On Lantern Walk Night

 Last night we gathered with friends from church for our annual Lantern Walk. We read Heather Sleightholm's gorgeous new book Snow on Martinmas, sang lantern songs and then walked through the dimly lit church and outside to the bell garden. Once in the bell garden we walked and sang and then gathered to sing our closing song- "Go Now In Peace" before heading inside for gingersnaps and apple cider. Though it was bitterly cold and windy last night the sight of the lanterns (and the stars shinning above) was a beautiful one indeed! Thank you to everyone who joined us this year. We are looking forward to next year's lantern walk already! xo

{This Moment} 4:45pm Solstice Night

{This Moment} A 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 are inspired to do the same leave a link in the comments section for all to find and see. Wishing those who celebrate a very happy Hanukkah and a very merry Christmas this weekend. xo

Light In The Darkness

A cold and windy November Friday night. A gathering with friends. Stories and poems were read, songs were sung and lanterns were lit. We gathered together, our lights on their own rather dim, but once outside in the darkness they shown brightly. Some candles blew out but there was always someone there offering help to make them glow again.

After the heaviness and sadness of this week the message the universe was sending wasn't lost on me.

Martinmas (or Saint Martin's Day if you are in Germany) has always been one of  my most favorite of the Waldorf festivals. The simple beauty of the lanterns. The important message of being a light in the darkness. Never have we needed Martinmas more than we did this week. It's message  of love, kindness and compassion was so very needed right then, and will continue to be needed in the days, weeks, months and years to come.  xo

Lantern Making

With our church holding their first lantern walk this evening it seemed like the perfect excuse to make some new lanterns this week. Our other jar lanterns were about four or five years old and pretty badly faded. We didn't make new ones last year since we had opted for the lovely (yet not nearly as easy) balloon lanterns. They sure were pretty, but goodness if we make those again we'll definitely not use such dark purple paper!

We had conducted a lantern making workshop at church a few weeks ago so all the supplies were still in the bags and boxes that we had brought them to church and back in. We got them out and got our craft on! While we crafted we chatted and sang. It was a perfect way to spend a cold afternoon. 

Dave made lantern holders for the people who come to the walk tonight, and we added a little bling to our lanterns for tonight, too (pictures to come). The sweet little sparkly addition to our lanterns has made them even more magical than they already were! xo

On Summer Solstice

Our Summer Solstice day started with copious amounts of rain. With how torrential the rain was and how long it lasted we were pretty sure that our plans to celebrate Summer Solstice were going to have to be put on hold. You can imagine then how surprised we were when the rain stopped, the sky cleared, the sun came out and our evening celebration was able to go off without a hitch! We packed a picnic dinner and joined our dear friends the Faddens for the Summer Solstice Celebration that was taking place at the Old Manse in Concord as part of Riverfest 2015. Crafts, music, s'mores, playing, singing, lanterns and boats on the river on a gorgeous night made for a truly lovely ending to our Summer Solstice! xo

Lanterns For Martinmas

Martinmas is one of our most favorite Waldorf festivals (our other favorite being the Advent Spiral). This Saturday we will once again meet up with other Waldorf homeschool families for a Lantern Walk. The lantern walk is such a magical time! This year, inspired by this post and this post we decided to make some new lanterns.With today being cold and rainy, a couple of days before the Lantern Walk, we got to work on the new lanterns. They need a day or two to fully dry so we've got some waiting to do before we can see them aglow, sadly. Good thing Saturday's just around the corner! xo

Our Lantern Walk

Last year, along with a group of Waldorf inspired homeschoolers, we participated in our very first lantern walk.  It was such a magical time and we quickly fell in love with this very sweet festival (which is not surprising seeing how it is all about kindness and letting your light shine in the darkness).  This year everyone's schedules were such that a larger group lantern walk did not seem to be possible.  With how gorgeous it was all day today and how mild it is this evening we could not pass up the opportunity to mark this lovely festival with a lantern walk of our own.  Molasses cookies were made, a sweet story of kindness and autumn light was read, and our lantern walk (complete with singing) was taken.  The skies were clear, the weather perfect and our little lights bopping around the backyard were very sweet.  Oh, how we have come to love Martinmas!  We are looking forward to next year already!