Nativity paintings

As fun as it is to make sweets and goodies for Christmas too many (or even just a few) leave most of feeling unwell.  So I was quite relieved when Nanny offered to host the kids for cookie making and decorating.  That left me with the opportunity to do some Christmas painting with the kids. 

With James busy working on some homemade gifts and the younger two boys napping I joined with Maryanna, Clara, Peter and William in painting the pictures below.  I encouraged them all to close their eyes and really envision the scene that we read about in the scriptures of Christ's birth,  I told them to paint whatever they saw. 

We used watercolors on the backs of an old cardboard box.  But now I kind of wish I would have taken the time to dig out some watercolor paper because the images would have been more vibrant and paints more flowing, next time.

Here is Maryanna's.  I really like the detail of the spider web and Mary next to a horse bringing flowers to baby Jesus.

  

Here is William's.  He really connected with the story of the shepherds probably because he is the primary care taker of our sheep.  He is looking forward to lambs being born sometime before spring and said the shepherd on the far left holding a lamb will be him in a few months.

Sometimes I think it helps to participate in art projects with my children, it especially helps them get over their own self consciousness of painting and drawing.  When they see me let go painting imperfectly and simply enjoying the process then they follow.  I tell them we all have our own style, and we do, and that is perfect. 

I am about 4 weeks away from my due date (+/- two weeks since each child runs on their own time), I also now know the reality of keeping sheep.  My picture depicts the reality of the two together and the calmness of Mary in the midst of it.     

Here is Clara's.  It is such a happy scene and so true to her style of art.

Here is Peter's, it is clean and simple.

This may be a new holiday tradition to share with my children.  Paul walked in on our painting and was surprised at the quiet reverence of the activity.  Everyone was lost in the concentration of their own creation and now quite satisfied to have them displayed on our kitchen bulletin board.

New header and little signs of love

Spills happen.

Sometimes we're quick to wipe them up and sometimes I just find them.  It is funny how such a small offense has the power to throw me into a "mommy freak out", but not always, sometimes I have the patience to watch the flow along side my children and make our own interpretations of them, kind of like watching clouds.  We often see animals and States in our spilled milk and on one occasion James was so convinced the spill looked like Texas' Bevo that he took a picture of it.

Just last week one child decided to get out of bed and serve himself up what was left of a cold pot of hot chocolate.  I was in the other room resting by the fire when I heard first the clunk then the little "uh-oh".  It was probably around 10:30 pm and though I was in no mood for a second round of kitchen clean-up I was more irritated with the child out of his bed after repeated tuck-ins.  I marched into the kitchen full of frustration but before I could voice it, I noticed the spilled milk had formed its way into a heart.  So of course I had to take a picture of it.  But before I did I gave my child a hug and poured him a fresh cup of milk then sent him back up to bed.

Hearts appear in the strangest of places and when they do I take them as a sign of love.  I often see hearts in the grain of wood and in rock form but sometimes they appear in the way a piece of thread was trimmed and fell to the floor.  The girls often sprinkle them around the house in the form of paper scraps or smudge them onto foggy windows.  A couple weeks ago I noticed some parking lot litter took the form of a heart and that made me smile, I wondered how many other shoppers noticed it and smiled just because it was there.  That is all I can remember right now but I promise if you look out for them you will see hearts appear just when you need a reminder of love.  Because sometimes all it takes is a reminder of love to turn a spilled milk episode into another opportunity to hug a child.                

Winter Reading

With the colder weather and ever growing baby belly my productivity is way down.  Even my Christmas "wish to make" list has been slashed down dramatically.  Instead of bustling around (like I usually do this time of year) I've simply slowed down and taken the most comfortable seat near the wood burning stove.  

This book, Little Heathens sent from some friends has been the perfect companion to my lazy holiday sitting.  It is amusing in its honest and matter of fact tone, and the chapters on laundry day and toilets left me full of gratitude. 

Flipping the pages of a real book fills me far more than any screen reading.  To be honest I've stepped away for the moment from facebook, pinterest and several blogs as I'm finding them to be more and more depleting.  Maybe because I've used them too often to "check out".  I'll be back there once I'm ready to use them to my enrichment but right now I'm simply craving stillness.

Besides the above mentioned book I've been working through two piles next to my bed, each with its own illustrated scrap paper book mark from the kids.  Most of the books fall into two categories, one to help prepare me for the labor of labor and the other to help prepare me for the labor ahead of us on this farm.  I look forward to both with a clear knowledge of both the pains and satisfaction.  In the meantime I'll enjoy this short season of rest and allow it to fill me for what lies ahead.

               

Paul's cozy new office

We never did get to finishing the studio office above the pole barn, Paul's simply been working in there with a small space heater.  But with the temperature dropping there was a need for an immediate solution.  

We've been eyeing vintage travel trailers for years and always had our heart set on a 28 ft airstream but most we've seen have been either too expensive or in need of too much work (remember we still need to finish the room above the barn).  This 1955 Beemer trailer came up in Holland, MI just the week Paul needed it.  James and George accompanied him on the adventure to pick it up in the old Ford pick-up, and it was enough of an adventure that James chose to write about it for one of his writing assignment this week.

