The circle of lights

Each Sunday members and visitors can share joys and concerns. In a few phrases they voice their thoughts and light a candle. One day I will have the courage to stand up and voice my concerns and joys.

More water collected for the water communion

Today's weather was so warn and sunny. I took Lyn, Annika, Evan, Eliot, Ben and one of Lyn's friends to the waterfall in Helena. They played on the playground there and explored the creek and collected shells, stones, anything interesting. We collected some water and added it to our water communion bottle. The kids all found some pretty cool stuff. They even found a crayfish (or craydad depending on where you live). They cleaned up their rocks and shells and over all had a really good day. 

Lyn did what?

Ending up in the emergency room on a Friday night isn't my favorite activity. Lyn was horsing around with her friend. The were 'sword playing" with sturdy sticks and he hit her squarely on the knuckle. It looked bad for a while but nothing is broken. Some extra attention form mom and an ace bandage for a week an she will be just fine.

The fire my sweetheart made....

As anyone who knows me lately I have been really enjoying lighting a fire in the evenings. Last night my husband set up the perfect fire. That made me so happy.

Has anyone tried this?

I plan on trying this in my tea tonight. I am wondering what it tastes like. I will let you know.....

Two of a kind

Out of all of my seven children these two are the most similar. Lyn is 12 years old and Eliot is 3. Their personalities are very much alike. I see so much of Lyn in Eliot. Lyn was the sassy quick witted child that Eliot is becoming. They are only half sisters but you would have thought they were cut from the exact same cloth. The tree in the above picture is in an area where we go to collect firewood. Lyn noticed the hole and said it would make the perfect "fairy hideout". Eliot just liked that she could see through a tree.

Eliot really liked these two trees. She called them her special sister trees.

We finally found the best way to collect firewood. We loaded up the wagon and it lasted for two night's worth of fires.

My favorite herb / spice today....

Have you ever heard of Star Anise? Probably not. I didn't until  I started researching herbs for healing and practical use. It is technically a spice. It smells exactly like black licorice. If you crush it and just leave it out like potpourri its scent fills the room. It is powerful stuff. It is used in some Asian and Indian dishes but I bought it from the grocery store purely for its smell. It is a little expensive but it is my favorite today.

Click on the picture to learn more about this spice

Happy Birthday Baby Ben

One year ago I welcomed my 7th child into this world. Happy Birthday Ben!! Thank you Lyn for making cupcakes tonight!

I broke my foot

On Friday I slipped on some ice in the parking lot at work. Up I went and down I came. I have a chip fracture on top of my right foot. My foot is swollen and black and blue. Hopefully I will be able to drive by Tuesday.

Thank you Carrie... wherever you are...

 This scarf was given to me by a friend years ago in Charleston, South Carolina. Lyn found it in the attic today. My friend, Carrie Gilbert, gave it to me about 17 years ago. I have lost touch with her but now I can remember her whenever I wear her scarf. That is if I can get it away from Lyn. Now, the hat is another story. I have had this wool hat for nearly 20 years. Lyn also found it in the attic. I WILL be wearing it no matter what others think!!!! :)

As you can see here there was a time when sunflowers were a must in my house. These throws were found in the attic too. I will have to find a place for them. I have had them for nearly 20 years too.

You slipped on what?

I actually feel my age today. During work today I slipped on some ice in the parking lot. I actually rolled. There were witnesses. A friend and co-worker (OK it was Sara) babysat me at the occupational health office and drove me home. Now I have a chip fracture on top of my foot. With a three day weekend and all weekend plans cancelled I plan on elevating my foot and try to keep the big little kids from jumping on my foot. Let's just say I have had better Fridays.

It broke...

I am so sad.  My necklace of a mother breastfeeding broke this morning.  I dropped it on the bathroom floor.  I just may have to order another one.

A friend asked

A friend of mine asked me about what the Water Communion ceremony in September was all about. She thought we were planning on collecting water every day of our life until September. I explained to her that we will be collecting water from momentous moments in our lives. Like we did for the snow the other day. If we go anywhere like to the beach we will collect some sea water. Even when we just play in the sprinkler we will collect some water. The pictures in this post show us preparing a book / journal our "water log" (The kids thought that was funny.) It was an old journal of my grandparents who used to live in my house. There were a few pages in it with my grandmother's handwriting on it. We read them and added the pages to our fire. We then made an entry about our first water collection and the girls and I decorated. We will try to keep up with it till September. Annika is working on a water poem to be read in front of church on the day. The bottle in the picture where we are keeping the water was a gift from Sara and its shape and color is just perfect for this activity.

I just could not resist

I saw this on sell the other day and it just spoke to me. It was Lyn's idea to place some coniferous evergreens (cedar) in it. I think it looks great. After the greenery spends a little time there we will add it to our fire. 

First waters...

Each year usually in September our church has a water communion service. We started our collection of waters today. It started to sleet and snow outside. There was some ice mixed in with some of our fire starting materials that were left outside. I collected some and Eliot and I put it in a jar. later we will transfer the water to a special jar I have stashed away. It needs to be cleaned and it will hold all of the water we collect between now and September. We will then add our water to others during a service. This year this ceremony will mean more to me. I have begun to focus on the basics in my life in order to simplify my life. For me simple predictable days would be very meaningful. Chaos reigns supreme for me most days. Focusing on simple things like water, wind, fire, and earth helps to keep me grounded.

New Year resolutions

The big girls and I wrote our resolutions down on small pieces of paper and tied them up. We then burned them and released that energy into the universe. I added the ashes and a small piece of leftover burnt paper to my jar of ashes. The ashes were collected from our first fire lit this season. (We will add them to the first fire we light for next winter.) It was Lyn's idea to have each of us hold the bowl with just one hand. I think it is a pretty cool picture.

The whole world is out my window

It is a rainy New Years Day. Evan and Eliot were sitting on stools at my bedroom window watching the rain The weather is really mild today so I opened the window. They watched for quite a while. Evan looked at me and said, "Mama, the whole world is out the window". That really touched my heart. Evan can be very challenging at times so I cherish every sweet word that wanders out of his mouth.