sleeping beauty...

Hannah is my little sleeping beauty. She makes her bed perfectly every day, and at bedtime she climbs into it ever so carefully and lies perfectly still. Sometimes Emmeli likes to sneak into her bed at night, but she is not so particular and ruffles up the bed. This aggravates Hannah to no end. Last night, after Hannah performed her usual ritual of removing Emmeli, she discovered that her bed was so completely disrupted that she would have to get up and re-make it so as to have a fresh start. After a great deal of trouble in the darkness, she abandoned the idea and, finding her own bed to be altogether hopeless and unfit, gathered what she needed for a temporary sleeping arrangement on Daniel's couch.

snowy snow...

Today I was reading to the children, and there was a place in the book where it started to snow. Snow was falling outside my window as well, and as the author so beautifully captured the experience it hit me how much the image she had created in my mind mirrored my thoughts of Snow (my daughter). It was a beautiful thing. I almost cried and had to stop reading for a minute to take it all in.

little whisper...

I had to blog about this sweet little thing that keeps happening to me. When Emmeli gets upset with me about something, if I hurt her feelings or she feels like I've treated her unfairly, some time after the event, so that I'm not at all expecting it, she will quietly come over to me & whisper in my ear something like, "Mom, it was not what you thought. I was doing whatever, because of something else that you were unaware of, and I feel that I've been wrongly accused." Well, not exactly those words in that order, but you understand what I'm saying. She doesn't come to me bawling or making a scene or throwing a tantrum. She literally whispers it in my ear. It makes my heart melt to see her acting so civilized.

my what big teeth you have...

Wow! All those vitamins must be doing some good! I feel marvelous!

we're at now now...

For the past several years my New Year's resolution has been to slow down the passage of time, but I've been completely unsuccessful until now. This year, I actually gave up & made no resolution. I secretly planned for the same, but felt a little hopeless. Surprisingly it seems that so far this year is progressing quite gradually & It's wonderful. I think one thing that makes time pass too quickly is ambition ...also expectation. It's very hard to let go of those things, but it's lovely living contentedly in the present.

acquiescence...

Why is it that we always want to be better than we are & what about contentment? It seems to me that I'm forever striving for this thing. More strife. It feels bad. I want to be light, cool, & graceful.

groping...

"life is full of choices, not making one at all is far worse than making the wrong one"

~ i gleaned that from an episode of Cyber Chase =)

love is...

"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly"

~unknown

home remedy...

having a blog is almost as good as seeing a therapist. i love sitting down & trying to think of exactly what I'm trying to say & then sifting through images that say the same thing, very therapeutic.

cactus suit...

I think I just need a nice cactus suit that I can zip up in. Anyone know where I can get one of those?

snowmen...

Snow makes the most adorable snowmen. No kidding, she really has a talent, and she loves to make them. This Sunday when we were hiking she was carrying one around with her. Every time Ben stopped to take pictures, she would work on it, then when we started moving, she would pick it up & tromp through the woods with her little friend~so adorable. I'm looking at one of her little men right now. He's perched on the railing outside the living room window. =)

cod liver etc...

Cod liver, bee pollen, ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, you name it, I'm taking it. I've been doing a lot of research about vitamins, minerals, & herbs and it's crazy how much stuff our bodies need to function properly. How many pills can a girl take?! Yesterday, I asked Daniel to get my vitamins out for me & he accidentally gave me the wrong thing, so while we were trying to identify the mystery pill, Hannah came in and said, "You know, your pills do all look alike. You might want to consider relabeling." (just like Kronk) It was classic.

sing lustily & with good courage...

One of my favorite things about Christmas is singing Christmas carols. Last year I bought some song books, so now I know the words. We're still singing Christmas carols around here. This morning Emmeli was trying to sing The Twelve Days of Christmas. There were three dancing hula girls in her version. *smile* But she remembers I saw Three Ships correctly. She loves that song. Of course, she just sings that first line over & over, but it's adorable. Today we will take down our lovely Christmas tree. I think this is the longest we have left it up. It will be sad to see it go, but enough is enough. "There's going to be another Christmas soon!" I think we need to make up a farewell to Christmas song.

Last year I bought a Celtic Christmas cd that I have wanted for years. It's out of print & last year I found a copy, but I didn't find it 'til late. It arrived after Christmas and I never listened to it, so I was really looking forward to listening to it this year. Can you believe that I never got it out? Christmas has been such a whirlwind this year! I'm planning to listen to it while we take down the tree today. Next year I hope things are not so busy. I really find joy in keeping things simple. I love shopping for people, but when you have a big family, it gets a little crazy. Next year I'm planning for more singing and less shopping. I can't wait. *smile*

tree ornaments etc...

Emmeli~ "You can't take down the Christmas tree! It's beautiful, and there's going to be another Christmas soon!"

heart to heart...

Tonight after having a heart-to-heart with Hannah, she said, "I love you Mama. You make me happy. You make my life really very good."