Christmas Advent 2013

I made a little collage of our Advent this year from my Instagram pics. I posted at least one picture per day of what we were up to. Some of our advent activities were super simple, some took more effort in doing outings, some are one-time-wonders, and some are favorite traditions.  It's been fun being in a new city and narrowing down what our new favorite local traditions will be here in Austin (while we will always miss a few of our favorites from our Seattle days).

day 1- we didn't get family pictures taken this year, so on our way to church one morning, we stopped at a local park for a little photo sesh with the kids, to have something to put on our Christmas card. The kids had fun and we got some cute pics to treasure...

day 2- We got a tree (huge!! because we had no furniture in our living room, so why not fill it with a yummy smelling fir?)  and "decked the halls".

day 3- The kids and I did our own "Polar Bear Plunge" - it was mid-80s, so we didn't have to be that brave at all! ;) But we still had fun at Barton Springs!

day 4- The kids colored and cut out their own nativity scenes, and then we put them in their room.

day 5- Addressed a bunch of Christmas Cards and got packages ready to send in the mail.

day 6- Pajama Day! We gave the kids some festive pjs, and then declared it pajama day! Even I stayed in my pjs all day - even when we ran errands and took all our packages to the post office, we paraded around in our pajamas. The kids loved it!

day 7- We cut snowflakes out of coffee filters, and then we used them to make snowflake ballerinas. (gotta thank Pinterest for that one!)

day 8- We drove to Burnet to see Main Street Bethlehem. It's incredible, they turn a few acres into a replica of the little town of Bethlehem. You walk around amongst the merchant, taste the hot bread, hear the Shepherds, see the animals, camels, donkeys, see artisans at work, see the tax collector, etc. It is really amazing. And then, if you follow the star, you will find a quiet and dark cave, where the baby Jesus has just been born and is being adored. It is one of our favorite events. 

day 9- Read the "Legend of the Candy Cane" and made candy cane cookies. Talked about symbols of Christ at Christmas.

day 10- We made a little reindeer as a craft. And I let the kids watch the "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" old classic movie.

day 11- Read the glorious pop-up book, The Nativity. 

day 12- We had hot chocolate and finished making some home-made gifts as well as just crafted and got all artsy (and glittery!) at the table pretty much all day! We listened to Christmas music and had such a great time.

day 13- We went to a Christmas Party at church - and got to wear our pajamas again! It was a pancake and pajama party! It was a fabulous idea...every one had a blast!

day 14- The kids played with the Nutcracker masks we made last year, and watched the DVD with Daddy while Mommy got to go on a sister date to the Austin Ballet Nutcracker with her sister (which was breathtaking and so magical!). Next year, Sawyer and Aspen will get to go to the real ballet! So excited!

day 15- We had hot chocolate and Christmas Cookies at Aunt Tia's house and then we all went to Luminations at the Wildflower Center. They have millions of luminaries lighting the trails of the gardens, with live Christmas music. It's festive and fun (even if a bit chilly!)

day 16- We read a new Christmas book - Christmas Oranges. Such a sweet tale about love and sharing. We then shared an orange, and as if it could get any better - some friends dropped by with a plate of cookies. Extra bonus for the great real life example of those who share and give from the heart :)

day 17- We went to Trader Joes and got some mistletoe! Then, we waited for Daddy to get home... :)

day 18- We made Sugar Cookies and little packages to deliver to our neighbors.

day 19- I let the kids watch The Polar Express, and then we filled their sippy cups with hot chocolate and had them hop in the little red wagon as we went on our own little journey - dropped off the Christmas cookies to our neighbors, and then walked around the neighborhood admiring all of the beautiful lights. It was a warm evening, and just so perfect :)

day 20- Wrapping fest. 

day 21- I took the kids (individually) to pick out a small gift for their siblings. It was so much fun. I generally do most of my shopping on line, so it was fun to go into the stores, even if it was a little crazy, with the excitement of my children searching for that special little something...and then we ended the night by watching Home Alone for the first time. Sawyer thought it was hilarious, Aspen was a little nervous :)

day 22- The kids spent all morning making "snow people" - snowmen, snow ladies, snow princesses, and snow superheros :)

day 23- Everyone was excited to make Ginger Bread Houses. The kids love to sneak candy while they decorate their houses. And after we were done...we had a slumber party under the Christmas tree...so fun!

day 24- We got ready for our Christmas Eve feast (we did SW style, with tamales and virgin drinks) - the sister missionaries joined us, and so did Tia and Adam - and Tia and Adam slept over, which was exciting. It was so much fun, a very magical and wonderful Christmas! 

