Cookies

Sunday

Oh, Solstice Tree

Happy Saint Ncholas Day!

Good St. Nicholas

Good Saint Nicholas went about, 
on a snowy evening. 
Placing gifts of gold and sweets; 

presents he was leaving. 
Cheering up the poor and least; 

lifting up the beggar. 

May we share our Chrsitmas feast, 

with our friends and neighbors. 

    -Ambder Lynn Hellewell (sung to the tune of Good King Wenceslas)

Advent Begins

 

And so begins the Advent season with our faith community's beloved tradition of the Advent Spiral. A moment of quiet in a world that feels so heavy and frantic. xo 

End of November

Friendsgiving

 

In which the girls hold their very first Friendsgiving! xo 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! xo 

One Short Day

 

In which the girls go with their Girl Scout troop to see the new Wicked movie (and wear Wicked inspired bows)! xo 

Obsessed!

 

Loving this haircolor on her! Which, fun fact, is what I always through her natural hair would land on, especially since she was born with red hair! 

Emily did a gorgeous balayage on Emma today! I am obsessed with this color on her! xo

The Hens

Scenes From This Morning

 

Faith Community Family together in the pew (missing David and Everleigh). 

A song that feels even more important now. 

and candles lit for all the trans people killed over the course of 2024 in honor of the Trans Day of Rememberance (to be held later this week). 

This is the UCC. 
I am grateful. xo 

The Little Brown Bunny

In which our little brown bunny snuggles under my Brown Univeristy t-shirt! Does that make her a Brown bunny?! xo 
 

A Sweet Surprise

Last Thursday, a friend of mine at work brought me these flowers to cheer me up. It was such a sweet gesture and so very appreciated. I only wish I thought to bring her something too as I knwo she was as heartbroken and outgraged as me. xo 

 

Future Smithies?!

 

Yesterday the girls and I took a roadtrip to Northhampton to attend the Smith College open house! The vibe there was fabulous and I could see either one becoming a Smithie (especially Emma). Looking forward to seeing where they land! xo 

Light In The Darkness

 

With the heaviness of the world, Martinmas could not have come at a better time. 

In the word of Professor Albus Dumbledor: 

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, 

if one only remembers to turn on the light." 

Veterans Dinner

 

In which we make the parish hall ready for the annual veterans dinner. xo 

The Sassy Bun

 

Clover was in a rather spicey and sassy mood today and spent lots of time chasing Violet. Emma was able to scoop her up, to break the cycle and give Violet a break, but gosh is it hard to discipline that sweet face! xo 

Baby’s First Solo Drive

On Tuesday, in addition to it being Grace's first time to vote in a presidential election it was also the day that Emma took her first solo drive. And just like that both girls just feel all grown up to me! So very proud and impressed in her driving skills, abilities and confidence! Be safe out there, sweet girl! We love you to the moon and stars and back! xo 
 

The Day After

I got very little sleep last night. I was awake until about 1:30am and then abruptly woke up at 4:30am. When I had finally fallen asleep it wasn't looking good but I was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, things would shift while I slept and that all would be fine when I woke. Little did I know how not fine things would be. 

When I checked a couple of reputible pages on Facebook my heart sank. Just like it did in 2016, but this time it sank deeper and I was filled with even more dread than I was back then. I stared at my phone in utter disbelief. NPR and BBC were showing the horror of what had happened in the wee small hours of the morning as well. How could America choose such a horrible, hate filled man over such a kind, compassionate and experienced woman?  

Evidently, stating where you can grab women wasn't a deal breaker. Sexual assult wasn't a deal breaker. The insurection wasn't a deal breaker. Racism wasn't a deal breaker. Mocking the disabled wasn't a deal breaker. Antisemitism wasn't a deal breaker. Being a 34 time convicted felon wasn't a deal breaker. But you know what was?

 Being a woman. 

The two times he's won was against incredibly qualified, intelligent women. Our country clearly does not value us women even if we are more qualified and better leaders than a man. And what's worse, the sheer number of white women who cast a vote for him. I will never get over that demographic showing up for him. 

Never. 

And so, I spent the day vacillating between sobbing and wanting to burn the whole place to the ground. I will never forget what it felt like to watch Obama win in 2008. Grace was two years old. Emma was nine months old. Hope was palpabble and joy was bubbling over. There was an energy in this country that I had never felt before and I was here for it. As I held tiny, baby Emma and watched the Obama family walk onto that stage that night I thought to myself: "I am so glad that this is the world that our girls will be growing up in". Little did we know that eight years later I would be crying myself to sleep fearing for what was to come, and that I would be doing so again eight years after that. 

I am terrified and angry and disgusted and heartbroken.
Just like I will never get over the loss in 2016, I will also never get over this one. 
To those who voted for him in 2016, 2020 and now 2024: you have made it plainly and abundantly clear what you stand for, what your beliefs and values are, and the sheer amount of kindness and compassion that you lack. 
I hope it was worth it. 

First, the pain and then the rising. 
Today and tonight, we mourn. 
We grieve. 
We  cry. 
We scream. 
Tomororw we ride. 

XO

Baby's First Presidential Election

 

Well done, sister suffragette! 💙

Today After Church

On our way home we stopped by Moeshmallows brand new store front here in town! I have seen them the last few years at the holiday craft fair that NECC always hold and was excited to see that they had opened a store in Marlborough! The girls were super excited and we all had fun choosing which flavors we should try. While we were there we even picked up a gift bag (the one Grace is holding in the top picture) since it was made by the students at NECC as one of the vocational jobs they do! For those wondering, we loved all three flavors, but peach was the hands down most favorite! xo 

November Decorations

 

Halloween decorations have been put away and November ones have been taken out. First up is Martinmas (one of our most favorite festivals) and the lantern walk to bring light into the darkness. xo 

November Goals

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Halloween morning began with cinnamon roll mummies made by David for breakfast. 

In the late afternoon the girls and I carved pumpkins. It was such a gorgeous day and a perfect way to welcome Halloween night. 

Grace painted her adorable nails herself. It took her three hours but it was definitely time well spent! 

Once the pumpkins were finished, Emma got ready to go trick-or-treating with her friend Lucy.

 Emma's costume is inspired by a character in a game she plays. She knitted the giant hairbow. 

After dropping Emma off, I made dinner (turkey chili as per usual) and then Grace and I went over to the farm to check out their annual pumpkin display. We have had such an illness filled October that, sadly, Grace was not able to hekp carve pumpkins for it. It was such a beautiful night made even more magical by the gorgeous display! 

When we returned home, Grace and I enjoyed our turkey chili and watched Ptactical Magic. From start to finish this might have been one of the best Halloween's ever! xo