22 December: Winter & Holiday Favorites, 2011 edition

Well, I've figured I need to just stop apologizing for not being here much. There are many reasons, some good, some not so good, but we'll just say I'll be here when I can. 

I toyed with the idea of not doing a winter/Christmas book post again this year. To be honest, I've plowed through many of my very, very favorites over the last 5 years. And I had a moment of doubt last week about it, thinking it just might come across as excessive. But we really are collectors, they're my favorite children's books of all, these wintery and Christmassy ones. They always have been, since my own childhood, I think. So I've decided to share a few with you again. Some of them are new to us this year (the kids always get new nativity books from St. Nicholas -- though this is getting a bit trickier as Elisabeth is beginning to feel "too old" [whether she actually is or not, that is how she feels] for picture books, but there's reallly just one book that matters on the subject that isn't a picture book), and a few have been with us a bit longer. I know it's not enough time to buy any or probably even find them at the library, but at least it's here for future reference. (As always, the Amazon links are here for your convenience; I don't have an active Amazon Associates account, so I don't make a penny from them, wherever you buy them. Support local or independently-owned booksellers when you can! My favorite is Chinaberry.)

The Night of Las Posadas I really love this one. Tomie dePaola has been a favorite of mine since my childhood, and this book is so sweet, with its mysterious miracle. It straddles the realm of a nativity book and a contemporary Christmas book. It's very reverent and beautiful.

Family Christmas Treasures: A Celebration of Art and Stories I don't recall when, why, or how this book came into our possession, but I absolutely love it! It is a huge book (15" high or so), filled with fine art images from artists as varied as Gaugin, Pissaro, Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, and Andy Warhol. (Also many 19th century lithographs, etc.), and short pieces (or excerpts of longer ones) from literature. Washington Irving, Samuel Coleridge, Willa Cather, Kenneth Grahame, Truman Capote, Dylan Thomas, Robert Louis Stevenson, and so many more. This is, maybe (I say, ever so tenuously), my very favorite Christmas book. Really, really, really.

You Can Do It, Sam So absolutely cute and sweet. We've had this book for probably 8 years and all three of my children have loved it. It's so very perfect for those independent toddler days, when being able to deliver a bag of treats to the front door of a loved one elicits such pleasure and satisfaction in a little one. This is a dear, sweet book.

This Is the Stable This was Fiona's St. Nicholas book this year and it has been a real winner. It's not quite as dull as some of the "house that Jack built" formula books can be, but still repetitive enough to be just right for my almost-three-year-old (!), who loves a bit of sing-song to her books.

The Little Boy's Christmas Gift I'm including this one a bit hesitantly, because it's out of print, and pretty long. It was James's St. Nicholas book this year, and I have to admit that we often don't read the whole thing but just admire the illustrations, which are so beautiful (and are the reason I'm including it). The back of the book has an author's note which talks about the inspiration for the illustrations (15th & 16th century paintings from Northern Europe). He discusses details of the paintings that inspired his, and the symbolism they used. As a piece of art, this book is a masterpiece. As a story, it's a bit slow and dull. 

Apple Tree Christmas This is a book that Elisabeth has been coming back to again and again for the past 2-3 years. It's a story, based on some true events, of a family living in an old barn (it's hard to tell the time period -- maybe anywhere from the mid-1800's to the 1930's), during one very hard winter. The older sister is an avid artist, and the family has a beloved apple tree where she likes to climb and draw. The hard winter comes and there is a lot of damage -- to the tree, to the family's way of life, etc. The way they pull through it is both inspiring and a little bittersweet. It always makes me feel grateful for what we have.

Mouse's First Snow We have a few books in this series (we got the Halloween one when Elisabeth was just a baby), and something always brings us back to them. They're so simple, and everything in them is so familiar. I really like that the father is the one going out to play in the snow with the little mouse, because my kids all really love a good snow day with Daddy!

The Story of Christmas This was Elisabeth's St. Nicholas book this year, and while the text is simply the biblical text (King James version), and the illustrations are (in my opinion) both lush and intriguing, it's a case in point: she thought it was too childish. However, I really like to look at it, ponder the words so beautifully, strangely, and yet familiarly told, and look at the folk-inspired Scherenschnitte illustrations. So, maybe not the best for that in-between time of childhood. ;) Adults and younger children will probably all appreciate it, though.

It's Snowing Oh my goodness, I don't think anything could be cuter than this little round mama and her little round baby, all wrapped up in furs and running outside to play in the snow at night. Such fun, so light-hearted and sweet. What a happy reminder to play with our little ones! 