We look forward to doing another fun advent next year!
Merry Christmas!

Thoughts // Ode to Mother Nature

I've been looking through a ton of photos the past week as I finally finished Hazel's baby book (now that she's almost 18 months old!) At Christmas, I like to do a "gift from the heart" and hers this year is her baby book. As I was sifting through pictures, I found this little series. This was in August when we were in Utah for Jacob's family reunion. We had a little solo time one day and so we took the kids up the canyon on a little hike. It was such a perfect, heavenly day. It is rare I am in front of the camera, so I'm grateful to Jacob for capturing a few frames of me and my baby Hazel. She is getting big so fast, even though she is still so little. She's like a little pixie. So darn cute :) Next week, she will be eligible to go to our church's nursery (for little people 18 months to 3 years old - Aspen is about to "graduate" in January). I can hardly believe I won't have a baby to chase down the hallway! It will be nice, but bittersweet for sure.

Sooooo much has happened this year. So much has happened since this little girl came into our lives. New job, new city, two moves, new house, new friends, new place...it has all been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Hazel has been such a blessing to have in our lives. We knew it would be crazy to plan to have a baby when we were planning on big moves and changes,(maybe not exactly how crazy, but we knew it would be crazy!) but we just couldn't wait for her to join us. So we went ahead and let her come. And we are so glad she did :) This is the time of my life I have looked forward to since I was a little girl myself. I was one of those little girls who was born loving babies. All I ever wanted to do was get married and be a mother. I was made to do this. So now, here I am, living my dream! 

Back to the photos...me and my baby Hazel in all our glory. :) I love being outside. I feel most authentic sans makeup or nice clothes. Thankfully, Jacob likes me best that way, too :) He loves his little hippie-hearted girl in the raw ;) I feel best with a baby on my hip, taking my time to enjoy nature with my family - no racing to end of the trail. Just stopping to enjoy. To notice. To breath. To take note of everything my senses are engaged with around me. One of our favorite things to do is to stop and just be silent and still. To listen. I also love to hold Jacob's hand, or help one of my kids climb a tree stump or identify a wildflower. Each of our children's name references the natural world, quite intentionally. That is my heavenly place. They, with Jacob, are my heaven. I am so thankful for the world God has given us. It is a broken place, but it is still bursting with beauty and goodness, too. 

I guess these images triggered some thoughts. So there they are. Ode to the peace and calm that mother nature brings:)

life lately // november

Wow. This year has really flown by. I hope that means we're having fun? It does! It also means life is crazy and the older you get with the more on your plate, the faster the time slips by! With the weather FINALLY starting to cool off just a bit in November, it naturally helped life slow down just a little bit, too. Or maybe that's just because I'm almost done painting our ENTIRE house? Yep, since June when we moved in, I've painted almost every ceiling and wall, all on my own. I have the very tall stairway left, and one bathroom. Wish me luck that I don't break my neck with the stairway! I am going to have to rent a professional painter's ladder for that one, it's super duper high! 

Anyway, November. It's a great month! Jacob started growing a beard (I will have to get a pic soon of my mountain man!) We saw colored leaves, some family, and wonderful old friends. Took a road trip north, and also celebrated Jacob's 36th birthday! We spent a lot of time outdoors, adventuring, and exploring. WE had a beautiful, quaint, and low key Thanksgiving dinner with our little family and my twin sister and her fiance. Texas is probably one of the only places where flowers bloom and leaves fall in autumn. I fall more and more in love with our new home land everyday. Sure can't beat the weather!

On our drive to Dallas, we stopped at a little homestead that had a farm to table cafe. It was such a fun little place! Always good to stretch the legs and fill the belly with homemade pie! AND I love me a good road trip. Always fun! And thankfully, we have awesome little travelers!

Jacob and I were able to attend the sealing ceremony of our friends to their sweet son, Ethan. He is right about Hazel's age and seriously the happiest, sweetest, funniest little guy just bursting with friendliness and energy! Such a joy! After over a year of foster-to-adopt, the adoption is final. We are just so thrilled for our friends! We agreed it was one of the most sacred and spiritual experiences we have witnessed in quite some time. Thanks so much, Sof and Casey, for inviting us to be there and share in your joy. It was the best occasion!

