thank-full (a better late than never blog)

Those who are Awake
live in a state of constant amazement ...

~ Jack Kornfield ~

This post has been in my head for easily two weeks now- what are the things in life I am most grateful for? How do I summarize that into a concise blog post that someone would even want to take the time to read? So, round and round in my head it has gone.  
forgive me. this will be messy and unorganized. 
and my grammar will suck.


Last weekend as I listened to my girls laughing in the other room with one of their friends, I was reminded how so much of what I love is processed through my ears. Music...always music. and laughter. from anyone. 


I am grateful for all the people I share love with. 
My family. 
my beautiful, twirly, funny, creative, ever-changing children.
My friends who have seen me through the good and bad decisions- while lifting me with support. 
My wise friend who said: to him...all we are are our relationships and our conversations. 
Another friend- who has seen me through the same.old.shit. a million times. and is still here. and still smiling.
For another friend who said, "what are you THINKING?!? If anyone can get their massage license reinstated within a month, it's you!". And you know what? She was right. 
I am overwhelmed with gratitude on amost a daily basis by how many people I have in my corner and could easily list 100 people who have done extraordinary things to support me (m0mmacat, this means you).

I am thankful for the beauty that surrounds me. For the sun as it cuts through the trees in my back yard, the breeze that brushes across my arm, my peck peck pecking chickens as they search for food and care for the two new little ones...

I am thankful for the time and space I've been given to explore my creativity and find out what I love to do. 
And for the artists out there who are sharing their work. The singer-song writers, poets and philosophers especially. thank you for filling my soul on the days I was most in need. 


and as I write, I am thinking of how much gratitude I have for you. whoever you are, reading this blog. whoever you are...looking at my work on etsy or at a local market...relating to a poem I post or trying a recipe...thank you. Thank you for having an appreciation for a part of me. and our connection.    

last month on my trip to California, at a winery in Napa

Miss Mermaid & Friends: KathrynKaye

So my friend Kathryn....she has a way with words and a camera. I have such an appreciation for the way she articulates her passions (of which there are many!). I highly recommend sitting down with a good cup or coffee (or glass of wine) and perusing her blog. Beautiful photos. Beautiful words. Oh, and today's blog happens to have a few Miss Mermaid photos for good measure! 

If you are in the Denver area (*ahem* to all the cousins I have living there!) I highly recommend contacting Kathryn for a photo shoot!

KathrynKaye Photography

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KathrynKaye the blog: http://kathrynkaye.com/blog/
KathrynKaye photography: http://kathrynkaye.com/
Miss Mermaid: www.missmermaidshop.etsy.com

 

Because my Father In Law is a genius...

I no longer have the issue of changing out nasty dirty chicken waterers every morning! Ella and Violet's Papaw came to visit us from Mississippi last weekend and he told me about how they water their chickens in Mississippi....

a rabbit water bottle!

tada!

 One of the fantastic things about this solution is that the water bottle sits on the outside of the pen.

Violet with Papaw talking to Mimi on the phone. We missed seeing you, Mimi!

yes, she was bathed WELL afterwards

they love to chase the chickens around!

I'm Still Here- recap of the past 3 months

Life for our family seemed like a complete whirlwind these past few months!

November in Arizona with our awesome AZ family.

December was spent decorating, baking and celebrating.
Then a week in Mississippi with our family there- the girls and I ended up sick as dogs almost the entire trip. More of a real life situation than a vacation but still a good (always too short!) visit.

January- we have JUST fully recovered about a week ago from being sick. Our chickens have started laying eggs and I'm working on getting our home organized (the ultimate never ending project) and re-learning how to sew.

I'll leave you with a video of the girls being their happy selves.

Special thanks to Little Speckled Frog  for including one of my Pumpkin Hats in her etsy treasury, Baby's 1st Halloween. Oh, and a couple of chicken and baby photos just because.

We've been busy...

The afghan yarn arrived last week in all its glory and I finally decided on a first square, the one by Barbara McIntire (below in white).

My progress so far:

I've decided I really like cable knitting quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, nothing is more relaxing than an easy "knitting in the round" project but with cables it is so cool to see the cable pattern start to pop.

The Sugar Snap Peas are already about an inch tall!

In other news, we finished planting our fall garden and my eldest is insisting her name is now "Garden", correcting me every time! I've added a box to the right that lists what we are currently growing (beets, carrots, sugar snap peas, kale, broccoli and brussel sprouts). I'm really excited to have fresh beets and carrots to use in our juicer through the winter! The rest of it pretty much gets picked over by the girls as they snack throughout the day and never actually makes it to our kitchen.

Meet Roxanne, Billie Jean and Penny Lane. They're about 4 months old and finally have a place to sleep at night that is NOT a box in our bathroom.

Our chickens now have a proper home.

Notice the wheels!

I am so grateful to have friends who can (and are willing to) design and build a chicken tractor!