Birthday Season ~

Like many families, we have a "birthday season" of sorts. A time of the year when the family's birthdays happen to congregate together making for a seemingly non stop marathon of cake and ice cream - and for the folks who don't fancy cake, maybe a little pie. Around here, our sugar sprint begins in April when the snow is still on the ground and ends in mid September when the apples are still ripening.

Maybe it's the mixture of fall air and the subsiding of birthday plans that leaves my mind to wander over what has been in our parenting world. What has taken place that I really liked, what could have been done better...I find this little bit of introspection (most often done on our hikes) to be a wellspring of inspiration and gratitude. The trick is not to get too focused on the 'what could have been done better' aspect. I find these moments are better seen as potholes of sorts...things to be avoided when we can but sometimes ...well, there are distractions and we slip right on in... ;) That's where the gratitude part can come in handy. Gratitude to have the presence and will to see those bumps, try our best to learn from them and importantly....move on down the road to brighter adventures.

As for the what I enjoyed, these serve as motivational jumping points. A little boost - we always have more energy, presence and inspiration when we feel good. In this way, I have found it's super helpful to remind mindself of what works in my parenting. More goodness just seems to flow easily that way.

I was thinking it might be fun to make a little daily calendar for myself of these joyful moments. Just as reminders ~ little things to say or do with my kiddos that worked for me...that were organic and flowed from my own parenting and so were natural. Hmmm, think I will :)

Mint Tea and Acorn Soup ~

Good fun in the unpaved driveway yesterday ~

The guys were so quiet...this was a good quiet though. I found them amassing an enormous amount of acorns. Soon after, they excitedly came inside for water to create their "soup". "We are making our own snack!" and they were gone, warm buckets of water in hand.

Within 5 minutes, they were back inside looking for bowls and spoons; ready to taste the fruits of their labor. At first I said, "I don't think you should taste that..." but the look of disappointment was so sad on their little faces that I kept my caution to myself and let them have at it. After much debate about who would be the first to taste it (none of them wanted to be the guinea pig) our youngest gave it a whirl and the others followed suit. One sip was all it took of the acorn soup ~ none were impressed. Now the winterberry leaf tea, that was a little treat for them.

Later they brought it all to the deck and covered it with a large bucket to "keep the squirrels from eating it". Feels like fall already...

Cooperation...

Looking through old photos I came across these. I can remember when this was created...was it last spring? I was shocked when I looked at the date and realized it was 2 and half years ago...how does this happen? Where does time go?

An 80 year old woman whom I much admire at my mother and father in law's church once said to me that one of the hardest things in life is how quickly the life of a child goes...I understand this now but I wonder how accutely I will truly comprehend this when I too (the fates willing ;) am 80 years old...

This photo is so sweet to me because I remember the day my then 12 year old and 6 year old worked on this together. For much of an afternoon they set this up and were so proud of their creation; pointing out all of the intricacies...we had them take pictures after so the photo credits are theirs. We wanted to see how they saw it. What was important about this to them. These are some of the shots taken that day.

A nice reminder to me in these busy days to be present in the moments before they pass and capture the sweetness any way I can.

A ladder

A little outside play moment here ~
How much fun can a 4 foot tall, old bunk bed ladder be? Well, I will tell you...*lots*.

Handy for climbing up rocks, trying to stand on unsecured by anything, fun for bridge making, great for setting up action scenes for playfigures, even nice for dropping repeatedly, flat on the deck to enjoy the reverberating sound it makes (*so* glad that one was outside ;)

Then there are, of course, plenty of those other kinds of fun...it's also exciting to try and push your sister off of or to squirrel away when someone runs inside to grab the *perfect* toy to use with it ;)

Maybe we will see this gadget so high in demand on the shelves this holiday season....mmm, imagine...now *that* would be fun :)

Popped ~

Just loving our new little one ~ everyone is so in love with this sweet one :) After birthing 3 kiddos in under 4 years and the *business* that went into those days, this is such a treat to have all of our other children old enough to really enjoy this experience. In this too are the bittersweet moments of this being the last baby to grace our family's lives (until grandchildren of course ;). We'll all hold onto every gurgle and sweet murmur while we can ~

Popping ~

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,
not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you
with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that
is stable.

-- Kahlil Gibran

Summer ~

There has been a chill in the air, especially at night, that foretells the coming of fall with undeniable certainty. We've learned to grasp, what always seems, the shortest season here and try to hold on as tightly as possible. However, as with all things, time moves on bringing the promise of new adventures to come. This summer's adventures have included our 6 year old taking her first steps at learning to swim solo...going underwater and swimming with just a noodle. The maturing and freedom searching of our 14 year old as he spends more time away from home. Our 4 year old's fascination with letters and sounds and finally, watching our 7 year old make connections between things in the world that I wouldn't have even guessed he knew about much less grasped. Amazing what tiny & miraculous moments each season brings ~