Writing

In the beginning hours of nighttime, when the house is finally quiet and settled and I put myself to bed as well, those are the moments in which my mind also settles from the noise of the day.  It is in those moments that my thoughts become just a bit more clear and I'm able to really think about the things around me.  Silenced are the phone calls, must do's, and demands of the day and I am finally alone with my thoughts and they are free to flow.

Once upon a time these were the moments I would pull myself out of bed and put pen to paper, letting my thoughts stream out, leading wherever they wished.  This is something my grandmother taught me years ago, when I would have trouble shutting out the constantly running dialogue running in my mind so I could finally drift off to sleep.

These days I find myself more and more hesitant to leave the warm comfort of my bed.  Whether it is simply the chilly weather or the near exhaustion stemming from our suddenly busier days, I just can't seem to remove myself from the warm comfort of my quilt in order to write anything.  And so I lie there, letting my thoughts run a silent narrative for only myself to hear.  Always vowing to remember and write them all out in the morning.

Of course morning comes and I find myself unable to recapture the thoughts that, just a few hours before, seemed so important and so necessary.  Lost in the busyness of breakfast and morning rituals, those words disappear with the rising sun.  Journal pages go unwritten, blog posts go unpublished, and heartfelt messages to dear friends and family go unsent.  Things I really cherish getting lost in the shuffle of life.

So today I am challenging myself to write something every day.  A letter to a family member recounting a favorite memory, a quick email to a friend letting them know I am thinking of them, or a quick line or two in my journal...anything that gets me putting thoughts down somewhere.  I'm including blog posts in this challenge as well.  Above all else this blog is a way to capture memories for our family, a record that we can look back on and remember the past through the words and pictures.  So, even if the posts consist of merely a few words scrawled below a group of pictures (or a lot of words above a seemingly unrelated photo), I want to have that record.  No more neglecting this space because I don't have the perfect words to say, something is nearly always better than nothing.

This Moment

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 {this moment} A Friday ritual, inspired by Soulemama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

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Happy Birthday to me...

I'm sitting here at the end of the day of my 30th birthday, and thinking about how I got to this point.  I do realize that in the grand scheme of life thirty isn't much at all, but for me, right now and in this moment, it is everything.

Am I where I thought I would be at thirty?  I'm not sure I can really answer that question.  I don't think I ever really looked forward to a specific age with a grand scheme of what my life would be at that very moment.  Sure, I had plans and dreams for my future but they were never really age specific.  Looking back now, I can't imagine imposing deadlines and unwavering plans onto life when it is really so unpredictable.  One of the greatest blessings in life can be that it is so easily changed with each new step you take.  The blessings are indeed within the journey.

What I can say is that, at times, when I stop and really think about things that it can seem just a bit surreal.  Here I am a (supposedly) responsible adult.  Responsible for not only myself but for two small humans, and their education, and a household, and a business, and...  The list of responsibilities certainly seems to drag on for quite a while, and while we're in the day to day goings on of it all, everything seems quite normal.

It is only when I stop and really think about it, that it sometimes catches me off guard.  It has really been an amazing and blessed journey that has brought me to this point in life.  I wouldn't trade any of the little moments that have built my path to exactly where I am right now, as this is exactly where I am meant to be.  When I woke this morning to the scampering of little feet and not so quiet whispers going on outside my bedroom door, I was immediately brought into the moment.  There was no wondering about the past, nor any pondering the unknown of the future, there was simply a moment to bask in the beauty of what my life is right now.

When I was finally allowed out of my room, I was met with two faces absolutely beaming with pride over all the hard work they had put into making Mama's birthday oh so special.  They had worked so hard together to create all the special things that they love to have on their very own birthdays.  Seeing how they had pulled together all those special touches that we use on their special days made my heart nearly burst.

 

The birthday table set with all the favorite pretties and stories, not to mention the letter 'a' removed from Kait's name banner since Mama doesn't have a birthday banner of her own.  And dare I say, their favorite part of birthday mornings, a fairy bread breakfast complete with a dinosaur topper and a few remaining Valentine cookies.  These loves of mine, they certainly are good to me. 

