drinking joy
pink leaves. the tail end of little black and yellow birdies in our elm tree. more pink leaves. eating breakfast outside. homemade whole wheat bread with wild blueberry jam. daffodil bulbs. great stories that inspire ideas for school like the color kittens. the possibilities of just red. blue. yellow. and white paint. and felt! it came today and i was so pleased.
i was especially pleased since yesterday was not such a great day. working out the kinks of having so many students with such different needs. figuring out how to teach high school the way that i love to teach while still fulfilling all the standards.
and then i had to crack the whip a bit. too many sick days made everyone around here think it was summer vacation again.
my absence in this space is because i have been really trying to be present to my children. (when i am not cracking that whip that is and even that is done with love). preparing lots of yummy food. mostly venison these days as their papa, my dad, got his deer. and then there is the reading of endless stories. snuggling. looking into their faces when they speak to me. sitting on the couch and doing lessons one on one with all. 4. kids. imagine that.
and then there is the man who provides the necessities. working hard so i can buy all that flour to bake bread. material. yarn. paints. and daffodils. i have been trying to sit still with him at the end of these short days. trying not to rush off to the computer. or to the myriad of tasks that call my name. needing to be done. promising me that they’ll multiply if i don’t tend to them. so i shut my door to quiet them. stealing a few pages from that book i am still reading on st. thomas more. until someone inevitably opens it. usually to ride scooters through my bedroom. into the jack and jill bathroom that goes into our daughter’s room and out into the front part of the house. round and round they go. this really is a great house for riding scooters. and i know i keep talking about it, but i guess it is because every day it still amazes me that i can’t say no. the unadulterated joy on their faces as they whiz past me is something i’d like to bottle up and drink myself. that is if you could do such a thing as drink joy.
but then again maybe that is what i am doing when i take pictures. it is my way of drinking in the joy that is present every single day. even on the bad days. because even on those bad days, it’s really not so bad.
ps. i did finish the advent calendar, but it doesn’t want to photograph very well for some reason. i’ll try again tomorrow when the natural light is at its’ best in this old house. it couldn’t be that i just didn’t do that great of a job making it…
andeverythinginitsplace.wordpress.com 
Life is much better lived than blogged. 😉
it all looks so yummy! we don’t need a good picture. just a picture is fine. your handwork is always lovely – so let’s see that advent calendar!
You continue to bring the beauty out of the ordinary, Regan, and that is a very unique and beautiful gift! I love that you’re trying to be extra-present to each of your children (and your husband =) I am trying to do that more, too. Your line about the myriad of tasks promising that they’ll multiply if you don’t tend to them is perfect. That’s how I feel about those darn tasks, too … They tend to have power over me, and I don’t like that. Ugh!
God bless you today! Peace!!
P.S. I have a little award for you over on my blog. Perhaps you’ve already seen it, but I wanted to let you know just-in-case =)
Yah…to the deer hunter!
Do the kids really not dent the house up with those scooters???
Love to hear you are back in the groove.
I do not blog when my hubby is home. Even if he is out in the shed. So it is time when I find it.
What Barbara said.
But, this is one of the blogs I love to steal away to . . . there’s tranquility and creativity here . . . surrounded by real, interested, focused love that knows no bounds.
You are a joy!
I made an Advent calendar last year that I need to dig out of the attic soon. I can’t wait to see yours!
Spending time with your babies and your husband is so important, we’ll be here when you come here. And I love to see all that you do!
we recently heard this from a newly ordained (this June) *extremely* holy priest speaking on “balance” and i paraphrase:
People speak a lot about balancing life. Let’s replace the word ‘balance’ with ‘love’.
this little tidbit really spoke to me as in “do i do the laundry or sit down and look at a child’s artwork” “do i go to the homeschool meeting or just ‘be’ with my husband tonight?”
food for thought, no?