Had a good Valentine’s Day! The kids each received one of those Bilbio toys. Activity toys – all about activity toys for my active two.

These things are pretty great. They can sit and spin around in them which I have a movie of them doing that somewhere. They can turn them over and stand on them. They have been hats. Not surprisingly, Quinn is using it as a place to put things. Tyler nn is spinning bear and lobster in his. We brought them with us for sliding down hills in the snow. Pretty fantastic thingamabobber!!

Speaking of love, this dog loves Chris. Sadly Daddy is very busy and so Chase doesn’t get all the Daddy time he would like. But when he does, oh this dog is in completely heaven. I love this picture….

So each Sunday, our family would share a special meal and dessert together. The dessert being the exciting part because we don’t have that every night.

This particular night we had Tomato Fennel soup (Med Vegan cookbook) – simple and uber yummy. We paired that with a link of sausage, chard and some sourdough bread. Delish!

And the main event – homemade eggnog. Kicks the store-bough stuffs butt. And people – 4 ingredients, a hand mixer and 2 minutes. Heck – a whisk would work. Anyone can do this and you should..it is so good!

For us, the celebration of Epiphany, or Three Kings day, is the official end to the holiday season. We had a lovely evening giving out our last heart. I love this tradition – especially seeing the kids faces beam as they listen to the many things that their Mommy, Daddy and sibling appreciate about them. It is also good for Mommy and Daddy to share their gratitude for each other with each other…ahem!

Tonight we dined on a lovely, simple meal of Winter Minestrone with basil pesto and Irish Soda Bread. For dessert, we have our traditional cake that the kids helped me bake in the morning. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cherries, pecans, lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon. Then we drizzle the top with honey. Yummy!

After our hike we relaxed in our cabin. The cabin had lots of windows in the back room that let lots of lovely natural light in. We then went back out in the afternoon to check out the Frio River and naturally the kids could not resist the water. They spent a lot of time playing around here.

As the sun began to set, we headed back to the cabin for a yummy dinner. Then we closed the night around our Yule log and made smores. Honestly, I wanted to include more ritual than I did, but time slipped away on me. No matter, we will be back next year and I can add a bit more to our celebrations.

The next day we had hoped to hike at Lost Maples before heading home. Sadly the park was closed that day. We took it as a sign from the universe that we needed to get home. It was just as well.

All in all a fantastic solstice! Come with us next year, won’t you?

We have our 12 Days of Christmas Ring here which takes up right into Epiphany. One of Quinn’s gift was to be a knitted hat for her doll to match the doll sweater I made her at Christmas. Great idea….except I have to find some time to actually knit it. So down to the last minute, I got it done in about 1.5 hours..at 2am. Lost sleep..boo, but finished project – yay! It all balances out…eventually..or with caffeine. :-p

I think it came out pretty good!! Her doll looks cute. Now as to why dolly is running around in her nightgown in this cold weather is beyond me. You will have to ask my daughter that question. She will probably say that Mommy needs to sew dolly more clothes! :-p

Winter solstice out in nature is heaven. Running from the holiday insanity for a few days to get grounded, to connect with my little family, and to breathe in the goodness around us.

We had done this 3 years ago and I commited that this year we would make it an annual tradition. I love Texas in the winter! Its’ beauty comes through its simplicity, its nakedness. No snow or leaves to hide behind – just bare branches stretching to the sky. The sun finds its way through and creates amazing dappled light, shadows, sunsets and sunrises. While it may be a time of sleep for much of nature, its majesty is ever present.

The first day there we went on a 4 hour hike with the kids. The weather was incredible and we all had an amazing time! I have to share some of the pics from the hike!

We started a great new tradition for the beginning of Adventlast year and I really do look forward to it. After dinner, we decorate the Christmas tree. We sing our two Advent songs and light our Advent wreath. Then we sing our Starpath song and start Mother Mary on her journey around the Starpath. After that we enjoy a special dessert – tonight’s was apple crisp with some maple whipped cream. It is simple and sweet and a lovely way to usher in the holiday season.