Mama got a swift and winder for her birthday from her three wonderful boys, and there was much celebration by all. There is something terribly exciting about this simple technology- the whir and the blur and the beautiful little yarn cake that it turns out at the end. I remember bringing Dori into the little local yarn store (which has since closed, sadly,) just to watch the spinning swift, so I imagine there will be some good baby entertainment in winding up yarn stashes in the future as well. Ari took it upon himself to dig through my entire stash and wind every skein in there, and seeing all that pretty yarn wound up so nicely got me excited to get knitting again. I had taken a little break from it after the holiday bustle  but I knit up one whole baby sock yesterday- the swift gave me back my knitting mojo it seems!

And otherwise, things are pretty much the same around here, lots of making and snuggling and reading and homeschooling and playing and cooking and playing in the snow. Winter just starts to get a little long for this mama around this time of year, but the boys still are enamored with the snow and are loving their ski lessons and sledding on the sled hill and jumping on the snowy trampoline which we are very glad we never got to putting away!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

This frost was like magic- covering everything, turning the smallest grasses to jeweled treasures. Walking through the trees the wind blew sparkling gems down on us. The boys headed to the sledding hill and I kept walking for a while, gazing at the world made new by this crystal magic. I gathered the boys on my way back up the hill and we walked together on our familiar path home, through that white and glimmering world.

It was too cold to last long out there, we warmed ourselves inside with hot buttery applesauce and tea and settled into our homeschool day. Some moments just sparkle, don't they?

There has been a lot of drawing and making around these parts- especially Dori who can sit and draw for so very long. His drawings and creations are killing me with their cuteness right now- maybe you'd like to see a few?

Papa with a top hat

black cat under clouds

alligator and girl (from one of the Grade 1 fairytales that Ari was drawing ,)

monkey on a surfboard

 Pretty adorable, huh? 

 And here is a beeswax pirate ship by Ari. After making this he and Dori spent most of the next morning making it much, much bigger and using all of the modelling beeswax, complete with treasure chests and pirate flags etc. We finally got the temperature of the wax right and it was lovely to work with but I had to keep reminding them that beeswax is like play dough  we enjoy making things, and then take them apart to make new things. We'll see how that goes!

I think we are all glad to be back in our routines and enjoying our quiet homeschool days together.

And though there are no pictures to show for it, the weekend was a good one- the boys started their Jackrabbit classes, and Dorian was pretty thrilled to have his very own class with friends new and old. We had a quiet home day today and we are ready for the new week.
Happy Sunday, friends.

ps Thanks for all your sweet comments and emails regarding our big news. We are pretty thrilled and it is lovely to be sharing it with you all! 

A random collection of photos from the past few weeks in an attempt to catch up here a little:

::annual sleigh ride with friends,

:: Yule party in the big house- kids table!

:: family ski time- Dorian is doing so well this year!

:: Hello to 2013. Ari and Perry counted it in at a friend's party, while Dori and I cuddled on the couch, nursed his cough with honey tea and did a 8:00 count down. 

::Some of the handmades of the season- these are Dori's needlefelted wall hangings for Papa and Ari. Both kids discovered needlefelting this season and found it to be great fun!

 :: Pottery for Mama- bowls from Dori and a knitting needle holder from Ari!

:: Ari's gift to Dorian- horse reigns with his own finger crochet chain, hand sewed sides and needlefelted design. He was very proud.

Perry made two of these castle turrets for the boys. Not a great picture, but they are lovely and have already had a ton of play.

:: and I made the royal family to go with them. I had fun making these little guys!

::Pretty little cards with water colours by the boys that still have not all made it in the mail- maybe by valentines day?

:: lots of art making and creating over the holidays too- new art supplies are grand!

:: and under the solstice tree labelled- To Baby, Love Mama, this sunny wool ball for a wee one we can hardly wait till the summer to meet! That is the biggest project of them all by far!

Happy New Year to you all, dear friends!