We stayed with Jacob's sister, Erin, and her family in McKinney. The kids were in HEAVEN playing and being goofy with their cousins! Sawyer literally slept with a pile of legos by his sleeping bag, and I don't think Aspen took off her cousin's Rapunzel dress-up the entire time we were there. I think my favorite part was the night they took us to a gorgeous natural area and we built a fire and made s'mores. There were these amazing old-school swings (so wish I had my camera! and that it wasn't pitch dark!) and it was just perfect. One of my favorite things! (Thanks Erin and Jed!)

Sawyer had his last soccer game of the season. It was such a great season for him. Since we do "homeschool" it was a treat for him to have an opportunity to play with some other kids his age. I LOVE kids this age because NONE of them cared who won or lost. It was all just fun! All of them improved a lot. Here he is with his coach, Kim. She was so great with the kids. After the last game, each child got a special trophy. I kid you not that Sawyer occasionally sleeps with it. It is so sweet. He really loved playing soccer with his Red Dragons! Love my boy!

School. School. School. 
I have a lot to say about our school, but don't have time right now. "Fun" is probably the best thing I can say to sum it up shortly. "Slackers" might be another word ;) We are culminating our studies for the fall this week by building a teepee. We have focused on explorers, settlers, and pioneers. I will have to do a post sometime about our "homeschool" experience. 

Here the kids are showing off some of their handiwork. We traced their hands and then they embroidered them using a large needle on burlap. One morning we used legos as part of our schoolwork, just because Sawyer loves them so so much. We do a TON of art. That's nothing new for our family. Days that we are home, my kids spend HOURS sitting at our table drawing, coloring, painting. They love it. Hazel tried to join in by getting up on the table to grab a drawing tool. She's into it, too ;) I am very much inspired by aspects of Montessori and Waldorf education, as well and use Charlotte Mason methods as our base.  

We had a simple and sweet Thanksgiving spread. Jacob is the turkey master and always does an amazing job. I am the pie master. :) I felt extra grateful this year. The kids and I did something I called "gratitude in action" that really blessed us to take note of the gifts we've been given, and appreciate them. Hopefully if you are a friend or relative who received a little note or piece of art work or something from us, you felt our appreciate and love for you just a little from a distance :)

It is tradition in our family to go hiking on black friday. We explored the hill country near our home and fell in LOVE. We found an area we didn't realize was so close to us and had the BEST time. There may not be evergreens here, but there are these amazing old gnarly oak trees that have a beauty that's all their own.

Wishing you well as we head into the Holiday Season!

Wonders of Nature // Bastrop State Park

We went camping last weekend at Bastrop State Park. Fall camping season is ON and it was so great to be outside, all together! Jacob took a half day off on Friday and it was less than an hours drive to the campground, so we had a lot of the day Friday and all day Saturday to explore and enjoy. 

Bastrop State Park is in an area known as the Lost Pines of Central Texas. What? You didn't know there are pine trees in Texas? There are! It actually reminded us a lot of the West (I grew up in Oregon, Jacob in Utah). Near the area we camped, there was a very devastating wild fire a couple of years back, so it was interesting to see the landscape and how it is starting to recover. It is a beautiful area and we are thrilled with the State Park system in Texas. It is SO budget and family friendly, it allows us to almost live at the State Parks. 

Sawyer had been asking to go fishing for quite sometime and we were thrilled we had the chance. Some of the State Parks have loaner poles  - we just went to a little local fishing store and picked up some wormies for bait. They also have these really cool "adventure packs" for the kids to borrow - filled with field guides, crayons and a nature journal to leave notes for other explorers, and even binoculars etc. We had so much fun (and a very slow-pace) hiking and stopping to identify plants, trees, flowers, and bugs along the way. 

We feel so grateful to have times like these...the best! We are so stoked that we can camp pretty much year round here. While elsewhere the weather is getting cold and preparing for snow, it's finally cooling off enough to spend long days outside. I don't miss how it gets dark at 4pm on a cloudy winter day in Seattle. I love that we have lots of light and sunshine and the day is longer. So great!

We've got a long list of parks and areas to explore in Central Texas - so much to see! Even if it is getting cold/dark/rainy/snowy where you are, I encourage you to GET OUTSIDE! It's so good for the soul, and for everyone in the family :)

Cheers!

life lately // october

"I'm so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers..." ~L.M. Montgomery

So, October in Austin perhaps isn't the October I have grown up with - colored leaves, sweater and soup weather. Nope. Not at all. I will not lie - I do miss jumping in piles of leaves and driving through canyons of color, but October in Texas is wonderful, just the same. In fact, it feels more like Spring! All summer it is too hot to open the windows or run free for hours outside, we have to have the A/C on 24/7 and our saving grace is the swimming pool :) It's been SO nice to open the windows at night and feel it start to cool off just a bit. A/C is still on, but there have been a few days I turned it off. We've had some rain. Things are green and flowers are blooming. The sun is sweet, warm, and welcoming - beckoning us out from out "summer-winter". We have taken full advantage!