There's not much information available about Beemer trailers, the exterior is not as nice as the airstreams but I instantly fell in love with the simple and cozy birch interior.  But I'm most relieved that it passed my "smell test", even a few lovely airstreams failed at that. This Beemer is still in its original condition and  is only in need of new flooring, cushion covers and a few wood panels.  My favorite is the kitchen stove.

Here are the bunks which may have the possibility a sleeping a total of 5 cozy kids, 2 on the top and 3 on the bottom.

The bathroom is small and simple with just a toilet and sink.

And here is the dinette that serves as Paul's corporate desk.  Those on the other end of his calls have no idea of the surroundings in which he works, grazing sheep, roaming chickens, jumping kittens and playing children, that is the view outside his "office" window.  

And here is the view outside my kitchen window on those evenings when Paul has to stay late at the office.  

I'm happy he finally has a warm place to work but probably more excited about the possibility of taking this on the road with our family.  

Mini Fig Display

Mini figs have infested our home, they are everywhere, in the dryer, at the table, in the cushions and even sometimes in my shoes.  The boys have enjoyed the thrill of collecting series 3, 4 & 5 and trying to guess what character is inside.  They've named each one and have used them to compose all sorts of funny brick films.  

But as much fun as they are, we were in need of some mini fig crowd control.  I've been searching thrift stores and antique stores for an old thimble case and finally came up this old printer's drawer.  William was with me and happened to have his boxer mini fig in his pocket and we were thrilled to find the letter boxes to be a perfect fit.  We spent $22 on the drawer and another couple dollars for the hooks to hang it, not bad for such a functional and decorative piece.     

I like how the boys can stand up there for extended periods of time rearranging the display making all sorts of stories involving battle droids, fishermen, ninjas and aliens. Their playing kind of reminds me of the gods on Clash of the Titans, taking each one down and deciding their fate.

Here's a record of William and Peter's current collection (James chooses to keep his in an enclosed tube).  Hopefully they'll be able to keep better track of them here on their wall instead of in their pockets or lost in the van or around the yard and house.  They are anxiously awaiting series 6 and have reserved enough spots on the display to welcome them.

The Joy of the First Snowfall

Look what we woke to this morning!  Before I even looked out the window I heard Clara declare from the other room "this is the most exciting day ever"!  She then ran into my bedroom and with excitement asked "is it winter? is the baby coming today"?  I explained that winter lasts for weeks and there will be several more weeks of winter weather before the baby is ready to arrive.  

The kids gobbled down breakfast and Peter had most his school work completed at 7:30 while Paul scrambled to find the winter boots and winter clothes bins from the barn.  The kids sifted quickly through them.  Maryanna refused to wear her brother's old black boots and Henry refused to pass his small blue boots onto George, so I let it be.  They change their minds soon enough, you can only play so long in the  snow in too tight of boots.

George never likes getting dressed, nor do I like getting kicked in the face or belly in the attempt to do so.  He found his own hat and stood at the door mad that I wouldn't let him out in just a diaper.

But a little singing, and a little toe and tummy tickling usually convinces him.  I was already to head out and surprised how comfortably I could wear my snow pants unzipped with just a sweater and a vest.  Extra body heat is what I love most about a winter pregnancy.

William dug right in as he usually does.

While the other boys were preparing for battle.

They got good use out of the snowball makers and snowbrick molds a friend gave to us last week.  The battling lasted for almost 2 hours and ended with Maryanna running inside crying about getting hit in the face with a very nicely packed snowball.

She is a brave little girl to join in such a battle with her brothers.  

Aside from the excitement of the snow we were all a little bit sad to lose a few large limbs off the willow tree.  We also realized the added complication snow will add to caring for our animals.   

As for the mess of snow gear, I'm really glad we got the lockers up when we did but also realized I needed a solution for all the hats and mittens.  I went right to work on sewing these hanger bags for each child to hang in their locker.

Looks like they may work, and it looks like it will be a beautiful and fun filled winter out here in the country.

A Quilt for 2011

With colder weather drawing in there was need for another quilt to drag around and cuddle in.

I am not a quilter so I like to keep it simple with no plan of an expected end result.  I simply cut and sew and let the quilt become itself.  In this case I got to do it along side of Peter outside on the most beautiful day of Fall.

Most of the fabrics were from a pile of scraps from my sister in law Eva's mom.  We then used a lofty wool batting, Quilter's Dream from alewivesfabrics and an old sheet as the backing.  But well before that Peter added his own special touch of hand embroidery to remind us of the year we made it.  What I enjoyed most was the quiet focused conversation we had as this quilt came about.  Hand embroidery may be just the thing that very active little boys need.

This quilt is sure to see much use so machine quilting was the most durable (and quickest) way to finish.

I think one simple quilt a year will be just enough to keep these growing kids and this growing family cozy.