Best Days

Really, they are just normal kind of every day days that we are having.  We snuggle in the morning, make breakfast, clean up, read books & sing songs, make candles or needle felt or color.  Then, the girls play while I sort work on organizing some part of our house that needs it right now.  We make gluten free muffins or bread and play with beeswax.  They play some more while I create lunch or they help me create lunch.  We eat outside on warmer days like today (while Steve cleans out the woodstove for us with his loud machine making our house all stinky) or at the table with our Advent wreathe in the middle. 

After cleaning up from lunch, we spend most afternoons outside from 1-4pm.  We either meet a friend at the park, have a friend over, play with our little neighbor or just ourselves.  We try to balance a friend day with a family day.  The girls ride bikes usually while I sweep or rake.  We walk through our awesome yard.  I push them on the swings.  We've been exploring the park beyond just the playground recently and had the best time finding rock piles and sand piles or running around the baseball diamond and swinging on it's gate.  We met horses on the trail recently when all 5 kids wanted to venture down to it. 

Dinner is usually a big steaming pot of lentil soup or a stir fry (with a salad for the adults and almond milk yogurt for the kids) on those days we get home later.  I try to chop veggies a day ahead or at lunch prep so dinner happens quicker and we can spend more time outside.  Sometimes, when we are at home, we'll all be together with the girls chopping tempe or measuring lentils and spices out into the big blue cast iron pot.  We're making lasagna and baking a lot b/c we were without an oven (and many baked goods!) for over two months. 

I have so much energy throughout the day but am soooooooo tired around dinner time.  This week, I have taken a little rest both afternoons and the girls are so calm with me.  The Bear even snuggles me up.  While the soup simmers, we rest our bodies and our minds until they and the soup are ready to stir. 

They are just simple days really.  They are really wonderful days, too. 

Here.

Yes, it is taking us a while to get settled back into our home...while at the same time we are so comfy and thankful to be here that the transition feels so much easier this time around.  We spent some time sorting through closets and bags of clothes to find warm enough clothes.  All was secured before we left so it would be easier to return.  Yay!  We're still sorting and prepping for the upcoming holidays.  We are thankful to be back at our home church and celebrating Advent.  We are thankful to be seeing special friends, again.  We are soooooooo excited about the Waldorf Holiday Faire this weekend but bummed to hear candle dipping isn't happening.  We enjoy that most each year.  It did snow last year when we were standing in line for lunch so we're hopeful for another treat like that!