{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A SouleMama Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Have a delightful weekend, friends and a very happy Halloween!

Nightime At The Farm

This past Tuesday night was the Drumlin Farm Community Preschool's Fall Social.  It was a perfect October night, a slight chill in the air but not too cold otherwise, and it was crystal clear. 

After a little playing around with camera settings,

and playing with friends,

It was time to head down to the farm yard. 

Do you see the moon?

First stop: The sheep and goat shed. 

Goodnight goats.

Goodnight sheep.

Next stop: The red barn.

Goodnight Midnight the Pony.

Next stop: The pig barn.

Seeing how many littles it will take to reach the weight of a boar.

Next stop:  The chicken coop.

Goodnight little chicks.

Goodnight Chickens.

It was a most magical night!  One that will surely be a favorite memory for years to come.  We were so sad that David could not be with us, but were so happy that my Mom was able to come up for this very special night. It was really lovely to walk by lantern/flashlight on such a peaceful night and visit our animal friends.  And while we all agreed that the animals were most likely wondering what we were doing there at that late hour, it was indeed lovely to get to peek into a part of their world that we don't usually get to see.  Thank you animals for sharing your world with us.  Sweet dreams!



Rise and Shine and Bake!

Nothing like a little early morning baking to start the day off right! 

A Silly Kitty And Some Blog Love

The other night, we came downstairs to discover this:

And as soon as I took the first picture she decided to turn on the charm.

What a character!

In other news I have been given my first blog award! My friend Rosemarie over at Sweet Home Days has selected my blog to reiceve a

The Liebster Blog Award started (sometime in the recent past) in Germany to encourage traffic to hidden gems of blogs with 300 followers or less. So it is an award you receive, but also an award you give (share the love kinda thing). If you receive a Liebster Blog Award you are asked to choose 3-5 other bloggers and link back to the blogger that gave you the award. Thank you, Rosemarie for viewing my blog as a hidden gem! It has been a joy getting to know you through your blog and I look forward to the day when we can get together in person!

So, without further adieu my choices are:

Jess at Teachable Moments. Jess and I clicked from the very first moment she commented on my blog and I started reading hers. Oh, how I wish we lived closer so that we could get together. Getting to know her had been delightful and her blog is such an inspiration to me! I have truly appreciated Jess' knowledge and wisdom on life with two daughers as well as about unschooling!

Jannine at A Jar Full of Kitty Beans. Jannine and I have been friends for seventeen years (Wow! Can you believe that, J?)! We met in high school and have been friends ever since. Over a shared love of the music department and a realization that we share the same birthday (year and all) a friendship started and endures to this day. She is the yin to my yang (perfect that we happen to be Gemini's) and I am happy to get to share the adventures of motherhood with her!

Heather at Outnumbered! Heather and I go way back. We used to work with each other and from the moment we first met it was as if we had been friends forever! I am grateful for things like our blogs and Facebook so that we have been able to keep in touch with each other over the years. It helps to make the distance feel less than it really is!

My new friend Ruthy at Sweet Melodies of Life. The girls and I met Ruthy and her littles at co-op and clicked from that very first moment! What a blessing it has been to have Ruthy and the other wonderful mamas and their littles from co-op on this amazing homeschooling journey with us!

{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A SouleMama Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Have a delightful weekend, friends!



Spiffy Letters

A, B, and C never looked so good!



Many Hands

As my Grandma liked to say: "Many hands make light work." 

Thank goodness I am blessed to have such great helpers!



"So Shel, How's Your Day?!"

Today was one of those days where you hit every light on your way to an appoitntment, where there was road construction on the way home, where you ended up farther away from where you wanted to be on the "detour" you took, where an event that you are planning is not coming together as easily as you thought it would, where the girls have lots of extra energy and are voicing their opinions and your patience is running thin (as a result of all the craziness in the morning).  Today is the kind of day that just needed the company of another "mama in the trenches".  The kind of day that needed a place for the littles to play while the mamas kicked back.  And thankfully we found just what we needed!

And it is spending time in the company of those who "get it"  on these tough days (and all days really) that makes the rough days better and the journey that much sweeter!



Unplugged Sunday::Harvest Days

Today was a truly glorious autumn day. The kind of day that just beckons to be spent outside with dear friends.  So, it was really great that we had these wonderful plans to meet at Old Sturbridge Village for Sunday Brunch and to then participate in the harvest activities.  Honestly, we could not have asked for a better day!

Meet our navigators for the day. 

The girls did a super job at reading their maps!

We got to help harvest carrots,

and beets.

Next, we helped churn butter,

and make cider.

And finally, it was time for the long awaited trip to the playground! 



It was a perfect way to spend such a beautiful day!  Thanks for suggesting this adventure, dear friends! We had a wonderful time and must do this more often (especially the Sunday Brunch part)!