Going sugar-free made me wonder about the jam in our pantry. What did I sweeten with last year? Was it all from this honey/stevia batch or did some sugar-sweetened jam from earlier in the season sneak in? Really, I have no idea. I think it is all honey but if I'm wrong I will derail our progress with the GAPS diet.

So I stood staring at 11 jars of luscious local jam, wondering.

And then I hatched a plan.

On Valentine's Day morning, Lupine and I gathered all of our pantry jam (as for the massive stash of freezer jam… we'll figure that out later). Then we gathered our decoupage supplies for lantern making. Double Valentines, anyone? A candle lantern valentine that arrives cleverly disguised as a jar of homemade strawberry jam.

After a morning busy with scissors and Mod Podge (and the kitchen "decorated" with bits of kite paper and gooey paint brushes) we ended up with almost a dozen Valentines ready to give – to kids friends, grown-up friends, and neighbors. And we got the double bonus of an excuse to craft with cleaning out our jam stash.

We filled a bag with jars and headed out through the neighborhood, visiting friends with gifts along the way. It was a wonderful way for Lupine to enjoy the pleasure of giving and the "sweetness" of creating.

When life gives you sugary jam, make Valentines!

Our winter celebration was magical, meaningful, and quiet – literally. I lost my voice a couple of days before Solstice after catching Lulu's bug, leaving me miming and whispering my way through our most treasured holiday. I am normally the talker around here – especially with my children – so it was both frustrating and reflective to allow others to speak and keep silence for several days. In truth it was a blessings as the kids learned to solve their own dilemmas or ask Pete for help, and I learned to step aside and let the Papa take the lead time and again.

Yes, despite my silence our celebration went on. We filled the cookie plate with a few homemade treats, lit our candles and stoked the fire, and relaxed together until late into the evening. The children and Pete made gingerbread houses, and we exchanged a few meaningful gifts (I'll share these handmade treasures with you later in the week). After I went to bed Pete, Lupine, and Sage enjoyed a late hot-tub under the stars and by morning the Solstice Elves had left behind some special new blocks for the children.

After Solstice we traveled to Milwaukee for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my parents. We're so blessed with my family and during Christmas in particular do I appreciate the love and respect we receive from them.

Today we and are home again – tidying, unpacking, resting, and enjoying the quiet of home. We are finding our way to wellness as we look ahead to the New Year. I hope your week was magical as well as we spiral back into the light and move ahead into a fresh new season.

Winter Solstice is here! While we celebrate Christmas with my parents, Pete, the kids and I spend Solstice together as our most important family holiday.

So this morning the gifts are made and tucked beneath the tree while outside the snow is falling deep. My family and I will spend this shortest day of the year making candles and gingerbread houses, baking and eating treats, playing games, and sharing handmade gifts.

I am sending warmth, love, and light into each of your homes this magical day.

Holiday Blessings,
Rachel

Thanks for the well wishes all week long. I haven't been getting back to comments or emails in the past few days, so please accept this as a collective thank you. Sending some love right back atcha.

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Despite the coughing and cuddling and fevering going on over here, a few projects have amazingly found their way to completion. As of last night I have actual gifts to wrap. I am delirious. Lupine's big gift is finally done (!) as is Sage's. And they are cuter than I ever imagined. Just a few more loose ends and I'm home free.

Normally we wrap in playsilks that we dye in kool aide, but this year we are low on silks (having given them all away as gift wrap last year). So I needed a new plan. Inspired by Amanda's recent post on quick gift bags, I dug into my fabric stash and stitched up a few of these just before midnight. The bags pictured above were made from a thirfted vintage skirt, and I have a stash of vintage polka dots and other coordinating fabrics on hand to make a sweet collection of all sizes. I'm thinking one pattern per person (most years each child gets 3 or 4 small handmade or second hand gifts. I've strayed from that a teensy bit this year, but that's our m.o.)

You will also notice that the gifts are not under our tree, but on our bed. When Sage was little I realized that gifts under the tree for more than 10 minutes equated to some form of medieval torture to him, so we've always kept them stashed until Solstice eve. Just this morning he suggested that we "wrap fake presents" and put them under the tree. "They'll look nice and I won't be tempted to open them!"

