The Great Walk

This photo was taken just a few minutes before we left on our Great Walk.  We hashed out a summer bucket list several months ago and one of the things they wanted to do was was walk from our house to their Gran's house.  It usually takes us only about 10 minutes or so to get there by car so it really isn't any great distance.
In the photo they are looking at their papa who is describing the route we were about to take.  "We'll walk through the woods and pick up a road where we'll meet up with that other road that dead ends into, well, we have no idea what...."  I think he went on to talk about tall brush over our heads and having to knock down a trail through it.  It was around that point where I noticed a look of concern on their faces.
Despite the overwhelming concern though, it went great.  It took us about 5 hours to get there and they were happy to check it off their summer bucket list.

Snow!

 A light dusting of snow and I am feeling downright giddy because of it. 

Mid-January, and it's finally feeling like winter.

Paper Flight

For the last two weeks or so these paper planes have been whizzing through the air all around us.  Some time after they make their final descent, they can usually be found under tables, stuck in lighting fixtures, behind furniture, and often on top of most high horizontal surfaces-shelves, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets and other hard to reach places.  I have been watching these planes fly around just above my head (often way too close to my head and even in to my head) thinking they had really summed up my feeling about the holiday season for me- in flight.  I finally feel like we are a bit more grounded around here and it is feeling very very good.

I was also feeling quite content with my little guy running low on his supply of special airplane making paper. The making/folding of these planes is just really darn cute.  I love watching him study the pictures in these books so closely and watching his little hands, that are growing more and more capable everyday, fold up his little flying wonders.  That is all really fantastic.  It's the "test flights" that I find challenging, "Hey mama, watch this one!", and suddenly before there's any time to react an extremely fast moving plane with a rather pointy end is flying towards my eyeballs.  So, it's only for these "test flights" that I have had my eye set quite happily on that dwindling supply of paper.  It was all looking so good for this mama. 

                      Then, that clever little boy of mine found a way to recycle the junk mail.

Happy New Year!

My apologies...

I have been a very absent mommy blogger lately and for this I must say, "I'm sorry".  This season is so very full.  It is full of things to do, places to go, people to see, things to read, projects to work on, and things to cook, make and bake.  This is one of those times of the year where I find myself pulling in and bringing my awareness to my family in a way that just doesn't allow me to be "plugged in."

I will say that I do think about this space everyday, and quite often, many many times a day.  I find in this space not only peace but also a community of like-minded people (mothers, mostly) who value and hold dear the very same things that are so close to my heart.  To see all of these wonderful mothers sharing what they do with their children as well as the things they teach and how they teach them--peace, community, creativity, valuing our land, our food and our bodies, conserving, preserving, recycling, up-cycling,  reducing, reusing, repurposing...and more--it is so inspiring!  This space stretches my mothering in a way that I have never felt before.  I am so thankful for each day I have been able to be present in this space and be apart of a community of mothers who both inspire and challenge me to give more of myself to my children and to my family.  To these incredible mothers I say, "thank you! Thank you for being here and thank you for so generously sharing."

I will be back in this space more regularly as our days begin to move a bit more slowly and everyone feels a little more secure in the rhythm of home.  I hope everyone has a very joyful holiday season filled with kindness and love.

peace,
Jaime

From the weekend...

 The Christmas tree expedition.

One of my favorite things to do at the end of our very full days, is make my way to a small little desk situated inside of one of our closets.  Hidden away; this is the space where we keep our computer.  It's here each day that I love to come and reflect on the time that seems to be so quickly passing by us. Last week I wasn't able to make it into this space to write or reflect at all.  As a result, I was feeling uneasy and unbalanced.  A few more days without finding myself in this space passed and I noticed I was starting to get a little hard on myself and a bit cranky.  It occurred to me to shift my awareness.  If I hadn't been taking time to write and reflect on our days then what had I been doing?

When I stepped back with a deep breath to look around our kitchen, I could see so clearly what had been taking place.  Through a mound of pots stacked up next to the sink and flour sprinkled liberally all around, I was reminded that my family is on a journey towards planting ourselves more solidly in line with the things we believe are good and right for us.


Scanning around this messy kitchen of ours, I saw:

::  Bread rising near the fire.

::  Three little people happily playing together and apart, weaving in and out of each others play and space    learning how to get along and, equally as important, learning the right way to not get along.

::  A chicken.  Our very own chicken that we lovingly raised and "harvested," being thoroughly picked clean of meat and all the bones carefully laid aside for a nice bone broth.

::  Beautiful green onions just pulled from the greenhouse that morning nearly ready to join a handsome piece of chuck roast that found it's way into our freezer after being separated from its happy grass fed owner.

::  Some homemade yogurt trying to stay warm while doing its thing under some towels in the corner.

::  Kombucha, doing whatever it is that kombucha does in that lonely week or so it has before its ready.

::  And, our sourdough starter.  The beautiful new addition to our family happily bubbling away on the counter and smelling quite wonderful.

This, all going on in just that one small space in front of me.   These few things were enough to make me smile and allow me to gain a new perspective on what I should be doing.  Each one of these things for me requires time, patience and usually research!  There is no one to call up for a quick, "hey this dough isn't rising right, what's the deal?" or "This kombucha mother keeps sinking to the bottom should I.....?"  Instead, it's almost always getting out 5 books to figure out what's going on and then trying to find a second to sneak into our closet to Google something.

And so, this is where I've been.  Sometimes muddling my way through the things I'm not sure of and other times taking confident strides.

Either way, this is where I've been.  

And it's here where I will happily be tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!