You Know Your Family is Full of Musicians When....

Your toddler's favorite book is "The Noisy Orchestra" complete with buttons that sound all the different sections of the orchestra, and she had already been to a real concert before she turned one.

When someone comes home from work exhausted/frustrated/pent up, they sit down to an instrument to play music, and everyone gives them about half an hour's  space to calm down.

Three different people are listening to three different kinds of music in the house at the same time, and you have to tell your toddler that she can't have the volume on her music turned up super loud because then nobody else will be able to hear their music.

When you think of warm summer nights, your first thought is, "outdoor concerts and singing on our front lawn". 

Even though your mom jokes that she is the only person in the family who doesn't play any musical instrument except the radio, she knows way more about music than most non-musicians, after years of sitting through music lessons and having music played constantly around her.

When you start singing, another family member will either sing along with you or try to make you laugh by singing in a silly way.

There is an instrument, and often multiple instruments, in every room of the house except for the kitchen and bathroom. This doesn't mean that instruments have not been used in the kitchen or bathroom, just that there are none permanently stored there ;-)

When somebody starts singing or playing a song, somebody else will shout, " that's not the right key/lyrics/melody/rhythm! It goes like this..."

Your toddler gets used to sitting through music rehearsals and actually likes the experience.

Your toddler also likes to actively participate during rehearsals, occasionally needing you as the parent to whisper "not so loud, honey" when she begins belting at the top of her lungs during a soft passage.

Your toddler knows conductor's cues better than some high school music students you teach.

You play "guess that composer" with the classical radio station on in the car.

Everyone's music tastes are so widely varied that you have a complex system in place for car trips so that everyone gets a chance to listen to music they like at different times on the radio.

All road trips require at least one Handel's Messiah sing-along (or a musical theater production sing-along, or an opera sing-along, etc.). Those who don't remember all the words simply hum until they get back to the parts they still know.

One of the first things you do to start your day is turn music on in your home.

When you have a date night, both you and your husband automatically think, "where would there be some good live music to see..."

There are some movies you won't watch because you don't like the soundtrack or the composer of the soundtrack.

There are some soundtracks of movies you own even though you hate the actual movie.

Your child likes more of your (the parent's) music rather than the kid's music designed for her age.

The answer "I just don't like it" is never acceptable when discussing music preferences in your family. Further detailed musical analysis, philosophy behind lyrics, and theory structure knowledge is involved when judging musical choices.

Every day your lives, collectively and individually, involve music! 

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Intentional Living: Welcome Spring

Looking back into my Unravelling the Year Ahead workbook from the lovely Susannah Conway, I'm pleased to see that many of my small and large intentions are beginning to blossom. On the first day of spring (yay, happy springtime!) it seemed fitting that I review my goals created in December for 2015. What can I be doing to further my pursuits? Where might I be falling short? What might not feel right for this season? What still needs gentle change?

My one word: Honor

Honoring God has looked like... time spent meditating and praying and reading snippets of my Bible out loud. And lots of looking for the secret messages He sends me!

Honoring Myself has looked like... trying to make sure I have time for music and/or art every single day. Lots of tea, fresh flowers (best five dollars every two weeks I'll ever spend), time to breathe. Sometimes it means letting that load of laundry go unfolded another day, or make a simpler (still healthy, hopefully) meal for dinner so I can take a half hour to regenerate my creative spirit. Taking time for me means that I have more energy and love and renewal for everyone/everything else. That is the truth.

Taproot's latest magazine, SONG, has been sweet music to my soul!

Honoring my Family has looked like... being intentional to BE with them, to put down the phone and step into intentional living, to spend time talking and laughing and resting with them.

Honoring my Friends has looked like... going out of my way to contact those who mean the most to me, by letter and text and call and face to face conversations and walks in the park as we chase littles around playgrounds. And I got rid of Facebook, which was a relief!

Honoring the Seasons has looked like... celebrating the holidays that mark change and growth, in special ways, some old, some new. Plenty of home-made cards, now that Harmony is getting to the age where she enjoys helping me make art to send to friends and family! Valentine's day was hugely fun in that way.

Today we woke up not too early. We have a ritual around breakfast: sing our morning prayer, eat together, then when I finish more quickly than Harmony does I read a Bible story to her from The Jesus Storybook Bible, then I read a passage from my Bible out loud. We sit with the windows wide to let the morning light in. We talk together sometimes. We sing several songs together as I play my guitar. Then we clear the table and prepare for the time ahead. I love the deliberate sameness that brings intentional Beginning to each day.

