Choosing Joy

"...believe that this way of living, this focus on the present, the daily, the tangible, this intense concentration not on the news headlines but on the flowers growing in your own garden, the children growing in your own home, this way of living has the potential to open up the heavens, to yield a glittering handful of diamonds where a second ago there was coal. This way of living and noticing and building and crafting can crack through the movie sets and soundtracks that keep us waiting for our own life stories to begin, and set us free to observe the lives we have been creating all along without ever realizing it. I don’t want to wait anymore.

I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting."

~~ Shauna Niequiest's ~~ 

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

Today I am off on an adventure wrapped in ordinariness and daily doings, like dropping a friend off at the airport, visiting Costco, coming home to tea and bookclub.  My travels won't make the news, nor change the course of mankind's grind, but I will breathe in and out the most wonderful freshness and joy, if I so choose.

 graphic shared by from Sue Fitzmaurice, Author on FB

Gaining Wait in 2013

Today I awoke and stood still.  The quiet house whispered, “All is well.”  After so many days of merry-making laced with going here-, doing this-, making that-,  I greeted today with NOTHING on my agenda.

Naturally, the house and family ALWAYS offer a solution to the age-old ponderance:  “What shall I do with this unscheduled moment?”  But, today I stepped beyond hearing range of the To Do List and settled into the lull of a place. 

And here I sit . . . simply sitting (and sipping tea, of course).

The Christmas tree twinkles over there; the Nativity shines over here; Christmas extends its reach to January 6^th for us.  We will have yet another wonderful celebration on the 6^th, but for today it is quiet.  We are quiet.  I am quiet.

So, as many (most, probably) have trundled away the tree and set about tackling resolves to de-clutter, de-stress, de-weight, I slip back into the lull of Christmas that enveloped the manger scene even as the wise men made their way to the blessed meeting. 

I guess you could say I’ve decided to turn the tables and gain weight wait this year.  And in this waiting my expectations grow and delight me with the prospect of meeting, greeting, and embracing the Christ child; for surely, at least one of those wise men scooped that babe up in his arms and played the “coo-ing” game complete with smiles of pure joy and baby-game conversations like, “Oh aren’t you beautiful?  Yes, you are.  You’re so sweet I could just eat you up!” and then proceeded to nibble on those newborn toes with delight.    

[Okay – maybe not the nibbling-toes part.  That probably would have been in the recorded version if women accompanied these learned ones.  But, I digress . . .]

After all, God came to man as a baby – fully God/fully human – and who can resist an adorable baby?  Being fully God did not erase that heavenly “baby smell” each birth brings; nor did it envelop him in a corona-like force field that kept mere mortals at bay.  As in his later life, so in his birth, Jesus came to be embraced.

In these quiet moments before meals commence and dishes stack, I simply sit in this lull . . . in this wait . . . and find something still and small and special. 

 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. 

And, behold, the Lord passed by, 

 And a great and strong wind rent the mountains, 

And brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; 

But the Lord was not in the wind: 

And after the wind an earthquake; 

But the Lord was not in the earthquake:   

And after the earthquake a fire; 

But the Lord was not in the fire: 

And after the fire 

a still small voice.

1 Kings 19:11, 12

 I hope to gain a LOT of wait in 2013. 

 

Aloha 2012 ~~ ALOHA 2013!

We celebrated in Hawaiian Style

Complete with Volcano & Tiki . . .

. . . and a nerdly experiment.

(Otherwise it just wouldn't feel like home.)

Some people pop champagne corks --

not around here!

Hope you've had a wonderful start to the New Year.

ALOHA!!

For Unto Us a Child Is Born

How Sweet the Gift.

Hallelujah!

Simply Christmas

Holiday To-Do List (update):

SIMPLY CELEBRATE

For it is good to be children sometimes,

And never better than at Christmas,

When its mighty Founder was a child himself.

~~ Charles Dickens ~~




But Jesus called them to Him and said, 

“Let the little children come to Me, 

And do not forbid them; 

For of such is the kingdom of God.

 

Luke 18:16

I have found a deliciously quiet moment – a moment without an activity or a preparation for an activity or the jammy-seeking tiredness that follows the close of an activity.  You know of what I write:  parties, teas, performances, crafts, table settings, dish washings . . . the list trails off in a delightful peppermint-stripe of fun and frolic as we gather together to celebrate the beauty of our happy walk toward Christmas. 

Though I do nearly nothing in the way of shopping conventionally, I do go all out in flinging wide my door to gatherings big and small.  A friend drops by to deliver goat’s milk because she was caught in a traffic jam when Gary came by to purchase and I put on the kettle.  A delightful time strolling through the gardens (unseasonably warm and still in bloom here and there), followed by a fragrant gathering in the tree’s glow as we sipped strawberry-vanilla tea and nibbled at some dark chocolate became a gift.  She pronounced it the nicest tea she had ever had – did I mention she’s a garden gal who loves the outdoors more than I?  I’m sure her teatimes generally include a mug in hand taken to a bench under the fig tree.  To simply sit and chat and sip proved a gift to all of us, as my girls gathered around eagerly.  Girls-and-tea-and-such just happens spontaneously around here, while the boys snicker from another room or pass on through swiftly, pausing for a sweet and portable treat before vanishing.

