A-Frame Tent, A-Plus Day

Funny, funny universe.

On a weekend laden with best-laid plans, Big B came down with a nasty tummy bug that knocked him out all day Saturday. This morning he woke, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to make up for lost time. I knew we were going to stay close to home to allow him a day of recovery, and me a day to finish several organizational projects started during his sickness--but he and little b needed some adventure.

During my morning coffee blogroll, I saw Cakie's A-Frame Tent featured in Grosgrain's Free Pattern Month, and fell in love. I made a quick list for the hardware store and sent the boys on a quest so that I could finish up some chores.

When they returned, we got to work drilling, fitting, hemming and attaching. In less than one hour they had their adventure.

Simple though it might be, there was something special about it being made just for them. It was also a powerful lesson for me: they may not enter it properly or treat it gently--but I did, after all, make it just for them. It is theirs to invent, collapse, rebuild, enter, and love as they wish.

I am sensing a major shift in the tides. Perhaps it is the excitement of summer on the horizon. Perhaps it is this new clarity with which I choose my activities and things. But I am seeing a beautiful light ahead.

2010 : Our Year in Review

january : a collection of wishes

february : digital valentines

march : strawberry season


april : tibetan sand mandala

may : arlington park ducklings

june : canning extravaganza

july : raw food cleanse

august : new beginnings

september : collecting

october : camping

november : 1st grade garden

december : celebrating seasons

Thanksgiving 2010: An Ode to Trees

We tiptoed onto Papa's Grandma's land in the darkness, and were greeted the next morning, the day before Thanksgiving, by this magnificent tree. It was the perfect beginning, the perfect reminder to give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us. We celebrated it by adorning our trusty Vagabond with Andy Goldsworthy-esque devotionals.

Big B, little b and their Georgia kin experienced the joy of jumping into a huge crunchy leaf pile, making leaf angels, and basking in the shade and raining leaves of the changing trees. We read The Giving Tree a lot during the trip, resonating deep in the heart of our eldest, who called his favorite climbing tree "Mama Tree" and talked to her every day.
More tree love: deep into the swampland on a brisk four-wheeler ride, we found this incredible cypress wonderland.

At our family reunion on Saturday, we hosted a children's craft table. I braided raffia throughout the trip in preparation for more leaf crowns. Papa and the boys went on a leaf-hunting expedition and collected the most beautiful fall leaves I've ever seen. The kids were crowned, created leaf rubbings, and wrote their gratitudes on paper leaves.The most beautiful tree I saw over the weekend: the family tree. I am so lucky to have married into this family, and so thankful that my children have this kind of history and sense of home to revisit, connecting them to their roots.

After the reunion, we visited a dear friend's property, one of the most beautiful pieces of land I've ever stepped foot on. She took all of us on a magical four-wheeler ride just as the sun was setting. About twenty minutes into the ride, when all daylight was gone, she asked us to turn off our lights and engines. She told us about the forest fairies that help the trees grow and the flowers bloom. The fairies only come out on chilly nights when all is quiet. She told the children to watch out for them, glowing in the trees. We continued our ride, and sure enough, as we neared the creek, there they were--and our children were mesmerized. I am forever grateful for this sweet woman.

The morning we left, we helped Papa's grandma with another special tree, infusing us with Christmas spirit for the long ride home.

Driving away, we passed the orchard of pecan trees that finds its way into Papa's retirement dreams. Such a sense of peace is found between these branches.

Another Thanksgiving, come and gone. And I have never been more thankful for the gifts of my life than I am at this moment. Hoping you all had a restful holiday filled with pause enough to count your blessings.

On Camping, and the Regeneration of Cells

For two weekends in a row, our family has camped near bonfires with old friends. How lucky I am to have typed that sentence! Last weekend it was back to The Dome for sweet music and celebration...

...and last night, back to The Ranch, this time for a seventh birthday party.

There was a collective spirit in the air, accented by pumpkins and ghosts...

...and sweet party games that just don't happen enough anymore. Like apple bobbing. Oh, the triumph!

The children, all dirt and grins, communed with nature on every level, ending with a sweet cow-feeding frenzy this morning. Gentle giants, my boys and those beasts, so beautiful.

What really struck a chord with me was the sheer villagery of it all. The eldest of our blessed tribe of babes is now seven. SEVEN. You've likely heard that all of our human cells regenerate every seven years--these incredible little people (over twenty of them!) have been together since zygotehood and are now completely reinvented, regenerated, and renewed, but have imprinted upon them the spirit of community, and always will.

The things that make up our physical bodies morph, change, die and are reborn. But upon strong foundations, new beauty emerges. We are constantly witnessing a steady stream of birth and rebirth with these entities we've been chosen to guide, and it is a mighty force of love, light, and pure, sweet laughter.