Today might just be my favorite day of the year.

The day-into-night-into-day when we celebrate the Winter Solstice.

My kids are trying so hard to sleep in – in hopes that they can stay up very, very late tonight. (One is hoping for midnight, the other for all night. Ahem.)

And the four of us will celebrate the season the way we have since our children were small. (Although one thing is quite different, in that I no longer fret about how we will fill such a long day of celebrating! After thirteen years I know well that even staying up long after bedtime there will be no shortage of things to do – together.)

And so we will spend today doing whatever inspires us as we celebrate the return of the light. We'll dip or roll a few candles, make some orange and clove pomanders, decorate gingerbread houses and make some bird feeders. We'll exchange a few lovingly made gifts and nibble on some special treats around our little tree. The evening will bring us out to the woods for a hike after dark and a campfire beneath the trees and stars late into the night. And when we come back we might even climb into the hot tub and warm ourselves as we listen to the owls and coyotes conversing in the woods.

And we'll do it all by candlelight.

I can hardly wait.

I'm sending wishes to each of you for a joyful holiday season, whatever that means for your family.

Because, truly, we all have so much to celebrate.

Love and light,

Rachel