{This Moment} Cookies For Miss Nicole

{This Moment} A weekly 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 to your moment in the comments section below for all to find and see! Wishing you a wonderful weekend! xo

Introducing Tomte the Gnome!

On Monday Tomte the Gnome arrived bearing a message and a lovely new book! Each day of December Tomte will bring a new message. Sometimes they will be messages of places we'll go and sometimes they will be messages of things for us to do (donate mittens and hats to the food pantry, for example). The girls were quite enchanted by him and felt that he looked like the gnome in The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits. The name of the gnome in the book is Grump which they didn't feel fit this sweet gnome of ours so they decided on Tomte instead. Tomte, for those that don't know, is Swedish for gnome (which means his name is basically Gnome the Gnome). 

About five years ago we had been given an Elf on the Shelf. For us it was simply a game of hide and seek. The whole "reporting" to Santa never felt right to us, and thinking about having an elf watch us did feel kinda creepy. Plus, having to come up with a new hiding spot every day for 25 days got tough about two weeks in! Needless to say, the game kinda fell by the wayside, and last year we introduced the Advent Gnome made by my dear friend Kim over at Mothering with Mindfulness. Having the gnome bring a message containing an activity or a place to go or a kindness was "way more us". This year, shortly after I ordered The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits from Cedar Ring Circle I happened upon this gorgeous gnome in one of the Waldorf groups that I am a part of on Facebook. A super talented mama made a few and was selling them and I couldn't pass up the chance to have this gnome as a part of our family. I didn't even think that he looked like The Yule Tomte until I saw the book and the gnome together this week! Totally unplanned but completely perfect and a true sign that these two items were meant to become part of our holiday traditions! We will surely find a new purpose for our small Advent Gnome, even if it's just that he sits lovingly near the Advent wreath as a reminder of friendship and the ties that bind. xo

Saint Nicholas Day

Saint Nicholas Eve. Our shoes are by the door and ready for Saint Nicholas to stop by!

And stop by he did! 

This is the first time he left little wooden toys for the girls and a book (that I had been dreaming of) for the family! 

Emma, our Early Bird, was the first one up. She was so excited to see what Saint Nicholas had left!

Grace arrived a little while later. 

She, too, was captivated by the items in her shoe (especially the fairy)!

We've only been celebrating this sweet little holiday for the last few years but it has quickly become a favorite. I love that it's simple, little timeless things that are left for the girls to discover. Nuts, Clementines, chocolate and (this year) little wooden fairy dolls. It's also a holiday about kindness and helping others and as such we always choose a kindness to do. Last year we donated winter hats and mittens to the local shelter. This year, we still have yet to figure out what our act of kindness will be. We figure this way we can extend the spirit of love and kindness that is so important to us (and that was so important to Saint Nicholas) a little bit longer! 

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Last Night...

This Morning....

Last year was the first year that we celebrated Saint Nicholas Day.  It was not something that Dave and I grew up celebrating, and while we had heard about it we never considered starting this tradition in our family.  Feeling inspired last year we gave it a try and loved it so much that we decided to continue celebrating it from that point on.  Sadly, it totally snuck up on me this year.  And while we were able to acquire nuts and chocolate in time, I had forgotten that I wanted to have a little something wooden for each girl from Saint Nicholas, as well as apples instead of clementines.  Things to remember for next year!

Before heading to bed last night the girls left their shoes out and Dave read then this Saint Nicholas story .  This morning there was much excitement in the land as each of the girls came down the stairs and discovered what Saint Nicholas had left in their shoes!  

Since we had recently brought a food donation to our town's food pantry we decided that our act of kindness would be donating warm hats and gloves to the food pantry.  This way a few more people would be warm this winter!  We hope that you will join us and help spread a little bit of kindness to those in need in honor of Saint Nicholas and his caring ways.