Yesterday was the New Moon in Aries, the first New Moon in the zodiac year. It provides us with a clean slate for the year ahead, a chance for new beginnings and clear intentions. It seemed that spring listened. Little b and I spent the morning marveling at the colors and baby delights that seemed to have blossomed overnight in our garden.At one point, little b went into the backyard, savored a big breeze, looked up and sighed, saying "aaaah, pretty day." And it was, just perfect. Last night, I savored our monthly mama gathering to celebrate this new lunar cycle. Signs of new beginnings blossoming were everywhere. This morning, Big B asked me when he could come to a New Moon Circle with me. I told him they were only for mamas, to be together and celebrate the great riches of motherhood. He said, "Awwww, but I heard you have tea and crackers there," which was very cute and sometimes true. So while he was away exercising his brain, little b and I set up this surprise: a post-New-Moon-Circle New Moon Tea Party.Sometimes we do special things for our children, and, though we try to squelch our expectations for their enjoyment, we can't help being slightly disappointed by anything less than a stellar reaction. This was not one of those times. Big B could not have been more excited or grateful. Little b was just as excited to show him. They carefully and politely poured and prepared their tea.Of course, as things would happen only in a house of boys, Cyclops found himself a guest in the circle.I explained that the purpose of our New Moon Circles is to give thanks and to set intentions for the month ahead. Big B's intention was pure and beautiful: "to have fun playing outside in the warm weather." On the table, representing the cardinal elements for which we are thankful, were a piece of clay, a shell, spring clover and a candle. Eventually, all items were introduced to tea.It was the highest honor to share these moments with my little gentlemen, who displayed their innate understanding of the specialness of it all. I am grateful and rich beyond measure.
...would I walk into the bathroom, ready to turn on a hot shower after a long day, and find Man vs. Nature in my bathtub. It seems in this scenario that the tiger, the alligator and the shark got the best of the many, many specially powered, turbo boosted soldiers.(Other 'Only in a House of Boys' posts here and here)
This week, Big B and I were blessed to take part in an initiative by a friend and her daughter, who are traveling to Swaziland, Africa this weekend. As a country, Swaziland has a 40% HIV rate. 10% of the population are orphaned children. Their life expectancy is 32. The region that my friend is visiting has a 90% HIV rate. They are going there to bring them clothes, toys, and books...but mostly love.
We collected gently used items from three other families and spread them out on our dining room table. When all was said and done, we had amassed five huge garbage bags full of love to send across the ocean. I must admit, I had an ulterior motive for taking part in this project. Of course the statistics I learned and the pictures I saw were plenty to compel me to do some small thing...but I also jumped at the chance to broaden Big B's global perspective. When I told him these children had no food, he asked, "Why don't they just go to Publix?" When I told him there were no grocery stores like he was used to, he asked, "Why don't they just go get the food that's free?"
I am grateful that Big B has never had to understand this struggle. But a personal connection with a lifestyle so different from his own can only expand his mind...and his heart. I showed him some of the photos of the children my friend visited last time she went, and it seemed to do the trick. He wrote them this letter, with his picture attached:
Dear kids in Swaziland,
We're sending toys to you. Maybe along with some clothes and books and art supplies. I hope you have Easter there, and I hope that you like to play with the toys. Have a happy summer and I hope you can write to me sometime.
Bye!...and, from Big B's mama, this excerpt from a poem I read long ago:
The same hands that made the stars made you. The same hands that made the canyons made you. The same hands that made the trees and the moon and the sun made you. That's why you are so special. God made you. He made you in a very special way. He made your eyes so they would twinkle. He made your mouth so you could smile. He made your laugh so you could giggle. God made you like no one else. If you looked all over the world, there would be no one else like you. No one with your eyes, no one with your mouth, no one with your laugh. You are very, very special.
I am grateful for Big B's expanding mind. To continue the process, I've laid out this memory game, gifted to us by one of the moms that donated clothing, for us to play after school. We keep a gratitude journal in our house. We say three good things that happened in our day at every family meal. Thankfulness is a concept that is driven home pretty hard around here. As parents, Papa and I are grateful for the amazing opportunities that surround our children simply as a result of their place of birth. As children who have never really wanted for anything, it is difficult to understand these concepts.
