Where Love Abounds
and celebrations are everywhere!
She grabbed the streamers out of the drawer and started assessing her supplies.
There’s not much pink, so I’ll have to be creative!
I’m standing in the kitchen making my oldest daughter’s birthday cake. I’m not sure if she was talking to me or to herself—I have to admit I wasn’t fully present in her moment. I do remember saying Daddy could help her in a few minutes if only she’d be patient. He was in the other room with her sister, wrapping the presents that had been hiding in various places all over the house.
The next thing I know, she’s standing on a barstool reaching up to the ceiling, streamers in one hand and tape in the other.
What are you doing? I ask, trying my hardest not to say it with an incredulous tone.
I’m hanging streamers!
Why don’t you wait for Daddy?
A huge smile appears on her face. Because I’m too impatient. And I can do this! I don’t need help.
This is February in our house: a month of celebrations. The first two weeks start off slow, with a lot of conversation about what’s coming up and how we might celebrate. The first to arrive is Valentine’s Day. For years, I’ve tried to ignore it, but there’s far too much love in our house for that. This year I wrote personalized cards, but only in the late hours of the night before. I told them I didn’t get valentines this year, but I just couldn’t resist a good excuse to tell them what they mean to me. The three of them, of course, had planned a surprise. They’ve gotten quite good at that over the years. I woke up to find cards and flowers, and peanut butter cup treats just for me. And lots of hugs. Lots and lots and lots of hugs.
The very next day is A’s birthday. She had a dance rehearsal that day so I offered to bring cupcakes. It used to be that making cupcakes was fun—you choose a recipe, mix the batter, pop them in the oven. While you wait on them to bake, you lick the bowl and think about prepping your icing. Once they are cool, you pull out the icing tool you use only for birthdays and try to make a masterpiece. Sometimes they’re beautiful, most times they’re not, but no matter what they look like you know they’ll taste divine. Then you pop them in a cupcake carrier and send them on their way.
But this year I have to take extra precautions. Extra washing of hands, no extra cooks in the kitchen (okay I admit, that was a bonus), and no licking of fingers! Two days before her birthday I woke up with a start—how am I going to package cupcakes individually so that no one touches anything but their own?!
So from the coziness of my bed, I grab my phone and open up Google. A quick search for “how to individually wrap cupcakes” provides all the information I need. Thank goodness I’m not the first person to have had this thought. Ideas abound! Buy plastic cups—cupcakes fit perfectly! Then wrap them with treat bags or whatever you can find around your house. Well, I think to myself, I don’t have any of those supplies …. I wonder what I can do with parchment paper or foil. I return to Google and scan the results once again. “5 ways to package cupcakes” catches my eye. With a link to individual containers, I find my answer. Perfect! I move from Google to Amazon, hopeful that I can find one that will be delivered the very next day. “Individual muffin containers” brought up exactly what I needed and it could be delivered the very next day! Thank God for Amazon. Is that blasphemous? I hope not. As hard as I try to break up with Amazon, I just can’t. It allows me to procrastinate and makes motherhood just a bit easier. Especially during these pandemic times.
Her birthday was a smashing success. Between cupcakes at dance, an afternoon sledding with friends, coming home to her self-made decorations, an at-home sushi party, and a Facetime Happy Birthday song, it was a birthday filled with happiness and joy.
Lest you think February fun ends there, just wait! A few days after the birthday girl takes over, D & I celebrate the day we first said “I Do.” This year, we celebrated a few days early by taking the kids to gymnastics camp and heading on an afternoon date to the beach to look for Snowy Owls. It was brutally cold, and the wind felt like ice when it hit my face, but five layers of clothes (I am not even exaggerating here) felt so worth it when we spotted the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Do you see that beautiful, majestic, glorious bird?! I am completely in awe, and just cannot, will not, stop looking at this photo that David took.
February may be short, but it’s so full of favorite things, so I hope you’ll stay with me for all of them. I promise you’ll be rewarded with lots of pictures and a good belly laugh if you make it to the end!
From our library
The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah
This is Kristin Hannah’s best-written novel from start to finish. And ya’ll … that is HIGH praise, because I adore her books. She nailed the art of writing with this one. I loved every single moment of it. I loved it so much, it made me pick up my pencil and write a review!
What Kind of Woman, Kate Baer
Remember my 2021 goal to read more poetry? This little book packs a big punch, and don’t be surprised if you receive a copy from me for a present this year. The poems have encouraged me to do some deep soul searching. I’ve come away with a lot of courage and confidence to look back on some things in life with a new perspective.
Kindred, Octavia Butler
I’m ashamed to say I had never heard of Octavia Butler until a few months ago. This book tugged at my heart, made me think, and made me really miss my book club ladies. About an interracial couple in California in 1976 who time travel to a Southern slave-owning plantation in the 1800s, it’s a book that I want to revisit again and again. Jam-packed with tough things to think about, it’s one we should all be talking about.
Winnie’s Great War, Josh Greenhut & Lindsay Mattick
I can’t send a newsletter without including a book recommendation for the kiddos! We listened to this audiobook on a road trip last summer and I couldn’t hold back the tears at the end. This is the sweetest, most adorable novel based on the true story of Winnie the Bear (inspiration for Winnie the Pooh) and I just want to read it over and over again.
Here’s what else I’ve been reading in February.