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I hope you enjoy this year's list, as well as all the previous years' lists. (Find them here: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006.) This may be my last time to do it -- I don't want to be final on that, but I think I've pretty well gone through most of our collection at this point! I have many more winter & Christmas books on my wish list, though, so we'll see what next year brings. (Oh, by the way, I added my holiday listening list to the right-hand sidebar once again, beneath the book list, for your listening pleasure!)

Merry Christmas if I'm not back before then!

xo,
Grace

8 December

Here is a post I wrote a couple of days ago and just didn't get the chance to publish, thoughts about celebrations, in honor of St. Nicholas Day. Excuse the photos. Every year, my children wake up a bit earlier than the previous year, and this year there was nearly no daylight at all. I miss the days when they woke up at 8:00(!) every day!

When Elisabeth was born, we were the only people we knew who observed St. Nicholas Day, at least beyond a cursory nod and some candy in the shoes at Sunday school. So we made it our own, in a simple, special way. I've realized over time how important keeping things very, very simple is for my children, and for my own sanity. I think it's easy for parents to want to go all-out with everything, including lavish celebrations of every major and minor holiday. The risk with making every event more extraordinary than the last is, of course, burning out -- and missing the opportunity to experience something truly meaningful. 

(Although I do know several families who do the majority of their family gift-giving on St. Nicholas Day, in the European tradition, and that's not what I'm really talking about -- I mean more the pressure to make every major and minor holiday a huge production, which is exhausting and can make us feel like throwing in the towel altogether!)

So, St. Nicholas Day doesn't have to rival Christmas in terms of gifts and traditions and amazement. You don't have to use special shoes, or fill them with lots of gifts, several varieties of fruit and nuts, and lots of different decorations. My children love the predictability of our small celebration; we've been doing it the same way all their lives and they love that. There is one gift (a new nativity-themed Christmas book) for each of them, and chocolate coins in their shoes. And there is plenty of wonder and delight and excitement and joy. 

Last weekend, as our Advent stockings were getting underway and I was laying in bed with stomach flu, I was reminded again of the advice I have shared with so many other mothers: Could you do it if you were sick? If your child were sick? If you were traveling, or if you had house guests? Could you do it if you moved to another state, or another country? Would you want to?

Traditions change and evolve, and sometimes you find that they go away without much fanfare at all. Certainly the answer to each of these questions doesn't have to be "yes" before deciding to begin something new (or no one would ever begin a new tradition). But they are good things to ponder. 

I really believe that when we keep things simple, when we really get down to the heart of why we do them, then they become a part of us, not a burden. And that is exactly the kind of celebration I hope for -- for our family, for each of my children as they grow into adults, and for my own soul, too.

{This year's chocolates with their lovely religious images came from Emmanuel Books, and I plan to continue getting them there! As Molly said, they made exactly the kind of difference we hope for in this season.}

5 December

Well, my intention to be back on Friday or Saturday after a day or two off was thwarted by a ghastly stomach virus that took all of us but my husband down. I thought I was going to die! Seriously! But all's well now, though I'm a bit more harried than I would like, international shipping deadlines and whatnot. :)

Anyway, last night, in the midst of heavy snow, and freezing, freezing temperatures, our little merry family bundled up in our warmest woolens and ventured out to ice skate! (Though I was reminded once again how I could really use a pair of these, especially since I don't even own any pants ... it was cotton jersey pajama pants under a skirt for me and I was cold! Maybe someday....) 

Snow continued to fall, lights twinkled overhead. It was one of those beautiful, magical Christmassy moments that you couldn't manufacture if you tried. We all came home and stripped our outer layers of clothing off and hopped into bed in our woolies (or, pajamas, in my case). 

Tonight we will set out our shoes for St. Nicholas to fill in customary fashion. I am a little bit amazed how, after ten years of doing this, the traditions that we have put into place so consciously have continued to carry us. A little more about that tomorrow. 

24 November

So very much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I hope you are all feeling it tonight, too. 

We sat around the table today and shared gratitudes. I'm not sure if he misunderstood or if he's just very profound, but James said he was grateful for Beatrice. We all cried. 

I hardly ever bring my camera to holiday family gatherings anymore. I'm not sure why; maybe it's just that I wanted to step out from behind the lens. So I have a single, solitary photo of a pumpkin muffin this morning. And that feels good, too ... some things don't need to be captured by a camera to matter, you know? 

Feeling so grateful tonight for my siblings, my new sister-in-law, my generous mom and the strangers at her table today.

And so grateful for all of you who visit me and make being in this space worthwhile. Thank you, thank you.

love,

Grace

(PS: I'm working on a number of deadlines this week so I probably will take a break from responding to comments until next week. I will still post though.)

17 November

In the interest of catching up, I have a few Christmas gifts that I completed last year (all at the last minute, true to form) to share with you, before this Christmas rolls around.

