time

Breathe in .... breathe out ....

Two weeks ago our family took a break from life's everyday pace,

to better experience life every day.

For half a decade, maybe, we've been doing this in the fall.

We call it "family week."

We un-attic (& de-stinkbug) the tent ...

... build a fire, and see how long we can keep it going ...

... coffee sets the mood for relaxing ... 

(with an impromptu science lesson regarding coconut oil & cream)

... eat outside every meal that we can ...

... make the most of the new "living space" ...

... learn new skills ...

... smile a lot ...

... firegaze a lot ...

My Farmer took our daughters to the county park to hunt mushrooms.

They also found a grapevine big enough to swing on!

... and a covered bridge ...

One night for supper he made arepas - 

two corn fritters fried with cheese in the middle.

We ate them so hot they burned our fingers.

We didn't care.

Spice & Sugar made dyes from pokeberries, walnut hulls, and pulverized grass,

to color corn husks for corncob doll clothes.

Off on another mushroom hunt, this time in our own woods.

... puffballs ...

... gleaned corn, more mushrooms, and a snail!

Can you see him?

Nice shelling her corn.

... and Spice claims the snail for a pet!

We gathered chestnuts from the treeline, 

roasted them over the fire ...

... and created the Perfect S'more!

... went fishing ...

... looked for beauty in the ordinary ...

... lounged on the hammock ...

All week, we breathed, in & out ...

... talked, read, sat in the sun ...

... drank in the outdoors God gives us for our inner calm.

It stilled our souls,

readied us for "regular" again, 

made it easier to say no, thanks to things that steal our still,

our gratitude re-birthed.

Better than a vacation in the tropics

was this week at home.