If this wasn't where my past self thought I should end up, I was certainly on the wrong path.  This.  This is exactly where I am meant to be and I couldn't have asked for a more special birthday.

Explore New Adventures

Every year as we ring in the new year together as a family, we choose a word to define the year ahead.  A simple year to set the tone for the days ahead.  It's amazing the power that a simple word can have on your life.  Focusing on the good you want to come can change everything as you move forward.

We adopted this tradition years ago as a way to move away from the traditional resolutions that many make.  Resolutions are typically about things you want to change in your life, and often come with negative emotions and ultimately failures.   That certainly didn't sound like something we wanted to start our year with, and so a new tradition was born.

This year we had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted to embrace in the new year, even if we had a bit of trouble settling on just one word.  We knew we wanted to jump headfirst into any adventures that 2014 might throw our way, and create quite a few of our own as well.  The girls thought we needed to add a bit more, and Explore was added to the mix.  Maybe a bit of longing for the exploring they love to do when the weather isn't quite as frigid as it has been this winter?  Or maybe a gentle nudge to finally hang the embroidery I was working on earlier this year?  Either way it was a perfect addition to our year, and our decor.

This year certainly brought some fun adventures so far in the way of snow fall, surprises, unexpected (but always welcome) houseguests, and the promise of more to come.  Considering we're only three weeks into the new year, we're anxious to see what other adventures come our way...

The designs came straight from Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray.  This book has inspired so many projects around here, and there are still so many designs we haven't even tried yet.  I see them popping up in many other places this year, especially little girl dresses.  The lettering is, of course, from Sublime Stitching.  The Sublime Stitching website is what first got me hooked on embroidery, the fantastic patterns and how-to section sealed the deal for me.  

Christmas 2013

We had quite the jolly holiday, though it did go on a bit longer than I had anticipated.  The holidays, travel, and a great deal of winter weather made it just a bit harder to get motivated and back into this space.  I am so happy to be back though, and have so very much to share.

Christmas was absolutely lovely this year.  So much creating, baking, and family made this a wonderful holiday season for us.  Even if we are still cleaning up bits of glitter and flour in the aftermath...

Icy Weekend

An ice covered weekend (and the resulting lack of electricity) didn't dampen our Christmas spirit one bit.  There was hand sewing to complete, gifts to wrap, games to play, books to read, and beautiful sights to see regardless of what mother nature might have thrown at us.  Today we are thankful to have the electricity back on, for today we will  finish up our holiday preparations and enjoy our favorite Christmas movies together.    

Winter Solstice

Well the first day of winter certainly came in with a bang...and a crackle and snap if you're listening to the trees all around us.  Even before we were in bed last night the world around us began to ice over.  We awoke this morning to everything glistening and the girls marveled in the beauty of icy covering.

 

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While there certainly is much beauty to behold, having gone through a few ice storms in our days, Daddy and I began to prepare for the eventual loss of power that was likely to come.  As the tree branches began to droop lower and lower under the weight of their icy blanket we knew our time was limited and then just as predicted...

It was Kinsley who questioned "why is the tree smoking?" and brought our attention to a troublesome branch at the back of the property.  And within moments the electricity flashed and the lights went dark, seconds later a transformer blew down the street as well.  

We are fortunate to have a heat source that does not rely on electricity and so our afternoon went on much as was planned.  Spending our afternoon sitting by various windows throughout the house working on and wrapping our Christmas presents for one another.  Happy when the lights came on only because it illuminated our tree once again (a very important aspect of Christmas cheer in our home it turns out).  

The power has since flashed on and off a few times since then so it is very likely we will lose power again before this storm is over.  And if that happens we will simply move from our spots near the windows and closer to candle light as darkness approaches.  Enjoying a simple (and thankfully warm) Winter Solstice.