I bundled up this morning, and took fresh water to my hens in their snug coop. The air was biting cold, but the sun was coming up. It was a thrill to discover fresh eggs for the first time in several months. We’ve missed them. I slipped them into my pockets as I walked back to the house.
The ponds were covered with a thin Jack Frost layer of ice, not smooth, but patterned over so beautifully, with a thin scattering of icy snowflakes. In some spots the water underneath was deep sapphire blue, in others; brown, gray and green. I drew in deep lungs-full of the fresh cold air.
In the house, my two little ones were waiting. Jacob, Ethan, Grace, David, and Caleb had already left for school, and Rich was back to work after over a week of vacation.
After the carefree Holiday season, it’s time for us all to readjust to our routines; our busy daily living at home and school and work, and then the coming together again, at the end of the day, for dinner and family time.
Pictures from the last few days;
Grace, with her sister. Sweetness through and through.
My parents came for a visit. This is Dad, with Sarah, snuggling in the evening after dinner was over.
The sky was so thrillingly beautiful one morning that I snuck outside to take a few pictures~
The sun was coming up, little by little……in the east.
Meanwhile, the western part of the sky still looked dark as the trees were being lit up by the sunrise.
Sarah, in her pink peppermint poncho.
Caleb, posing with his dagger~Doesn’t he look threatening?
By the way, Happy 2012, friends!
“Time is the New Year’s bountiful blessing: three hundred sixty-five bright mornings and starlit evenings; fifty-two promising weeks; twelve transformative months full of beautiful possibilities; and four splendid seasons. A simply abundant year to be savored.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach
I enjoyed this book (The Door in the Wall) for several evenings last week, and finished it last night. Happily, I discovered a new inspirational woman in Marguerite de Angeli. I did a little research on her life here and here. She loved her family (six children!), singing, art, and writing. She illustrated her own books and was involved in her art (painting and writing) throughout old age, completing works in her 80’s and 90’s. I am very interested in reading more about her, and reading more of her stories.
She obviously had depth, and a rich life full of a variety of interests and passions, which is something I greatly admire.
“…I have always wanted to draw and to write. Even now, I can remember the way it felt to be walking home from school in the small Michigan town where I was born, arm in arm with a school girlfriend, only half listening to her chatter because I was dreaming of something else; wondering how I could put down in words the sheer joy in living which filled me to bursting, or how I could draw the moving shadows, the sunlight sifting through the leaves, the tree branches against the white house, or the stream of boys and girls themselves. How could I grasp that shining and elusive ‘something’ which was away and beyond, yet was within me, and fairly lifting me off the earth? How could I, all at once, do the many things I wanted to do? I wanted to sew grown-up clothes for my doll, I wanted to make hats, I wanted to learn what we used to call ‘recitation,’ and I wanted to sing. What to do first?” Marguerite de Angeli
She wrote her autobiography and dedicated it: “To my children. It wasn’t all for them, but without them there would have been little point”.
Caleb found an old (very old) board outside and created this natural masterpiece for us using thumbtacks. I was so surprised, I accepted the gift with joy it and put it right in our bedroom~
The beauty of today’s egg collection, what a blessing!
And, lastly, my little boy Seth. I took this picture of him not long ago, when we were getting all set to cozy up and read a few favorites before naptime.
There is so much to be thankful for.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us
continually offer to God
a sacrifice of praise.”
But You, O Lord,
are a shield around me;
You are my glory,
the one who holds my head high. Psalm 3:3
Good to be Home 
Sweet Shanda. Your family is precious, the love you have for them is precious. The author sounds wise. I really like the dedication you shared from her autobiography. Happy New Year friend!!
Our weather has been unseasonably NICE and now I’m getting more eggs, too! Love to find them….just like finding treasure. I’d been getting one a day and sometimes two, but now it is THREE, and I can’t figure which of the girls has decided to be generous.Love your sunrise photos, but the best one has to be the trees in the west….that one is gorgeous!Hope your new year is filled with beauty of the best kind and peace of mind of the most important kind and love of the essential kind…blessings, all.
