Good morning and happy April days to you!

With one week until Easter, I’m beginning to make plans for a spring celebration on Saturday, something to celebrate the warm weather and new life and growth around us with egg hunts, games, and special treats so Easter Sunday can be kept religious and meaningful.  It can be so hard with concentrated commercialism in this day to keep religious things religious, you know?  I’m determined to try.

If you celebrate Easter, how do you keep it special and meaningful for your family?

I’d love to hear your ideas.

the sleepy time gal

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Two things have happened simultaneously: finding these party photos from years ago and beginning to think ahead to my Annabelle and Ainsleigh’s third birthday in April.

I already know exactly what flavor of cake my twins want for their birthday (they tell me every few hours) and that we’re having a friend come and put on a puppet show.  The twins also say they want pink ice cream and balloons.  I think we can cover that.

These photos today are when Caroline turned four and was pretty obsessed with The Wizard of Oz.  Caroline helped me make one of my favorite party favors for her party.  Come see…

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Last night I found myself putting a little three-week old to sleep in my arms.  I could hear her mommy upstairs with her other children, tucking them in – stories and all.  The downstairs where I stayed was still and quiet.  Mostly quiet coming from this little angel of a baby.

The downstairs showed remnants of their day: papers drawn on, burp cloths in random places, dinner to be put away, legos strewn across the floor.  How the house reminded me of mine after a typical day of living in it.

After leaving my family that night to lend a hand here, I couldn’t deny the whole house felt so sacred and reverent.  Love and kindness and goodnight kisses over and over again upstairs could be heard, a patient mother after a long day coming downstairs to nurse her baby once again, to then prepare her home for a day of doing it all over again.  There wasn’t anything spectacular to be seen but everything was so deeply felt there.

My hour of holding little Miss Anna was so precious.  So was the simple conversation with my dear friend when everyone had fallen asleep.  We talked of making quilts and babies and day-to-day activities.  All I know and was reminded of is how precious motherhood is and how far-reaching its influence is.  I witnessed it so clearly last night in a house not too far from mine…

Many happy wishes for you this weekend!

the sleepy time gal

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Sometimes there’s so much to write but not enough quiet around here to write it.  Other times, I’m too quiet inside to have much to write.

These present moments for me are quite unique.  It is as if everything that used to be so important to me months ago – things that would pull me out of bed early and keep me awake at night – means absolutely nothing to me now.  We literally are living each day with no thought of tomorrow, something very difficult for me the planner.  But it is what the first trimester is meaning for me this time around.

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-created by the sleepy time gal

Every few months our direction of what we’re  exploring changes, and like the wind, we follow its course.  Whatever happens in life and in our days usually spawns what the girls become interested in.  Finding milky quartz has led to quite the exploration of rocks and minerals which has led to volcanos, tectonic plates, and science experiments.  I introduced Caroline to Mad Libs, the perfectly fun way to introduce nouns, adjectives, and verbs, which has become a silly way to spend an afternoon hour together.

And then there is French. I came to love the French language in college and have happily watched the big girls learning basic counting and dance terms from ballet.  We discovered First French at Home (an Usborne book which I love) which has introduced so many French basics terms in an exciting way.  We sit every afternoon and take a couple of pages at a time getting to know the made-up family in the book, their house, neighborhood, and likes.  Caroline has decided we’ll all take a trip to France someday since she can say, “Je m’appelle Caroline” and “Voici la salle de bain”.

We could use more phrases before we travel halfway around the world.

And then there is Johanna’s fascination with Native Americans.  Have you ever read the real legend of Hiawatha?  We picked up a book published in the 70s about Hiawatha at a garage sale a while back and Johanna pours over every page, reliving the story.  That has led to learning about the Iroquois (his tribe) and the Sioux and so on.  I was startled to learn about the Sioux Indians who lived on the plains and followed the course of the buffalo.  For their survival and way of life the mother tightly cups the mouth and nose of her newborn baby every time she cries to train her not to cry.  Keeping silent was a needed skill on the plains during the many buffalo hunts.

How about you?  What are you or your children currently fascinated with that is leading your course of discovery??

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