A friend gave us this beautiful Christmas candle decoration! (above) What a gift, the children found it magical and stared at it in wonder in the candle light of many an evening. It reminded me of all my German grandmother's wooden Christmas ornaments! It will be treasured for years to come!
(note the pictures below are from our new Year Day walk in our favourite spot.
Boo had a really quiet birthday.
Her big present was a beautiful wooden xylophone.
She is such a sweet and gentle spirit.
Although it was such a quiet day, she said it was the "very best birthday ever"
Faith, kitchening, gardening, keeping the home tidy and comfortable. Friends, crafting, creating and learning about things that are relevant to us and deeply interest us.
These are the essentials.
Anything extraneous that causes stress to any of the most important things must be put aside.
These are the quiet and simple resolutions that I am making this coming year.
Matilda has lost 4 teeth along the top of her mouth and two along the bottom over the last few months.
With these physical changes have come great leaps in maturity and independence.
I find myself missing her babyhood while being inspired by the funny, creative, quirky character she is becoming.
In February she will turn seven.
A very important transitional age in the Steiner philosophy.
It is the age where a child will truly descend into their body and begin to move from purely their will into their heart.
It is the age where imagination begins to bud and blossom.
This year I hope to be strong in my vision, yet soft in my application of that vision, always ready to drop all for love whatever that love might look like or ask of me.
I have thought about what my word of the year should be and as usual many different words came to mind so I decided to write the ones that spoke most clearly to my soul and put them in a hat and leave it to fate.
The chosen word for the year ended up being "gentle"
I think it is nudging me toward an unforced, natural, path and pace.
Reflecting the words, that I find, in my life, turn to time and time again.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Gentle, Rest, Peace.
oh my. i have missed your beautiful words. i hope you heal up quickly, the flu is a butt kicker for sure. happy happy new year. i love the word. i have two... embrace (which i "stole" from clover) and surrender. i feel so done with the "fighting" with life, i want it to flow more and i need to stop struggling against it.
ReplyDeletemay this year open up well for both of us. ((hug))
I have thought of you and your beautiful family often Suzy and am sad to hear you have been so ill. Gentle really is the most wonderful of words and such a special name for your year. I hope that all of your days are gentle and filled with beauty.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!!! I have missed you, so nice to see you back. Such a perfect word for the year. Hope you are back to yourself again soon, the flu is not fun.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, and so lovely to see you back in this space. Our Christmases have been very similar! Happy New Year to you all. xxz
ReplyDeleteoh suzy, so much to say here. so glad to see you! so sorry for the sickness, terrible. layla is just like boo {i know we have been saying this exact same thing for years now, but it never fails to amaze me how alike they are!} she has such a natural musical talent and has taught herself everything and, like boo, refuses to be taught. it is truly amazing how alike they are. if only we weren't across an ocean from each other :) you can write as sporadically as you want, i will continue to love you, pray for you and be your kindred spirit! love to you and your family, health and peace to you all.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, as ever, Suzy. :)
ReplyDeleteAwww so sorry to hear you have all been poorly and pleased to hear of your chilvarous husband ;o). I had never seen one of those German candle toys until last year when a friend showed me hers and how it worked, truly beautiful and just like your amazing word for the year gentle. Much love to you xxxxxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteDear Suzy,
ReplyDeleteI hope you can understand the message that your body is communicating to you. All symptoms will evaporate once you make the connections to your emotional life. This is our profound experience of the way things are. The magic flourishes as the awareness opens.
I love the sound of your future plans. 2013 is the creative time for this.
With love from the heart of Avalon,
S.
Glad to see you're back and recovering! p.s. It's called Weihnachtspyramide - a Christmas Pyramid! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pyramid
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteI teared up at your chosen word for the year. "Gentle" seems just perfect. Also one of my favorite scriptures. When things start pressing down, I am often reminded of the easy yoke of God. Thanks for sharing whenever you can and being a good example of setting the right priorities.
ReplyDeleteI have also chosen the word *Gentle* :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a beautiful blog x
What a beautiful post - thank you for sharing so much of your Christmas with us. It sounds as if you all did wonderfully to focus on the important things, despite debilitating illness. Good for Tani. I agree that our illnesses have messages for us (as Spirit of the Rabbit says). However, I will say that for the first time ever, due to our daughter's chronic illness, my husband and I took the GP's advice and got a flu jab. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but I have to say both of us have felt just a bit more confident about our ability to stay healthy and thus care for our daughter. I just mention this because I was previously dead-set against it. It's a very personal decision.
ReplyDeleteI also want to say I hope your parents are both doing okay. I've been praying for them.
May 2013 bring you all joy. Thank you for sharing your most interesting life with us here! xox