Beauty in the Day to Day

With winter here to stay, our days are slower.  I stay in my pajamas longer, doing the morning outside animal chores with them under my winter coat, hat and mittens.  Even that I now wait until about 8:30 to go out - to break the ice out of the goats' buckets, set up a bit of grain and leave the hay under their outdoor shelter before I let them out to get at least a couple hours of sunshine before the sun gets to low to reach them.

When I return inside the morning baking usually begins and I choose whatever household chore needs the most attention.

The children and I are doing a study of the names of Jesus for December with no other formal instruction so I usually have the name and Bible verse up on our blackboard painted wall.  They each have a book to write in and I try to engage each in a conversation about the name of the day as they come downstairs at different times to begin their day.

I also usually put out some sort of art supplies for the younger ones on a cleared dining room table. 

Our day then proceeds with each child mostly determining the direction of their day and my engaging the older ones in conversation about what they are working on.  They do have certain chores to do around the home and homestead.

Our business is what keeps us most busy right now - wood burning ornaments fills most of my afternoon along with packaging the ornaments and other orders.  I keep my mind focused on the fact that this is the holiday season for our business and it is completely possible that it may slow way down in January and February so I need to be thankful for each order that comes our way and not think about all of the other Christmas projects I would prefer to be working on - that does no good.

So as I scurry around the house, picking up here and there, cooking and baking, hanging laundry to dry, asking a little one to please be kind, wood burning, packaging, getting back to customers, etc, etc..  I am remembering to stop to knit in the rocking chair by the wood stove for even just a row or two,  hold my face to the sun when I am outside for a minute or two, and find bits of beauty in our rustic home.