Things that are Saving my Life Right Now

Winter has always been my least-favorite season.  It's long.  Its cold.  (Did I mention that it's long?!)  Somewhere around February I yearn for green and living things, in the midst of all of the white and grey swirling around.  I recently read a blog post about making a list of things that are saving your life right now, in the midst of dreary winter.  I loved this idea...similar to gratitude list, but more season-specific.  I figured I'd give it a try and it turned out to be quite long!  This practice was another reminder to me that there are always blessings tucked into difficult and dreary seasons, so long as we keep our eyes open to see them.  So, without further ado, here is my list of some of the "wee little" (I couldn't resist!) things that are saving my life this winter:

Megan catching snowflakes on her tongue :)

1) Trips to the library

The kids and I always look forward to visiting the library, but there is definitely an extra life-saving element to it, when we all have a case of cabin fever.  When we start to feel too stir-crazy, the library promises hours and hours of FREE entertainment.  We shuffle off with empty tote bags in hand and excitedly peruse the shelves for interesting titles.  The kids' moods are instantly improved, as is mine!  When we get back home, we pop some popcorn and dive right into our bags of printed goodness!

Our current "haul" (and I do mean a literal HAUL.  Those totebags get HEAVY!)

2) My slippers

A couple of years ago I picked up this pair of shearling slippers on an after-Christmas sale, and it's been true love ever since.  They keep my feet toasty warm without over-heating or getting all stinky and sweaty, like synthetic materials sometimes do.  They are SO super comfortable...it's hard to take them off when I need to go somewhere!  Which leads me to #3 on my list...

My favorite slippers...well worn and well loved!

3) Boots with wool socks

I've always had low blood pressure, so my hands and feet get cold very easily.  When I need to head out in the snow, I LOVE wearing boots with wool socks to keep me warm and dry!  The boots keep my pant-legs from getting all soggy (the WORST!!) and wool socks keep my oft-icy toes super toasty!  It's *almost* as good as wearing my slippers!


4) Soup

I've always been a soup-aholic, and have even shared a few recipes over the years of my personal favorites.  There's nothing like warming up with a steaming bowl of homemade, healthful soup to cheer up a dreary day!  I love to serve mine in an over-sized mug, while warming my ( icy!) hands on the sides.  This Chicken and Couscous Stew is one of my current favorites. So so good.

Butternut Squash soup--one of my faves!

5) Celebrating "little" holidays

After Christmas and New Years, there is a whole 'lotta winter left, without much celebrating to do.  To help cheer us all up, while waiting for Spring, I like to make a semi-big deal out of the little holidays, including: Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day.  We make crafts, we bake tasty treats, we put up decorations and read fun books.  It really helps make the remainder of winter more exciting!

Making "Fai Chun" for Chinese New Year

Our silly Mardi Gras masks we made last year

The "wearing of the green" for St. Paddy's last year. (How did a whole year fly by so fast?!)

6) Trying New Hobbies

Winter is the perfect time of year to dig into some new hobbies.  This winter I'm trying my hand at making homemade wine.  It's a lot of fun!  It's still in process right now (in the "secondary fermenter"), but I hope it will turn out yummy!

Luke's latest hobby is 3D puzzles!

7) Afternoon Tea with Read-Alouds

I love the simple beauty and cheer of gathering around the table every afternoon for a cup of something comforting, a little snack and a great book to read aloud.  Sometimes we make tea, other times it's hot cocoa or even lemonade (usually coffee for me!), but we always have a great book to go with it.  Right now the kids and I are enjoying the American Girl Felicity Series.  I wasn't sure if the boys would get into them, but they like them, too!  We've been reading this book along with the series, which also has great information about life circa 1774.

Sometimes we get fancy and bust out the nice china, but most of the time we keep it pretty simple!

Thank you, library, for helping us keep our sanity this winter!