Last year Allegra and I had some good times on Facebook counting down the hours and ticking off our progress. I was doing hourly progress reports. It was fun. Although, maybe not the kind of fun I want to replicate this year....

Anyway, last Christmas Eve, I sewed these three items and completed a couple of other projects (more on those in upcoming posts). 

For our great nephew (oh, my, how hard it is to say I'm a "great aunt" at age 33 [aren't they usually about 85?]. Well, I was actually 31 when this baby was born, but anyway, yes, my husband's oldest brother has a grandchild....), I made this cute applique initial shirt. A simple gift, but applique stuff is always so well-received. 

For my sister's oldest step daughter, I made this tote bag, which was intended to be for her piano music, although she has since stopped taking piano lessons. But purple is her favorite color, and Elisabeth still gets so much use out of hers, so I'm sure it comes in handy. The pattern is the Ballerina Drawstring Bag (really a tote bag) from Simple Sewing with a French Twist (this was the second time I've made this bag; the first time was for Elisabeth's 5th birthday). I really like this pattern. It comes out looking very finished and professional for not a lot of work.

For my sister's younger step daughter, I made another Simple Tote from Bend the Rules Sewing. The last one I made went to her older sister (the one who got the purple tote this time) years ago, and I'd been hearing rumors that the younger sister wanted her own, so she got one! I totally love this red kitten fabric! 

Altogether, these were easy, relatively quick gifts that all come out looking pretty polished. The best kind of gift, I think!

(Though I wish I had better pictures, but this is what one gets when one procrastinates until Christmas morning to take the photos immediately before wrapping them. Hmmm.)

15 November

{Many of you are visiting looking for my huge advent lists. I'm happy to share my lists with you, they are a gift! But know, also, that no amount of planning for little gifts and crafts and activities will really carry you through these weeks of preparation -- as advent truly is -- the way that a peaceful and joyful heart will. So if filling an advent calendar doesn't add to your peace and joy, my loving and "wise" (33-year-old wise, remember?!) advice to you is to let it go. Blessings to each one of you as we await this most joyful of seasons! Here are the links: Celebrating Advent :: Part 1 ~ Celebrating Advent :: Part 2 ~ Last year's PDF}

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{Photos in this post are all from last year}

With advent officially beginning in just a few weeks, and Christmas only four weeks behind that, my mind is turning to the ways in which our family marks this beautiful season. 

One of the things my friend and I talked about on Saturday, when I came away thinking how great this time in my life is, is the fact that neither of us feel like we are "winging it" when it comes to Christmas this year. 

I think most of us come into parenthood with so many hopes and ideas about how we want our families to function ... everything from how we care for our newborns, to the most important things we want our children to come away with from their childhoods (I remember someone once saying she had the goal of her children knowing how to swim and how to use public transportation before they were grown -- two things she really didn't want to skip in the flurry of childhood), to the ways we will celebrate holidays, and how that will be both the same and different from how we have celebrated them in the past (in our own childhoods, in our pre-parenting adult lives, too). 

I had some definite ideas about advent and Christmas as a young(er) mother, and some new must-do rituals have worked their way in, too. But even with all the planning that I do, and try to do, I still have felt, a lot, that I was doing things by the seat of my pants during December. "Oh! Yes! I need to make sure we have the St. Nicholas gifts!" or "Where on earth am I going to find (x ingredient, supply, etc.) on short notice?"

This year just feels so different to me. I haven't done any shopping yet. I don't really even know how much I'm going to be able to do, actually. (Some. And it's not like we have done extravagant gift-giving, anyway. But some corners will be cut, too.) But what feels different is my own level of mental preparation. I know exactly what to expect with each of the small rituals our family observes over the coming weeks. I have our advent candles. I have our St. Nicholas coins. I know what I'm going to do about a King Cake (almost 2 months from now!). I'm not wondering what we're going to try or make or do differently. It feels established, a routine, something that finally, finally carries us all. Oh, how good that is!

My inner preparation feels different, too, as I've spent the last 15 months deep in the bible (I'm currently a student in a 4-year biblical school). I think that this is helping me keep some perspective on what the miracle of Christmas actually is, at least for me as a Christian.

A few new things will be added this year. A few things we've done before may not happen. But the outline, the scaffold, of how our family will live and move and celebrate through these upcoming weeks, that is there. Now all I can do is hope for snow. 

11 November

{this one was taken at 11:11 on 11/11/11!}

Sometimes things just don't go as planned. 

Like this year's Martinmas. I had no sweaters (or any other handknits) to gift my children on this day. We ended up with no lanterns (more on that in a moment). We knew we wouldn't be able to do our customary lantern walk because we were going to see Fiddler on the Roof instead. We ended up not having our usual Martinmas supper. What an exercise in letting go!

