we stood together in an open field
life these days
The baby is getting so incredibly big and strong! At almost 6 months old (June 23rd) our little Pascal Valentine is thirty pounds, has two teeth and is cutting two more, is crawling everywhere, adores snuggles especially with mama, already tries to pile onto the big boys wrestling, loves being read to and watching us sing song games to him, and smiles and laughs at everyone and everything! He is an abundant blessing to us.
Everything is art to the child. Tangibly and metaphorically! Perhaps it’s why I understand children so easily—from feeling everything with vast depth to expressing everything with unique precision, the child is an artist. Whatever personality they may be, it doesn’t matter. Life is art and art is life!
Music lessons and singing are a consistent mix of “in breath/out breath” here! Singing singing singing; the most formative language to the child!! Spiritually, emotionally, and biologically. Pippin is especially fond of playing the ukulele and has learned “I Like To Play The Ukulele” and “Hi! Ho! The Rattlin Bog!”
Coffee hour! My husband and I instituted “coffee hour” in the first few weeks after Pascal was born. A time for pause, most days nowhere near an hour long, but we love calling it “coffee hour!” Usually had together (even if only for a moment) it reminds us to be present to the feeling of relaxation and to take that feeling into the rest of our day. Always occurring after breakfast and with the highest quality coffee beans, lately from Whittle Bird! Coffee hour disperses the spirit of stopping by a coffee shop into the comfort of our own home! Just rest and be uplifted for a moment.
You’ve probably seen me use the word “mansuetudo” which means “gentleness” in Latin. I’m passionate about receiving each day and soul in gentleness. I’m passionate about gentleness, there’s maybe a bit of irony for you! I think that sums up who I am really well actually. There’s so much to do and be in the extraordinary work of loving five young children and raising a homestead—God gives every one and every day of your life directly to you with profound loving purpose too! Gentleness is my response to Him; may I not crush you, may I not disfigure you—making space in my heart to hold the heart’s of each of my children (and the purpose God gave them). Just today I was gazing at my second year peonies in the front garden bed as their mellow green leaves stood motionless, thinking to myself, “you really can’t force a plant to be bigger or grow faster than what it is and how it can. No matter how much you’d like fourth year peonies, you can’t change the size and number of blooms on your second year peonies, you just can’t, no matter how you might try!” That truly is life. You can wish for and want all sorts of variations! But you see, now is God’s gift to you. Let the future be beautiful then and let the present be beautiful now. No comparison and no pushing because we really can’t control any of it after all. Life is a gift, through and through. Enjoy your flowers for exactly what they are today! May God be gracious to you, my dears. Until next time!
