beautiful morning.

the weather forecast says rain is likely today. theodore and i are hanging out, he is gumming a rice cracker and coo-ing. he said "boob" twice last nite just before bed, he was fussing for the nursies and very impatient. emma's and violette's first word was the same: mama. theodore's is boob. i find this amusing and quite appropriate.

today is a big day, thanksgiving at my parent's. we will cook, eat, get a tree, purchase new ornaments and decorate. my parents have a tradition of giving each of their kids a tree ornament every year so when the time comes to move on, we have a good start. their first tree was pretty bare and they decided early on that they didn't want that for their kids. i'm so grateful to them for that. they gave me a box full of ornaments in 2004, and it is always so fun to look through them and see what i've chosen through the years. that little stocking that says brady, i made it in 2002. we still have it, though the stickers are curling at the edges and threatening to fall off. my great grandmother made the little snowflake doilies. my grandma painted the wooden jack in the box. i love having things rich in tradition and history. how blessed i am to have them.

(our tree in 2006)

i want so badly to have holiday rituals and traditions with my children, and at the same time teach them gratitude and appreciation for the privilege to celebrate. i want them to understand that it is our family, being together and making memories that is important and certainly not gifts, greed and excess.

there are so many exciting things to look forward to this season: family get togethers and parties, stories to read, songs to sing, gifts to craft. i only hope i won't get overwhelmed and anxious. it can be so easy to get stressed and snappy when all that matters is being with my children and enjoying our time together. and if things become too much, i should remember it's not too hard to say no.

i would like to know what are some of your favorite holiday traditions? what is the one thing you and your family do that you look forward to most? mine most certainly is our "drive around". on what we call christmas eve eve, we get a pizza and drive around the fancy neighborhoods looking at their light displays. the girls ooh and ahh and get so very excited. there is nothing more fun to me than to watch them being so happy. last year emma called the lights "constellations", i can only imagine what she and violette will come up with this season.

if i am posting less in the days to come, please forgive me. it's just that i will be celebrating and being here now.

(on a side note, my 365 is quite behind. i am having a hard time with this new operating system and i cannot use the photo editing program. i hope to have new pictures up tomorrow, but i'm not making any promises!)

happy thanksgiving!

thankful.

today i am thankful for:

-nice weather!
-my funny babies "hiding" under the blankets when i went to wake them up this morning
-e-mail, so i can communicate with far away family easily
-my sweet honey who works so hard. i'm very excited about the next few days of hanging out with him! also: that he doesn't have to work tomorrow like he did last year!
-holidays! when can i start decorating?!
-all of the modern conveniences we have: ovens, microwaves, dishwashers... i'd much rather cook thanksgiving now than 100 years ago!
-having my computer fixed (even though i have to learn how to use linux, i guess i should be grateful for the opportunity to gain more knowledge)
-the gift of music.
-theodore welcome, and all of his baby cuddles.
-COFFEE!!
-knitting, and how it injects a bit of tranquillity and peace into whatever moment i pick up a project and knit a few rows.

i cannot sleep...

so i am going to share music with you! these are my favorite songs of right now. xox.

MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

realization, pt. 30929038409234.

dearest friends (and mainly myself):

tonite, i have been in this funky, weird place. and that's not the point at all. the point is, i was just lying in bed, surrounded by my three babies. and i had my little ipod working, and i was listening to neutral milk hotel, the song i posted on my blog earlier today. i looked at my daughter's pink dress and i was completely absorbed in how incredibly PINK her dress is, and then i noticed the contrast of the pink dress against our green blanket. and then i saw her little ear poking out from her hair. my heart was exploding with this feeling of urgency and NOW. and then i looked at my baby boy's face, his sweet dark eyelashes and his little nose and his mouth nursing lazily, sleepily. and i turned and looked at my big girl's sweet face, trying so hard to fight sleep. because she loves THIS DAY and THIS MOMENT so much. and i let go of all of my petty problems with today, and breathed. and i realized that THIS DAY and THIS MOMENT is all i have to cling to. and it is so urgent that i'm right here, right now. not preoccupied with happened earlier, with what minuscule thing didn't go my way. or what might happen tomorrow, or the next day. all i've got is the chance to choose to embrace this moment, and to respond to every instance with an open heart and love. always love. and i realize the kindest thing i could ever do is simply pay attention. stop my brain and my anxiety and my incessant self-absorbed monotonous thinking and notice. be a witness to what is here, now. and i have this realization frequently, but i've never experienced this realization so deeply as i have tonite. so if you'll excuse me, i've got a lovey to go apologize to, and dishes to neglect, and songs to sing along with. there is a lot of loving i've got to do, so i'm going to get to it. and i wish so much peace and love and grace and happiness to you, right here and right now.

thursday things.