This year, I had visions of beautiful beeswax lanterns in my mind. We followed the instructions carefully, but yesterday, all of our attempts were foiled with balloons that popped.

So today, we regathered, made a special trip to get "better" balloons, and tried again, with warmer water and cooler wax. Still, the wax on the balloons wasn't hardening sufficiently. It was cracking when I'd try to set it down to form the bottom. So I thought I'd avoid setting it down and just dip it until I got a decent coat of wax on there. I've dipped enough candles to know that you can just trim the bottom. So, patiently I dipped and dipped. And then, POP! The balloon exploded. The wax had just one trajectory. Straight to me. I was covered from head to toe (well, head to knee, actually) in beeswax. It was all over my face, in my hair, and all over my clothes. It didn't burn (I don't know why), but I'm afraid my clothes are ruined. I'll try to get the wax out (I know several different tricks for this), but it's not like when you dribble some wax on a table cloth or rug. It is a thick, nearly even coat, all over the front of my sweater and skirt. 

Alas, no lanterns. I thought, early in the day, of making the punched can ones as a back up, but our recycling was just picked up yesterday afternoon and we had no cans. Of course there was no time for the oiled watercolor ones or even the papier mache ones. Anyway, it ended up being a really uneventful Martinmas. But sometimes, that is just the way of things, isn't it? Hopefully over seasons and years, this failed celebration will fade into humor and grace, and the intention behind it will be all that matters. 

Tonight, though, I have more beeswax to comb out of my hair.

2 November

Today is All Souls' Day, and we are quietly enjoying a beautiful snowy day at home, thinking of those who have gone before us. 

And thinking a little more about last weekend's fun, too.

Our annual trip to our favorite pumpkin farm, this year complete with snow from a few days earlier -- and gloriously muddy!

Our pumpkin carving party with my friend Rebecca and her sweet family (her baby boy's very first pumpkin carving party!). {One of our favorite sources for pumpkin carving inspiration remains this book.}

Everything autumn. (Fiona's silly bagel face early in the morning on our way to church.)

Trick-or-treating with my sister, my mom, and one of my best friends in our city's small downtown. (Where Elisabeth and James both got a turn "driving" the tractor for hay rides!)

Trick-or-treating around our neighborhood, too. (This exciting house is directly across the street from us!)

Too much sugar. 

Snow. Snow! It's literally impossible for me to be unhappy when there's snow. 

{Also, some things I'm excited about right now: habit is open for submissions all of November in the flickr group, and the iPhone is now available for Sprint, my carrier. That makes me happy in a silly way, even though I can't afford a new phone in the immediate future. Hee.}

Arr, tharr be pirates, ye scoundrels!

My kids have been really into pirates for what seems like ages now (probably more than a year). James has been drawing treasure maps on every piece of paper he can find (carefully "authenticating" it by crumpling and tearing, as well). About six months ago, we had the opportunity to see real pirate artifacts (and even touch some of the only pirate treasure ever recovered) in this fanstastic touring museum exhibit. After that, the idea of being pirates for Halloween was pretty much determined. (How much do I love that we are still on the matchy-matchy costumes?)

(I hate that I have to do this, but a disclaimer: we do not glorify piracy or the actions of real pirates, past or present, in our house. It is a fantasy character, plain and simple.)

I think it's interesting to observe how the popular image of what a pirate looks like has changed since I was a little girl. I realized, as we were out trick-or-treating, first in our small downtown's trick or treat street, and then later in our own neighborhood, how much the "look" of a pirate has been influenced, for better or worse, by Captain Jack Sparrow. I think that even children who haven't seen the movies (as I presume most little ones haven't) think of a pirate as looking that way, with the belts and the sash and the rings and so on, as opposed to my childhood image of pirates, which was perhaps a bit more Mr. Smee in nature. Anyway, when we began discussing what costume elements were absolutely necessary in the pirate costumes, the first things to come up (besides the hats, which we already had in our dress up bin) were the belts and sashes.

{blurry, but I couldn't resist the leaves!}

These costumes were the easiest I've made in my Halloween costume-making career (which is quite extensive -- these brought my costume-making tally up to 19!!). I only had to sew the shirts and the vests. (Fiona didn't get a vest because, frankly, I didn't think it would have much dress-up play value and didn't seem absolutely necessary. She certainly didn't care.) I tore the fabric for the sashes, and we got pants and belts at the thrift store. They also each wore a couple of rings. Elisabeth had one costume ring, but the rest of the rings were fashioned with large buttons and pipe cleaners!

Altogether, these costumes were easy and very fun. (And cheap! We only had to buy the striped fabric for the sashes and thrift the pants! Everything else was made from materials or items we had on hand.)

