Some of you have expressed excitement, even jealousy over the snow we received a couple of weeks ago.

Well it happened again over the weekend. I hoped it was just a phase but it’s stayed and it keeps coming. I’d prefer to enjoy these beautiful snowfalls in December but the kids are in snowy heaven. And they don’t mind one bit that there remain sandals and camp chairs buried in the snow. Or that we never did dig out that garden extension. Or that the garage does not yet have space for the van.

So here you go – feast your eyes.

It is beautiful, isn’t it?

And in case you didn’t catch how I’m feeling about this – I’m shopping for long johns, wool socks, and downing pots of herbal tea.

I’m still cold.

But at least my knitting will keep me warm.

::

Happy weekend to you all!

Leftovers and piecemeal dinner;

a break from Christmas knitting for a sweet baby hat;

waking late to a white sky – snow to come;

then it came and came and came – beautiful, if cold;

a drive in the white stuff to visit a sweet family and photograph their darling newborn, what a treat it was;

home for dinner with friends, spoiled by Dan’s cooking and cheesecake for dessert;

another, ahem, late morning, kids too happy playing to need us old folks;

chatter with the little one on our bed;

craft time with a clever friend and needle nosed pliers;

soup on the stove;

a gathering of dear people for fellowship, food, laughter, and more babies;

kids slipping softly to sweet sleep;

and hot tea with a piece of that leftover cheesecake, before fireside knitting.

Baby snuggles, friends to warm chilly days, rest from work.

These are things I am thankful for this weekend.

::

And how about you, dear ones? How’d the weekend treat you?

once again I’m doubling up with these two beautiful friends

:: joining Amanda for weekending:: 

:: giving thanks with Taryn at Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday ::

When we came upon the baseball diamond in the park the kids begged to stop and play baseball.

We didn’t have ball or bat but they wanted to play pretend baseball.

“In pretend baseball no one loses!”, our peacemaker chirped.

Well I like the sound of that sibling harmony.

They took the game pretty seriously.

And perplexed passersby.

They played until someone accused someone of cheating.

So much for sibling harmony.

But, boy, they were awfully sweet while it lasted.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal

into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our

past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

~Melody Beattie

In the name of gratitude and truthfulness I’ve decided to post a little piece of reality here once a week. Likely just a single picture. See my original post here.

I did not want to get out of bed this morning.

I slept late.

Dan woke me to tell me the time. “Not that you have to get out of bed, just thought you might want to know.”

No jumping out of bed. It’s grey. I’m cold. Flannel sheets are warm.

Thankful for the babe who woke me early but afterwards slept late, I pull on jeans and cardigan uniform, slip on familiar wool-lined slippers.

Late starting school, but we’re at it. A daughter composes cursive creative writing sentences about barf and bums. A son has forgotten how to count by fives.

We’re out of peanut butter. I wanted it for my toast. Instead I eat a cupcake left on the counter after yesterday’s plea for chocolate treat. For breakfast. At noon.

I pick a glob of porridge off the floor. There are bread crumbs everywhere and smears of God-only-know on the white tile floor.

Fruit flies have returned with warmer temperatures and the weekend’s apple boxes. The fruit fly trap reeks of red wine vinegar but it’s effective.

The Map of the World Jigsaw was broken over hardwood by well-intentioned small ones. Tears from older sibling.

There are dinosaur cutouts and paper scraps on the carpet.

Pencil shavings on the table (soon floor).

Breakfast isn’t cleaned up, lunchtime nips hard at my heals, and we have company arriving in an hour.

It’s these days that we aren’t playing our A-game that grace is at its richest. 

We’re messy and humbled, needy and weak. Because we need grace most on these days. And it’s always given for the asker.

And on this messy morning, when I wish the sun would break through cloud, and kids cared for cleaning, I’m surrounded by beauty. Beauty – the offering of joy. 

:: Cinnamon rooibos tea steaming in another favourite mug

:: big girls lingering in bed over library books

:: wee lass in her sweet new sweater with those darling skinny cords

:: first morning’s school whiner turned first to leave the school table

::  almond butter and honey on fresh bread slices

:: colour-coded checkmarks on 7yo’s math pages

:: little fingers tickling ivory

:: knitting bag close at hand

:: chicken stock simmering on stove

:: the excitement of reunion with a childhood friend

Funny how much easier it is to see when I’m looking.

I’m full of thanks.

::

What beauty do you see this day, lovelies?

It began when a friend joined us for pie: shepherd’s and pumpkin;

that same friend’s help with the mammoth kitchen cleanup and bedtime roundup before knitting on the couch;

a day of cleaning up, trying to sort out the fluffy dream that is my not-so-organized yarn stash, and motivate some children to chores;

then joined for dinner by one of my oldest friends, her hubby, and their darling new daughter;

rocking a newborn to sleep – nothing like it;

laughing that Mira was never such a little thing – all ten pounds of her newborn self;

after they left and the kids were (mostly) in bed, our favourite neighbours joined us for drinks by Dan, laughter, conversation, and knitting (for us ladies);

a late morning, followed by a late breakfast;

time on the piano while cream of broccoli soup simmered;

a wild goose chase for a colourway they didn’t have afterall;

family market visit for pumpkins, gourds, and more macs;

a gorgeous walk on this day which was quite balmy after last week’s snow;

tossing stones, crunching leaves, breathing deep;

home for the morning’s soup before another bedtime and more sweet dreams.

::

Beautiful friends, the wonder of new life, and the very best of this season. 

This is how we spent our weekend.

How was yours?