-rad embroidery designs
-the scriptorium
-free knitting patterns: popknits!
-susun weed's wise woman forum (herbal medicine and spirit healing)
-fascinating
-jabberwocky!
-sweet reunited siblings story.



edited to add this much better version:

(did you get a bit teary? i did.)

blessings, pt. 2

-a new gorgeous coffee table, nearly free from a garage sale. the man said he wanted it to go to a good home, and i guess we were the folks to take it in!
-we got a package from brady's brother aaron! he sent us some wonderful gifts, there are pictures on my flickr.
-3 bags of yarn from my grandma
-got the first photo for a project i'm working on. only 49 more to go!

today, i'm going to clean and organize and purge and bless my home. what are you doing today?

blessings abound!

praise god, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise father, son, and holy ghost.

blessings have flown freely from the universe & the divine as of late, and i'm so grateful.

i had been stressed about the baby's diapers, he's outgrown most of the diapers i had. i was pinning the very tips of the corners of his prefolds to get them to stay on, and the covers were barely covering his little booty. yesterday, my friend vanessa brought by her whole stash of diapers, which are all the next sizes up and will get us through months and months of diapering.

my novel has been at a stand-still for the past few days, i haven't time or inspiration to write or work on it. i was feeling very depressed and sorry for myself about it, but this morning i woke up with all kinds of ideas and i'm just itching for the chance to get it all out. (nap time, kidlets?)

my lovey is an OU football fan, kind of big time. he was given a ticket for the game tomorrow nite, so we're pretty excited about that.

what have you been blessed with lately? always remember: the universe is conspiring to shower YOU with blessings!

thursday things!

instead of posting links today, i'm interested in seeing what you're diggin' right now! please share something you've found recently that you enjoy :)

bear with me, friends.

i've got some unloading to do. it's been far too long since i've posted something real, and i miss that.

things have been topsy-turvy weird the past little bit. i've written nearly thirteen thousand words for nanowrimo. 2 weeks ago, i would have laughed in your face if you told me i would even consider writing a novel. here i am, though.

i switched the lens on the camera sunday, my mama has been encouraging me to do so for a while now. and the truth is, i was scared of it. terrified of a few more inches length. but, i did it. and i think the pictures i've taken with it look different, a little bit better. i like them anyhow. it's got a lot of fancy zoom action, which i enjoy. i can get shots of the kids when they don't know i'm taking a picture and i can catch them acting naturally, instead of posed. i really don't like taking posed photos, it seems fraudulent to me. i want to catch the act, if that makes sense. and the fancy lens allows that.

i've been feeling very open and creative the past few days. incredibly full and juicy. and it's a nice feeling.

i have a new favorite band. it's everything i've always looked for in music. it's the music i want to make. it makes me tear up with joy: half-handed cloud.

spirituality has been a major theme for me the past few days. i've prayed and sang and believed. i haven't felt this way in a very long time. and it's so beautiful. if this the opiate for the masses, count me in.

also, how are you? i truly want to know.

love, love, love,
effie

this!

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

this is amazing. i've pored over these photos this morning, delighted. each time i click "older posts", i find a new favorite. and to think it just as easily could have been that no one would witness such wonderful captures of a time. fascinating.

thursday things.

i don't have many links or much excitement to post today. instead, i'm going to list ten things i'm grateful for this morning.

1) birdsongs and fresh morning air
2) falling leaves, and watching them dance to the ground
3) reading lovey e-mails from 2002
4) perusing etsy for christmas presents and trinkets
5) lovey calling right as i pick up the phone to call him
6) allowing myself to participate in nanowrimo, and thoroughly enjoying it
7) my children, for keeping me on my toes.
8) motivation, not procrastination.
9) the calloused yet tender hands that mine fit perfectly into. the first time we held hands, we were at my little brother's football game. it was quite cold, and everyone had blankets and hats and scarves and was acting like it was a blizzard. we were sitting by each other, and kept doing the pinky thing, feeling out whether the other wanted to hold hands. after about ten minutes of piddling around, i took a deep breath and over-exaggeratedly grabbed brady's hand. we both kind of laughed, and then were relieved to find that they fit together perfectly. and after seven years, they still fit perfectly. i'm so grateful for that. i'm more than certain we will never outgrow each other.
10) so many projects! so much creativity! i've really hit a burst of energy, and i'm flowing with it. knitting hats, knitting a sweater, taking pictures, working on the novel, nursing my baby, running my home, cooking breakfast, lunch & dinner, dealing with tantrums and fits from preschoolers, entertaining and playing with the kids: it's all art. and i'm feeling in stride and graceful about all of it. dare i say that i feel i've hit a stride i haven't felt in quite some time.

one extra: 11) you! i'm grateful for the folks that read my blog, and take the time to email or comment and let me know they appreciate what i write. i'm glad to have something that's resonated with people, and it's lovely to feel interconnected on this crazy information superhighway.

halloween and a mini-belated-thursday things.

lots of new pics on my flickr.

-spooky tales!
-let them sing it for you. hours & hours of fun.
-unnecessary quotations.
-i'm not ashamed to like this song.

today starts nanowrimo, and i just might participate.

brb

our phone and internet services were down the last few days, and i have to admit that it was a very nice break. i'm not quite sure what was wrong, but the nice at&t guy fixed it right up for us this morning.

on our "break" we had birthday parties for dora & diego, played with playdough for hours and had a successful halloween of carving pumpkins, trick or treating and watching spooky movies. (okay, i didn't like the spooky movie at all, and laid in bed most of last nite listening for ghosts.)

look out for pictures of the cutest bumblebee, butterfly and teddy bear ever in a bit :) and perhaps a few links & things for an abbreviated "thursday things".