Just Delicate Needles

Just Delicate Needles

It's so delicate, the light.

And there's so little of it. The dark

is huge.

Just delicate needles, the light,

in an endless night.

And it has such a long way to go

through such desolate space.

So let's be gentle with it.

Cherish it.

So it will come again in the morning.

We hope.

--by Rolf Jacobsen

Translated by Robert Hedin

Happy Winter Solstice!  Tonight will find me drinking Swedish Glogg and singing carols and reading books like The Longest Night to the children.  I'm not really sure how that will go, with the glogg and all, but we'll see.  We are VERY excited.  We'll also be decorating a Solstice Tree outside with bagels dipped in peanut butter and birdseed, and exchanging homemade presents.  And then the children will crash, and the moms will too.  I just love my homebirthin' hippie friends that I can share these things with.  Makes me VERY happy.  We get so damn giddy about it.  And there is snow on the ground, making it even more special. 

Oh, and in case I remember to look back next December, let this be a reminder to maybe get the Christmas Tree sooner than six days before Christmas? 

Yesterday was the epitome of a perfect day.  First, it was a Sunday and we love Sundays.  Second, it snowed all day long so we got to enjoy the beauty of falling snow all day long!  We had snow right up through Christmas Eve, then it warmed up and rained all day Christmas, so it was especially nice to get more snow.
So here we go, we took out the children and the new camera to the pretty much one and only sledding hill around. 

Lily is happy (this won't last long--you'll see why).

Getting ready for a run.

Climbing back up (er, crawling).

It's time for Lils and I!

But we hit a big bump at the bottom and toppled out of the sled, so she was not at all happy with that.

We moved over to where the hill wasn't so big.

Eric's run.  Lily is ready to give it another shot.  She and Grace get ready to go.

And this moment right here pretty much ruined Lil's sledding time.  She got a faceful of snow.  My poor love!

Calvin loved the snow.  He was so happy to stand in it and watch the sledders.  He said 'uh oh' every time anyone would take a tumble.

We ended Lily's misery and splurged on a pizza and came home to eat and have hot chocolate.  We hope for more snow on a weekend soon, and we will try again.  Lily may just watch though (or we'll just pull her and Calvin around in the sled).

Winter Solstice Celebrating

our gift exchange--a coupon book for Rob from Grace for things like mowing the yard, a half an hour of piano time, playing a game of tennis...I'm guessing she is going to babysit for the piano/tennis ones??

We read 'The Shortest Day' and Grace's wonderful St. Lucia book.  We decided that next year on Dec. 13, Grace will dress as St. Lucia and we'll have a St. Lucia celebration.

Eric was so proud to give each sibling a small cloth doll that he had picked out downtown.

Grace made me a necklace!

The new long awaited jammie pants!

I loved how happy they were with them.  They (the jammie pants) are so simple and sweet (well, so are my children).

Eric says the blessing before we eat.

Vegetarian Shepherd's pie-mmm!

Calvin enjoyed playing with cranberries (and later throwing big handfuls of them).

Happy return of the light!

Wintry Wednesday

this is the wintery view from the upstairs window.  how I love looking out at the bare beauty of the old, old trees.