{a bit of pirate attitude}

Details:

Shirt "un-pattern" here. I used an old sheet for Fiona's shirt, and some muslin I had in my stash for Elisabeth & James's shirts. I did the collars and cuffs slightly differently on each shirt, and can't really say which turned out best. They're all different, I suppose.

Vest "un-pattern" here. I didn't love the way I drew the bottoms of my vests, but I threw them together at the last minute because the kids decided after trying everything on with the shirts that something was missing. I wish I had taken a bit more time with the vests, but they look fine for Halloween costumes. I used the idea suggested on the Wee Folk Art site to make it seem like there is a missing button. I tied some string on the button side and the buttonhole opposite it is non functional. Elisabeth's vest was made out of some corduroy I'd had for several years and James's was made with some linen that I got for a song years ago, as well -- I had maybe 10 yards of it just going unused! What an odd purchase. They are both lined with this fantastic, funky vintage fabric that I got from Jodi, also ages ago. (I need to get some pictures with the lining showing, it's so great.) The buttons are some random "brass" buttons I had in my stash, probably cut off of blazers at some point. Altogether, the vests are my favorite part of the costumes.

The idea for the rings out of buttons and pipe cleaners was also from this site! It was very useful in fashioning our pirate costumes this year!           

Edited: Oh, gosh, and I almost forgot one of the best parts of this story. I sewed several of these costume pieces with a kitten sitting on my shoulder. That's right, mateys, I have a kitten parrot! 

Once again, we were delighted to have fun, homemade costumes as part of our celebration. (Just a bit more about Halloween tomorrow, too!) What about you? What kind of costuming did you do this year?

Boo!

Happy Halloween, friends! Sorry I haven't been here all week, I've been really stressed (maybe more on that later). But tonight, we are headed out with three pirates, mateys! Pictures tomorrow!

I plan to post every day in November again, as I have the last several years. Please join me here each day (I'll probably post after my kids are in bed, so it may either be late at night or early the following morning for some of you). As always, I love to hear from you! It makes being here every day much easier and more motivating when I hear from you in the comments. 

Oh! And by the way, as you may have noticed over there on the left, Uncommon Grace is now on Facebook for your liking pleasure! I'm posting links, sharing bits of our days, and answering your questions. Please come on over! 

See you tomorrow! 

Some Christmas knits

I know I promised to be here yesterday, but I had a headache (which I very, very rarely get, so I'm a big baby about them), and the day got away from me. 

On to some knits. I've alluded to the fact that my kids' "fall 2010" sweaters are now finally complete (only 6 months late....). I think I will wait to share those at the beginning of next week since they are my "big" knits and I hate to end a week with my best material. ;)

But I do have some other finished knits to share with you.

Last November, I solicited ideas from you about what to knit for our priests for Christmas. I ended up knitting a scarf for our pastor (who had gotten a hat the previous year), and a hat for the assistant pastor who hadn't been with us before. Some drama ensued (in my mind, no one else really knew about it until now, when I'm putting it out there on the internet....) when I saw the assistant pastor wearing both his hat and the scarf I'd knit for the pastor. My feelings were extremely hurt. However, I moved on. You can't control what happens to the gifts you give people, even if they are handknits, and even if the person to whom you gifted them means a lot to you and is, in your opinion, a sharp dresser (who should like scarves). I never actually found out why the other priest was wearing it -- whether our pastor didn't like it and just gave it to him, or whether the assistant pastor didn't realize whose it was and just picked it up out of the rectory closet, or what. Either way, it was being used and enjoyed and keeping someone's neck warm. Also, both of our priests were reassigned this year, and we are getting two new priests in mid-June, so there will be a new batch of hats, I'm sure. So, enough about my hard feelings, and on to the pictures.

For both projects, I used Malabrigo Rios in black. (By the way, I love the texture and loft of Rios -- I highly recommend it for a superwash!)

The scarf for our pastor was the Professor's Scarf. It was so easy, quite fast for a scarf, and I love the look. I did use an entire skein and didn't feel like it was going to be wide enough, so I dipped into the second skein (which was for the hat), and still didn't get it wide enough. It turned out that the hat used less yarn than I anticipated, so I could have gone farther on the scarf, but I left it. It was fine, but I think a little bit wider would have been nice. (Ravelry link.)

The hat for our assistant pastor was this Irish Hiking Hat (I knitted a different Irish Hiking hat in 2009). I really loved knitting this and it's one I'll definitely make again, especially with new priests to knit for this year. (Ravelry link.)

A recently completed "Christmas" knit (a very belated gift) was for the teacher I had this year in the 4-year Catholic biblical school I'm in. I ended up giving it to her, wrapped in Christmas paper, at our final exam in May!