Now, Big B is beginning to make connections with children who don't have these opportunities, who are sick, hungry, and parentless, yet still exude joy and gratitude for the gifts they've been given. I hope that through this exchange of photographs and letters, and by giving clothes and toys and books that were once his, Big B will begin to feel gratitude in an entirely new way. I hope he begins to understand that regardless of the tremendous disparity in how children live all over the world, they are all connected. They need love just like Big B does. Their bodies work just like his does, and they like to play and laugh and explore just like he does.
I am so grateful to my friend and her daughter for traveling so far just to give these children some love and kindness. We wish them peace and strength of heart on their journey. They've given us quite a gift in the process.
Via Soule Mama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
We have returned, safely and soundly, from our annual Easter trip to Georgia. We usually arrive as the wisteria carpets the ground beneath us and the dogwoods and redbuds have long since bloomed, but this year, due to the calendar and the unseasonably chilly winter, we arrived at the perfect time to witness nature's southern masterpiece.Big B and little b experienced the wonders of nature, big and small. They helped Grandma plant her summer garden, poking little fingers into rich, fertile soil.They went exploring and hunting for treasure, using vivid imagination to make games from pinecones, sticks and clay rocks. They helped Papa make a minnow trap and paid attention to the sounds and cycles of the pond.We tried our hands at creating different kinds of eggs... ...and of course, hunted them, with great excitement and reward. But the wonder of nature that impressed upon us most deeply was the discovery of this goose nest, hidden among the reeds on a pond dam not far from Grandma's house. We diligently checked "our" nest every day. We all marveled at how large the eggs were, and how carefully they were laid upon a soft, downy featherbed. This technique stuck with Big B. As of the night before Easter, we had seen five deer, two fox squirrels and three bunny rabbits. I suggested that since the bunnies obviously liked to hop in pine straw beds, perhaps we should line our baskets with the brown needles. Big B took it one step further, and carefully made a downy grass bed, goose style, upon which the Easter bunny could leave his gifts. We set the baskets out to wait just before sunset and set off for one last ride through the woods. As luck would have it, we saw two Easter bunnies on that ride, awaiting nightfall to work their magic. Big B was mesmerized. On Easter morning, Big B and little b woke us to tell us the geese were visiting. They noticed the majestic birds before even noticing their baskets full of treasure. Such is the power and the wonder of nature. For all of the pomp and circumstance of the holidays, nothing holds more magic for a child than watching the world unfold before his eyes.April is Children and Nature Awareness Month. Play along by posting a photograph of your children outdoors every day this month.
Yesterday, during little b's nap, Big B and I hand dyed yarn. We are hoping to make yarn eggs during our Easter trip to Georgia, much like these. We loosely followed this tutorial to turn a partial skein of plain ol' white worsted into a lovely custom blend.
First, we unwound our skein and tied it into one foot sections.Then, while we prepared the dye from a tie-dye kit, we soaked the yarn in vinegar and cold water.Big B waited patiently to begin the fun part.......and he was a natural. He squirted colors in a dazzling pattern while I made sure each strand was coated. We then used plastic wrap to encase the yarn, sausage style.After steaming the yarn for thirty minutes, we soaked it again in warm water and vinegar. And here it is, basking in the spring sun to dry. The colors aren't as vibrant as I'd hoped, but the pastel hues are perfect for making our own variety of hand-dyed Easter eggs!
Yesterday was the New Moon in Aries, the first 
At one point, little b went into the backyard, savored a big breeze, looked up and sighed, saying "aaaah, pretty day." And it was, just perfect. Last night, I savored our monthly mama gathering to celebrate this new lunar cycle. Signs of new beginnings blossoming were everywhere. 
This morning, Big B asked me when he could come to a 
Sometimes we do special things for our children, and, though we try to squelch our expectations for their enjoyment, we can't help being slightly disappointed by anything less than a stellar reaction. This was not one of those times. Big B could not have been more excited or grateful. Little b was just as excited to show him. They carefully and politely poured and prepared their tea.
Of course, as things would happen only in a house of boys, Cyclops found himself a guest in the circle.
I explained that the purpose of our New Moon Circles is to give thanks and to set intentions for the month ahead. Big B's intention was pure and beautiful: "to have fun playing outside in the warm weather." On the table, representing the cardinal elements for which we are thankful, were a piece of clay, a shell, spring clover and a candle. Eventually, all items were introduced to tea.
It was the highest honor to share these moments with my little gentlemen, who displayed their innate understanding of the specialness of it all. I am grateful and rich beyond measure.