Today we celebrate the newness of springtime. We created an egg tree, in honor of blessed life that springtime represents and in anticipation of the Easter joy coming in a few weeks. We read books about springtime or that celebrate the seasons.

See note at bottom for titles!

We decorated "happy first day of spring" cards to send out with a spring poem inside. We cleaned the house all week (especially needed since we were all very sick last week) so that we can welcome the new season with a clean home. Harmony and I are about to dye more hard-boiled eggs after her quiet time.

We will spend the afternoon outside soaking up the sun, as she learns to ride her tiny tricycle better and better. This will mark day 79 of going outside every single day, something I'm calling #365daysofnature on Instagram!

I am happy with my life. I am grateful for the time and blessings I have been given.

May I continue to see the direction of where I am meant to go.

~ Prompt for March 20th: Intentions

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Participating in Write Alm's March prompts, daily words as guides for writing down what is in my head and heart. Entries might be long, might be short, might be posted here on the blog, or shared on my Instagram account. Do join me and others in sharing our thoughts with these prompts! I love seeing what you write.

*Here are the books we read today for spring! 

"Springtime for Jeanne-Marie", from The Adventures of Jeanne-Marie, by Francoise

"A Time to Keep: the Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays", by Tasha Tudor (gorgeous illustrations)

"The Story of the Root-Children", by Sibylle von Olfers (one of Harmony's favorites!)

"Birds: A Child's First Book About Our Most Familiar Birds", an early Little Golden Book

"Spring Story" from the "Brambly Hedge" series, by Jill Barklem

These books are great for ages two to six or seven years old. The Brambly Hedge stories are a little challenging for Harmony since she's not quite three, but she likes the pictures a lot. We love reading about springtime!

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Floating

What keeps me constant these days? The Tiny is growing faster than ever, my schedule book fills the days with events weeks in advance, I am finally getting good at remembering what to bring when we all dash out of the house (backpack with extra clothes and snack and water bottle and pacifier for the Mininsky, her pony purse, my purse, my water bottle, my phone, my glasses, my keys). 

What keeps me steady?

Looking out the window at the sky.

Breathing Scripture memorized to my spirit.

The feel of my guitar under my fingers.

The flowers everyday on my table.

Soft, deep sighs, eyes closed.

Late night talks with my love.

Pausing to savor the moment.

Getting hugs.

And tea.

Lots of tea.

Isn't it funny how the littlest things in life keep us grounded?

These mugs of tea float me through my days. Chamomile, green herbal, Yorkshire black, pomegranate flavor. A spoonful of honey, a squeeze of lemon. A bit of cream, two cubes of sugar. Sipped slowly, gulped quickly, poured into a mason jar to take with me on my travels. According to mood I choose my cup. Maybe one day I'll have a delicate, flowery teacup to drink out of properly, but until then these lovely characters will keep my fingers warm, my tummy happy, and my moments marked with gentle sweetness.

~ Prompt for March 2nd: Float 

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Participating in Write Alm's March prompts, daily words as guides for writing down what is in my head and heart. Entries might be long, might be short, might be posted here on the blog, or shared on my Instagram account. Do join me and many others in sharing our thoughts with these prompts! I love seeing what you write. 

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Ten Reasons Why I Let My Daughter Watch My Little Pony

When I was a kid, I watched Reading Rainbow, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Puzzle House, and Thomas the Tank Engine. Oh, and the Antiques Road Show, because I was weird :-P  At the very least, my mom wasn't too worried about me watching those shows (I was usually allowed one show a day) because they usually had good morals, positive lessons, and decent storylines.

Fast forward to television shows of today. When I had access to a cable television a few years ago, I tried watching some of the popular kids' shows on channels like Nickelodeon and PBS to see what they were like. Some of the shows geared towards very young children were fine and interesting enough, but the ones for about ten and up (the tween and early teen years) shocked me. There were sarcastic kids who were rude to everyone, too much focus on romance, vague blurring of moral ethics, and other problems. The most innocuous just seemed dumb; the worst had appalling situations or stories that I wouldn't want my child watching until they were much older than the targeted age, if at all!

