Gratitude Overflowing

The holiday season was oh so busy, but so worth it.  I feel like we squeezed every last drop of joy and togetherness out of it.  I'm still reeling from all the loveliness....

We were so happy to host the 2nd annual neighborhood holiday pajama breakfast.  This event, perhaps more than any other, makes me feel so thankful for the people in our lives.  We ate and drank, watched Christmas movies, and snuggled our kids.  As we lazed around on the couches and floor, in our comfiest clothes, I looked around the room and just thought to myself how very lucky we are to have randomly landed in this neighborhood of people who have become some of our very closest friends. And then we ate more bacon.

For the first time since I've known Brian, we were home together on Christmas Eve.  Knowing that we had some busy times ahead of us, knowing that although family gatherings are lovely, they can also be stressful and frustrating at times, I started my Christmas Eve celebration with a beautiful solitary walk.  I breathed deeply, I thought about all I had to be thankful for, and I set some intentions for myself about how I wanted to feel and act during the coming celebrations.  I thought about maintaining control with my eating, I thought about listening more than talking, and I thought about being patient and loving with my family members. 

 

And then I headed home to my loving family, and settled in to celebrate in our own special way.  

After a quiet Christmas morning at home, we moved on to Denver for a beautifully relaxing day with Brian's family.  The day was so lovely because it was so calm, restful, and we really had a chance to visit and connect. And this has been the first year that Sadie and her cousin Elias were both old enough to really enjoy each other...it was the best thing ever to see them playing together and being silly.

After a quick day of work, and a family day for running errands and squeezing in a viewing of Disney's Frozen, we packed up the car and headed to my parents' house for the weekend.  I went into the weekend with a wish list which included playing cards, watching christmas movies, hot tubbing, walking in the woods, reading, napping, playing my mandolin, and drinking beer. 

Done.  Crossed all those things and more off my list...it was such a good weekend of connection with my family.  Oh how I love them..and absolutely cherish nothing more than when we're all together in the mountains in front of my favorite fireplace of all.

We left my parents house and made our way to the Peterson cabin and settled in for the rest of 2013!  We loved having one more night with Brian's parents, and even had a sledding party the next morning before they headed home.  We spent a peaceful day with just the three of us.  We played and napped and I cooked up a storm preparing for our New Year's Eve festivities.  We anxiously waited for our dear friends to arrive and got ready for all the fun to come.  As soon as they were unpacked and settled, we got right to playing tunes, painting faces, eating, drinking, singing, dancing, and laughing. 

What a perfectly, perfect way to end the year...surrounded by beautiful children, good friends, cooking, eating, and drinking delicious creations, and playing fiddle tunes!  I am SO filled up with love and joy and thankfulness for all the beauty in our lives.  How on earth can we be so unbelievably lucky? 

Summer Vacation: Part 1

I usually find myself wanting to call her my soulmate.  But then I keep it to myself because I don’t want to hurt my husband’s feelings.  Because of course, he’s my soulmate too.....just a different part of my soul.

I’ve never had a friend like Rachel, and I don’t expect to ever have any others quite like her.  She knows me better than mostly anyone.  It recently it occurred to me why that might be....she was by my side when I found myself.  There in the beauty of the Alaskan interior, during my impressionable early 20's, I figured out who I was becoming, who I wanted to be, what's important to me, what to not be ashamed of, how to be honest with myself and others, how to love my body, and how to strive to truly live life to the fullest.  And so much more.  Wow those were some formative years.  And she was with me the whole time, and together we figured a lot of that out.

So, because of all the love, support, intellectual stimulation, smiles, understanding, and big belly laughs that happen when we’re together….it was pure luxury to spend a few days with her in her current home city of Boston. 

 Every time she and I have been together since we left Alaska 12 years ago, we’re in the midst of a larger adventure, project, festival, or my family.  This time it was just us, a few friends of hers sprinkled around the edges, and some uninterrupted, mostly unplanned, days together.

We ate, drank, laughed, and walked our way through her lovely city….

And of course it was a total treat at the conclusion of these few lovely days to be with my family, who all consider Rachel family too.  Together on her porch with cold beers, instruments, and pizza.  Perfection.

Pajamas and Cocktails

 

New tradition from here on out.  Every. Single. Year.  No matter where we live or what we're doing with ourselves...holiday pajama breakfast with our neighbors. 

The components that made this so fun and festive for me included:  it was a potluck (I didn't have to do too much cooking);  the fact that we WORE OUR PAJAMAS! (ie:  all I had to do was brush my teeth and I was ready); the beverages (mexican coffee = coffee + kaluah + tequila!, bloody marys, mimosas, etc...); the food; a fancy hot chocolate bar for the kiddos; a spontaneous pick; and most importantly, the neighbors.  I love love love love love my neighbors.  I don't know how I got so lucky to land smack-dab in the middle of a typical boring American-suburban-sprawl neighborhood and find these lovely friends.  But drinking with them at 10 a.m while the classic claymation Rudolph movie plays in the background and our kids and dogs run around in the kitchen in their p.j.s...that's pretty much the most fun thing ever.  Really.