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 

Scenes From Our Lantern Walk

 

Visiting the hens. 

Our lanterns Thursday night after our Lantern Walk.

The new additions the girls made this year using the gorgeous lantern decorations from Twelve Little Tales. 

Martinmas is one of our most favorite festivals to celebrate. It's message of kindness, of caring for others, and of light in the darkness resonates deeply. We love that it connects us to the Waldorf community but also to our German ancestry as Saint Martin's Day is celebrated throughout Germany on November 11th. No matter how old the girls get I have no doubt that they will always celebrate Martinmas and make time for the Lantern Walk. xo 

In Celebration Of Martinmas

This year we kept our lantern walk small- just our family. Lanterns were lit, a Martinmas story was read and then we headed out bringing our light into the darkness. As we walked we sang and when we were done we headed back in for molasses cookies and spiced cider. No matter if it's just the four of us or a much larger group, it's always such a sweet and simple celebration and one that we look forward to each year. xo 

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

What Do I Tell The Girls?

I went to bed at 1:30am hoping beyond hope that I would wake up to very different news about who was to be the next president of our country. All that kept swirling in my head was "how can this be happening?" and "what will I tell the girls in the morning?"

After a few fitful hours of sleep I woke up and immediately checked to see what the results were. Tears filled my eyes as I saw the words "Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States."

How? Why? What do I tell the girls?

So I took to Facebook and poured my heart out.

"So, let me get this right," I wrote. "Billy Bush looses his job over that disgusting Trump audio and yet Trump gets no fall-out from it and gets promoted to the highest office in our country?! America, I am absolutely applauded and ashamed of you! I thought we had progressed over the last several decades, instead you have taken many, many steps back in the electing of Trump. I have no idea how to explain to my girls that you would rather them live in a country where it's ok for men (one of which is the President-elect) to talk about (and follow through on) sexually assaulting women than it is for a woman to be in the White House. That we now live in a country where walls will be built to keep people out, where an entire religion of people will need to "register", where many of our friends marriages are in jeopardy, and where the color of your skin clearly matters more than the content of your character. I am embarrassed to be an American and will continue to feel this way for the next four years (and God help us if he wins a second term). He may be America's president but he is not mine. I cannot and will not be lead but such a horrible, horrible man and such an awful, awful family. Love has not won. The only history that was made was that we now have a completely unprepared buffoon at the helm. I am heartbroken. I am terrified. I am sick to my stomach. America, I thought you were better than this."

I hit post and felt better. And then I cried copious amounts of tears. All the while feeling so helpless, so scared, so completely terrified and continuing to wonder: "what do I tell the girls?"

Thanks to my friend Gwen's comment I was able to begin to figure out how I would explain the outcome of this election to the two sweet souls who have been entrusted to my care.

And so, when they woke up the first thing they asked about was the election. And this, dear friends, is what I told them:

"While hate and fear won last night, we will continue to stand on the side of love and kindness and speak up for what is right. Today, though, we will simply be sad, and we will grieve that our country chose a man who is incredibly unqualified to be President of the United States."

Grace cried.

Emma became silent.

I went on to say: "I hope that in your lifetime you see a woman become president. I hope that in your lifetime you see love, kindness and compassion become the driving forces of our country instead of the hatred, bigotry and racism that currently is. Friday is Martinmas. Friday is our Lantern Walk. And while our lights may feel very dim right now, when we join together with our friends they will make even this deep darkness seem less dark and less scary. We must show the world that we will continue to shine. That we will continue to love. That we will continue to be compassionate."

And with that, my friends, I think whatever I had left in me is officially drained out of me. We need today to "just be". To just be sad. To contemplate what's next. To be gentle with ourselves and our spirits. xo

A Snowy Lantern Walk

The first snowfall of 2016 arrived last night, and as is our tradition we welcomed it with a snowy lantern walk. 

As we strolled through the neighborhood we sang lantern songs and marveled at the beauty of the falling snow. The world always feels a little more magical and a little more peaceful when covered in snow and last night especially so. 

When we returned home the girls decided that they couldn't possibly come in just then, and spent the next hour playing in the snow. It was a truly magical ending to another lovely day! xo

The Lantern Walk Last Night

It was such a completely perfect night for the first annual Plymouth Church lantern walk last night. The wind, which had been so very blustery all day, was almost nonresistant that evening (thank you, Mother Nature!) and the stars and a lovely finger nail moon were present, too. We gathered in the sanctuary where lanterns were lit, lantern holders handed out, stories were read and songs were sung before we ventured out for the much looked forward to lantern walk. The quiet darkness of the night paired with the sea of beautiful lanterns shining their lovely light was absolutely breathtaking! We walked and sang and walked some more before gathering for one final song (easily the most beautiful of the night) and some pictures before saying our "good-byes" and "see you tomorrows". It was another truly magical night with our beloved church family. 

We are so incredibly grateful to be part of a faith community that we love so dearly, and who loves us just as dearly and has embraced us (and our Waldorf ways) so completely. It is such a blessing to be able to call Plymouth Church "home", to have the chance to be part of such a special place as this, to be able to share in the traditions that have been around for eons and to have the chance to help create new ones, too. 

Thank you, Plymouth Church, for being. Thank you for loving us and welcoming our love and our family in return. You are truly the beloved community and we are so incredibly blessed to be a part of it. Thank you for sharing this very special night with us. We look forward to many more lantern walks together for 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

Martinmas

Last Saturday we gathered with our Waldorf homeschool group for the annual Martinmas festival and lantern walk. The new lanterns were lovely, though Emma's purple paper was probably slightly too dark in retrospect. Before we went on our lantern walk the Saint Martin story from The Festival of Stones was read, a poem was shared and the lanterns were lit. Once we were all outside (and the obligatory pictures were taken) we began our walk all the while singing Glimmer Lantern Glimmer. Slowly and steadily we walked down the path through the woods letting our lanterns shine as beacons of light in the darkness. Once we returned to the house apple cider, hot chocolate and molasses cookies were enjoyed before everyone departed for home. For those that don't know about Martinmas my dear friend Kim over at Mothering with Mindfulness has described it beautifully in today's post. We just adore Martinmas and it's beautiful message of helping others and letting your light shine. 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

A Snowy Lantern Walk

We went on a magical snowy lantern walk tonight. It was the first time we had taken one (and it's safe to say that there will be many more to come). After dinner we got into our jammies (followed by our snow clothes), grabbed our lanterns and headed out. The snow was softly falling and it was incredibly peaceful. We were the only people out except for the occasional car that passed by. It was fun to feel like this world was ours and ours alone. We explored and chatted and took in how peaceful it was as we walked. When we returned to the house the girls decided to play outside for a bit. Rosy cheeked and happily cold they came inside and requested peppermint hot chocolate to warm up with. As we sat by the light of the Christmas tree drinking our hot chocolate Grace said to me: "Mama, I am so glad that you came up with the idea for a snowy lantern walk! It was truly magical! I hope we can do this again and again!" We sure can, sweet girl. We sure can!