This is just a small section of my much longer list of things are "saving my life" this winter.  They're just a few of the little things that help brighten my day and fill me with hope and joy.  I'd love to hear some of yours!  If you'd like to share your list or see some others, check out the link over at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

12 in 2014 {a photo re-cap}

One of the things I've always loved to do at the beginning of each new year is take a look back on the previous year's photos. It always tells such a story.  2014 was a year of difficulties and loss, but also packed full of blessings and joy.  It was a turbulent year...a real emotional hum-dinger. (I know I'm aging myself by using the term "hum-dinger!"  Does anyone even say that anymore?!) It was so hard to pick just one photo to capture each month!   Here is my year in photos:

January:

Our New Year's Eve tradition is to burn a bayberry candle A Bayberry Candle.  As they say, a bayberry candle "burned to the socket brings Luck to the household, Food to the larder and Gold to the pocket." It's a fun and simple thing to do.  I love how it symbolizes a fresh and shiny new year ahead, filled with good things.

February:

Last winter we all discovered our love of "afternoon tea!"  February was the perfect month to cozy up with a steaming cup of tea, some yummy treats and a stack of read-alouds.  So that's exactly what we did.

March:

March was one of the most difficult months of my life.  I miscarried my baby boy,very suddenly at 18 weeks.  A few weeks later, one of my best friends and her family moved away.  But, as I looked through my folder of March photos, I was struck by this picture.  It's a Pileated Woodpecker.  I'm a self-proclaimed "bird nerd" and have always wanted to see one of these birds in my yard, but never have.  One day, not long after my miscarriage, this beautiful bird visited our yard for the entire day.  Even in my saddness, I remember the thrill of watching this happy bird pecking away at our silver maple.  It serves as a reminder to me, that even right there, in the midst of trials, there are still moments of joy and blessing, if you keep your eyes open.

April:

Aaaaaah, Easter.  Spring was such a balm to my hurting soul last Spring.  The return of all things green and living, and warm fresh breezes wafting through windows was exactly what I needed.  We had a beautiful Easter, complete with egg hunts, good times with family and baskets brimming full of goodies.

May:

May was an exciting month for us, as Luke made his first Holy Communion!  I love this picture in particular, even though it's blurry, because of his beaming smile as he walked down the aisle of the church.  

June:

Every summer our family vacations at the Outer Banks, NC.  It's always a wonderful time, and this year was no exception.  The weather was hot and sticky on this particular day, and Kevin and the boys got stuck at the top of the lighthouse for over an hour (!!), but it was still great fun.

July:

July conjures memories of warm summer nights, BBQ and...fireworks!  Our family had a great time watching the fireworks display on the July 4th.  It was a night of sticky juice box spills and goldfish cracker feasts, on a damp too-small quilt.  We waited in parking lot traffic for almost an hour afterward.  But it was totally worth it, in order to see the kids faces light up brighter than the display across the sky.

August:

Looking back on August, I remember spending tons of time outside in the backyard gardening, while the kids climbed trees, splashed around in the kiddie pool and dug up bugs.  I remember how thrilled the kids were to find this little guy hiding out in the garden shed!

September:

This photo was taken at a Labor Day picnic at the beach.  The weather was perfect and we all had a blast visiting with family, squeezing out every last drop of summer sunshiny goodness this bright September day.

October:

I remember how much the kids and I laughed hysterically when I accidentally photographed Adam with his jack-o-lantern in a way that made it look like he was IN his pumpkin!  After that, we decided we just had to snap pics of Luke and Megan "inside" their jacks, too!  (For some reason we couldn't seem to get Megan's quite right, though!)  Too funny!

November:

Around the beginning of November we started seeing a group of turkeys (technically called a "rafter"of turkeys.  There's your nerd fact for the day!) pass through our backyard, nearly every day. I found it was so fitting that they started showing up around Thanksgiving!   Ever since, we've been enjoying our morning turkey-spotting ritual!  Whoever notices them first shouts "Turkeys!" and we all drop everything and run to the window to see how many there are.  On this particular day there were almost 30 turkeys out there!

December:

Christmas morning excitement!  Need I say more?!

