March Is...

Glaciers still on land and water...



Spring flu...



But also,
First crawls...



Lost teeth...




And gloriously goopy MUD...

Standing Still

It is so quiet...

The younger kids are falling asleep, their dad sitting in the rocker by their bed, softly talking. The lights are low, baby too is slowly falling asleep in my gently swaying arms while we listen to this song. Our oldest comes down the ladder from his loft...and the room seems to almost stop...everything is slow motion. He casually breezes over, kisses baby on the top of her head and glides toward the kitchen...in a snap, all becomes normal speed again.

In those few moments, past and present were looped...for just a second, that big boy was just a baby again and I could literally feel his small warm body...and then it was gone.

Living it ~

I had started this blog after getting a bunch of questions on how we do it...then I started to think that the question of WHY we do it may cut to the chase a little faster and put it all in perspective more clearly. it seems, as long as there is a commitment to the WHY then the how of it all becomes a little more, well doable ;)

So the Why -
Now this is something we have struggled with and honestly, don't have a second thought about how other folks live, but one reason is, well, feeling indulgent. I mean, if we could make do with this space and consume fewer resources; why not give it a go? Also, with the income that isn't spent on keeping a larger space between mortgage, utilities and comforts we thought we could be doing some good with our dollars. Whether it be making consumer choices that we otherwise wouldn't be able to afford or having spare funds to go toward a cause we believe in, these bits of abundance are a result of the choice we have made to stay here...We may not always be able to do this and there will come a time when we outgrow the current space set up and will need to tweak things but, this is where we are right now.

Now, don't get me wrong. I dream of larger kitchens (how small is that thing anyway? well, that's a whole 'nother post ;), multiple bathrooms, preciously decorated children's rooms - the whole shebang. Fact is though when it has come down to actually making the move, the scales come out and the great balance seems to tip toward staying here. So we live it ~

We'll be spending more time chatting on the space, why we make it work, how we make it work (or sometimes don't! ;) and what our family gains and maybe even misses out on in all of this.

So what's it like? 800 square feet? 5 kiddos? Do I have a rubber room? ;) Well not yet.

Reminders

That, for now, they are here...

It won't always be this way. There will come a time when the toys will be gone, special ones packed away for grandchildren...

A time will come when my house will always be too neat. When they are grown, having adventures out in the world, what I won't give for one of these days of adventures laid out upon my living room floor...

So for now, I won't rush through and clear away this evidence. These reminders of what is now...the fleeting beauty that is today.

New Sister Blog!

Funny how little pieces slowly come together and before you know it, something new and wonderous has been created. Lovely when it all comes together isn't it?

What am I talking about? Well, thanks to a couple of lovely little birdies who most definitely were in sync with the universe, a new sister blog has been created in the hopes that it will inform folks on various global issues that effect us both locally and globally.

Please visit our new sister blog:
http://globalawarenessproject.blogspot.com

Each month GAP will feature a specific issue in an effort to spread the word on what the issue is, why it matters, how it effects us locally and globally and also - what you can do to help. With short, daily posts we hope that folks will have the opportunity to become informed without becoming overwhelmed. GAP stresses the strength of communites coming together to inform themselves and each other as well the power of active engagement in the issues.

Please hit the 'follow blog' button on our sister blog so you can keep updated!

Here is a little snippet on the water issue:



xo

Updating the shop...

oh. so. slowly...

Snippets of time here, moments of quiet there....over a few weeks, second by stolen second stitches become a form.

I'll be spending this week sneeking moments to update my Etsy shop. Fingers crossed! ;)