I loved my teacher, learned so much from her, and felt a real kinship with her: a fellow Type-A, melancholic, lover of pink. So I knitted her a pair of Leslie's Toast (how has it taken me so long to get on the Toast/Toasty wagon? These are fantastic!) in Malabrigo worsted (Cactus Flower colorway).

These were (obviously) very quick to knit, once I actually sat down to finish them. I did most of the work the night before my test, when I should have been cramming. I ended up getting a 100% on the test, though, so I suppose the last-minute cram wasn't all that necessary (despite the very real tension I was feeling at the time!).

They are also super cute and so very pink! Perfect in every way, in my opinion. (Ravelry link.)

OK, those are the knits for today. I'll be here tomorrow again (seriously!), and next week there will be lots of pictures of three very special cardigans. It's so good to be here!

Easter tidings

I hope you all had a blessed Easter Sunday yesterday, and that the coming weeks of spring will be filled with much goodness! 

Here is a little bit of what has been happening here over the last couple of days....

Eggs! 

We dyed them using beets, turmeric, and purple cabbage. The colors were absolutely perfect; the most beautiful we've ever done! Every year I plan to use natural dyes, and every year, I fail to get around to it. I'm so glad that this year, we did! Next year, I would like to do more eggs with a few more colors. (The egg cup above is an antique Japanese one from my great-aunt's Easter collection, which I was fortunate to inherit)

The Easter bunny arrived on schedule, leaving behind his customary muddy footprints. However, this was the second year in a row that I forgot to put some little Ostheimer bunnies (that I got on sale after Christmas of 2009) into their baskets. I will need to make a note to myself for next year or something.

I brought my camera to our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services this year, thinking I could take some beautiful photos inside our lovely church (a la Kyrie), but I find that taking photos inside the church, especially during services, doesn't feel right to me, so here is the lone picture of our Easter church. And I love it. 

My mom's pretty china (formerly my grandmother's). I love it so much ... it is so suited to Easter. This was the kids' table. There were real linens on the adults' table.

Easter snow!

It actually snowed more on Easter this year than it did on Christmas. Hmm.

Today, I am relaxing, wishing for some warmth, knitting, cleaning, detoxing from yesterday's sugar overload, and reveling in the joys of Eastertide. 

What about you?

Nine years old!

This is the scene to my left as I sit at the computer late on the night of my firstborn child's ninth birthday.

She lost a tooth today. The Tooth Fairy has already made her visit, though I have yet to head to bed. I know there is a sprinkling of fairy dust on my child's pillow and surrounding areas. There is a note, and two dollars -- normally the Tooth Fairy leaves two quarters, but a tooth lost on a birthday seems bigger than that, don't you think? -- under her pillow.

But I'm still up, reminiscing about this day, and these nine years of motherhood, and this daughter of mine.

In the early hours of the morning, she opened her gifts blew out the candles on her birthday ring -- this year with only three little figures left in the ring, making way for nine bright candles. And so many little people in the center! (Note to self: buy more birthday ring candles!)

She served on the altar at church this morning, a responsibility she relishes.

We ate pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, potato chips. And lemon cake. (From the latest issue of Everyday Food -- the recipe isn't up on the website yet, but I highly recommend it, if you have a copy of the magazine -- still on newsstands.)

We played this game. The children read together.

All through this day, I thought to myself, "I can still see the baby she once was in the girl she is now." I remember her tiny newborn face, in those moments after birth. And yes, this is still her. Yes, this is still the busy, dazzling, delicious toddler underneath those serious dark eyebrows and thoughful gray eyes.

Yes, the sensitive and stubborn preschooler with the Shirley Temple-curls is still here, though we see her differently now, in our sensitive and strong-willed nine-year-old who is beginning to experiment with many new, intricate hairstyles. The nine-year-old who treated us to a "fashion show", twirling and dancing in her new (very "big girl", certain-styles-only-please) birthday clothes. The flower-loving girl who treasures the early spring flowers of her season of birth. Who I saw stealing a peek at the end of one of her new birthday books. (Something her mother has been known to do, too.) Who is still delighted to wear her birthday crown all day, just as she was when she first got it years ago. And who still believes in magic. Shouldn't we all have some magic on our birthdays?

Yes, I can still see my baby in my big girl. And I am amazed and surprised and excited to see the big girl that I never could have dreamed of back in the baby days.

We are so blessed to have this incredible girl in our lives. Happy birthday, lovely Elisabeth! You mean everything to us.

(You are seeing this a day late due to technical problems -- also some of the reason I haven't been here in a while. This will be the year we get a new computer!)

Five years old!