So, that's my year in photos.  It was so nice to take a look back and really see all of blessings--even during the difficult months.  And it struck me how much the kids have grown in a year--how does it happen so fast?!

Sharing my photo re-cap over at House Unseen.

Peace Like a River

With the arrival of the new year, many of us take stock of our lives--where we're at, where we're headed, what we wish to accomplish in the year to come.  While I've never been a huge "resolution" person, in more recent years I've become more intentional about the progress I wish to make in the coming year. By being around goal-oriented friends and reading books on the subject, goal-making has rubbed off on me a bit!  So, while I'm still reluctant to adopt the more formal (and intimidating!) "list" approach to resolutions, I do love the practice of choosing a one-word goal.


Having a one word goal helps give me focus during the day-to-day routines of life.  It's a gentle reminder, when I feel like I'm stumbling and overwhelmed, to just slow down and see the bigger picture. My one word becomes a part of me, changing me forever.  One of the really neat things that has happened ever since adopting this practice, is that I have begun to see the inter-connection between my words from year to year.  As I worked on trust a couple of years ago, I discovered how it was related to my previous goal of "courage."  The connection makes sense, really, since spiritual goals never really exist in isolation.  I've been marveling at how my words have fit together year by year, like puzzle pieces.

A beautiful necklace my (awesome!) sister made for me for Christmas.

This year, the word I've chosen is peace.  Sometime last Fall I started thinking about what my new word would be.  One of the words that initially came to mind was "stillness."  As I began to think and read about stillness, it led me to the word peace, which felt just perfect.  While I spent 2014 trying to live more fully in the present, I felt like I wasn't allowing enough time to just be at peace.  My days are often filled with near-constant interruptions, noise and busyness (homeschooling 4 kids can have that effect!).  But I need peace in order to steady myself.  And one of the amazing things about peace is that it can still exist in times of chaos, because it's not dependent upon the environment; it's something that dwells within us.

Once I decided on peace as my word for 2015 I wanted to start by seeing how the dictionary defines it. The definitions were a great place to begin:

Peace: Freedom from disturbance; quiet tranquility.  A state of security.  Freedom from oppressive thoughts or emotions.  A state of calmness. 

I loved thinking about peace as a type of "freedom."  How true that being held captive--by our surroundings, or thoughts and fears--is what destroys our peace. After pondering this definition I wanted to see what scripture had to say on the matter of peace:


"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed' says the Lord." --Isaiah 54:10


"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." --Isaiah 55:12


"I have told you these things, so that in me, you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." --John 16:33


"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit." --Rom. 15:13


"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." --Phil. 4:6-7



But the one that spoke to me the loudest was this verse that helped bring me comfort through my miscarriages:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  --John 14:27

As I read all of these verses, so many amazing things kept popping out at me...most of all the connection between peace and hope, trust, thanksgiving and joy.  Before I had read the scripture verses on peace, I hadn't given a ton of thought to how closely related all of these things are.  But it started to dawn on me, that when we have give thanks, we can trust more deeply, which fills us with hope, spilling over into joy...all of these things working together toward peace.  So, in a sense, peace is the gateway to joy!  Amazing!

I'm looking forward to seeing where my one word will take me this year.  So far, I've been setting aside time each day to read and think about peace.  I've been trying my best to put aside the Martha-esque to-dos and worries, to just be still.  One of the things I've enjoyed playing around with lately is Zentangle.  Concentrating on the repetitive strokes and letting go of perfection while I do it is a great way to bring calm and a feeling of peacefulness.  My good friend introduced me to it about a month ago, and I've been loving it ever since! 

I've also resolved to write in my gratitude journal every. single. day.  While I've somewhat kept up kept up on jotting things down in my journal, I had fallen out of the practice of writing in it daily.  So, now I begin each morning jotting down my eucharisteo.  

I've also put into practice, during my morning prayer time, a few minutes to just be quiet and let God speak.  I tend to do a lot of "talking" to God when I pray, and sometimes I forget to just listen.   