Fortunately, from a very early age (see picture below), Harmony found a show that she liked when my sister (who is now twenty-two) introduced her to it: My Little Pony. Despite my sister's reassurances that it was a great show, I was worried that it would have negative aspects, or that it was just another stupid kid's show. But after watching quite a few episodes and learning what it was about, I am finally on the side of supporting MLP (My Little Pony).

Side note: she has also watched Thomas the Tank Engine (a big hit!), Clifford the Big Red Dog, old Mr. Rogers episodes, old Reading Rainbow episodes, and Magic School Bus (her second favorite show). My Little Pony wins every time, though!

Harmony a few months after her first birthday, already crazy about ponies!

Harmony is two and half now. She began liking the MLP figurines, the tiny toy ponies, when she was barely a year old. My sister found the toys at the thrift store she works at so we have slowly amassed quite a collection of them, much to Harmony's delight! They are her most beloved toys. She even has a pony purse that she uses to carry her ponies wherever she goes. Ponies go to sleep with her, they are held all day long, she recruits everyone to play ponies with her, and the best reward is to let her watch a My Little Pony episode on t.v.  She LOVES it!

So here are ten reasons why I think My Little Pony is a good show:

1. Friendship is magic!

It's such an important lesson for kids to learn how to be good friends to each other! The MLP episodes deal with situations like getting along with folks who are very different (more on that later), trusting your friends, appreciating your friends' talents, respecting the boundaries your friends have, appreciating what your friends do for you, supporting your friends when they go through hard times, being honest with your friends even though it might be tough, and many more wonderful life lessons that us adults would do well to re-learn, too.

2. It's okay to have friends who are different!

Each of the six main ponies has a drastically different personality than the rest. Rarity is a high-strung, drama-queen fashion designer, Applejack is a down-to-earth, hard-working farmer, Rainbow Dash is an athletic tomboy, Fluttershy is a gentle animal-lover, Twilight Sparkle is an academically-focused leader, and Pinky Pie is a bouncy party-planner! Yet they are all good friends with each other, learning to appreciate and respect each other's differences, even though sometimes Twilight gets frustrated with Pinky Pie's silliness, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash are always competing with each other to see who is "better" at everything, and Rarity gets on everyone's nerves when she has a freak-out session... everybody has quirks, and MLP teaches kids that true friends learn to love each other in spite of them.

3. Every person has something they're good at!

Each pony, when they discover their special ability, the talent that really "clicks" with them, magically gets a cutie mark (a symbol representing their special ability) on their flank, so that all can see what they love. The implication is that EVERY pony has gifts to share with the world. Heckyes! I wish all children could see that they have something to offer, that everyone has talents. Part of MLP focuses on three young ponies who do not yet have their cutie marks. They are intent on finding what they are good at doing, so they try pretty much every activity to see what might possibly make their cutie marks appear, and in the process learn some valuable lessons.

4. Life can be complicated!

This show tackles tough situations. One episode deals with colonialism, another with the pony equivalent of the used-car salesman (selling a miracle-cure tonic), another with stage fright, several with wanting to be popular, another with xenophobia, another with the fear that reading books is something an athlete shouldn't do, several with family issues, several with sibling problems, etc. These are hard scenarios for any age, and I appreciate how the solutions are found in a kid-friendly way, because sooner or later we all will need to deal with complications in our lives. One of my favorite episodes is about bullying. In the end, the advice given to the ponies is to tell a responsible adult if you are being bullied, and to also realize that there is often a reason why a person feels the need to bully someone else due to their own negative life circumstances, which doesn't excuse the bullying but does mean that probably the bully needs help.

5. Girls are great, and boys are great too!

While MLP is mostly focused on the female characters, there are male ponies too, and they are both equally independent! The female ponies are portrayed as powerful enough to save themselves, yet they rely on each other's strengths and try to help each other through their weaknesses. One of my favorite characters is Twilight's older brother, Shining Armor, who *SPOILER ALERT* marries a princess who used to be Twilight's babysitter. They are shown to have a happy, supportive marriage with mutual love and respect of each other's abilities. Male and female characters throughout MLP are portrayed as being equal, and no gender is better than another, because each individual has talents that can be used to benefit everyone.

