Bright bits of life, December 2023

Amidst the busyness of moving and settling in, we have been up to other little bits of life! Of course, there are Christmas preparations and festive baking, last-minute gift wrapping and post office trips, meal planning for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Aside from all of that, here are some little tidbits of life lately:

We enjoyed the first snow in the new house. The boys were eager to play in it, and I have a video of Cooper saying, "I didn't eat lunch yet, so I wanted to eat some snow," before he gives a sly grin and takes a big bite of the armload of snow he's holding.

Our friend, Andrew, visited us from Texas and spent several days with us! We spent a lot of low-key time at home, but we also visited a local arboretum, ate sourdough Finnish cardamom bread worked on puzzles, and we took the boys bowling for the first time! For the record, bowling was a blast for exactly an hour, and then it was time to go home. Such a fun visit with you, Andrew.

We visited friends and the kids played together for hours, and my friend and I got to chat, drink tea, eat leftover frittata for lunch (oh so special to eat a home cooked meal that someone else made!), and knit and crochet together.

I've been doing a lot of knitting with a view of the tree. Sock knitting, mostly. Finn brought me my knitting the other day and wanted me to work on it, which made my heart glad. I also just cast on a sweater for Cooper and I can't stop working on it, I'm enjoying it so much. And, I spent time organizing and sorting out our bins of winter accessories, many of which are handknit, from over the years.

This past Sunday, we went to church, ran an errand, and then stopped at a local coffee shop for a whole milk latte to share and a walk around our town's big Christmas tree.

I've been trying to be deliberate about wearing my handknit sweaters – they are unbelievably cozy and I don't want to be so precious with them that they forever sit folded on a shelf. I'm really enjoying trying out different layering with them. Here, I'm wearing my Kerti sweater (left) and my Lodge Sweater (right).

And we added ornaments to our Christmas tree! We haven't done so the last few years, but Cooper was really excited about it this year, and I love the mixture of gifted and childhood ornaments that "made the cut" for the tree.

Cooper has been helping me in the kitchen: rolling out gluten free sugar cookies, making molasses cookies, and baking bread to bring to our new neighbors. This kitchen has quite a different layout (and objectively more space) than our previous kitchen. I really love the additional counter space and pantry. For someone who spends a significant amount of her day in and around the kitchen, these little details are no small thing.

And those are the big (little) things of life lately! We have several dear friends in various life circumstances that are currently grieving, and we just passed the anniversary of my Grandma Donna's passing as well. I realize that this time of year is not merely "light and bright" for everyone. Even as we grieve and pray and remember alongside some dear friends and family, we anticipate the joy of Christmas, the meaning of the coming of Christ, and how His arrival and, ultimately His sacrifice, made way for forgiveness for our sins, and intimacy and reconciliation with God.

Thank you, Lord, for Christmas and the promise of rescue made manifest in the arrival of a baby boy. Hallelujah!