small wonders

Let's see, what can I say about this time? It is February. We still have a few months of snow ahead of us. The light is coming back slowly- there are melty days, and cold ones too. There are blue skies, and cloudy ones. There is snow, and ice, and birds at the feeder, and a fire in the wood stove. 

 I find I take the camera out less this time of year, and have a harder time getting to this space- it's because the light is dim, and it's because the winter shots feel a little tired out by now and it's because,  really, so do I. And this year, well, I am pregnant. And at the end of a day of  chasing after these busy little boys of mine, of executing homeschooling plans and cooking healthy meals and refereeing disputes and of getting to the laundry (when I do!) or the cleaning (maybe,) well, there isn't much left of me and my energy. I have been known to crawl under my covers before my children some nights, (leaving my wonderful husband with bedtime routines and the kitchen to tackle- dear me, I do love that man of mine!)  But of course when I think through all that we get up to, and look through the few snapshots I've managed to take I see that every day is full of little bits of beauty, that there is so much to love and feel grateful for. 

So that's what I've got for you today, a few random little things from the days that help me feel glad for the life I am living, for the beauty that surrounds me, for all that we are able to do together. And thanks be to grandparents who take the kids on excursions and for a husband who plans out the weekend to include some adventures for him and the boys (and me alone in a quiet house!) and for cups of hot tea and for knitting a baby sweater by the wood stove and for gathering up those sweet boys in my arms when they return home, so happy to see them again. It is good. All of it. 

the snapshots:

1. our daily walk down the driveway and through the trees.

2. grain-free dutch apple pancake- served with homemade yogurt and strawberry sauce from strawberries picked last summer during our strawberry picking craze.

3. + 4. dipping candles to celebrate Imbolc. Ari's intense focus and ability to stick with it for ages. the boys both naming their candles and deciding which was the mom, dad, kid, baby. how cute and knobbly they turned out and how wonderful they smell.

5. starting a math unit that both Ari and I are enjoying. new wool felt counting bags full of stones we collected last summer at the river.

6. making crockpot carmalized onions. so good.

7. Dori's endless piles of artwork. all those adorable square people.

8. sewing a bit. making a bunch of these little felt balls while sipping my tea in the mornings.

9. this wee seed stitch hoodie for the baby doing flips in my belly. And my boys who talk so sweetly to it every day.

there. it is good, isn't it?