6. Every person has strengths AND weaknesses!

Each pony has very clearly defined talents, as identified by their cutie marks, but they also each have pretty evident weaknesses of character as well. Rainbow Dash is brave, strong, and the only pony to have ever broken the "sound barrier" by flying fast enough to create a sonic rainboom, but she can also be overly competitive, prideful, and overbearing to other ponies. Fluttershy is gentle, sweet, and compassionate, but she can sometimes be indecisive and afraid of her own shadow. Kids know that we all have these same strengths and weaknesses, and with MLP they can see what it's like to deal with both, in themselves and others, and how it's important to grow and change so that you can become a better person.

7. Music!

Okay.... I'm a classical musician, and even I have found the MLP music to be catchy! Harmony likes to listen just to the soundtracks of the shows, so I'll find a Youtube channel with all of season two's songs, or all of the music from season four, and just let her listen to it while she plays (I don't often let her just sit and watch the videos). She is already starting to sing along with the songs, and will play with her pony figurines while she listens and have them act out the songs! The words are often clever or funny, with puns, good messages, or just plain silliness. I've caught myself singing along, and I know I've heard my husband whistling the melodies occasionally ;-)

8. It's good to try new things!

One of the hardest lessons for any child to learn is that it's good to try something new. MLP demonstrates over and over again that being brave and trying a new thing (as long as it's a positive thing) is always a good idea. Even if you don't succeed, you still can learn something valuable from the situation. And if you do succeed, that's great! Plus, you have your friends to support you, no matter what the outcome.

9. You don't always need to have romance to make a story interesting!

Frankly, I'm sick and tired of shows geared toward kids focusing on who has a crush on whom, or who is dating whom, or who likes whomever... kids shouldn't be worrying about that at such a young age! I know I already mentioned a wedding happening in MLP, but that is the focus of only a few episodes in one season. There are two other episodes I know of that involve romantic interests, and in both cases it was dealt with well at a child-appropriate level, I thought. The vast majority of the MLP stories do NOT have any kind of romance at all, which I very much appreciate!

10. Positive character traits are highly valued!

One of the biggest story lines involves the Elements of Harmony, which represent six important qualities of harmony: honesty, kindness, generosity, laughter, loyalty, and magic. Each of the main ponies embody one of these elements, which is a big focus of the storylines exploring friendship. Also, one of the most important lessons woven through the entire show is the power of forgiveness. *SPOILER ALERTS*  Princess Celestia forgives her sister Luna for trying to control the world with darkness, even after a thousand years of Luna being banished, when Luna finally learns her lesson and wants to change. The six pony friends are constantly forgiving each other for hurt feelings and wrongdoing. A dragon named Discord is forgiven several times for betraying his friend's confidence and for not doing the right thing. Forgiveness, for those who are truly sorry, is shown to be much better than anger, retribution, or rejection. Once again, that is a great life lesson that all of us could do well to learn better.

So in the end, when it comes down to children's television shows, I'd rather have my daughter watching My Little Pony than a show that has negative values or imparts ethics or lessons that are not what I want her to emulate. MLP is pretty cool :-)

Do you have a children's t.v. show that you really like and let your kids watch? Do share!

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In(tentional) 2015

One of my favorite pictures in my folk's home, that my mom made. She's such an inspiration to me as an artist; their home is gorgeous, and has artwork everywhere! I love thinking about choosing joy in the new year. It's also a reminder that I have choices in what I hope to see in 2015. I ask myself the important question: "What does {THE DEEPEST PLACE} of my soul desire, need, and wish for?"

Beautiful words from Rachel.

For the past four years, I've been using Susannah Conway's lovely free workbook called "Unravelling the Year Ahead" to think through the past year and set intentions for the next year. I love that she calls them "intentions", because the term "goals" feels too solid, and it would be disappointing if I didn't completely accomplish them! With an intention, I can adapt it, do just part of it, or make it suit my needs and still feel like I've succeeded. Yeah, goals and intentions are pretty much the same thing, but it's the thought behind each of them that makes my mind feel like they're different ;-)

Here are a few of the intentions I've set for 2015:

~ Edit my novel, "The Naming of Fio Re", and have a few folks read it and give feedback. 

~ Meditate on Scripture every day, at least one verse. Learn more about Scripture meditation, too.

~ Deliberately make time to be face to face with friends and build relationships.

~ Go outside every single day. Every day. No exceptions. Even if it's just for a five minute walk or to sit in my yard on the grass. 365 Days of Nature, commence! More on that below.

