Evening walk on the lake

I love seeing the pink sunset clouds on the water and the mirror image from the sky on the water. Magical!

Happy Solstice!

I thought lighting a few luminaries would be the perfect way to welcome the Solstice. I look forward to having more light, even if it is just minutes per day, eventually it will be hours.

A special get-a-way for my birthday

For my birthday this year, Tres took me for an overnight stay at the Overleaf Lodge in Yachats. We had a wonderful and relaxing evening together. A delicious dinner and birthday treat. Blessed with clear weather, perfect for viewing the ocean, sunrise, and sunset. The next morning we went for a short hike and a walk on the beach.

This is also Jake's birthday. Since I was going to be gone for the evening, we had a little morning family birthday. With dutch babies for breakfast and presents, oh yes, even a  17 year old wants presents. A very special day for Jake and I, to share a birthdate is unique and special. Happy Birthday Jake and thank you to all of our family for making this even more special for us. Aunt Melisa held down the fort and took great care of our kids while we were away, they just love their Aunt Melisa.

First day of Winter Break

Santa's cutest elf.

Ruben at South Jetty

Our first day of the Christmas vacation, sunny, clear, and cold spent at the beach. A much needed break for all of us to be together...and I mean all of us. Jake came home too! So good to get him home. He is doing great at his new school. I thought we started the break off right...beach in the morning, lunch at home, followed by making peppermint bark, stringing cranberries and popcorn, and ended the day with an evening of the kids' favorite family Saturday night...ice cream cones and a nature movie. 

Decorating the tree, a pumpkin, and the house.

I wasn't ready to let the pumpkin that I grew go to the compost...so I decorated it for Christmas and put it next to the tree. Who knows I may be decorating it with hearts for Valentine's Day.

I remember this one! Snowboarding Santa...awesome!

The holidays and changing of the season always inspires crafting at our house. We make all sorts of things, some the same as the previous years and a few new projects. There are many opportunities to create, glue, glitter, draw, string and more. We have had some cold weather lately(cold for us), so this Saturday morning I brought out a few supplies and we sat down right in front of the hot wood stove and made lots of snowflakes, santa faces, glittered and glued, and made a great big mess with wonderful results! Bringing the tree in is always a delight too. I find that seeing all those ornaments come out of the boxes each year, is just like taking a walk down memory lane. The ornaments I have had for 10 years(or more), ornaments from my own childhood, baby's first Christmas ornaments, birthday ornaments, and many other special decorations I just love the memories that come flooding back not just to me but to all of us.

Early morning cuddling, essential in starting the day.

Morning routines are important, a strong cup of coffee is certainly at the top of the list, and so is our loves and snuggles we give each other, before we part ways and take on our day. Pancho is no exception, in fact I think he may get the majority of the cuddles. Ruben gives himself at least a good five minutes with Pancho every morning. Pancho never misses an opportunity for some lap time and he is happy to share it with his less furry brothers. Notice the smile on Tres, even at 6:30 am this little morning moment can make him smile...okay ready to start the day!

December sun

Three times last week I got to the beach for a long walk, alone. My solo time is just so precious to me and I had to pat myself on the back for taking the time to do it. It is so easy to skip that opportunity for myself, to do other duties...grocery shopping, house chores, errand running, etc. I realize that if I don't take these few moments a few times a week for some exercise, sun on my face, being in nature, and being alone I may not be as good at the rest of my responsibilities as I could be. It is a balance and I do my best to keep it all on even. Beach time is such a great place to let all of the naturally generated energy just seep into your being, and let you walk away recharged. I love my beach time.

In Spencer's classroom

Spencer wearing his clip on tie, he loves to look handsome, and he sure does!

I have had the opportunity to help in Spencer's classroom on Fridays for stations. It has been a lot of fun to get to know all of his classmates and to see him with his peers. Stations are activities set up in the classroom and the kids get to go from one station to the next. I have been working at the table with crafts and for the last two Fridays we have been decorating a gingerbread/candy house for the holiday. It has been quite comical to hear from students all of the reasons why we are not eating this candy. They have all done really well just using it for decorating and not just popping the gum drops in their little mouths. For the exception of Spencer of course, and I know he wouldn't have done that if there was a different mom working at the craft table, but it was me, and so he tasted the candy, and then so did Alexis, since she was in his group and he did, so why not? Just so darn cute every one of them. I do have to say, that I just love being with the kids and being in the classroom watching them learn and interact with each other, but I am just so relieved not to be in charge...I miss the kids at FMS but I don't miss being in charge, what a treat to just be a volunteer. Even more of a treat to know I am there just for Spencer.

Spencer's first sewing project

Busy with projects first thing in the morning!

Proud of his stocking!

We don't have stockings hanging, and we never really have. Spencer decided he wanted to sew his own, and wants all of us to sew our own. So we started last night cutting fabric and finding the right kind of needle and thread. He got started right away, until bedtime. This morning we woke up and wanted to finish right away. He was so proud of his work, and I was too! He is such a little artist. I love it.

Annual Angel and Wreath Party

Ruben with his finished wreath

I love this Angel's bark blouse, she is hanging in the front of our house.

Just a few of the beautiful Angels people made.

Angel party brings men, women, boys, and girls together each year from daylight til dark to assemble and create these beautiful angels, garden fairies, mangels, or what ever you like to call them.

A yearly gathering our people come to, friends and family. Angels last all year long, some inside the house some outside. Each one unique and perfect just the way it is made. I was so proud to see how much Ruben participated the year, two angels a wreath and a few sculptures were made after the ok with hot glue gun use. This is one of those events when I realize oh yeah! Christmas is almost here!

Look who turned 8! Happy Birthday Ruben!

Happy Birthday to you! A very special cake made by his Super Great Aunt Mary just for him,

Ruben and Spencer with Friend Camp. We went bowling and played lots of air hockey, it was very fun! Ruben is holding a duct tape wallet made by Camp, he was so excited to recieve this handmade gift and have RT on the front of it.

One of Ruben's birthday requests was to have a new craft to work on that evening. I pulled this one together as a quick, simple and not to messy. I found several small juice glasses at St. Vinny's and a new set of glitter glue. We decorated each glass with glitter glue, they turned out pretty good. Now I don't know what will happen when they get washed, but it was worth it for the time sitting here together side by side.

Always a special day at our house when it is your birthday. I think we packed as much fun as possible into one day...bowling, park, friends. crafts, cake, dinner with friend and family, presents!, and an all around great day. I have a tradition of telling the kids their birth story the morning of their birthday, it lets me relive such a special day for me too. We also honor their request for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Such a simple thing to do to make the birthday boy feel extra special. Ruben does in fact look 8 and is certainly bigger than he was last week. Amazing how time flies.

Grateful

It was a great Thanksgiving. We hosted and had a wonderful meal with family and friends. Our new kitchen accommodated several cooks in the kitchen. Looking over the photos of the holiday I saw this one of my sisters and I. I had a rush of gratitude, a feeling of love and warm fuzzies. I am so grateful to have my two sisters in my life. The friendship, humor, honesty, sincerity, and  adoration of my boys fills my heart with gratitude. That is after all what this holiday means to me a time to give thanks for the things in life that make it all worth it.