Happy Thanksgiving!

Home is where the heart is, 

So let the heart beat strong,
May everyone who enters here, 

Rest in knowing they belong.

May the sound of joyful laughter,
Echo sweetly through each room, 

From the moment sunrise floods the earth,
To the rising of the moon.

Then in the quiet moments,
Of each evening may you hear,
The whispers of the angels,
Singing sweetly in your ear.
-Traditional Waldorf

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! xo

On Thanksgiving Eve

Sybil Ludington

Last Friday Grace dressed up as Sybil Ludington for her "power of one" project presentation for the Girl Scout meeting. The Juniors in the troop were given the task of choosing and researching a well known (or not-so-well known) woman who has contributed something to the world and doing a presentation on her. They were given a list of possible presentation ideas, but were not limited to those presentation ideas only. And so after pulling out all the books we own about women who've made a difference Grace proudly chose Sybil Ludington. She loved that she was only sixteen and that she volunteered to help when it was clearly very needed. 

Noticing the cape in the pictures of Sybil, she asked if she could dress up like her. And, as luck would have it, hanging in my closet was the colonial girl costume that my Grandma Ruth had made when I was about Grace's age. The costume came together perfectly! She decided that she'd like to draw a picture in her main lesson book and include the briefest of summaries underneath it. She filled out another sheet on her, as well. When it came time for her to present she did a great job (as did the other Juniors as well)! It was such a fun meeting and we all came away learning more about three incredible women that we did before! xo

6:00pm

Dave's at Williams-Sonoma, Grace is at dancing, and Emma and I are up to a little fun of our own! xo

Twenty Years

This past week my sorority chapter celebrated twenty years since our chartering day. It's crazy to think that twenty years ago I was a sophomore in college and that the spring before our chartering (spring of my freshman year, that is) I stood up in front of the entire Greek community and gave a presentation on why we should we allowed to start a new sorority on campus. Not only was speaking in front of a group that large during my first year in college not something I ever thought I'd do, but starting a new chapter (and being its colony and first chapter president) was also something that I never imagined doing either. But there I was doing it and as they say, the rest is history. 

And so, this past weekend, a gathering was held to celebrate this incredible milestone. Since I was not able to attend the brunch  I decided I'd use the time to get some cleaning done in preparation for Thanksgiving. The girls and I were sorting through pile after pile when I came across this beautiful letter from one of my sorority sisters. I had come upon it many, many months before when I was looking for something else and I set it aside to (re)read later. I hadn't read it when I initially found it all those months ago, but when I re-discovered it yesterday I made sure to do so right then. It seemed much more than fitting since our twentieth anniversary had happened earlier in the week, and the brunch was close to starting then. Even more fitting, Suzanne, the author of this beautiful letter, had flown in from Virginia to attend the celebration. 

After I finished reading it, I knew I had to send a picture of this letter to her. If for no other reason then to let her know that her beautiful words meant as much to me then as they did all those years ago. Oh, and the fact that she wrote in it, "and if in twenty years I  remember nothing else of our four years here at school...." made it even more essential that I share this letter with her right then.

Shortly after I hit send on my message, Suzanne wrote back, sharing with me how much seeing this meant to her. She and Stefanie requested that I come down to visit. And while I couldn't get down there right then we began to hatch a plan for the girls and I to come down and meet up with everyone for dinner. 

And so we took a little road trip to Connecticut to meet up with some of of my Delta Gamma sisters for dinner last night. It was such a treat to get to celebrate and catch up with Suzanne, Stefanie, Sharon and Stacy. I got to hear all about the brunch earlier that day, and we chatted about plans for the holidays and about  life in general. It was as if we met up like this for dinner all the time. If only that was the case! 

Finally, it was time to say our good-byes and head home. As we journied home Grace said to me: "Mama, I loved meeting the ladies tonight. Everyone was so nice!" And Emma agreed saying: "I hope we can see them again soon!" Questions about Delta Gamma filled the car, and many stories were shared. Once the last question had been asked and the last story had been shared we were all quiet for awhile. It's amazing to think back on all the stories, all the experiences, all the songs and all the friendships. Some have come and gone, and some continue on regardless of the miles and years between us. Thank you, sisters, for a lovely night. It was the perfect way to celebrate twenty years of sisterhood! Love + ITB. xo

{This Moment} Mandala Painting

{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 to your moment in the comments section for all to find and see. We wish you a lovely weekend and a blessed and happy Thanksgiving to our American friends next week! xo 

With A Little Help From Her Sister

Remembering that there was a new part to Grace's dance team dance routine, and that she would need someone to help, I had Emma sit where you see her. She had no idea what was coming, and as you can see was rather surprised when Grace grabbed on to her shoulders and kicked up. I have a feeling that by the time the first competition arrives Emma will be able to fill in for any one of the girls should the need arise! xo