~ Plan a creative retreat again similar to the one my lovely friend Heather and I had this December. Maybe it could be an entire weekend instead of one day? Maybe we could invite more friends? Do more art together? Cook meals? There are so many possibilities! 

~ Finish memorizing Romans 8. I got super close to accomplishing this last year, but it just didn't happen. Now of course it's only vaguely in my memory. I want to have the entire chapter down!

~ Record a CD of my favorite guitar pieces that I've learned in the last twenty years. Sheesh... I am OLD. I have been playing guitar for a freakin' long time!!! I might as well sum it up with some kind of recording after all these years. That will require practicing. If there were only a few extra hours each day...

~ Read all the books in my house that I have not yet read. There are actually a decent number of books that fall under this category. I may or may not make an exception for the Dostoevsky novel that even Chris hasn't been able to finish... *sigh*. This past year I tried to read one book a week, and considering that I forgot to log any of the books I read in November or December on my book list page here on the blog, I'm fairly certain that I hit that goal! Yay!

~ Fresh flowers every week. My mood and attitude are so brightened when flowers are present in my home! I don't need to buy new flowers every week; they last about two weeks if I take care of them, and it would be just five dollars or so from my grocery budget every other week. How about yes :-)

~ Go back to Lambert's Restaurant, the home of the "throwed rolls"! I was there during my senior year of college: it was AWESOME. Gotta go again, even though it's a bit of a road trip!

~ Read aloud with Chris more. We're mired in the weirdness of the "Arabian Nights" right now. It seriously seems never-ending. We may end up just reading it separately so that we can finish it and move on to something a little more manageable!

~ Give another shot to writing down 1,000 gifts. I got really close, over the last two years (even though you're supposed to write down a thousand gratitudes in only one year, not two), but made it to about eight hundred and faded out. It's always worth another try! This time I'm tracking it on my smartphone. I hate putting important things in my phone, which is why I still have a paper notebook and calendar, but my phone is almost always on hand to quickly jot something down, so hopefully this method will help keep me more on track. I love that Ann Voskamp has the "Joy Dares" available for free download in each month so that you have a bit of direction when looking for blessings in your everyday life!

~ Send more postcards. I love letters, but with the busyness of life, sending a postcard is going to be more doable than sending a full-blown letter, I'm thinking. Plus, postcards are art-in-the-mail! Win!

~ Get a perfume I really like. I've had only two perfumes, both of which I liked, but haven't yet found a perfume that I truly LOVE. I'm not gonna push this one too much; perfume is expensive! If it happens miraculously, it happens. If not, hey, I can wait.

~ Explore HONOR as my One Word. "The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." - Socrates

~ Watch the entire series of "Avatar: the Last Airbender". OH NO NOW EVERYONE KNOWS HOW MUCH OF A NERD I AM. One of my best friends just introduced it to me last week (read: basically held me down and forced me to watch the opening episode because they knew I'd like it even though I was all "noooo I don't want to watch anything new") and I was instantly hooked. It's just the right kind of show for a girl who has watched almost all of the Naruto Shippuden... um, I mean, *cough cough* I totally have never watched anime before. 

I can't wait to see what growth and change this year will bring for Harmony. She is so verbal for a two and a half year old. The other day she and I ran errands all morning, so I made sure that our last stop was at a coffee shop where we could share a fruit smoothie. We sat at a table together, sipping the smoothie, people-watching and talking about the decor of the shop and noticing what folks were eating and discussing the day. That was the first time I realized, "hey, my daughter and I can have conversations now! There's finally someone in our family who talks just as much as me!" and I had a good laugh. My daughter is awesome.

Yes, I truly do want to go outside every day. So far, for the first four days of this new year, I've succeeded in getting outdoors for a few minutes, despite a sick toddler, a messy house, a busy schedule, and frigid weather (with snow today). Each time I made myself get my act together enough to go out, I was always grateful that I had! Being in nature, even on our little dead-end street or sitting in our yard, is grounding, refreshing, clarifying, relaxing, calming, energizing, and so many more things for my physical and mental health. I come back inside renewed and ready to face anything. There must be magic in a breath of fresh air ;-) I'm recording this journey on Instagram with a picture every day under the tag #365daysofnature.

I can tell that even though there will be more days where it will be difficult to get myself out the door, it will be for the best. Many thanks to my sweet husband and sister who have either sat with Harmony or just kept an ear out for her while she slept so that I could escape for a little while! I am SO very blessed to have my supportive family around me. 

