Midwinter, Really?

The weather here today was flirting with 60 and sunny! What a midwinter treat!

When I made the homemade popsicles some time ago, power packed with "secret" ingredients like kefir and sambucus, I had thoughts of sore throats in mind, but eating them outside on the sunny porch in good health is so much nicer!

These boots were made for walking running!

I LOVE JANUARY!

Not sure how long I have felt this way... I know that I used to always hate February until we moved to this house and discovered maple sugaring and now I love February too.. This January... it started off pretty rough... sickness and conflicts... but I have found such rest! In the midst of snow and the flu and so many suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorders, I find myself feeling renewed! I don't mean to lack compassion, come July you will likely find me with reverse SAD, so I do sympathize with those of you who have the winter blues. You won't often find me rolling in the snow, or often donning the ice skates, and never the skis! But the children love the snow, their excitement is contagious, and taking them to the ice skating rink is a pleasure, especially when I get to sit by the big fire with a friend and chat for a few hours! Jason will be taking our older daughters to the slopes soon and I am excited to hear all about it! Coffee takes on so much more life in the morning when the air is crisp and the sills are fluffy and white... The spiders are not peering at me from every basement rafter while I do laundry, though there are a few seeking refuge in cozier corners upstairs, but not nearly as many as the warmer months. Baking and blankets, hot baths and snuggling with my hot man, stocking the wood stove and even occasionally stacking the wood, all bring me immense satisfaction and pleasure. I have to confess that being beyond the past year's holidays is also part of the joy, they were really great this year, and I am so appreciative of the reason for the season and the friends and family that share the joy in so many ways... but having a less busy calendar, taking down the decorations and giving the house a thorough cleaning just adds to the current cozy feeling for me. Seed catalogs have started arriving and so have the baby bunnies, and any day we expect to find goat kids waiting for us in the barn. Our orchid is about to burst into bloom and so is our wonderfully retarded Christmas cactus! Our anniversary and Valentine's Day and sugaring season are all just around the corner, and life is sweet! God is so good, and my cup of thankfulness is overflowing...

A Season for Thanking and Thinking of You

Thank you cutesy cookie makers! Especially those of you that come up with the adorable ideas all on your own!

Thank you to those of you who love simply and live fully...

Thank you to those of you who don't question difficulty, but have sincere compassion for the hurting....

Thank you, those of you who are blatantly passive aggressive for peace...

Thank you, kind souls who love celebrating the birth of our Christ with childlike zeal....

I want to be more like you....

Bless you! Merry Christmas! Happy Holy-days! Seasons Warmest Greetings!

Peace and Love and Family

(a single click on the photo should enlarge it for better viewing)

She should have been resting.... in the hospital! Gram welcomed us with open arms and smiles and gifts, even though she is suffering from pneumonia! Her granddaughter, Savannah, is following in her footsteps of love. Somehow, sweet Savannah managed to get her face covered in poison ivy! Poor dear, but she arrived with smiles and good natured laughs, the round of comments were simply unavoidable, but all were made with much sympathy.

Getting together to share a meal, to share a hug, to share a memory. Little Hazel and her Uncle Rob certainly helped to create sweet memories. Why do babies prefer some over others? Hard to say, but little Hazel certainly adores that Uncle Rob of hers, and I'm pretty sure he has a special place in his heart for her also. Watching the sweetness is endearing and heartwarming.

In-laws, out-laws... the law of love... that is what binds. This picture, this day, these people, not a perfect one among us. We may not even know each other very well, but we love somebody in this group, perhaps we even love everybody in this group. My fondness continues to grow for the ones that hold love and kindness high, for the ones that don't pick and choose who is family and who is not, for the ones that welcome anyone that longs to be connected for better and for worse. It is so much easier to be tolerant and forgiving of the ones that are tolerant and forgiving of me, but tolerance and forgiveness also needs to be extended to the ones that aren't in the picture. I don't know all the reasons that the family photo lacks a family that should have been there, but I know that they were missed. And I am glad that they were invited. I've heard some say that invitations don't get extended when it is certain that they will be declined, but I say, "They're far more likely to not come if they aren't invited!" I know from personal experience that even though there are times, for various reasons, that I don't feel able to embrace reunions, it is nice to be invited and welcomed, even if it is a welcome from a distance...

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." Luke 2:14

Full of Thanks and Pie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Warm Heart of Autumn

Oh, Autumn, I love you...

Thou some may see demise,

I see a nurturing giver of life.

The abundance of harvest,

Summertime's efforts in fruition.

What would be the point otherwise,

Of heat and sweat and labor?

A wild cacophony of rejoicing!

The leaves exploding with color

And dancing on every breeze!

Deer and turkey abound

Unwittingly advertising sustenance.

The coming winter moon

Flirting through baring branches.

Soon stars will shine

Unmatched in seasonal radiance.

The darker the neighborhood

The brighter the signs in the heavens.

Indoors, the quest begins

For cozy blankets and mittens.

The ice cream stands

Make way for pumpkin patch yields.

Cardinals appear

Beckoned by the roses hips.

Already, in the barn

There are expectations.

Preparations for milk,

As the flowers, the honey.

Springtime,

Regal Autumn's lady in waiting.

Rest for a season.

The reason of woodpiles.

Smokey homes prepared

With libraries and pie.

The announcements of crickets

Gives way to silence.

Now we can think....

The heart of Autumn is warm,

Evidenced by the chill of the hands.

Fare Thee Well!

Up with the sun to go to Student Day at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire! Student Day basically means that the Faire is open for students and chaperones only with pre-registration and all the pubs and lethal weapon shops are closed for the day...

Elephant rides

Blacksmithing

Woodcarving

Hazel seems to be fond of kittens and pirates...

Very tall man in very little shoes

Falconry

Shopping....

"Hmmm.... is chain mail in the budget, or would this be an impulse purchase?"

The Herb Garden was my favorite part of the faire, I would love to use it as a prototype for my own backyard! And it was so nice to have Maam (Faith Sangree Windish, my mom) join us for our day of medieval fun!

Glassblowing

Musicians

Our school group

Hazel, just before she took a tumble and scraped up her little nose... poor baby...

Jousting

Growing Up, Destiny and Savannah

Our precious twins just turned thirteen! I thought some flashback photos would be fun!

Their thirteenth birthday weekend consisted of having friends (the Keisters) over on Friday night, followed by a sleepover at Mimi and Poppy's house, followed by a Saturday out with Mimi, followed by getting their ears pierced (a gift from Mommy and Daddy), followed by an outing with their youth group. Sunday morning they received cards and a laptop for sharing between the two of them, followed by church, followed by a yummy taco salad lunch, followed by cake decorating, followed by having a birthday party (Mimi and Poppy and Dave and Sue Martino joined us)!

(below) the yummy taco salad lunch (we didn't get a picture of the delicious supper that Jason made, we were too busy eating! But they had requested steak, potatoes, peas, and pierogies, and Mimi also brought fruit salad)

(above) Twin birthday cakes courtesy of Country Cupboard, while out for breakfast with Mimi on Saturday.... (below) With Sue there beside her, Savannah gets ready for her turn at the candles, displaying her lovely manicure (also courtesy of Mimi).

(above) Destiny gets her turn at the candles (Pastor Dave on the right, and Savannah on the left), (below) a picture of the cake before the candles. It was inspired by Destiny and Savannah's love of farm life, a fruit tree, a pumpkin patch, bunnies, etc...

And here they are, beaming and bright. We love you two ladies so very much and I feel incredibly blessed to be your mom. May the Lord bless you and keep you forever.