Gingerbread friends!

What fun it was to spend the morning in Vivienne's classroom, helping children cut and decorate their very own gingerbread people. We read Jan Brett's Gingerbread Friends ( the sequel to Gingerbread Baby) and then started making cookies in small groups. They also got the chance to worked on the woven heart ornaments, inspired by Jan Brett's website. If you have not seen her web page, it is well worth a visit. She has tons of free activities to print for children, drawing tutorials, and more. I love her beautiful illustrations and style. Her Christmas Treasury book is on the top of my list for purchasing.

~Vivienne's heart ornament~

I stayed up into the wee hours of the night baking the gingerbread creations. I tried out two different recipes, one was a basic gingerbread from the kids cookbook, Look and Cook, and came out a lovely rich color and bit softer in texture. The other was a more traditional lebkuchen from The Christmas Cookie Book , which used a variety of spices. It was more complex in flavor, and came out a crisper cookie. I think that I prefer the lebkuchen. Both were very tasty, and filled my house with such an inviting aroma. Mmmmmmm! The kids were thrilled to finally get to eat their cookies the next day, at the Kindergarten Holiday party. One of the dads, Hank, played guitar and led the kids in song, what fun!



I caught a short show on NPR while driving around today, and Dorie Greenspan was talking about making gingerbread houses and the history of gingerbread as a Christmas tradition. Making gingerbread houses became popularized in Germany by the Grimm's story of Hansel and Gretel. She also has a recipe which incorporated black pepper or ground mustard seed for a little bite.And there is another recipe in the back of The Christmas Cat (one of our favorite books) which uses significantly more molasses. It is interesting that gingerbread can be stored in air tight containers for a month, and the flavor actually improves with age. I will be making more this weekend, I think every single cookie I have made is gobbled up already!

I also got to make window stars with Mia's third grade class, which was great. The kids were so pleased with their work. I would have liked to take more photos of my activities, but I struggle to find a way to be attentive and present in the moment and step back to observe behind my camera lens. Jasper was so cute, he blended right in to the classrooms, picking up a book and reading or joining the kids in their work.


~Mia's star~

Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch ME I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Wondergirl!

Today, Mia finished her first 5K race! I am so proud of my girl! She as accomplished something that her own mama and dad have never even done. Mia ran the race on the UNC campus, with her running buddy and third grade teacher. It was really wonderful that Ms. R could join Mia, she is an avid runner and gave her good pointers along the way.

The weather was perfect - crisp and sunny. Here are Mia and her good friend. Go girls! They have been working hard at their Girls on the Run track meets every week.

And here is the proudest moment, Mia crossing the finish line! Next session, I will be training too so that I can join her in the spring race. Mark your calendars for May 2nd, 2009!

Advent Spiral

A photo cannot capture the leap of joy that my heart made when I walked into the space of the advent spiral. I smelled the sweet evergreen, as fresh and strong as in my childhood.

Quietly, a large crowd of thirty or more young children and parents filed into the room. Vivid notes played from a violin, as little feet shuffled along to find a seat along the outer edges of the room. The lights dimmed, the roomed hushed, and a woman cloaked in white glided in.

With a candle in hand, she brought a flickering light to the very heart of the advent spiral. She slowly meandered through the path, leading the way for others to follow.

One by one, children came up with bright wonder in their eyes, and took a candle set in an apple to the center of the spiral to light. As they wandered back out, they found a star along the path to place their apple on and proceeded back to their seat.

The room was silent, one by one the candles were laid and flickered in unison. A hum of Christmas carol began, and filled the room with soft song. Tears welled in the eyes of many, with rememberance, love and gratitude. It brought back every Christmas of my childhood, sitting with deep reverance before candlelight, on the tree or the advent candle.

I am so very pleased to bring this new tradition to my family, and to share it as a community. I send my heart felt thanks to all of those who organized this special event.

On a related note, there is an interesting new book available from Lynn Jericho, who also writes messages for each of the twelve days of Christmas on her website called Inner Christmas. I love her way of deepening the message of the season, from a social and sensual experience to deeply personal and sacred inward journey.

~light by candle at advent (last year)~

~lights on the Christmas tree~

In the warmth of golden light, may blessings unfold ...

Hurry, hurry...relax!

I have been in the hustle bustle of life, just waiting for the space to breathe, and relax and enjoy. It is an important time of year to quiet the busy mind and body, and to go deeper into the self. Finally, I am feeling a little window and I am so grateful. I still have a running list of to do's but somehow, I feel the necessity to slow down.

One thing that I have done for myself this season, is to attend a wonderful Eurythmy workshop with Elizabeth Gilbert. It has deepened my understanding of Eurythmy and it's significance as a form of prayer or meditation. I learned about the correlation between the zodiac calendar and the twelve days of Christmas. Each day can be seen as representing a particular month and bringing a reflection of the year ahead.

