home

We have lived in our new house for a little over a week and I still walk in every afternoon and can't believe it belongs to us.

We still have a lot of unpacking to do, furniture to buy and rooms to redo, but we are enjoying being here every day. I took the kids to get our new library card and books (priority number one) even though I still don't have a garbage permit. The house is near enough to civilization but feels like we are on a retreat (on a lake!). The lake is frozen but I dream of warmer temps and swimming and boating. We saw deer cross the lake and we're wondering if the ice will ever be thick enough to let us ice skate.

The house on the inside is all wood beamed ceilings and windows. There are so many windows that you don't have to use lights during the daytime. The kitchen is big enough that the kids can join me while I cook and I don't bump into them. We have lots of space, enough that we were able to ask my brother to come live with us. And Jupiter's mom will have her own room for her weekly visits.

There are a lot of staircases (one spiral) and two balconies. On one balcony the previous owners left a piano and small organ, so the kids have music time up there. Jove has requested piano lessons which are in the works.

I love this house and know that we will live here for many years to come. I also love that all the work of selling the other house and buying this one is done. What a relief! Just teaching and taking care of the family seems very manageable right now.

The house is perfect for summer guests. We can't wait to have parties and house guests in a few months.

Jupiter is moving down his home improvement to do list; a list which grows everyday.

So happy we found this house!

gratitude

As we celebrate this new year, I feel incredibly grateful for the love of my family and all of our blessings. This year has been momentous and very difficult at times. The plan was to get our house ready to sell and move, which meant that a lot of our year was spent cleaning up, working what felt like three jobs and doing paperwork. It should all be over very soon and we are so happy about the new community and home we are moving into.
The hardest moments this year were the times that both of our children had to be in the hospital, Miranda for surgery and Jove after a seizure at school. It felt as if time stopped and my heart was floating outside my body until we knew they were okay. These glimpses into the life of having a sick child have humbled me. On the ride home from taking Jove for follow up tests, I listened to an NPR story of a mother in Florida that had a child in a vegetative state that was going to lose benefits for her child because of health care policy changes. I felt overwhelmed with sympathy for her and realized that along with the great joy our children bring us, being a parent makes us emotionally raw and vulnerable in a way that nothing else does. I am no longer carefree. I am responsible for other people. Little ones...

I really did not intend this post to be a tearjerker (for me).

In the midst of the craziness of packing up our house, a few things have grounded us as a family. Good stories, making art and dancing have kept us smiling and sane as we work. I love reading classic children's literature to Jove: seeing him fall in love with a great story and myself reading stories for the first time that have shaped our culture. We just finished the "Wizard of Oz" a week ago and watched the movie and then we read the original Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman and we saw a local ballet production.
I have actually been surprised at the level of normalcy our life has retained during the whole packing progress. Miranda and Jove are my two little gurus who constantly bring me back to the present moment and remind me that the only thing that really matters is love, everything else can wait.

From our family to yours, wishing you all a joyous and love-filled 2011.