Saturday, December 19, 2015

small joys















 






 


 (photo credit of the two pictures immediately above goes to Lyddie)

So many pictures but forgive me, I haven't got time just now to separate them into two separate posts.  The week has been full of joys to hold onto:


The light filters through the clouds, making the snow glow
Gifts are tucked under the tree and I watch the pile of bright wrapping and curly ribbons grow
We laugh at the littlest sister pretending to be Santa (find me on Instagram: sarahdempsen - to see the most adorable mini-Santa wishing you Merry Christmas)
We find time for extra cuddling and reading Christmas stories (my new favorite:  Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren)
We experiment with recipes for spritz cookies while playing with the cookie press I inherited from my momma
Though daddy is gone evenings this week, I use the time to introduce my daughters to The Santa Clause, a silly favorite movie from my childhood
We anxiously anticipate the mailman's daily delivery of packages
Needles click and fabric grows
We celebrate Christ's birth with growing numbers of tutored children and youth during a special Christmas party: a visit from Santa, games (Do you wanna build a snowman??), cookie decorating, and gifts from sponsors and smiles!  So many smiles!
We daily hang ornaments on our Jesse tree and I lean against the couch struck with wonder that so many days have already passed since we hung the first one
We find more eggs nestled in the boxes each day again, brown, blue, and pale pink
We wake to magical snow... and go to bed with more snow


We rise slow in the mornings, and daughters crawl in under my covers while I lie waking cozy with a little arm stretched around my neck, fingers caressing my cheek, and another little one wrapped close, her tummy pressed into my back. The light grows and grows as we first lay in stillness and then begin to stir about, telling about dreams that visited in the night or about other thoughts flitting through the minds of my little sugar plum fairies. 

It is a peaceful week in our home, an intentional choice on my part, made even simpler by the snow and ice on the roads these past few days.  I am glad for it,and I am looking so forward to next week when we will travel to be with my beloved brothers and parents and other dear family.

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful joys! Merry Christmas to you and your precious family!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful post filled with the happy joys of celebration. Merry Christmas!
    Blessings,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  3. beautiful jumbled photos! Merry Christmas!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for sharing such lovely memories! Enjoy your holiday.

    ReplyDelete