Speaking of treats, tomorrow a dear friend-like-a-sister and her daughter-like-a-niece will be joining us for a Cookie Day.  Gingerbread and Sugar cookies will spread out in all directions and the frosting-sprinkles-candy-sweets will rain down in happy abandon.  By afternoon’s end we will have decorated, sampled, dressed up, and even dropped a few of the plethora baked in anticipation.  Like Santa’s elves we will create magic and then we will send them out on plates for this neighbor or that, to friends here and there in our town, taking care to reserve sufficient supplies for our own holiday merrymaking.  My sister arrives on Christmas Eve, thus missing this event, but we will surely duplicate it while she is here.  You can never have too many cookie days, can you?

For those of you that know I tend to “healthy eating” and whole-food mania, you can rest assured that I have fortified our family body with ample broths and meals in prep for the sweet-treat onslaught.  White sugar and flour will be welcomed for the season as I have yet to find a suitable “sugar” cookie made from coconut crystals and whole-wheat flour – but I haven’t stopped looking!  I had thought of sharing from my treasure trove of sweet, simple, and healthy recipes for parties, but as time has slipped and I have sought serendipity over stress, that post will have to wait for another day.

As I gently roll my mind back over the past year I smile and celebrate the word “Serendipity” – my chosen word to guide 2011.  At so many unknown turns in the road called 2011 I fell back on my special “word” and let the stress roll on by, murmuring gently to myself, “We’ll see . . . we’ll see what God has in store.”  Though I could seldom find a rhyme or reason for some of the stuff, I did find comfort and pure joy in leaving off the stress of trying to control it all.  I simply rode the waves and laughed (between screams) despite the raucous ride.   I held tight to those I love and reminded myself to breathe as life’s coaster dipped and whirled and navigated the loop-de-loops set squarely in my path.  Whew!  It’s been quite a ride, and I’m ready to board 2012 with equal delight and anticipation.   In fact, I tasted the sweetness of freedom with such relish this past year that I have already chosen Serendipity’s close friend as my word for 2012: 

Celebrate!

Not being one for surprises, I have decided to unwrap the gift of “Celebrate” early and put it to good use right alongside “Serendipity.”  So, if you stop by this Christmastide don’t bother looking for me on the fringes with a bedraggled smile and a load to carry, I’ll be the one right by the tree with a cookie in hand and a teapot at the ready.  Serendipity taught me that life doesn’t need my fears and worries in order to find the joy; in fact, they obscure the way and siphon the energy that is better used for broad merrymaking than for sweating small details.  Opening up the heart and hands, throwing wide the doorway to possibility, and letting expectations blow away has blossomed into a truly wonderful year filled with simple moments of unexpected joy.  Please join me in Celebrating all that will come to us and upon us this Holy Season of the gift of great joy for ALL people.    

 * * *

Now, if I don’t manage to find my way back here before the special day arrives please accept this as my special gift:

From My Family to Yours

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

* * *

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13 on the 13th

* * *

How quickly you went from this

To this

From here

To here

Catapulting to 13 in no time!

(Simply amazing!)

HAPPY

13th Birthday

Rachel!



* * *

How short the days are long

How fast the days of slow go away

So I'm wading right in

Playing your games

And I'm running the full length . . .

By your side

© 2002 Mighty Grey Music/Lil' Yella House Music/

Dayspring Music, LLC (BMI)

Guess Who . . .

Turned 22

on

12/02?

My Darling (Kermit-loving) Daughter,

Elizabeth.

(Check out her blog for some fun pics through the ages.)

Oh So Sweet!

Happy 16th Birthday,

Sweet Lydia!

Some Pics to Share from Our 4th Celebration

Curious about our menu?  

Check out  

www.pursuingajeffersonianeducation.blogspot.com  

for all the delicious details.  

 : D

Happy Birthday USA!

Thousands of Words About Summer

* * *

Summer has finally arrived here at Wisteria Cottage.

We welcome you to

settle back into the comfy wicker, 

nibble a lemon bar, 

inhale the sweet fragrance of wisteria, 

and spend a summertime moment with us.  

These pictures make words unnecessary . . .

don't you agree?

From our cottage to yours:

Happy Summertime!

Happy Hatch-Day!

After faithfully sitting for 21 days, Mama hen hatched all six of her eggs!!!

May Moments

How the time does fly!  I have been so consumed by all the projects I have failed to stop and share them.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words . . .

The Birthday girl holding a bouquet of beautiful roses sent by her sister.

 

Bob, the crow master.

My big chickies!

They are getting so beautiful.

Cucumber cage.

Corn cage (left) sugar snap peas (right).

Basically everything on this side of the yard has to be caged off or it becomes chicken snacks.

My over-achieving radish.

Tiny salad sprouts!

Baby basil.

Melons enjoying the sun.

Greenhouse!

I can't wait to get everything in the ground!

Tomato.

Freshly-tilled (we got a rototiller!!!) earth ready for planting.

Yaaaaaaaawn!

Homer is an Anna Hummingbird who lives here all year round.  Someday I hope to get a picture of him in the sun where his bright green body and deep pink face really sparkle and shine.

Happy May Everyone!!!