{please excuse the breakfast crumbs! ack!}

It's funny about time. Sometimes, you can see how you got from one point to another and it makes perfect sense -- I think about Elisabeth turning nine this spring, and even though that seems so "big", and even though, in some ways, I can hardly believe it, at the same time, nine years seems about right. It really feels like it's been that long. But sometimes, the passing of time doesn't seem to make any sense at all. When I think back to that snowy Sunday morning five years ago, when I awoke and had a baby in my arms just an hour later, I can't believe it's been a full five years. Five!

So, my little guy is five today. Ages three and four were challenging for him. He's a sensitive little soul who feels things so acutely, and it sometimes leads to misunderstandings (or worse) between him and the people around him. I'll admit to more than a few moments of frustration where I have asked "Why? Why me? Why is he so challenging? How are we supposed to get through this?" And those moments are often followed by moments of grace, in which I realize that I am the exact mother he needs, as hard as that might be sometimes.

But he is such a smart, loving, wonderful little boy, too. He fills our lives with fun, creativity, and joy. His curiosity and zeal are so inspiring, as are his honesty and vulnerability, too.

As I think any parent of a challenging child would say, I will gladly accept the storminess with the sunshine. I do hope that things are easier for him as he enters this year of Five. But no matter what, he is such a beautiful part of my life, I cannot imagine a world without him, challenges and all.

I'm brimming with love for my sweet boy. Happy birthday, Jamesy!

Two years old!

I can hardly believe that it has been two whole years since we welcomed this little one into our family.

Ane yet, here she is, filling our home, lives, and hearts with her particular blend of sweetness and stubborness, determination and delicacy, playfulness, thoughtfulness, and fun.

I'm amazed, constantly, by the individuality of each one of my children. You sort of think, "Oh, three kids, I've got this figured out." But each of them is so amazing; growing, changing, becoming themselves in their own wonderful ways. A father of eight children that I know once remarked, "If you want to know at what age children reach certain milestones, ask the parent of an only child. After eight, I certainly don't know!" I think that says exactly what I'm thinking today, as I look at my new two-year-old, who has less to say than her siblings did at this age, but at the same time, so much more to say. She is, without a doubt, the most determined and stubborn of my three; almost fearless. And yet, she is so delicate and tender. A little bit small for her age, a little more prone to sickness and injury. We definitely baby her. And I'm really, really OK with that.

She is our baby. Our sweet, fierce, loving, precious baby.

She's so ready to be a big girl. And I know that so much will unfold in this magical year of Two. I can't wait.

Valentine's Day: what it is, and what it isn't, about

So yesterday passed the holiday that may be my "least" favorite, although "least" is sort of misleading as I do like it, just not with the same fervor as the other holidays in my life. I've written about Valentine's Day before, both my feelings of ambivalence about it, and the importance it has taken on as a way to stop, look at my children, and write for and about them. Some families share a birthday letter with their children each year; for me, it is the handmade Valentine that has come to be that moment when I look at them, the people they have each been and become over the last year, and write about it to them. (Most of my handmade valentines have been rubber-stamped, but my favorites were the fabric hearts from three years ago.)

Anyway, this year, we were horribly and desperately sick from February 3rd onward. First, with sinus and upper respiratory crud, and then, starting last week, with a stomach virus that knocked both me and James out for a full six days. I never got to make my handmade valentines this year. Instead, very humbly, I wrote my babies' love notes into store-bought cards, and felt a tiny bit of loss as I did it. There were no heart garlands, no heart bunting.

Instead, there were plain store-bought cards, simple gifts, lunch from Chipotle, and celebration at having recovered from almost two weeks of illness. And I think that is a pretty beautiful Valentine's Day, don't you?

A very merry Christmas

This has been one of the busiest weeks on record for me. I have been making so many things! I'm hoping that when you see everything I got done this month (in some upcoming gift posts), you'll forgive me for being absent this whole week and not doing the Holiday Home Tour. Maybe I'll share some of our decorations with you next week, as we'll be celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas in our customary way.

Anyway, I've been a knitting and sewing machine this week. Along with some baking (much of it of the lemon variety, thanks to my dear, dear, sweet friend Sarah and her lemon tree), and some birthday celebrating. (Today is my husband's birthday. He turned an age that starts with a "4" and ends with a "3".) So, yes, a very full week.

So from here, I'm going to wish you a very merry, blessed, and bright Christmas. See you next week!

love,
Grace

Being

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in the last two days. What I had intended to post on Wednesday felt kind of out of place after coming home from church that evening, smelling like incense and feeling quiet and meditative (in the best of ways). And last night I sat down to write, and fell asleep while my photos were uploading. So, no post!

I'm looking at the photos I've taken over the last couple of days, and thinking about what makes a house a home. It's hard to define, isn't it? My house is usually far from tidy, but there are all these small, quiet corners, the little things that make up our daily lives; bits that wouldn't mean anything to anyone else the way they do to us. And it's a beautiful collection, this home, this artifact of a family's days of living and working and creating, eating and sleeping, breathing and being.