For one of our adventure days, I took the kids to the zoo! We had the best time. We stayed all day, of course :) It was especially fun because Hazel is at that special age where she is fascinated with animals, and the sounds they make. She is our little animal lover, more than anyone else in the family. Needless to say, she was thrilled and awe-struck to get up close with the animals at our wonderful little Sanctuary here in Austin.

As some of you may know, we kept Sawyer home this year and are doing pre-k homeschool. If you can call it that (ha!) We are all learning a lot, together. And having lots of fun. Sometimes being lazy, throwing in the towel and skipping school, other times, spending much more time than allotted on our special studies. Our base is the Charlotte Mason method, with a sprinkling of Waldorf and Montessori thrown in. I take what I love and run with it. 

A huge part of the Charlotte Mason is getting outside in nature (which is why I was drawn to it, just love love it!) and journaling. Lessons are very short. We spend much more time simply exploring. There's a lot to say about the method, but it is so age appropriate and a wonderful foundation. 

I have a lot of thoughts about school - and homeschool. I have been open to what we will do for school and really had to reflect on the WHY and FOR WHO of it all. Doing homeschool preschool with my kids is something I didn't necessarily plan on. In Seattle, there was a TON of pressure to send your kids to preschool - and it was very expensive. (one of the prods for us to move, in fact). Sawyer did one year of co-op family preschool (one evening a week with our whole family, when he was 2) - loved loved loved it. We will always fondly remember teacher Sally and the old school we met in on Phinney Ridge. When he was 3, he went two mornings a week to Creative Arts for Children in Magnolia. We also loved loved it there...an old school, play-based, hands-on just wonderful little place in a wonderful neighborhood. It was then that I started freaking out about the decision of when to send him to kindergarten (5 or 6, as he has a summer birthday). We also did Nature school once a week with a group of the most wonderful people I know. Our friend, and teacher, Sara - is one of the greatest. We loved Nature School so much, that when we moved to Austin and nothing seemed like the right fit, I started our own Nature School here. Carried the torch :) I had about 6 little students (and their moms and a few younger siblings) and we had such a great time. I also did "Mommy School" for the kids last year. Totally informal (that's me!) I am not a super structured person, though I am super organized. It's a strange combination, really. I like things to be organized, yet flexible. Anyway, the more I thought about the whole idea of homeschool, the more I had to really dig deep and think about the "why" would I or wouldn't I choose that route? Most importantly, I had to think about WHO I was doing it for? For Sawyer? For myself? My motives, I've come to find out, while good and excellent motives - are more selfish than I ever imagined. There is a part of me that wants to keep my babies under my wing FOREVER. It's very bittersweet to see them grow. I don't want my good intentions, motives, and best ideas about the fun we could have all day every day until they graduate, to keep them from learning to spread their own wings and fly. Lots more thoughts on this - but pretty much, I am soaking up this year with all of them home, and enjoying it immensely, but I know in my heart it will be best for Sawyer to send him off to Kindergarten at the amazing school within walking distance from our home next fall. (and he's SO excited!) It will be hard (probably hardest for ME! Aspen, too, though - they're such inseparable buddies!) but it will be so wonderful and delightful to see him learn and grow in ways that I can't teach or provide at home. There. That's that. For now...

Fall means perfect weather for camping! We went last weekend. And plan to go often! I think it's the first time in YEARS we didn't get rained on and I basically slept on the floor of our tent with no sleeping bag or blankets (because I was sharing mine with Hazel and she kinda kicked me out) and I was totally warm and comfortable the entire night. You can pretty much camp year-round here which is awesome (but who wants to camp in over 100 degrees during the summer? Jacob went a few times with the boy scouts, but I prefer fall-winter-spring over summer camping here in Texas ;) We also took the kids fishing for the first time. Sawyer has been asking for quite a while if he could go fishing, so he was beyond thrilled. He was SO excited! It was adorable! He had so much faith that he was going to catch a fish! He wasn't too disappointed when he didn't catch one, he just learned fishing takes a lot of patience. I was happy when I pulled in a little sun fish, though - made for a little excitement even though we put it back ;)

Nothin' better than sitting around the campfire with the ones you love. Nothin' (except when you add s'mores!)

