would bring manywonderful gifts to all who met her. Isabella was a wee babe but strong and shehad a beautiful newborn cry.

And then Isabella was one year old and she was sweet aslittle ones could be. She was a happy little girl, always content. She loved tosnuggle in and read and play with her new favorite toy: tea sets!

Then Isabella turned two years old and never was sheterrible. She loved to eat chocolate and loved to swim and loved to be carriedon the tops of everyone’s shoulder.

Isabella turned three years old and was a princess in themaking. She had many outfits to try on throughout the day, shoes and dressesand purses. Isabella would sit all dressed up with her tea set and serving everyone tea.

Then Isabella turned four years old and she began school atHawthorne Valley. She was a Peach blossom with Mrs. Ward and made many newfriends. One friend was Farmer Katy. She would always greet Farmer Katy with agreat big smile and a wonderful hug.  Isabella loved the cows on the farm and her favorite day at school was bread day and rice day!

When Isabella turned five some of her most favoriteactivities were going camping with Nana and Papa, swimming,  hiking, and dragging Odie along wherever shewent. She went on many adventures like hiking in the mountains, canoeing on the river, and exploring every nook and cranny around her.

And then Bella turned six years old and she became a bigsister because another little angel named Charlotte joined her family. Isabellawas so happy and smiled from ear to ear when she met her new baby sister. Sheread to her, sat with her and was her Mama’s biggest helper. She loved to help batheher, hold her, and most importantly, change her diaper!

When Isabella turned seven years old she moved to a newschool. She didn’t have any trouble making new friends and very much enjoyedthe classroom, her teacher, and new friends. Isabella also moved to a new housethat year. She had her own room and a big yard to rider her bike and imagine all sorts of play! Isabella also becamean older sister again when another little angel, Kiki, came to be with her family.Again, she was immediately drawn to this little child and loved her and helpedout in any way she could.

Then Isabella turned eight years old and she had a reallyfun spa birthday party. She invited her closest friends and they enjoyed a 6tiered chocolate birthday cake, homemade lotions and other delights! Isabella loved to ride her bike after school,climb her favorite apple tree, and learn to play the piano.

And then Isabella turned nine years old and she got her earspierced!!! Her family surprised her with dinner out where everyone in the restaurant sang Happy Birthday to her .  Isabella and her family alsomoved into another home where there were many other children and lots of things to doand see. She loved being on “the land” and immediately was at home in her newroom and new surroundings.  She loved to help out with caring for the sheep, collecting eggs, and looked forward to the many activities that happened in our new community everyday.

Isabella then turned ten years old and was in her first playat Mac-Haydn Theatre. She tried out and was asked right away to be in Oliver.She worked really hard and stayed up really late and it paid off! She wasamazing. Isabella worked very hard on doing many things like:: practicingpiano, her schoolwork, being a big sister, helping her Mama around the house, keepingup with her chores, and just being a kid! Isabella has many wonderful friendswho love her very much. New friends moved into the house next door to us and our families have spent much time together celebrating all of the joys life has to offer. Isabella became the best of friends with their two daughters and loves them as if they were her sisters.

And now, Isabella is eleven years old! Wow, how time flies!!Isabella is becoming an amazing young lady. She is kind, selfless, honest,accepting, she works hard, is full of love and beauty, and is her Mama’s numberone helper. Isabella learned to play the viola and was even asked to sing a solo in her choir concert this year. She made All-County choir and plans to try out again for Mac-Haydn Theatre. Isabella is deeply loved and appreciated for all that she gives toeveryone every day. Her family thanks their lucky stars every night that shewas born!

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Isabella Sandra Rain. She is my sweet angel, my oldest daughter, the beacon of light in my very long day. This young lady has never ceased to amaze me with the delight of her love, happiness, and her ability to turn the unfriendly things into something bearable. Her smile, her laugh, her friendship. I am so humbled that she chose me. From the very beginning of her time here on this earth I knew that we had an old and very deep connection, one that traveled across eternity. Its amazing to feel so connected to your children in that way. I never imagined that it was possible before I had children and now that they are here,  and as I watch the years fly by, the depths of our age old connections are very aware and they astound me.

 

 

I wasn't able to get as many photos as  I would have liked. She placed a tall order for her birthday supper:: Thanksgiving dinner!! It was wonderful! She helped in fits and starts, peeling potatoes, tasting, and just standing by my side chatting away about her day, her dreams, her worries. Her cake was also a bit of a project. She asked for a grasshopper cake; layers of gluten free chocolate cake with a mint chocolaty pudding in between and mint whipped cream frosting! She always pushes my culinary boundaries.....and I love it! As the children get older they like to stray from the usual treats of a "typical" birthday. The littles aren't quite there yet, and I'm fine with that for now!

