"Have you ever noticed what a place of honour beauty holds in our memories - how it can generate a glowing inner happiness? I have a conviction that the experiences of beauty cultivated during our life are harvested eventually in old age as a rich and gladdening content to our memories."
~ Christine Fynes-Clinton "All Year Round ~ A Calender of Celebrations"
Maybe my favourite picture... it just captures the colour and wonder and joy...
Something about taking a long break away from routine opens the eyes, illuminates the perspective...makes you wonder why the pushing, pulling, wrangling through. Why more?
A few simple things, food, family, music, people who care and the meaning that weaves it's golden thread through all it all turning it all into truth and lessons of love. This is all that is needful.
The kindness of friends and family has "once again" filled our children's Christmas with the wonder of what it is to both give and receive... And this year was the first year we could really "treat" the children with one or two gifts that I hope will give lasting a deep joy without harming the gift that is our mother earth and may be passed down from one hand to another in time to come.
And yes (somehow:) those very loved dollies got new dresses in their stockings, sewn by the Christmas elves!!!
The fairies took these special silks through the middle of a rainbow and the morning sunrise to give them their magical colours you know!
Fi cooking christmas lunch.
Boo was Mary for the nativity play at church and the other girls were angels... I wish we'd taken pictures at the time because Boo's veil has gone missing... I am hoping we might find it by Epiphany... :) Ho hum... Boo's face just shone all the way through the little play. She has wanted to play Mary for so long! I was so happy for her...
Florence bringing her quiet aura to calm the waters just when nessecary.
Creating the days after....
The wonder and the sacredness infused in small gestures, prayers, moments, candles lit.
Like the poet Robert Bly said a child's soul already knows all this stuff, we don't have to simplify it, reduce it, try to make the mystery understandable, we simply have to bring it forth so the child will know in it's depth of heart a safe knowledge that yes, he...or she did come to the right place...
...And here is the most beautiful nativity set gifted to us by some very special people.
I have so wanted the children to have a nativity set with individual pieces for so long...and here it is... The girls are captivated by it!
On Christmas night we lit their jam jar lanterns around it and told the story of the four creatures and the Christ Child, the girls were far from their wriggly selves, and were just enchanted by the light and the figurines as I read the story...
I couldn't believe that they went to sleep so quickly afterwards even though they were so excited for santa to visit and eat the mini feast they had spread out for him and and his reindeers :) I must admit I'm not surprised he always looks so round!
Our first ostheimer figurines! One for each girl :)...And the star girl for Boo our winter baby born on the feast of Stephen 8 years ago...How has time gone so fast, I don't know.
My sensitive, quiet yet playful, funny, fiercly inteligent, loving, loyal, dark eyed baby bear cub Boo!
We call you Bujana Baa Lamb so Emmy made you this little lamb which you have carried everywhere with you ever since you unwrapped it!
And there it is, memories, in fragments of colour, swirled together.
White silks taking the watermarks and impressions of the days...
( edited to add... Sometimes I worry that blogs can be a little too much like it's all about things and having things and things looking just "right"... magaziny... I want to clarify...
My home is very smallish and full of littl...ish people ;). It is also very imperfect and frequently messy thus I often shoot my photos before I've really composed them hence the motion blur so often present :) I hope and pray they capture the essense of the quote at the top of the page.
Conveying simple imperfect ordinary beauty that is within the reach of a soul rather than a pocket book :)
Much love to you all friends
xx
~ Christine Fynes-Clinton "All Year Round ~ A Calender of Celebrations"
Maybe my favourite picture... it just captures the colour and wonder and joy...
Something about taking a long break away from routine opens the eyes, illuminates the perspective...makes you wonder why the pushing, pulling, wrangling through. Why more?
A few simple things, food, family, music, people who care and the meaning that weaves it's golden thread through all it all turning it all into truth and lessons of love. This is all that is needful.
The kindness of friends and family has "once again" filled our children's Christmas with the wonder of what it is to both give and receive... And this year was the first year we could really "treat" the children with one or two gifts that I hope will give lasting a deep joy without harming the gift that is our mother earth and may be passed down from one hand to another in time to come.
And yes (somehow:) those very loved dollies got new dresses in their stockings, sewn by the Christmas elves!!!
The fairies took these special silks through the middle of a rainbow and the morning sunrise to give them their magical colours you know!
Fi cooking christmas lunch.
Boo was Mary for the nativity play at church and the other girls were angels... I wish we'd taken pictures at the time because Boo's veil has gone missing... I am hoping we might find it by Epiphany... :) Ho hum... Boo's face just shone all the way through the little play. She has wanted to play Mary for so long! I was so happy for her...
Florence bringing her quiet aura to calm the waters just when nessecary.
Creating the days after....
The wonder and the sacredness infused in small gestures, prayers, moments, candles lit.
Like the poet Robert Bly said a child's soul already knows all this stuff, we don't have to simplify it, reduce it, try to make the mystery understandable, we simply have to bring it forth so the child will know in it's depth of heart a safe knowledge that yes, he...or she did come to the right place...
...And here is the most beautiful nativity set gifted to us by some very special people.
I have so wanted the children to have a nativity set with individual pieces for so long...and here it is... The girls are captivated by it!
On Christmas night we lit their jam jar lanterns around it and told the story of the four creatures and the Christ Child, the girls were far from their wriggly selves, and were just enchanted by the light and the figurines as I read the story...
I couldn't believe that they went to sleep so quickly afterwards even though they were so excited for santa to visit and eat the mini feast they had spread out for him and and his reindeers :) I must admit I'm not surprised he always looks so round!
Our first ostheimer figurines! One for each girl :)...And the star girl for Boo our winter baby born on the feast of Stephen 8 years ago...How has time gone so fast, I don't know.
My sensitive, quiet yet playful, funny, fiercly inteligent, loving, loyal, dark eyed baby bear cub Boo!
We call you Bujana Baa Lamb so Emmy made you this little lamb which you have carried everywhere with you ever since you unwrapped it!
And there it is, memories, in fragments of colour, swirled together.
White silks taking the watermarks and impressions of the days...
( edited to add... Sometimes I worry that blogs can be a little too much like it's all about things and having things and things looking just "right"... magaziny... I want to clarify...
My home is very smallish and full of littl...ish people ;). It is also very imperfect and frequently messy thus I often shoot my photos before I've really composed them hence the motion blur so often present :) I hope and pray they capture the essense of the quote at the top of the page.
Conveying simple imperfect ordinary beauty that is within the reach of a soul rather than a pocket book :)
Much love to you all friends
xx
Thank you for sharing. Beautiful and calming to read xx
ReplyDeleteLovely, Suzy, as always. Your girls are so blessed to have you as their mother. xo
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful photos. Suzy to my eyes your blog is not at all about Things - it's about the reality underneath, the happiness and love and beauty that is the most important. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletesuch a beautiful christmas. thanks for sharing it suzy. love to your family.
ReplyDeleteI have missed your lovely posts so very much, this one was beautiful as usual. Your Christmas looks perfectly perfect. Joy is evident on little faces everywhere. :)
ReplyDeleteloved this, suzy. thanks for sharing a piece of your joy and love this season with us!
ReplyDeleteSuzy, what comes through to me when I read your posts is beauty, family and love! I love visiting here and am looking forward to many more visits in 2012! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletexx