hearty days

Six kids on a toboggan…there’s no more room!

We have been keeping warm both inside and out.  These winter days are still fun, the snow is still pretty, the pots of food on the stove are much appreciated. 

Okay that is only half true. We have been trading illness around us.   I’ll give you a cough if you give me that fever.  But really isn’t it best to be sick on a cold winter day?  Blankets and soup? Yeah it’s not  much fun when you have to walk through deep snow to feed the chickens and realize at breakfast there is hardly any milk left. The thought of going to the store makes you feel desperate like you actually have to go out and milk the cow in a blizzard. Even though all you have to do is drive 1/2 mile down the road and walk in the country store with the crotchety  clerk and walk to the back cooler and dig in the way back to get the freshest milk.  When you pay you will tell her to have a nice day even though she will snort and turn around like she is tooooooooo busy to say it back. Secretly I know she is nice somewhere within and she just has a bad habit of rudeness. That is just how crotchety people operate.

Anyway when you see your kids sledding down big hills with their smiles pasted to their face with their runny noses, it makes you happy.

Hadley and Henry making memories.

Nothing is more hearty on a cold snowy day than tomato soup.  Recipe from What Katie Ate.

 

I don’t have a finished picture of the soup because we ate it all But it was Good! Good! Good! The melted feta on the toasted bread crouton? Oye so good!

Stay warm!

My favorite part of 2012

We are a sentimental bunch, us humans.  It’s hard not to reflect on the past year and have some kind of thoughts.  Things have changed, maybe more than most years. Both in the world as a whole and in my own little world.

We received a gift while the year was half spent. A baby! Not just any baby either.

The happiest baby…smiles so big you fear he will hurt his face. 

He brought much joy to 2012. It can only get better especially since his dad is back.

Though he has only been back a couple weeks I feel like a new woman.  I knew I was muddling through but didn’t realize how much of myself was operating on fumes (no flatulence jokes, please).  I’m grateful for family and for each night we are able to sit at the dinner table together.

I welcome 2013 with optimism, with an open heart, and with a wish for each of you near and far for a

Happy New Year!

he came home

One day I woke up and cooked and cleaned like all the other days and then the next day he called and said he is coming home.  It was hard to say words. What do you say?

“Okay!”

“Great!”

It feels unreal to have my husband home living amongst us, his family.

I’m so happy he is home.

He is ours.

We waited at the airport through snow and ice. It seemed impossible he would  walk through that door.

But he did.

He is getting acquainted with the baby, who is sporting new rolls of chub and some tiny teeth.

 

When I walk into a room and see him sitting with the children and everyone is smiley, it makes me so emotional. Missing him has been hard work.

This Christmas has new meaning for me, about what is real and good.

I feel humbled and merry all at the same time.

 

at night in my castle

It has taken me a bit longer than usual to feel the warmth of the season. It was really always there I just had to open my eyes and quit looking down.

It also helps that I actually turned up the heat instead of struggling to keep the woodstoves going. We have one in each end of the house and keeping up with them is a full time job. 

Turning up the thermostat equals Christmas spirit? Who knew?

That wallpaper is fo real. Vintage 1988.

 

I think there is a mantle/ fireplace in each living space in this house.   Recently Molly and I heard a bat caught in one of the chimneys.  We freaked out for a bit then out of nowhere we became brave. We never found the bat but assured ourselves it isn’t in the fireplace. (Because we checked 1,000,000,000 times.) And PS Molly is 9 and much braver than her mother.

This picture is terrible and it’s too bad I am lazy to retake it because this is my favorite mantle. We have had the bubble lights for many years, they always bring warmth to decorating. 

Sending happy holiday wishes your way!

 

chocolate and a mother/daughters reunion

Apparently I have rekindled my love of chocolate.  

These are mounds of chocolate sugar cookie dough baked with a chocolate Hershey’s Hug squished by my young children into the middle (after baking).  They need a while to cool as the kisses melt but don’t lose shape. Don’t eat too many or you’ll lose shape, too.

This week brings change with the older girls returning from their colleges. I can’t wait!

fleeting

An English Day

My morning was spent driving local roads to bring my children where they needed to be. It is foggy with a heavy mist. 

I like these gray mornings as they remind me of England and the time we spent there. 

I like the muted scent of wood smoke from the chimneys on our street.  The warmth of the cup of tea in my hand, the way the baby’s chapped cheeks smell from his lotion.

These are the little things that if someone asked “Are you having a good day?”

I could reply with certainty that indeed I am.

The decorating of the house has been mayhem.  There is no system in place just the hauling out of bins and boxes with contents scattered about. I can’t seem to remember how I had everything last year and nothing is looking as it should.  I went on my blog to see pictures and then realized it has been a very long time since I last posted. I miss you!

My hands are often to busy to write and my creative side is dormant. My thoughts barely seem share-worthy. But I have made a decision to try harder!

Here is a blurry picture of Hadley and two of her younger siblings after she hid in this huge box and JUMPED OUT to surprise them.  They didn’t know she came for a visit, she had been away since July.  It was great fun!

I hope no matter what weather is outside your windows you are finding joy this season.

Tootleloo!