Our House in the Middle of Our Street

This is one of the most beautiful Christmas picture books I've had the pleasure to read to my kids. I'd never read it before last night, but the message is still sticking with me a day later. I am coming to deeply love Patricia Polacco as a storyteller, illustrator, and family-lore recorder. 

via * Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Take the day the weekend to hug and kiss those you love, spend time with friends and family over good food, and be kind to those store employees if you head out on Black Friday. They need your patience and kindness, too!  This year I'm thankful for a warm, comfy bed when I'm tired, plenty of food in my cupboards, healthy and thriving children, a steady husband (whose birthday is tomorrow ! Wish him happy 29th!) who makes me laugh more than anyone else, and God's provision, even when we question it. We have much to be thankful for.  *To purchase this print by artist, Katie Daisy, head here . 

A stuffed Christmas bag waiting to be opened!  This year I'm really excited to start selling a few things I've been making and perfecting over the years for my own family and friends. The first of these items are sets of Christmas bags. What's a Christmas bag, you say? A Christmas bag is a fabric bag that will last forever, long after paper bags, wrapping paper, and tissue paper. There is no clean-up after the gifts have been given, just gather them up, fold them and put them away for next year...and every year after that. They keep vintage fabrics out of the landfill and are a great option both financially and environmentally. They come with a nice folded inside seam, and are double stitched up each side for strength. They're a part of the holiday traditions. Two patterns of bags; S, M, L size, all folded up (bonus minis, too!) I had never heard nor seen Christmas bags before marrying into the Mast family. Stefan's Oma always made them for her fa...

Just a simple way to update family and friends of kid pictures, and what's going on in day-to-day life. Inspired by Kara's weekly journal day book entries.     Ani & Lu with their chosen pumpkins at God's Little Acre Farm field trip Outside my window: It's 4:51 and it's nearly dark. The blackness will set in within the next twenty minutes. The last night hovering just above our property tree line. I am thinking : The kids have 8 minutes left of quiet time, and I need to get dinner started. I am thankful: for the quiet of afternoon rest times and cold nights at home Ani and Lukka riding a scooter in "The Philippines" (or the Seattle Children's Museum) I am wearing: About 5 items I've had for almost 10 years. I need new clothes.  I am creating : this blog post and Christmas bags (for sale next week!) I am going: to make butter chicken for dinner. Thank you Costco sauce. Ani working on lace-up cards on the fr...

This feels like it's my song. 

In showing Ani's sweater dress this past month, I totally forgot about Lu's Christmas sweater. In the back of my mind I knew I hadn't shown it, but I think it got overshadowed in the THANK GOODNESS I'M DONE feeling I had once Ani's dress was off the needles.  I had originally pinned this as a possible knit for Lu way back in 2012. Pinterest is really helpful for me in that way. It's the place where I put everything (and I'm stingy with pins and 'favorites') that I want to remember for future projects. Once I'm ready to tackle, I just scan through and aha! there it is.  This sweater is called The Fisherman Pullover . I love that name. It's so perfect that I started it in a town with a fishing industry. It's not a free pattern, but I believe it was about $5 when I bought it. This is such a quick and easy knit, the charge was definitely worth it. I'd like to make another one in the future for a family member.  ...

photocredit All I'm going to talk about today, is why you should be watching Call the Midwife . Call the Midwife is another BBC drama series that you can watch on pbs.org, with 55 minute episodes, and only 6-7 per season. I fell in love after episode 1 and watched all of Season 1 and part of Season 2 in just two days. I've always had a thing for historical fiction , but tell me it's a true story and I'm almost guaranteed to love it. This is one of the only shows I've watched in my life-time where I find myself tearing up or crying (ugly-crying at that) with every episode. Sometimes out of sadness, sometimes out of encouragement and the hope it shows. *** The story revolves around a group of community nurse-midwives and an order of nuns who share a home called Nonnatus House, and care for the poor community of Poplar in post-WWII England. Each character on the show is not only charming, but sincere and gentle (in their own, sometimes blunt ways) in c...

The year 2012, like every other year since having kids, has just flown by. As I was looking through my google calendar, trying to remember big 'main' events of the year, I came by two surprises. The first was how much purple (MY specific calendar of obligations, events, and fun nights) there was, and the second was how Big Life Events like Stefan switching jobs (he was still with his previous employer until February) seem like past lifetimes, just not a mere 11-12 months ago.  Around the time Stefan switched jobs, Ani turned three, and she became less of a toddler, more of a preschooler in a variety of ways. The photo above is just a regular occurrence at our house. Kids want to play-act something, they go create their props, and act it out. These are, of course, their pirate patches.  This past year I had a lot of girls-nights-outs, a bible study I loved, and we squeezed in a few sessions of music and swim lessons, and also Ani had her first dance cla...

No edits, just a happy smile before going outside for an early snow excursion.

Salted caramels via the Barefoot Contessa . 

*Taken at Indian Cave State Park .

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