Life lately, Late February 2020 edition

It's been awhile since I've written a catch-all, little-bits-of-life blog post. These past fews weeks have felt full and overwhelming at times. A mixture of grief and sadness, joy and laughter (that sums up life fairly well in any season, doesn't it?) There are a few things going on in our life that I won't mention here, but there are lots of things I will write about.

We've had some more snow, which always makes me so joyful. I've written about the significance of snow for me in this post, from November 2018:

And a word about snow. I feel like there are all these hidden promises from God that are brought fresh to mind every time it snows. I've never been sad about snow of any kind—inconvenienced, yes, since I grew up in MN, and went to school in IN—but never upset. I feel like the Lord gives me little snippets of snow here and there, reminding me of His goodness, His provision. Whether it's three-snowfalls-in-a-season here in Texas last year (unprecedented for many years before), or tiny snowflakes on a gown at the doctor's office, or swirling, icy flakes like fake snow in my brother's neighborhood as I walk in the dog in the silence that only accompanies falling snow. Each and every time I encounter it in recent years, I feel a reassurance of yes, He is good. Yes, He sees me. Yes, He knows my heart, even in the little things. He knows all it desires, small and big, and He knows the plans He has for me. It's my stone of remembrance.

Part of me wondered if snow would lose a little of its magic when I saw it more frequently. Now that we live in the Midwest again, we do experience more snowfall. That said, it hasn't lost its mystery or beauty. Snowy walks and cozy days and trees flocked with fresh snow—it's still makes my heart sing. And sharing it with Cooper has been wonderful.

I want to notice the things that bring me to praise. Snow, or baby eyelashes, or the sun through the trees, shedding light that becomes more pink as it lowers. The things that awaken my heart to praise feel like little gifts, little nudges that there is more than wake, eat, sleep each day. The Creator of this earth made slow snow, the kind that takes its time transforming an entire landscape (not unlike heart work that can take years and make us look radically different).

In related news, Cooper is now eight months old! Time feels like a blessing and a thief. He waves to us now, is doing some scooting (mostly backwards), and trying more foods. He's become a tummy sleeper at night, rolling right over and getting comfortable shortly after we lay him down. He's interacting with us more than ever before (holding a toy and showing it to Nicholas, for example). He genuinely makes me laugh out loud every single day with his belly laughs and his mischievous grins. Yesterday, he was tired at lunchtime and just couldn't deal with it, resting his head on his high chair tray. ;) I love him so much.

We've been on walks on milder days, and had baby play dates with a few friends. We've had dinner with friends, as well, which has been wonderful. I'm not quite sure how to articulate it, but gradually, this place is feeling more and more like home for me. It has always felt like a home, but now it's becoming my home.

Here are a few other little bits and pieces of life:

• making these freezer caramel slices (so yummy). I made them with peanut butter, since we always have that on hand.
• reading some in Knitlandia.
• Knitting on a sweater, cowl, and most recently, a new pair of socks for Nicholas. I can't go for too long without a sock project
• a successful trip to the outlet mall for some things for Nicholas, and a few of my favorite photos of my boys together, ever.
• feeling loved when a sweet friend brought us supper and some loving little goodies.
• enjoying the Fiber Tales knitting podcast on YouTube (a lovely Danish knitter)
• lots of visits to grandma and grandpa's, across town
• a new lamp for our bedroom dresser, after a very long search (why are the tops of dressers so hard to style?)
• a new plant for the corner by the couch
• having a rare, un-rushed coffee date with my sweet friend, Maeve. The time we have together in person is so precious to me. And she got to meet Cooper for the first time! We had golden milk lattes and such a lovely morning together.
• driving home at twilight, on a snowy night. I'm rarely out after dark (lol) with an early bedtime for Coop. But it's neat to see the fading light turn the snow a pale blue.
• catching the moving morning light. Beginning the day with patches of brightness.

PS — Listening to this song and I can't get the lyrics out of my mind: Something always changes when I bless Your name, something always changes when I bless Your name. [...] the air gets lighter, the sun gets brighter, my heart gets lighter when I bless Your name.