 

 I'm enjoying the some what gentle ride into adolescence of my older children. To help cultivate a deeper connection and sense of trust between us I decided to some howbuild a bridge into this thing called adolescence by giving her a very special journal. This journal is something both she and I will write in, together, to each other. I explained that I understood how sometimes it can be hard to talk face to face with a parent. I expressed how important it was to not bottle up any feelings and to say even the hardest truth. I asked her to write to me every night, to tell me something about her day, or about a trouble, or a joy, or about how I might have upset her. I promised her that this was a safe space, she could tell me anything and she wouldn't get into trouble and we didn't even have to talk about it, unless she requested to. I promised her I would respond anyway she wanted, either to write back or to sit privately and talk. I wished I could have bottled up that moment. I gave her the journal privately as I figured it might have been embarrassing for her to open in front of her friends. I read her what I wrote (I have to remember to not write in cursive!!) and I couldn't help but get a bit weepy. I looked up and she was getting weepy herself!! She climbed into my lap (my 11 year old!!) hugged me and said "Mama, that is the most beautiful gift you could have ever given me." We sat there, in silence, she took the journal and went off to her room. I woke up this morning and she had placed the journal next to my pillow where I found her first entry. *sigh*

 

 

 

Her smile is so radiant, contagious! She brings so much love and light to everyone she knows. My Bella is as gentle as a kiss, and as tender as a flower. I pray everyday that she finds the strength she will need to carry on and to not ever surrender her peace and self-worth to the tests of this time and age.  She wears her heart on her sleeve, if someone cries she cries with them. Oh dear world, be kind to my Bella. She deserves every ounce of goodness and more.

 

Happy Birthday, my darling!

 

 

New Year, New Rhythm

We humans have been shaped over the millennia bt the rhythmic rotation of the earth, by the diurnal dance of day and night. We have been formed by the rosy shadings of light at dawn, and by nightime's reply as scarlet and violet descend into velvet black. We have grown and evolved in Earth's slow journey around the sun. Day by day our world shifts imperceptibly, moving inexorably from spring's first blossom toward a world glittering in ice diamonds. Both the rapture and the travails of this cycle have formed the human psyche. Although our modern life is far removed from this earth-based consciousness, still our fundamental shaping has been in a rhythmic pattern. Our children, who live closer to basics than we do, are profoundly affected by the life rhythms we determine for them.

~ excerpt from Heaven on Earth by

Sharifa Oppenheimer

 

 

New beginnings have begun in our home. I've been seeking the right rhythm foundation for our home life and lately it's been a bit of a challenge. Seraphina came to us in June of last year and with her came a bit of a whirlwind. I could barely focus let alone try to keep a healthy rhythm alive in our home. Some days I was successful. We'd follow the rhythm that I'd begun prior to baby's arrival (you can read about that here) but between feedings, naps, piles of laundry, sickness (too much sickness), night school......well, I could go on! Needless to say, I've been spinning my wheels for a while and it hasn't felt very good. I can see where my littles are lost and feel like fish out of water. Anyway, the good news is we've begun to move out of the newborn haze (and hopefully the "everyone is sick again" phase) and are working new rhythms into our daily life.

 

Today we started Ring Time. We've done a bit of this in the past but I was at a loss for verses and the like. I've since acquired many lovely books (Wynstones, Waldorf Book of Poetry, for example) to help create our story of poems, finger plays and movement. We had great fun today and I was largely inspired for our winter Ring Circle by Lisa from  Celebrate the Rhythm of Life . I adapted it to fit our needs and boy! We sure had fun! There was laughter, smiles galore, and just pure and simple joy. I loved every minute of it and the littles have requested that we do it again and again! This inspired me to really sit and plan ahead our Ring Time for the year. My intention is to do the same circle for an entire month, that way it can be seasonal and kept appropriate for the holidays and such.

 

We've also begun our home school with Charlotte. She's just turned 5 and she has been asking and asking for more in the way of lessons. We've been having a more "unschool" atmosphere since September, focusing our day around our creative activity for that day (seasonal craft/activity, painting, drawing, baking, and handwork), reading and playing. I was able to purchase an Oak Meadow Kindergarten Syllabus so with that in my arsenal along with a few great nature study guides and the rest of our daily routine we should be in good shape! Kiki participates too. She follows along the day and when Charlotte sits down for her studies I set her up with us at the table to play but eventually she'll wander off and go bask in the glory of having the toys all to herself.

 

 

We have tasks that we "should" be completing everyday.......it's been my lack of initiative and motivation to keep on task BUT! It's a new beginning, right......I'll try harder. Our home runs so much more smoothly when I've got my head in the game and lately, I've been sitting under the bleachers ;) I spent this entire past weekend gutting each and every room, cleaning and reorganizing. The laundry that piled up as a result of a months worth of sickness has been washed, folded and put away. All the little things that have been eating away at my confidence as a homemaker have been defeated! (insert heavy sigh of relief here!!). It's wonderful and it makes it so much easier to keep on top of the load when it's actually manageable without needing the National Guard for assistance! This list above is a new addition to our other daily tasks. These are things I would usually just do on my own while having a little stand by and watch me, and usually, they are asking to help. To be honest, most

 times I would say "No, thank you". It wasn't because they were incapable, in fact, all of my children are wonderfully capable and help out in wonderful ways. I'd say "No" because I was too buried among the work aspect, the lack of joy in my work, the burden, that I would just lump it alone. There really is no reason to do that so it's shifting. The littles and I sat this morning and had a grand time folding laundry and Charlotte can not wait to sweep!!! Works for me!!

It excites me greatly to see how willingly life can shift when you can get your head out of your heart and just allow things to unfold as they may. I am much more at peace and I know for sure that my children are too!