Happy Holidays!

May you awaken to the mystery of being here...
May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.
May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

- John O'Donohue

From our family to yours, we wish a happy holiday season filled with comfort and joy.

I'll be away from this diary for a few weeks to do some playing, some reading, some making AND my yearly back up the blog into a physical journal for my son.

The other news is that I will also be taking a leap of faith and remodeling my current studio into a more functional space for Mighty Girl Art winter weekends.

I will be back soon, to reflect and retell. But for now, as Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote, "The psyches and souls of women have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.”

Good tidings to you wherever you are,
Wendy

Winter Solstice: Fireside Enjoyments

O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, . . .
I crown thee king of intimate delights,
Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours
Of long uninterrupted evening, know. - William Cowper

A tide of 30 friends, big and small flowed through our home in glorious waves awash with mounds of winter woolens, and wellies...

Boisterous laughter, good eats, warm fire, and bear hugs - the short, dark days of winter has its gifts!

Children run amok with finger flashlights playing light tag and constructing forts from large cardboard boxes - stopping briefly to roast marshmallows in the fireplace...

Near the door, a basket of paperwhite bulbs - blooming gifts for our guests. Packets of seed for our feathered friends...

and necklaces for the snow children (inspired by these)...

During all the merriment, S lost his second tooth! The toothy fairy was pleased to find a wreath on her door...

Celebration upon celebration!

Here are some scenes from the Solstice party at Satchel's outdoor kindergarten.

O Winter, king of intimate delights!

To Be Filled

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine." ~ Mary Oliver

The sound of your red wagon rolling along the sidewalk filled me.

Your excitement over being able to pull your tree home from the farmer's market filled me.

"Mama, this is much better that tying it to the roof of the car", you said.

The early evening fire filled me.

Trimming the tree with you filled me.

Balancing on a ladder to hang paper snowflakes in the stairwell filled me.

Tucking antique ornaments into bird's nests filled me.

Will be away from diary for the rest of the week to prepare for our winter solstice celebration...

to be filled with light...

and to shine.

Heart and Soul and the Winners are....

Give me love
Give me love
Give me peace on earth
Give me light
Give me life
Keep me free from birth
Give me hope
Help me cope, with this heavy load
Trying to, touch and reach you with,
heart and soul - George Harrison

Elvis the Cat by Satch

The Winners of Mother Rising's Holiday Picks & Ginormous Giveaway are :

• eeBoo Wildlife goes to #19 shelbers434
• eeBoo United State Bingo goes to #4 Pixie
• BOB Books go to #5 Momma Resendez
• Creative is a Verb goes to # 16 Anne
• Ten from the Galley by Brandon Campbell goes to #22 makeetis
• Fine Art Print by Pixie Campell goes to #17 Cheryn

*If you have left an anonymous comment without an email to reach you regarding a win, you must contact me to provide your shipping address by the end of the week. Unclaimed prizes will be donated to charity a/o given away locally via random acts of kindness.

Thank you all for sharing your favorite holiday moments with me. Thank you to the creators of these awesome gifts for allowing me to play Santa.