Sawyer's team picture. We didn't buy any. I just took a pic with my phone. (lame?) His team is sure cute. There are 7 girls and 3 boys. It's been fun to see him really take off and see the game "click" for these little 5 year olds. They've all improved so much! And it's been fun for me, I made a friend with one of the other moms who happens to also be a photographer. Fun to have someone to talk to during practice on the sidelines. I am also the assistant coach - so I get to jump in now and then to help out with drills. And coach games when the real coach is out of town. It's been fun. One day when we're done having kids and they're all a little older, I'd love to coach a team myself. It's kind of a funny little dream I have. Love soccer!

Aspen Jane - she's just cute and sweet as can be. She loves learning right along side her brother. People ask ALL.THE.TIME of they're twins. I guess they do look similar (but hello? do people not realize girls and boys are NEVER identical twins?) I probably know too much about twins, being one myself, but it cracks me up. I always smile when people ask if they're twins :)

Oh, Hazel girl. Hazel Gracie. Hazey Grace. She's 16 months old! Can you believe it? Crazy how fast the time flies! She is a little adventurer and I love it! This month we have been working on weaning. She didn't want to. I didn't want to. But my body needed to. I was having weird hormonal things (ie hot flashes, headaches, etc.) as my hormones were trying to regulate themselves after having 3 kids in just under 4 years, being either pregnant or nursing constantly for the past almost 6 years (with two miscarriages mixed in). My body just needed a break, I guess. I'm starting to feel a little better - and a strange freedom, starting to feel like my body is almost mine again, at least for a little while ;)  It's really sad for me to have to stop nursing her when she's not quite ready (not to mention hard when she is constantly trying to get in my shirt), but we're almost/mostly there. It's getting better. She's obviously fine nutritionally, but it's the comfort part that's hard for both of us to say good-bye to. Wish us luck!

Over the summer, Sawyer decided he no longer wants me to buzz his hair. He wants it to be longer. I decided to respect that desire, since I've been buzzing his hair super short since he was a year old. BUT I don't know how to cut/shape it very well (buzzing it all off is pretty simple ;) so I ended up finding a cute little hair cut place for kids, and took him there. It's in kind of the in-between stage, but I'm hoping once it gets longer it will lay down a little better. He HATES having any gel or anything artificial in his hair (must take after his mama) but he did let the stylist spike it up the day she cut it. He liked it, so I'm betting we'll be going there from now on for our kids' haircuts.

Oh, I didn't take a picture - but I trimmed the back of Hazel's hair. She doesn't have much (esp. compared to her sis at this age) and it's pretty straight and very fine. But it was starting to look a little mullet like so I trimmed the back to the beginning of a little french bob. I think she's got the hair type that she will be able to pull that off and look adorable :)

Last note on hair - Aspen was pretending to be Rapunzel and Sawyer was Flint Ryder, and I was hemming some curtains...and before I knew it I looked up and Sawyer had grabbed my scissors and chopped off a section of her hair. It was all in innocent and the first time we've had a scissors incident, but I was a little upset. Luckily, it just blends in and it's not bad - could've been a lot worse if I didn't notice right away! Every kids needs a story like that, right? Haha.

We don't have many Halloween Decorations and are saving our money for more important things, so the kids and I spent an hour or so decorating our mantel with what we do have - and then "dressing up" some of their animals for Halloween. It was fun, and it turned out pretty cute. 

We also did stamping with potatoes! It was really fun! And so easy. I just carved out some Halloween shapes and we used paint to dip them in. We also attended a Halloween Party at Aunt Tia's house. We ate pizza, apple cider, and cupcakes. Decorated a Haunted Mansion. Watched silly Ichabod Crane in Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". It was a great time for all!

Tonight, we will carve our pumpkins! We did go spend a day at Sweetberry Farms and the pumpkin patch - I'll have to post some  pics, eventually. I am really enjoying this once a month post - it keeps me posting, gives those friends and family who care to follow a little update, and takes a lot of pressure off me to blog - yet gives me a little archive of our day to day (or month to month). Fun to throw in some pics from the big camera now and then (I prep them for our family album anyway). Anyway, it's good. It also makes the year feel like it passes sooooo fast. Time really does fly.

I hope everyone had an October to remember...

Happy Halloween, Y'all!