Mid-Winter Vignettes

I am finding that winter in the canyon is a magical time. Whenever snow falls, it seems like we get just a little more than the rest of the city, tucked back in the foothills, and our little house becomes covered in a blanket of white, making it look even more like a fairytale gingerbread house.

I have enjoyed the stillness of winter, taking lots of quiet time for inner work, rest, and hibernation. I have enjoyed hiking in the canyon with Preston and with my friend Jessica, (and maybe with you, next!) and finding our way through the ice to the more melted, sunny-side trails.

Just yesterday Preston and I ventured up a trail to find ourselves looking over a great mountainside, as high as we could be, snow gently melting on our noses. You could see a fog of white drift over. It was blissful! Everything looks so different here in mid-winter.

I would love to share with you some pictures that capture some small scenes in our home that celebrate the magic of winter, and some of Preston's beautiful photos of the canyon, blanketed in snow....




I changed our Christmas mantle a bit, keeping the enchanting silver, but adding some of my favorite woodland things...







Annie and Kevin gave me this AMAZING frame for Christmas this year, and put in it a special picture of a very important moment in my life. It meant the world to me, and it is Perfect for this little nook right now...





Tiny white birds, a lost feather and a crystal...







Some of my favorite ceramics in the kitchen, along with a picture of P and I at Grandma and Grandpa's at Lime Lake in NY, when we were teenagers...



A collection of crystals, waiting with our plants to catch the light when sunshine comes...




Spoofer all snuggled up in our bed for a winter's nap...







Some special shots captured by Preston early one snowy morning in the canyon...













There is stillness and quiet here. What a blessing to dwell in the winter for a while, allowing for a winter of the mind, body and spirit, preparing for a new emerging of light in the springtime...

Love to you...

A Wonderful Christmas

Christmas was wonderful. I would like to share some pictures with you that stand out as I think back on Christmas 2010...

Our special wrapping paper project on Christmas eve...



This year was Preston and my first Christmas in our little house. We decorated with lights and it looked just like a little ginerbread house. Lights sparkled on our tree and our special mantle. We collected cards and hung them on the fireplace. We created a new Christmas tradition together: making our own wrapping paper. In the picture above, you can see the wrapping paper we made together on Christmas eve....

Before we climbed into bed on Christmas eve, we shared the magic of this little scene (plus a fire in the fire place that was lit shortly after this picture was taken), all snuggled up in a blanket on the couch. I had a case of the sugarplums for sure...



Me, Preston, Annie, Audrey, Kevin, Mom, Scott, Dad, and Nancy spent Christmas morning around the Christmas tree at my Mom and Scott's house (our first Christmas in their new house) opening gifts (we always open each gift one by one to cherish every gift) and had a lovely Christmas dinner together that night...

Here are some pictures Preston captured of the different parts of our holiday season. There are so many others, and I could make this into a really huge post, but I've decided to give you just a little peek into our holidays...

Preston captured of my new slippers my mom got me from the Etsy shop MEandREEKIE. They're like giant baby booties!!



Little sis Audrey in her cute Christmas pjs...



My loves Annie and Kevin...



Kevin in the tie we gave him from etsy seller, Toybreaker.




We each took turns in mom's lap--Scott had mom's special rocking chair restored. (A very touching gift.) It was the rocker that she rocked us all in as babies...



I gave Annie a special painting to honor her journey...




And that was Christmas day. There were many other pictures, but I hope you got a glimpse into the first part of our special Christmas...

Then, in crazy blizzard weather, we managed to fly out of Colorado Springs to spend time with Preston's side of the family in Kansas City and Nebraska.

We went with Preston's Mom and John to Karen and Craig's on New Years and finally got to meet our new little cousin, Courtney and Tim's little one, Josey!!



Then we spent a day with Preston's Dad and Tammy and Micaela, and the rest of the Stohs clan up in Nebraska.






This year, all the grandkids wrote love letters to Grandma and Grandpa, and it was the most beautiful thing to hear them read each letter aloud. They are very loved...





We spent the rest of our time back in Kansas City with Preston's mom and John, and had a wonderful Christmas celebration together. We also got to see Michael, and we made a special trip down to the plaza to see the lights, which we miss very much... The Plaza lights are a Kansas City tradition. Every year on Thanksgiving Eve, everyone gathers in the streets on the Plaza (a shopping district) and the lights of the plaza are turned on all at once. They wrap around every detail of every building and are an amazing sight to see... They were beautiful as ever...













We of course, as always, enjoyed many games of dominoes with Mom and John, and of course, Teresa and I kicked John and Preston's butts at Wii shuffleboard. We rock. Bring it. ;) And no, we did not just win because we went first. I know you don't like the way this is shaping up, but I'm telling you, the cheese is binding...




Eventually we made it back to the Springs, and on January 10 we celebrated with Dad and Nancy for their birthdays at one of our favorite local restaurants, Poor Richards.




I am so grateful to have shared this holiday season with my dearest family. I love you all!