Thankful

I know I maybe a (couple) day(s) late with this post, but before I move into full on Christmas mode, I wanted to share a wrap up on fall and what I am thankful for in current life. 

My little boys have been true and constant sunshine in a oft times grey and dreary part of the year. We have defintely had seasons where trying to parent 3 rambunctious and very young boys was easily the biggest stress factor in my life, I am thankful this chapter lets them star as one of the biggest delights. 

School hasn't been religiously consistent, but it has happened and we have had a ton of fun learning when it does. It's been such a treat to see Cole soak up reading lessons and take such pride in is new found skills. Asher slowly but surely is improving on his speech and jumps into learning with full enthusiasm (when he's in the mood for it ;). Silas is a dependable source for joy and entertainment for the whole household- what a gift that littlest boy has been to our family! He is a go getter who has always wants to be in on the action. "I wanna Twy", is his current catchphrase. 

I can know say I have been blessed to be married to my husband for seven years. Seven is kind of my number so it almost feels like a bigger deal than say, ten. I envisioned seven years ringing in triumphant bliss- this year hasn't been an easy one in any aspect of our lives but the celebration does taste a little sweeter being hard won.

 I am so grateful for family and friends that love and support us in tangible ways- like watching our little crazies and allowing us to get away for our anniversary. We contemplated several new trip itineraries but in the end, decided to stick with our stand by- Bend. We knew we could enjoy ourselves without a ton of mental energy being expended on trying to navigate a new to us area. We slept in, ate so much great food and  refilled our kombucha growlers. We did some Christmas shopping, hiked to a gorgeous water fall and saw two movies in theatres. It's so refreshing to splurge on a weekend or so a year of just a time of fun, just the two of us. I always come home and am thrown for a bit of a loop stepping right into our extra busy holdiay season- jam packed with not only holidays but a whole lo of birthdays in our house- but I am also thankful for that little breather before jumping in to all the seasonal activities too. We came with a pretty awesome souvenir, my anniversary gift, a Pendleton blanket. It's gorgeous and something I could never justify buying for myself so it really was the perfect gift. 

Thanksgiving was of course, filled with the best meal of the year shared with loved ones. From there it's been a fast shift into the Advent season and here we are already at December first. I am really glad to have adopted some meaningful advent rhythms and traditions to our days last year and am excited to pick those back up and add in a few more this year as well. I really don't want to overload us on "doing" and loose really "being" in the season, so we're slowing down on our outside commitments and focusing in on our home and on Christ. 

I am using the Slow and Sacred Advent ebook as a weekly framework. It is a laid back, but lovely guide to the 4 weeks of advent with handicrafts and recipes. As a family devotional for the season, we are using Prepare Him Room by Marty Machowski. This book is full of scripture, projects, songs an even an original Christmas story. I am really excited to share a more extensive review on this great family resource in the near future! 

It is so neat to watch the boys become more aware of what Christmas really means more and year and be more able to be involved in the preparation and festivities. Yesterday we had a full house of little and big friends to start of the Christmas season with an afternoon of handicrafts. We all shared a big pot of hearty soup, fresh baked breads, cups of coffee (for the mamas) and hand rolled beeswax candles. What a fun project it was! The kids exceeded my expectations with their interest and ability with it all. They really loved making something with their own two hands to be used for Christmas time. the natural, honey scent of our candles is very homey and comforting-perfect for cold, winter days.  The boys loved doing our devotion by candlelight later that night. It was fun to find a project that was first for both me and the boys and to learn together. Though, we later found out that Daddy had rolled many a candle in his childhood- in preparation for Y2K! ;) 

We've strung a few popcorn garlands and enjoyed a Christmas movie or two while sipping tea. I'm looking forward to a lot more cozy time at home over the next weeks- including, of course, a lot of time snuggled up on the couch reading Christmas books. We've pretty much put school on hold to enjoy all the special books, music and other "lessons" the season has to offer. We are using Pam Barnhill's Advent morning time plans and adapting them with the Christmas read alouds we have on hand to use- including the Hans Christian Anderson The Fir Tree (which I've reviewed here!) and The Snow Queen (which all be reviewing soon!) On top of the pile of Christmas picture books I have accumulated over the last couple of years.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.