yes

i am inspired by this posting at ordinary life magic. 
 

happy mother's day

every day is a gift in life to experience their loveliness. happy mother's day to all the mamas!

(trying to capture a ppic with my children still)

treasure hunter

:: my daughter is a treasure hunter. she explores and uncovers treasures where ever she goes. 

when we simplified her room and the play area, i uncovered a little collection of treasures she has found through the years. treasures i remember seeing when she found, but did not know she was holding on to each and every one. one of the first treasures she dug up in her digging area was a little colbalt blue vicks eye drop bottle. i remember doing a google search which dated the bottle back to around the time our house was built. there are pieces of brick and pottery, pieces of pennies and a broken plate. most recently, we were learned the techniques for panning and had the opportunity to pan for gold that came from a mine in angorage, alaska. 

aside from these treasured that she uncovered with a shovel and rake, she has been gifted lots of treasures while visiting family, from volcanic rock from iceland, shark's teeth, polished gemstones, rocks and crystals from india, marbles to an oyster shell. and while sometimes family thinks they have to buy her toys and things, i wish they would know that these natural treasures mean much more to her. 

cinco de mayo

:: happy cinco de mayo todos

may day blossoms

:: little blossoms grace our seasonal nature table. we gathered blossoms in the garden and around the yard and put them in small little bud vases and spread their goodness around the house. what flowers are you enjoying in your garden?

happy may day everyone

blissful simplicity

 :: my children are very blessed. blessed with people who love them dearly. blessed with family and friends to share in their birthday celebrations. blessed with family, who would do anything for my children and would give my children the world. and children just do not need a world of material goods, but it always nice to have a few special gifts for a birthday celebration. gifts that are chosen with much thought and consideration. gifts that are beautifully made and well crafted. gifts that have meaning and purpose. and sometimes myself, i am left wondering if what i have to give is enough. 

many questions run through my head. should i make something more? should i purchase something else?  will there be enough to fill up the easter basket? 

after a wonderful birthday celebration, sweet memories shared and a bounty of new gifts, we shared the remainder of the evening building fairy houses, playing with the fairy trinkets from the treasure hunt, drawing some pictures with on her new drawing pad and reading. we read a story from her new grimm's fairy tales book and a second-hand copy of Miss Rumphius, which is a wonderful story with a message about doing something to make the world more beautiful.

and today, my daughter had been watching out for butterflies in the garden, listening to the little chirps from our bird house, looking at the ants in the sidewalk cracks, picking violets and playing with her wooden warbler water whistle. she is blissfully swimming in her pool, searching for some of her new birthday treasures underwater: a piece of granite, a foreign coin, a rose quartz point and a bracelet made from new beads her brother (and i) picked out for her. she is eager to hang her new wind chime and plant her sunflower seeds later on today and is excited about making more "fairy wands", which are the fruit skewers we made for her birthday party. 

and it is a reminder to me that children do not need much. there have been a few gifts that have been played with, but mostly she is fully content engaging in the wonder and beauty of nature.

a very fairy birthday

:: to my sweet little baby girl, who is not so little anymore. the time has gone by so fast and now you are 6 years old. words can not explain how your love and beautiful soul has brought boundless joy into my life. you teach me more everyday about life. i love you so.

:: birthday preparations coming together. some projects i was able to finish and others i did not. i mistakenly did not have a single piece of wool felt long enough to back the crown, so that will sadly be a belated birthday present. i am bummed about her crown but i did made a new decoration for our birthday ring. i have a special song that i sing to my little butterfly, which is why i made her a little butterfly. we also made some delicious wands from chocolate covered pretzels and skewers of fruit. 

 :: my little one has really enjoyed our valentine's day scavenger hunts for the past few years, so i made up a little scavenger hunt for her birthday party. this time, with a fairy theme. i had collected pine cones, acorn caps, dried echinacea from the garden and i added some geode slices, treasure eggs, little star sequins, little brooms and miniature wooden rolling pins & clothespins. we also had some fairy toad stools and i made up some tiny seeds packets out of waxed paper, in which i enclosed sunflower, snap pea and pumpkin seeds. 

the children ran around with their fairy ribbon wands looking for the fairy treasures. they were pointing out all sorts of things around our yard that the fairies could use and it was great seeing them take a closure look into nature. they all had fun breaking open their treasure eggs, drawing and running around the yard barefoot. 

i overhead my friends saying amongst themselves that our party was refreshing and that parties for children are so big nowadays... and i feel some sort of acceptance from our friends to some extent. a lot of times i really do shy away from any discussions as to why i do what i do with my little ones because it is just beyond their reality. but that's a whole other blog entry.

:: my daughter loved the echinacea wands so much. (the carved stick was a gift from one of my daughter's friends. the friend's grandfather did a little carving on the stick and he decided to give it to my daughter for her birthday. so sweet) 

:: and i think these feet speak for themselves. 

birthday song   anonymous
found in a child's seasonal treasury

In heaven shines a golden star
an angel led me from a far.
From heaven high unto the earth 
and brought me to my house of birth.

Oh welcome welcome lovely day
With sunshine bright and flowers gay.
With painted birds that sing their song 
and make me kind and good and strong.