Love these daily prompts from Write Alm!

I definitely want to continue to write often, here on the blog, in my personal journal, in postcards and the occasional letter to friends and family, and on Instagram. I've very much enjoyed the little snippets of life I can share on Instagram to accompany a picture, and even more have loved seeing others' lives through their own lens on IG too!

Facebook was de-activated yesterday, as planned. It feels weird not to check it, but I am already appreciating the social media silence that it is allowing. Yes, I'm still part of social media here and on Instagram, but it feels more manageable, if that makes any sense. 

The picture above was taken after I was awake for almost forty-eight hours straight. On new year's eve, half an hour before midnight, Harmony suddenly and violently came down with the stomach flu while we were at my folk's home. She had been sleeping in their guest bedroom as we got ready to celebrate the new year's arrival. Instead of ringing in 2015, we spent the rest of the night caring for her, with barely any sleep. When we finally got her home the next day, I fuzzily remembered that one of my intentions was to get outside every day, so Chris sat with her for a few minutes while I laid in the grass of our front yard, which was all I had the energy to do. It was a good reminder that "the best laid plans of mice and men..."

If all my intentions are not realized in 2015, IT WILL BE FINE. I will be okay. Nobody/nothing will explode, my dreams won't be shattered. Sometimes we have hard times; sometimes our lives are rocked to the core by terrible news. With that in mind, I'm trying to hold my plans loosely, knowing that only God sees the future. I hope that no matter what the coming days hold I will be able to trust in His plans for me even if it means that mine go out the window. My favorite Bible verse from year to year continues to be from Micah 6:8: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" That is what I truly want to be the desire of the deepest place in my heart!

So here we go, 2015! What do YOU wish that 2015 might hold for you? Let me know in the comments! Did you choose a Word? Do you have goals, or intentions?

{Writing prompt THE DEEPEST PLACE from Write Alm's January prompts}

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Merry Christmas!

Christmas break is here! Despite the crazy schedule of the final week before the holiday break, life didn't feel out of control (although the piles of dirty dishes in my sink were definitely overflowing). Around here we were enjoying the season, so here are some pictures of our escapades that I've been taking on Instagram. I'll be writing a blog post very soon with details about New Year's "intentions"!

My sister and I immortalized in an ornament :-)

The chocolate buckeye candies I made for all my guitar students.

Harmony and I continued to do activities together. She is a ball of energy, obsessed with ponies, always insisting on music and dancing constantly, and fighting any efforts for us to get her to sleep. A typical toddler!

Playing with an alphabet puzzle and her ponies.

Happy half-birthday! Two and a half on the 19th.

She simply loves flowers.

Learning to match socks while we fold laundry.

An amazing shapes game I picked up at the thrift store.

Remembering Sandy Hook, ringing our bell twenty-six times.

Most of my time out of the house was taken up with performances and music-related events. Instead of six performances in one weekend, I ended up having seven! They all turned out beautifully. December is truly the most busy time for musicians!

The carol sing we held at our home.

Performing at the children's hospital.

Performing at a choral concert.

Rehearsing with my musical family.

Playing at coffee shops with two of my students.

Oh yeah, and I found a cello in someone's trash by the curbside while driving through our neighborhood. No, it doesn't currently play, but how could I leave a cello in the trash?! At some point I think I'll get it appraised for how much it would cost to make it playable again. It doesn't have to look great, it just needs to sound okay.

She still has soul!

Through the busyness, I tried to savor the little beautiful moments that make life worthwhile.

My mantra for this season has been "breathe deep, seek peace, and enjoy the little things"!

She makes me smile.

Having a holiday from teaching means I wear purple pants and star socks.

Nothing better than a morning cuddle with my love.

Merry Christmas to everyone, and may you have a beautiful holiday with your loved ones!

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The Days Are Merry and Bright

Between now and December 21st, I have ten performances. *deep breath*

As long as I breathe, take one thing at a time, focus on what I'm doing at the moment, keep my planner handy, and get sleep at night, then I continue to absolutely ENJOY what I do. I am a musician: I feel honored and privileged and blessed to say that! On top of my musical endeavors, I am a mother and wife and daughter and sister, so caring for and spending time with my family needs to be at the top of the priority list too.