Today I have Erin's post on my heart. It was a good reminder to me -- not to stress and fret, to be OK with saying no to things, to embrace the good quiet and peace that can be ours in this season, if we allow it in.

This weekend we'll seek out our Christmas tree, and do most of our decorating. We will listen to some of our favorite music of the season (some of which can now be found in the right-hand sidebar, below the books). We will celebrate, live, work, create, eat, sleep, breathe, and be.

I wish the same for you, my friends, this December weekend.

For the love of tradition

This morning my children were up well before the sun to rush out and discover their surprises from St. Nicholas. They tend to be early risers, anyway, but today was an especially early and exciting morning. Alas, I don't have as beautiful of St. Nicholas photos as I've had in years past.

What I do have more than makes up for it, though:

*A simple celebration that is both exciting and reassuring, something that holds our family in its magical embrace year after year.

*Something that we have been doing without fail since the first year we were parents, so strong in its consistency, its link to the past (our own, and the many families before us who have celebrated in similar ways), and the future.

*Three new books to add to our collection, all three of which choked me up as I read them aloud today.

*Excitement, joy, magic, fun, and love.

What traditions does your family hold dear at this time of year?

Holiday and Winter Favorites ~ 2010 edition

It's hard for me to believe this as I write it, but this is my fifth post of favorite holiday and winter books. Five years in a row I've been posting these! Surely I'll run out at some point. Surely. But not this year....

(And not next year, either; I have more waiting in the wings! You can find the previous years' posts at the following links: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. I shared so many in 2007 that it's a Christmas miracle that I have any left to share. ;) There will be one repeat this year, and I imagine there will be a few here and there in future years, too, since we're reading older books in new ways, as our younger children keep growing and appreciating books that their older siblings loved before them!)

Oh, and please don't miss Big Susan, The Tomten, Christmas in Noisy Village, The Mitten, and The Hat. I promise that you will love each of those books as much as we do!

A Day on Skates This is the kind of book that sort of takes you by surprise. I'd heard about it for a long time before we finally read it for the first time last year. I was never sure what to expect, based on the cover -- I'm not sure if I can exactly put that into words, but I was a little bit wary of a certain self-consciousness that books from this era can occasionally have. I need not have worried. It is wonderfully clever and classic, along the lines of another favorite children's book of mine, The Wheel on the School. A Day on Skates delighted all of us last year, and we will definitely be reading it again this year!

Silent Night I was sad to see that this book is out of print. It would really be worth searching out a used copy, though. The text is three verses of the song "Silent Night", and the illustrations have a gorgeous simplicity. I love the illustration of the choir of angels, whose robes are part of the night sky. And it's part of my small collection of children's Christmas books that portray Mary nursing Jesus! (Love.)

Snow Tree This sweet book shows a group of forest animals decorating a tree with their own small gifts to remind themselves of the brightness of summer during the snowy cold of winter. I love the textured pages, and Fiona absolutely loves the animals. (This is the book pictured in the photos of this post.) Fiona is so into books like this right now -- with sturdy, textured pages, and lots and lots of animals to talk to and squeal at! (The Lonely Scarecrow is along the same lines and she loves it, too.)

Christmas Farm This is such a cool book, as it follows a story for a really long time -- about ten years in the life of a little boy, and a farm of Christmas trees. It is so sweet to see him grow up along with the trees over the course of the book. At the end, there is some historical background on Christmas trees which is fascinating.

One Winter's Night This book also appears, sadly, to be out of print, although you can still find it at Chinaberry (the link I shared). It is the story of a young pregnant cow lost in a snowstorm, with the parallel story of a couple (Mary and Joseph) told in woodcuts. The illustrations are beautiful, and the woodcuts really make the book. It is so heartwarming and well-done!

Room for a Little One This sparkling tale is perfect for the littlest ones (Fiona enjoys it and will sit through it although she is a mostly non-verbal 21-month-old) -- I think it's even available in board book format. Even without the Christmas guests at the end of the story, the message of peace and acceptance, and of there always being room for the littlest and most in need, is so beautiful.

Winter's Gift I love this poignant, tenderly-illustrated story. Like One Winter's Night, it deals with a lost, pregnant animal, although the story (besides mentioning a Christmas tree) doesn't take on such a Christmas theme. It's really a story about making our way after loss, and finding joy after grief. I think this gentle book could be easily overlooked (and especially in a collection as large as ours), but that would be a shame, because it's really a treasure.

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I hope you find some new favorites for your family to read, enjoy, and love -- either in this post, or in some of the previous years'. I love sharing these favorites with you year after year! (And don't hesitate to share some of your favorites in the comments!)