this season we are trying to hold true to giving handmade and simple.
and at the same time we are trying to remain in the moment and not beat ourselves up if something does not get made or if we give less than last year to someone.
i have to try hard not to keep score and compare from year’s past.

we don’t put much focus on lists. i do however listen to what the girls might tell someone who asks them what they want for christmas to get some sort of idea.
they usually say what i used to say when i was young, “i like to be surprised.”
it’s funny how some people are just not satisfied with that answer. “you must want something!” they’ll say.
and so the girls usually reply with a thing or two to make them happy.
i remember when hannah was about 4 years old she replied “world peace”

this and this inspired me today. it was just what i needed.

https://secondandedgemont.com/2012/12/12/3040/

well that was a long break.
i kept wanting to check in here over the last few weeks with little updates and snapshots of our holiday spruce up but then 2 weekends of hannah’s nutcracker performances and (a good) life in general took over.

the holiday candlelit house tour was this past saturday which had me touring and talking about my home for 5 hours straight.
there were non-stop visitors and after bragging about my pop and his master carpentry skills and showing off all of chris’s wood creations and discussing our appreciation for beauty, simplicity and practicality in the home, i couldn’t help but love this place we have created even more.

my mother’s house was also on the tour and even though our houses are quite different it was fun for people to see the similarities. my mother is an interior and landscape designer and extremely talented at what she does. it was her vision that motivated us to buy our house which took a little convincing since it was quite a project to undertake. she has instilled in me a love and appreciation for nature and beautiful, useful things as i watched her nurture her house into a home throughout my life. i think of her as i spruce up a little corner, find the perfect evergreen bough dripping with pine cones, or as i cut out branches from our christmas tree so the ornaments fall just right.

yesterday the girls and i strung popcorn, cranberries and grapefruit rinds to hang on the creature tree in a few weeks.
we talked about tradition and how they want to continue the many things we do during advent with their young ones.

i can’t help but wonder if they will also continue the tradition of appreciating the little things that bring both my mother and myself such joy.

https://secondandedgemont.com/2012/12/11/3028/