I can't wait to see what the year ahead will bring!


Do you choose a one word goal for the year?  I'd love to hear yours.  Do you make a list of resolutions?  Feel free to share in the comments!

Advent Update and O Antiphons {Free printable!}

Enjoying "Holiday on Main Street" despite the frigid temperature!

As Advent flies by (doesn't it always?!), I haven't had much time for blogging, but I wanted to squeeze in a quick post!  I've been trying to fit as much fun as we can into this short Advent season, while being careful to maintain balance and avoid over-commitment (always a challenge, that one little word--balance).  A head-cold the kids had last week forced us all to slow down and do the simple at-home stuff we love best.  We read lots of Christmas stories, drank hot cocoa, watched Christmas movies and made simple crafts.  Every year I seem to need the reminder that it's not about how much we do, but the quality of what we do that matters most.  (I guess I have a short memory!)  Fun no longer feels very...well, fun when it's jam-packed into teeny tiny time slots, like sardines in a can.

But we have managed to fit in some activities we love to do each year.  We trimmed the tree.  We've prayed around the Advent wreath each night (ok...well most nights!).  We saw some amazing gingerbread houses on display.  We celebrated St. Nicholas Day and St. Lucia.  We did some RACKing--taping quarters to parking meters and popcorn to Red Box machines.  The kids have been placing "Sneaky Art" around stores whenever we shop!  Life is good.

Megan all dressed up for St. Lucia Day

Our St. Lucia Feast :)

As Advent nears its final days, I wanted to share these free printable O antiphon ornaments I made.  You can print, color and mount them to cardstock to make ornaments, glue them to wooden blocks...or whatever else you feel inspired to do!  My kids love coloring them and hanging them on our paper Jesse tree.  We also incorporate them into our evening prayer time, starting on December 17th, by praying the corresponding prayer each day and singing the appropriate verse of O Come of Come Emmanuel.  It's simple to do, and a fun way to build the excitement as we celebrate the final days of Advent.  They also blend beautifully with the Jesse Tree stories, which is a neat bonus.

This is what your print-outs should look like.  Just color and cut.

O Antiphons Page 1 of 2 

O Antiphons Page 2 of 2

Click on the links above, and you should be able to print the ornament pages from Google Docs.  They are Microsoft Word documents.  If you're looking for O Antiphon prayers, these are great to say together as a family.  In that same link, you can also read about how the Benedictine monks arranged the O antiphons to spell "Ero Cras"--tomorrow I will come.  Amazing.  And here you can find the corresponding verses of O Come O Come Emmanuel to sing.

Our simple paper Jesse Tree

Some of our favorite Christmas read-alouds

I hope you're having a blessed Advent.  If you use the printables I'd love to see what you create!  Please feel free to share!

Why Beauty Matters

Lately I've been thinking about the importance of beauty.  How beauty is a gift from God-- one that we so desperately need in our lives.  How beauty has the ability to uplift, to elevate, to draw us closer to our creator.  Beauty is the lens through which we see the extraordinary, a touch of the divine.

I have this friend who has bare walls in her house, because she's doesn't have the extra funds to decorate the way she'd like to.  So, she's decided to settle on nothing at all.  This makes me sad, because when we surround ourselves with beauty (and I don't mean the cost-a-whole-paycheck variety.  I'm looking at you, Pottery Barn.) we are uplifted.  Beauty elevates the spirit, making us come alive inside.  It arouses a feeling of hope, a glimpse of eternity.  And beauty can truly be free...or practically free, if you use a little imagination.  A simple browse on Pinterest can spark all kinds of creative ideas on how people re-purpose, up-cycle and use items found in nature.  Fill old jam jars with wildflowers. Paint an old picture frame. Cut up a salvaged sweater and wrap it around a dollar store candle.  Take a walk in the woods and cut some branches to display.  Beauty. Practically free. 

