We've had such a quiet season, it seems. A lot of time at home, definitely too many movies, but so many books too. The girls have excelled in reading, writing, the creativities of imaginative play and various arts. When we finally broke it to Michaela that we weren't going to be putting any holes in the walls of their room, she took it upon herself to create a personal art gallery. Now much of the previously empty wall space is filled with color and design ranging from Valentines to the life cycle of a caterpillar to dragons...lots of dragons. There are not many things that bring me as much delight in my motherhood journey like the art of (my) children. It's just plain fantastic.
As this week begins, my nesting turns to correspondence and this blog. I'm charged to write and document and say a few thoughts before this new life appears. It needs to happen. So here are some happenings from the past months.
Sometime in February I began to lose sight of my feet.
Michaela used some of her Christmas money to build her very own bear, and she even chose the outfit from the "sale" rack, per her own frugality.
We've completed hours and hours of water colors.
We had an overnight visit from a dear friend who has been cutting and styling our hair for over a decade...on and off :-) And she let the girls do her hair for fun. She also provided wonderful and needed fellowship and encouragement. Such fun!
We took the babe to the beach. Once upon a balmy February day.
And these babes came too.
And this one.
Bayleigh got her first Valentine in the mail and Sophie insisted that she read it.
Our one big hosting effort (since Thanksgiving) was a Valentine's Daddy/Daughter dance which was planned almost entirely by my girls. It was such a great night. We cleared out all the furniture in the living room and let the girls decorate. Food was simple. Fun was profound.
We took a long weekend "family-moon" to intentionally spend time together in an away-place. Our dear and generous friends opened up their beach house and we arrived to record cold temperatures on the OBX. The above glittering freeze is the Sound side, not the sea.
I risked my fingers for these shots. Worth it.
The wind was whipping so passionately that the girls had to peek out from behind mitten-covered faces.
Snowpants made the beach an option for longer! Such an adventure.
On day 2 the tidal sand wall had turned into a shelf of ice. It is quite a high for me to see a new nature phenomenon after being a fairly avid observer for a few years now, and to try and explain to my children the beautiful uniqueness of the experience.
This jagged frozen ledge was so stunning.
After our weekend away, we hunkered down and started studying up for this being a big sister thing.
And then, after waiting and waiting, we got some SNOW! This is how we do it in VA Beach...boogie boards down the back porch steps=hours of entertainment.
We never have to worry about losing this dog on a snow day.
This piece of Michaela art is hard to decipher, but we went to a live glass blowing exhibit/demonstration at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk and while Sophie and I watched with our cheeks flush from the glowing furnaces, M drew her own take on the afternoon. I was going to take pictures, but sometimes I just. keep. the. phone. away. It was such a sensuous experience in sound and light and heat and motion that we're not soon to forget.
Inspiring mind...translation..."I Michaela Ray am going to make a Nature Club for people that are having trouble with things and people who love Nature."
True story. That is my abdomen.
My sister sent me this quote back in January and it applies to every time, but seems especially valid in this time of waiting. Patience. Good.
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue...they are difficult things with which we have been charged; almost everything serious is difficult, and everything is serious." -R. M. Rilke
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