Full disclaimer: This link is to my shop at Bookshop. If you buy something, I get a tiny percentage, just for telling you how much I love them. But I promise to only tell you about the books I really love. And I always encourage you to check your local library first!
In our Kitchen
In addition to traveling to Japan on Sushi night, I attempted to go to Jamaica as well. I wish I had a wonderful review to share with you, but it seems traveling from my kitchen is a lot harder than it might seem. I made Plantain Sourdough and Nigerian Black Eyed Peas, and not one person around the table was impressed. Maybe it’s because my plantains never ripened, but I do know this—the next time I’m feeling a strong desire for plantains, I’ll splurge on a plane ticket.
We did successfully travel to Asia thanks to the Instant Pot and some steak tips I picked up from our farm a few months ago. This Mongolian Beef was a huge hit all around. I served it with broccoli and steamed rice, and we ate around the counter and pretended it was Take-Out Night.
But believe it or not, I’m in a kitchen rut lately. Winter is for eating out of our freezer and pantry, so we’ve been eating a lot of frozen soup. Well, we do heat it up first. This Chard and White Bean Stew is one of my favorites to find way down in the bottom of the big deep freeze. It’s also very simple to make if you haven’t planned ahead. You can use any green you like, fresh or frozen will work too. Serve it with garlic crusty bread and your entire family will think you’re eating dinner in heaven. The leftovers are amazing for breakfast, but I bet you knew I’d say that.
Make Time for a Create Date!
It seems that it may turn out to be // Feels that it will undoubtedly // It looks like a rather blustery day, today
A.A. Milne must have lived in a place like New England when he wrote this song for Pooh Bear. When I step outside and the wind blows so hard—and so cold—it literally hurts my face, this is immediately the song that comes to mind. I love this tutorial on how to paint Winnie the Pooh.
Chalk Pastels with Nana is one of our go-to sites for art tutorials. It’s a great activity to keep your kids out of your hair when you need to get something done. I also love choosing one to together as a family because they all come out so differently based on the artist. Here’s a secret: It also makes a great at-home date night! She has a plethora of free lessons to get you through the cold, dreary days of Winter (or the rainy days of Spring, depending on where you are in the world.)
In Case You Missed It
I’ve been playing around with nature haiku.
I wrote a lot about love this month. I wrote about the ones I love. I compared married life now to married life then. I wrote a pandemic love story as part of a Blog Hop. And then somehow, I managed to write about our wedding from a writing prompt on dishes.
I took a picture and crafted a poem from it. This was a fun exercise that stretched my writing muscles. It also taught me a little about making multiple edits. I’m not always great at that, but I’m learning to be more patient with getting my thoughts out to the world.
I created a Family Worship Guide for Ash Wednesday, and then felt obligated to use it myself. I wasn’t happy about it, but God most certainly showed up. I think we’ll keep this guide for future years, even when we are able to go back to church.
As part of my Lenten Journey, I’m praying through the mundane and the everyday things that are always around us. You can find my written reflections on a brand new space on the website, dedicated to 40 Days of Writing the Everyday.
And that beautiful book of poetry I told you about earlier provoked me to write my own anatomy of motherhood poem. I’d love to hear what your anatomy of parenthood might be. Send me an email and let me know when you figure it out, okay?
From Around the World
The world needs more love letters. Especially in times like this. Did you know you can write love letters to people who need them most? It may be my favorite random act of kindness yet.
The Norwegians are my heroes when it comes to loving Winter. I love this post about How to Do Winter Like a Norwegian. Something about knowing other people out there embrace Winter makes it a little easier for me to do the same.
Did you know I joined a writing club? It’s one of the best decisions I ever made. A big fat thank you to my friend Rachel for the exact metaphor I needed to get my writing booty back in gear. I’m just getting started on my journey, and it hasn’t been easy, but it is absolutely life-giving. Yeah, I know, I shared her cocktail feed last month, but I can’t help it. I feel deep gratitude to her, and this is how I show it. Consider it my virtual way to blow a kiss.
And if you aren’t following Be the Bridge, I encourage you to check it out. I’m learning so much about racial inequality and what I can do to make a difference. I found this article about 5 Myths of Slavery to be particularly enlightening around the history education I received as a child.
Where We’re Laughing
And because I promised you’d be rewarded at the end with pictures and lots of laughs, here’s a glimpse of how we’ve been laughing together this month. Mother Nature blessed us with a lot of snow in February, so we’ve done a lot of exploring the great outdoors.
We went Snowshoeing
And Sledding
David took the girls Ice Skating
And this kid taught herself Snowboarding
We headed out for early morning hikes in the snow
And of course, the owling.
I never dreamed I’d be sitting here writing about my love of playing in the snow, but here I am. And here I write. So take it from me—if you have snow where you are, find some gear and go outside and play. You just might find yourself in love.
And while I’m thinking about playing in the snow, I can’t help but be reminded of the time my sister and I went sledding in Piedmont Park. We thought we got a blizzard that year!
Laughter just makes the world a little bit brighter, #amiright?
And Finally, Something to Empower You
As you continue on your own Lenten journey during these very trying times, I pray you find peace in God’s presence. I leave you with this benediction, written by Joanna Harader over at Spacious Faith.
Whatever wilderness the Spirit has brought you to:
walk in boldness, as a beloved child of God
walk in peace, under the shelter of the Most High
walk in faith, knowing Christ walks with you. Amen.
Until next month,
