Restoration Place

A Few Moments for Mama Refreshment

I had to pause in the middle of this day to have a few minutes to myself. It was very necessary. Twenty minutes of tea and a few pages of a new book to savor and I was much better.

Ok. Back to the rest of the day.

Goldfish Crackers, Swirling Stuff, Little Sleep = Tea & My Refuge

It's 1:00 and time to pause. Stuff and children are strewn around me. I need this cup of Pear Caramel, and probably another.

Who was it that said, "All is well, and all manner of things shall be well"?

 

Truly, all is well. Those things that weigh on my heart; yes, those shall be well, too. I'm at rest in my place of refuge.

Family "Travels" Journal

We've begun a family "travels" journal. Remember a while ago I said I was inspired by Pleasant View Schoolhouse's travel journals? Well, our journal isn't focused on away-from-home vacations or far-flung travel just yet, but rather the local outings we make.

I was pleasantly surprised by how interested the children were in recording their impressions of our local outings. We gathered some fresh supplies (a journal, new rubber stamps, ink pads, and markers) and I set them loose:

  

We won't make an entry for every outing, of course, but in time we'll have a precious memory book of this season in our lives, created by the children themselves.

Loft ~ Books ~ Tea ~ Lessons ~ Trees

We're taking our home learning outside as much as possible these days. I try to keep it easy and everyone does something to help make it happen.

The loft: the upper "room" of the play set. Not quite the authentic tree house we imagine ourselves in, but we're grateful for it...

The tea and treats, thrown together quickly: hot black tea with lots of sugar and milk and 'Nilla Wafers (though I would have loved to have homemade cookies) on an old quilt...

Books and lessons (some of what we do as a group in the afternoons)...

And down to business. I start reading the botany lesson, they devour the tea and cookies while listening...

Then I look at the view and answer questions...

While they create a page for their botany notebooks...

Next, read alouds. First, we read another chapter of The Horse and His Boy because they can't stand waiting another moment to find out what happens next. Then we look at a map of Narnia and the neighboring countries, and discuss how far it might be from Tashbaan to Narnia by the great Eastern ocean, among other things.

Then the other read alouds. Tea spills and two boys want to sit in the tube slide at the same time. My throat feels sore from all the reading and my back is achy. Ben gets cranky and needs his nap. Time to collect everything and head back inside, satisfied.

You can do this, too--taking the learning outside. Find a time of day that works best, and a style that best suits you and your family. Have a baby or toddler? Park it all on the ground. Too hot and sunny and no trees? (I'm thinking of our five years in Texas) Make an quick tent with a sheet thrown over chairs, and choose the morning.

Just do a little nature study or one short read aloud, whatever seems manageable. I know there are times when even the smallest thing seems unmanageable. Then just hang out and blow bubbles for a little while. Forget the "learning" and just be.

Your children will love you for it...and it will be worth the effort.

I would enjoy hearing about how you make this happen for your family...leave a comment or share a link to your blog.

Friday Tea and Reading

It's been too long since we've settled in at the table with the likes of delicious Adagio cream tea, blueberry buckle with vanilla ice cream on the side, and good books:

Though I hadn't started the day planning to do this, we all really needed it. The children have been asking to do it more often (what happened to me? We used to do this every day, whether mid-morning or in the afternoon) but I guess I've allowed myself to be too buried with the many "have-to's" of our daily routine and this fun, filling time for all of us has been put off far too often.

As I read aloud, the three-year-old spilled his tea, several children interrupted frequently to ask questions ("what's a trifle, Mom?"),the 10-year-old got flustered with all the younger ones' questions, several goldfinches visited the bird feeder right outside our window, the candles filled the room with their aroma, and a Fed-Ex delivery truck made a stop at our house, but peace and well-being prevailed.

Everyone left the table happy and filled--filled with my attention and the readings, filled with the good treat and hot tea, filled with calm and slower moments--and I remembered why we must stop and make time for these moments much more often.

These moments are too precious to not stop and create them.

Happy Chanukah!

(Image from By My Spirit 16 Month Biblical Jewish Calendar, available here. )

Though we are Gentile (not of Jewish blood), as Christians we believe our Christianity can be greatly illuminated by learning about the festivals and feasts. As explained by Jeris Cribbs in  "HANUKKAH--A Festival of LIGHT to the World!"  Jesus is portrayed prophetically in the feasts and festivals, and though we are not required to observe or celebrate these festivals and feasts, it's a joy to see Jesus pictured in them.

We began celebrating Chanukah several years ago, when we became aware of learning about our Jewish roots. We are, after all, grafted in according to Romans 11:19, "...branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." With this new understanding, we began to look into participating in some of the Jewish festivals and feasts. Not in a ritualistic way, not to pretend to be Jewish, but to share in the revelation and blessing that is ours through Jesus.

To begin our celebration of Chanukah, we enjoyed a Chanukah tea:

Some of the elements you see above we learned about in books like the one displayed, Enter His Gates to Your Jewish Roots by Susan Marcus (still having trouble creating a clickable image, despite very kindly help in doing so...there must be a black hole in my brain when it comes to this HTML code stuff):

Chanukah begins this evening and lasts for 8 days. Tonight we'll light the first candle on the Chanukiah (the special candle holder or candelabrum--seen at our tea above) recite the traditional blessings, and play dreidl. At some point in the eight days we'll make latkes, read books about Chanukah and play dreidl some more.

We don't immerse ourselves in the celebration, as Advent and preparing for Christmas is our central focus, but we don't want to ignore it, either. Our lives are enriched by celebrating Chanukah in our own simple ways, and for us it only enlarges our perspective of Jesus and His coming.

Afternoon Tea and Treats

These chilly oh-so-early evenings which now seem to begin at 4:30 require lots of hot Candy Cane Lane tea and a treat:

Yes, there are three boxes of tea. That's because every year at this time we get attached to one of Celestial Seasoning's short-lived holiday blends, and come February, can't find it in the stores any more. We also have five or six of us daily drinking a cup or two so we like to have reserves on hand.

Afternoon tea is always paired with a great read aloud such as Moccasin Trail or Heidi or Swallowdale. Then the afternoon doesn't seem so dark after all.