Um, no.

So back into the closet they go (his anyway) until next week.

As I type this post I have a four-year-old nestled in my lap, her head tucked beneath my chin. All through the day and night she wants mama snuggles full-time. Works for me. And since I am running a home-based business I can usually roll with it and take a few business calls or send a couple of emails between books with this coughing/snuggling sweetie in my arms.

Now she's zipped into my sweater and there is an almost constant, "Are you almost done?" emanating from inside my shirt. So I'll be brief.

We've been on the couch with the mountain of books all day long, going on day three. Yes, it's cutting into my craft time. Which sometimes makes me crazy and somestimes doesn't. Maybe it's a message to slow down and toss that holiday to do list. So I have. It'll all get done or it won't, but I'll never regret spending a week on the couch snuggling this girl. Never.

Back to the point of the post. This morning we took a story break to do a simple craft that most of us have done since grade school. Pomanders. It was a great distraction for Lulu (and the rest of us). We had organic tangerines on hand (rather than oranges) and I think the thinner skin was a blessing. We pre-punched holes with a toothpick to make it easier for small fingers to insert the cloves.

Our whole kitchen smells heavenly. Wintery. Solstice-y. Even Christmasy. (And nothing like coughing or fevers or snot, I'll have you know. I'm not sure what snot smells like but there is a lot of that happening over here this day and I am certain it smells nothing like pomanders. Nothing.)

Oh, and one more thing. Sage would like to remind you: don't eat the cloves. Spicy. Really spicy.

With that, I'm off to the couch. To read another 46 stories.

Be well, friends. We plan to move in that direction too.

xo Rachel

There. That feels better. It's a good start anyway.

And since I know you will ask, here is the breakdown on the decorations:

1. The tinsel tree belonged to my lefse making grandma, Katie. She ran a beauty parlor and would display styling product beneath it in the front window during the holidays. It is one of my prize possessions.

2. The sequined ornaments and tree skirt were made by Grandma Lee, whom I introduced to you here and more recently here. She made gads of them for my sister and I and put them in our "hope chests" when we were kids. They are rad and make me want to add sequins to my crafting scene.

3. The village is Sage's obsession. He picks them up at thrift stores and meticulously arranges them each year.

4. The stocking tutorial is here. I planned to stitch the "applique" down this year, but whatever. It can wait.

We leave soon for Thanksgiving celebrations with my family. Before we go, there is still much to be done. Today is a kitchen day, destined for pie baking (by Sage – the latest passionate chef around here – who recently requested no more "pesky mama help" in the kitchen), bread baking (this will keep Lupine and I busy while Sage makes pumpkin magic happen), and some raw cranberry relish.

And we still need to cut out leaves for our gratitude tree! But there is so much gratitude already. I count my blessings daily, but during these long dark days even more so.

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Today I am filled with gratitude for…

…Pete returning home from his latest journey and the warm welcome he received from both of our kids. (This papa-love is a new phenomenon for our smaller one.)

…My parents. Their respect of my (different from their) parenting choices means more to me than they can imagine.

…Children who live passionately, think freely, know themselves, and believe in magic.

…Raw milk in my fridge. So fresh it was still warm yesterday.

…The rhythm of the knitting needles in my hands.

…The future.

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What are your thankful for?

This is an edited re-post from last winter. I wanted to share it again for the many new folks as well as a reminder for those of you who read it last year. A simple tradition, the Thanksgiving Gratitude Tree transformed our holiday last year.

In my family, where deer hunting comes before all else, Thanksgiving could easily feel like an afterthought. But this year we gathered together and celebrated with intention and gratitude. It was a sincere celebration of family, love, and appreciation.

The new tradition we created this Thanksgiving was a Gratitude Tree. A friend mentioned that she was creating a Thanksgiving Tree on her holiday table this year. She explained the concept and with a little bit of Googling I found dozens of variations on the idea. We jumped on board, and I suspect we'll do it every year.

The concept is simple: create a "tree" on your holiday table with a branch, ornament stand, or small tree. Provide guests with paper leaves, pens and a simple question: What are your grateful for? Throughout the evening, guests quietly penned the important things in their lives on leaves and suspending them from the tree.