~Here is a beeswax angel ornament the girls helped to make last year (I think we will be making more of these)

We have been celebrating advent, in the tradition of my mother's German heritage. It is a beautiful and sacred time for our family, to sing and celebrate in the light of the advent wreath candles. We share cups of tea and German cookies.

The beautiful tree-topper angel my mother made years ago~

Each morning they wake up early to check their advent stocking to find a small ornament or treat. I love to watch them and share in their wonder and joy.

The children had a blast at the east library's gingerbread making event. It was fun to see their eyes grow big as they went through the candy buffet, chosing their decorations!

Saint Nicholas also paid a special visit, bringing a sack of nuts and oranges, a few sweets and winter long johns for the children. He was also very generous in bringing our Christmas tree to the doorstep.

A few books that we are enjoying now include A Light in the Lantern, Christmas Stories Together and The Christmas Cat.

I had the honor of sharing the story The Tomten and making little tomtens (or tomte) in Vivienne's Kindergarten class a few weeks ago. The children were delighted to sew the little figures and stuff them with sheep's wool. They were so proud of their work!

~Vivienne's creation~

I am ready to sip my tea, and look ahead to Christmas baking, making ornaments and gifts (Jasper has requested a green knitted scarf) and holding my loved ones, my friends and those who are suffering, in my heart. And give thanks for the inner light that shines in all of us.

Week in Pictures

Oh, so much to be grateful for. Life is so busy this time of year, I find it hard to take the necessary moments to enjoy it all. After a long week of stomach flu, we all felt so thankful to share beautiful meals with the our family. Thank you, Barbara and Dave, for hosting. It was so nice to relax and unwind with family. I got plenty of time to knit, read and sip tea contentedly. So, here are a few of our completed projects and photos of the cute cousins. Thank you, Aunt Jude, for the festive children's table decoration and costume.

The elegant grown-ups Thanksgiving table~

And now for the crafting...Vivienne made a hot air balloon~

Jasper's favorite train tee that got stained, and remade into a new t-shirt applique.

Vivienne made a carrot rattle ~

Warm wrists knit in delicious color!



Jasper's lambie ~The girls in their new cozy wrist warmers ~ with thanks to the long car ride to Virginia!

Finally, Vivienne's sweater is complete!Yippee!!!

And I received this really special surprise on my doorstep when we were away. It was a giveaway from the sweet mama at this blog. Thank you, zencrafter, for your inspiration and your most thoughtful package of goodies! What a sheer delight!

~frozen leaves in a block of ice~

In gratitude and with with warmest blessings to you on the first eve of advent!

Capturing the Light

Now that the days of light are shorter, it is time to take hold of the sun's rays and enjoy them! Here are the beautiful window stars that the girls and I made together.

~Mia's star~~Vivienne's Rainbow~

Some of our other highlights for the weekend:

The kids and I had a ball at the family contra dance sponsored by a local charter school. Mia would have loved to sashay the night away! It really was a delight, with the live Irish-Appalachian music and incredibly talented caller, Beth Molaro. If you are wondering what Contra dance is, don't worry I hadn't heard of it until recently. Here is a wonderful example of a dance and music here -Belfast Contra Dance .

(please pardon the blur...we had low light)

Vivienne put on a puppet theater for us. It was a tale of an old woman and a gnome.

~granny in her car, riding over the bridge, looking for the gnome~

~ there he is!~

Dress-up time! Vivienne helped Jasper create his pirate look.

Making star baby ornaments with felt. I found a simple way to let Vivienne experience needle felting with less risk of getting fingers jabbed. I used a star cookie cutter and stuff the wool inside. The form keeps the needle at a safe distance from fingers. I still supervise, and don't necessarily recommend that five-year-olds needle felt!

More paper crafting - We all worked on our Michaelmas lanterns, some yet to be completed! Vivienne made lovely snowflakes and ornaments cut from cardboard.

For snowflake inspiration, check out this book, Zoo Flakes ABC - it has amazing animal snowflakes from A to Z, and shows how to design your own.

Vivienne's lantern~ Mia's drawing~

A dramatic shift has occurred in the last couple of days. The leaves have dropped from the trees, forming a blanket of oranges and browns below. And the weather has turned cool and wet, the mountain peaks even have a dusting of snow now. It is time for hot baths and family evenings by the fireside. I love this soup-eating, tea-sipping, knit-by-firelight season! As the days draw shorter, I feel the internal shift too. The peaceful solitude draws me inward, my mind quiets and my dreams deepen. I count my blessings...

Velour bunny basking in the fire warmth (doesn't he look real?)

We send our warmest birthday wishes to our beloved Grammy and Granddaddy in Virginia! XOXO