This is a beautiful season. I love the holidays! It's not all fun and games, of course... we've all passed around a nasty cold that brought my cough from November back full force, Harmony has been working on her last molar coming in which led to a few restless nights this week, one of our cars got a flat tire that needed to be replaced, my sink is NEVER empty of dirty dishes, and I currently have four loads of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away. But in spite of all the craziness, it's still been great capturing the best times with my phone camera, so that we can remember what we loved. If you don't follow me on Instagram, here is what's been going on with our family lately.

Every morning, Harmony and I eat breakfast together, light the Advent candles, and read a story.

It was so much fun setting up and decorating our first real, full-sized Christmas tree!

Creative retreat! More on that at the end of this post ; )

There have been plenty of silly, happy moments together.

Harmony had her first hair trim, at almost two and a half years old.

My mom did a great job! Harmony thought it was funny to look at herself in the mirror.

We set out our shoes for St. Nicholas' Day on December 6th.

The chocolate coins were a bust, but the Hello Kitty candy and stickers got a rousing cheer.

My family banded together to watch Harmony for an entire day while my best friend Heather and I went on a creative retreat! This is our third year getting together in December to review the entire year and set intentions for the next year. We have gone through Susannah Conway's amazing FREE workbook called Unravelling the Year Ahead, which you can download (did I mention for free?!) on her website here! Highly, highly recommended.

This year Heather and I met at a local coffee shop in the morning, talked and went through our goals, thoughts, and writing from 2014, and had hot drinks. Then around noon we went to a Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant that we've both wanted to try and ordered delicious food. Afterwards, we went back to her house to figure out what we hoped our lives would hold in 2015.

It's so great to have a good friend to discuss these things with. I might share a few of my plans for 2015 in a later post. I'm still in the process of choosing my One Word for next year, and finishing filling in my Unravelling workbook.

The older I get, the more I realize how vital it is to have intentions for what you want to accomplish, so that I can have direction to my life and know that I am still doing what I want to be doing rather than aimlessly wasting time! Yet that doesn't mean every minute of my life needs to be scheduled. I value rest, peace, and mornings in my pajamas eating donuts with my family just like everyone else : )  It's the long-term goals that I like having plans for, and writing down what I hope my year to look like is a great start to accomplishing what I hope for.

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It's the Little Things

Overheard yesterday: "Oh, I LOVE you so much, ducky, but I have to gooooo now. I so sorry. I just have to leave. I will love you forever! Don't be sad... I will come back tomorrow.

Overheard this morning: "Do you live in St. Louis, pony? Yes, I live in St. Louis. We will visit each other here. Let's go play hide and seek and find each other. Let's fly!"

The imaginative play has started, and it's beautiful to see.

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We're all finally beginning to cough less. Of course that virus would run through the entire family. So now we're all trying to catch up on sleep together, which makes for some very cozy mornings curled up in our big bed with lots of warm blankets. I used to think that Harmony was not a snuggly child, but since this past summer she has suddenly turned into an I-want-to-cuddle-constantly person. Totally okay with me!

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A few weeks ago I was featured on a lovely blog called Zauberbear, answering the question "Would you rather be able to understand any language or be able to play any instrument?"  It was very interesting to write out my response to this! Head over here to check it out.

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During the month of November on Facebook I've been listing one thing I'm grateful for every single day. Here is the list so far:

#1     Seeing friends old and new at a guitar concert, fellow home-schooling moms and fellow guitarists!

#2     Two great performances with a guitar ensemble in Illinois.

#3     Cold pizza for breakfast. Yes, I'm weird.

#4     New-to-us pale green curtains for the huge windows in the den, the last windows in our home that needed to be covered.

#5     A successful final recording session with one of my students who worked very hard.

#6     Beautifully fresh flowers, a gift from a student's sweet family.

#7     Standing alongside passionate, dedicated music teachers who are an inspiration to me.

#8     Finding out that our new next-door neighbors are actually the neighbors from across the street, two houses down! They just wanted a bigger place to live.

#9     Honesty matched with graciousness. The truth is best given when paired with grace.

#10   A beautiful warm morning at the park, probably the last of the season.

#11   Almost a full night's sleep after a week of coughing (can you tell I was exhausted?).

#12   Seeing a best friend's amazing new guitar.

#13   A washer and dryer in my basement. No more walking two blocks to the laundry room in freezing weather!

#14   Artists meeting together to support each other and have meaningful dialogue.

#15   My sweet girl Harmony, the Mininsky.