AAWWW fresh eggs! I miss having chickens….. I tried to get my husband to let me bring 2 on our sailboat two years ago, he had to say no. I’m sure they wouldn’t have laid eggs anyways :O)Love the leaves on the old board. ANd the pictures are all so nice~
Oh I forgot, I love the sun rise pictures!
I love it when the tree tops turn golden like that. I try to stop what I’m doing and appreciate, but I think it’s been awhile.
I enjoyed your pictures. Love the board Caleb made…how creative.Your walk sounds like it was wonderful. Beautiful sunrise, beautiful life.Happy Tuesday to you. =)
What a beautiful sky!
A NEW YEAR with you and your sweet family. What a beautiful beginning. Tell Caleb I LOVE his board. It is so pretty and creative. My boy ate an egg with toast and fig jam, pea pods, and juice for breakfast today…I think of you a lot when making eggs The connection with the chickens is now there!Oh, and Sarah’s hair is getting longer! Cute pink peppermint poncho.
Great picture of the trees against the dark sky, and very sweet of Sarah. Happy New Year to all of you!
always a pleasure to come here Shanda. such loveliness.happy New Year to you as well!
That picture of your girls is so sweet! I just love sunsets! They’re almost always different and amazing!It’s amazing what creations can be made up from nature. Love Caleb’s!
A great post to start out the new year!
Absolutely love the pictures of the sunrises!! WOW the sky is so beautiful. I thoroughly enjoy takings pics of the sky and my hubby thinks I am so strange because of it ;)I wanted to get out this morning too but it was 17 degrees and windy – the crisp air is refreshing, and helps me clear my head with every deep breath I take in – you seem to find simple pleasures in nature and every day things. I love that about you!
hi shanda…….as always, i loved the photos. the one with the orange trees against the dark sky is absolutely stunning. God’s world is so beautiful if you take the time to see it. good for you for taking the time and noticing it – and sharing it with us!! my boys and i read door in the wall when they were studying that time period in history. what beautiful quotes by the author. she seems like an interesting lady and quite introspective. i may just have to check out her autobiography! wishing you and your wonderful family a very happy new year, and may God’s blessings follow you all year long.
We’ve had some spectacular sunrises here too!! I get off work at 7:15am and I get to see the shifting colors and sunshine all the way home!! It’s an extra special treat after a night of usual craziness ;)Happy New Year (a little late)
You and I have many similarities….but getting out in the freezing cold before the sun is up and shining is NOT one of them. 🙂 My philosophy is that if God wanted us to enjoy sunrises he would have invented see-thru roofing supplies. LOL. :))))I love that you have your own eggs. Boyscout and I were just having the conversation this morning that we’re putting in a community garden this summer on his property and that we also want to build a chicken coop and start our own little egg “factory”. 🙂 I really look forward to it!Regarding getting back in to routines….there’s a certain contentment that I feel when we get things back to “normal”. Hugs and Love to you, dear friend.Love, Cass
Seth looks very excited about his reading time!I have the exact same board with almost identical placement of leaves from my kids! I could’nt believe it when I saw yours!
I wondered what those gulps of cold air did for your spirit. Many people say fresh air, a nice walk, outdoors (in general) is good when a person has the blues!The Sarah B.B. quote . . . I am rereading the same book as you. I stopped on that same quote you posted and have read it several times over this week. A new year blank and untarnished with so many things possible to create. What did you think of her 12 days of Christmas? I thought that her suggestions would be a nice way to unwind from the Christmas Day blur and make the starkness of January a warmer. Hugs and prayers, always, cher’ xo xoo
Beautiful. Every bit of it. Oh how I miss you, Shanda dear. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year, and enjoyed the time with your family. Much love to you from me. xoxoxoxoxoxo
🙂
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar Shanda
Wow! Thanks for capturing the sunrise. Yet more evidence of God’s great love and creativity