A year and a half ago, when we moved to our new house, the walls in the dining room were a bright sunflower yellow.  This wasn't the color I'd originally envisioned, but I was 7 months pregnant and it was 3 weeks 'til Christmas, so painting was pretty much out-of-the-question for me.  But I still wanted to make the room look pretty, even though I'd decided not to paint.  I thought a collection of cheerful plates would work well with the color, and bring some beauty to the bare walls.   But, since we had just moved and it was right before Christmas, there wasn't much money to spend on decorating.  So, I went to Good Will and found a bunch of bargain plates for $1.00 a piece.  It was so much fun playing around with the designs and sizes to create something unique! Yes, it wasn't completely free--it ended up costing about $12.00 dollars (I made the hangers myself with wire). And if I had had to save up for it, I would have.  Because beauty matters. It's just a simple thing I put together, but one that continues to give me cheer, whenever I'm in the room.

My cheery little plate wall, on our first Christmas in the new house.

And of course beauty isn't only aesthetic, and it's certainly not restricted to home decorating.  We all know that beauty comes in many forms--music, dance, nature, writing, cooking, and countless other forms.  But the reason I bring up our homes is that we spend so much time in them--hours gazing at the walls and surfaces around us.  So, why not make them as beautiful as we can, to elevate our spirits?

Several months ago, I came across this video on the subject of beauty, presented by philosopher Roger Scruton, entitled Why Beauty Matters.  It has been with me ever since.  It is one of the most moving pieces I've ever come across on the subject of beauty.  It's about an hour long but very worth the watch.  (Warning: the video contains several disturbing images unsuitable for little eyes, so plan to watch it sans children!) Here are some of the take-aways that really spoke to me:

image source

1) We understand our own nature, as spiritual beings, through the pursuit of beauty.  An experience with beauty can have a profound and life-changing impact.

2) Beauty is an antidote to the chaos and suffering of this world.  It brings consolation in times of sorrow and jolts us out of the complacency of our everyday duties.

3) Creativity is a call to others to see the world as we see it, a way to share our hearts and connect with others.

4)  Beauty has the power to arouse powerful emotions within us--feelings of desire, adoration and longing.  It awakens in us the stirrings of the soul that sometimes lie dormant and calls us into contemplation.

image source

5)  Beauty lies all around us--the world itself is intrinsically beautiful, and art (in all its forms) reminds us to see it.

6)  When we remove beauty from the world, we are left with ugliness, utility, a world of alienation, raw appetite and despair.

It matters that we create an atmosphere of beauty in our lives.  We are surrounded by so much ugliness in this world.  There is pain, poverty, illness, natural disasters, loss of faith.  We need a place to elevate our souls and arm ourselves to fight for what is good. 


Plato once said "Beholding beauty with the eye of the mind, you will be able to nourish true virtue and become the friend of God."  Yes.  I can't think of a better pursuit than growing closer to God while pursuing virtue.  And I love that beauty is a path to this.

An *old* high school picture of me singing in the our chorus

image source

So, lose yourself in a soul-stirring piece of music.  Contemplate the brush strokes of a gorgeous painting.  Gaze in awe at the wonder of an architectural masterpiece.  Be blessed by a stage-performance which feeds your being.  Go for a walk and bring a bit of nature back home with you to display.  Get lost in a beautiful pursuit of your own, that awakens your passion.  Take a moment to look within, to contemplate, to be transformed by heaven here on earth.  Let beauty be a balm to to your weary soul.  Steep yourself in goodness, and ponder in deepest gratitude, Our Creator, who gave us this magnificent gift of beauty.

Happy Martinmas!

 

Happy St. Martin of Tours...a.k.a. Martinmas!  Last year my family had a lot of fun sitting around the fire pit in the backyard, grilling hotdogs and making s'mores to celebrate.  We also decorated these printable lanterns , and displayed them in the yard.  This year we plan to do it all over again!  I just wanted to share the printable lantern again with you, in case you wanted to make one, too!

Our backyard fire last year.

HUGE huge fire Kevin had made! (It was actually a little scary at one point LOL!)

Luke toasting up some marshmallow yumminess.

Happy celebrating!