#16   The beautiful snow falling in our city.

#17    The many, many cups of tea that I drink constantly throughout the day and night.

#18   Singing in harmony with another great human being.

Do you write out a list of gratitudes before Thanksgiving? What are some things you're grateful for right now? My blogging friend Marielle over at Magical Daydream inspired me to share what I'm thankful for today : ) 

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Currently, Loving Life

Resting:: from the full weekend. Trick-or-treating with my crazy cat lady, a Halloween party with friends where I took a trip back to my younger days and traded candy with some kids, a home-school group meeting with lovely ladies, an awesome concert by a fellow guitarist, a dinner with a sweet friend, and a road trip to Illinois for two concerts with a guitar ensemble where I filled in for a missing member and acted as co-leader for the group. Oh, and that's my sister in the picture above, being Steve from Minecraft ; )

Loving:: this chilly weather! I love everything about autumn and winter, including the cold. The frost on the grass in the morning, the bundling up in our coats, the sweaters indoors, the knitted garments, the warm tea at all hours, the early darkness in the evening, the cozy lamp light.

Feeling:: disappointed in the mistakes I inevitably make, like thinking we were supposed to go over to a friend's house for lunch next Saturday when it was actually this Saturday (I wrote it on the wrong date on my calendar), failing to play the correct notes in an entrance on one of our pieces yesterday during a concert (that's what can happen when you have to fill in on someone's voice with less than a week of preparation), and STILL not being able to find a new teacher for children's worship at our church after asking quite a few people (is it me? is it the way I'm asking? is everyone just too busy?).

Reminding:: myself that you need to learn from your mistakes, change for next time, and then move on.

Hoping:: that I'll be able to accomplish all the knitting projects I have planned before the end of the year!

Savoring:: soups galore for the season: zuppa tuscana, potato-leek soup, beef stew, and egg drop soup were all on the menu last week.

Planning:: the Christmas music that will be handed out this week to my forty students and the seven-member ensemble.

Seeing:: if I can memorize these five solo guitar pieces all at the same time, because I'm insane. "Usher Waltz" by Nikita Koshkin, the first of "Trois Gymnopedies" by Eric Satie, "Prelude" and "Allegro" by Bach from PFA, "Unruhe" by Johann Mertz, and "Allegro Solemnis" from La Catedral by Augustin Barrios. Oh wait, that was six pieces. I'm insane.

Playing:: "school" with Harmony. I'll be writing about that later in more detail!

Lingering:: in my robe in the mornings because it's warm and fluffy, despite being a hand-me-down with a huge hole in one sleeve.

Hearing:: Harmony listening to the My Little Pony soundtrack on the iPad. She loves to sing along to the songs now; it's pretty cute to watch!

Eating:: cold pizza for breakfast. Soooo yummy! Left-overs from our dinner yesterday with the guitar ensemble group.

Noticing:: for the hundredth time the beauty of the golden light streaming through the many windows of our home. I will never get tired of it after living for four years in our dark, cave-like apartment that faced the north!

Anticipating:: the Turkish coffee I'm going to make very soon this morning. I'll add steamed milk frothed with my French press, vanilla, and a little caramel syrup to make a delicious wake-me-up drink! I need it after getting home very late from the concerts last night, waking up with Harmony at 2 a.m. when she suddenly had a coughing fit (she's in that stage of a cold where she doesn't cough or feel sick during the day, but when she lies down at night she coughs and it's so sad), and being woken up too early by Harmony as she demanded "cheerios and milk, mama" the way she does every morning.

Keeping:: Harmony's nap time as my breathing space, for resting, reading, writing. That's how I'm keeping my sanity.

Writing:: my novel for NaNoWriMo, "The Naming of Fio Re", and documenting progress over on this other page of my blog! This weekend wasn't a very good start, but I know I'll catch up quickly over the next few days. Woohoo! I'll be working much more on my novel this month rather than keeping up with blogging, except for adding to my NaNoWriMo page, so do stick around until next month when I'll be back with lots of Christmas posts here : )

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A Day in Our Home-Schooling LIfe

It's not something I talk about a lot over here anymore, but we are beginning our first year as a home-schooling family! We've been planning on home-schooling for a long time; my husband was home-schooled for several years, and I was home-schooled until I began attending college classes at sixteen. If you're interested or curious to see what one of our typical days looks like, come on over to my other blog and check it out!

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