thanksgiving 2013

 

it has only been a week since thanksgiving, but we are in full advent mode at casita hart.  before beginning an influx of holiday/winter inspired posts, let me spend a moment on one of my favorite holidays of the year.

i think i love thanksgiving so much because it is the start to a sweet season of celebration that lasts through the new year.  also, i love to eat good food.  and to spend time with others.  and to pick out a christmas tree the next day. 

for our first new mexican thanksgiving, we hosted a friendsgiving feast for 18.  it was so so great.  lots of cooking, lots of eating, and lots of thankfulness for these new relationships.  it is still crazy to think how much has changed in the past year.  this holiday almost felt like the start to our rooted life in the southwest.

the brined roasted turkey was so pretty and even tastier.  so much yumminess was brought and enjoyed.  through the use of danielle walker's thankful i was able to make all of my dishes paleo or gluten-free, which was quite an undertaking, but not as difficult as i imagined.  i highly recommend the recipes in that ebook.  the smoky candied bacon sweet potatoes may be my favorite.  i could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

thank you, friends, for sharing this meal with us.
and for humoring me with the chalk hand turkeys.

happy thanksgiving!

from our family to yours.

and there is so much to be thankful for this year.

really every year, all the time.

xoxo,

annalea

a full heart

 

thank you.

your love and support pretty much rocked me.

i wrote the letter primarily to give future luca a small glimpse into my today heart.  a record of who he is.  memories to hold close and provide understanding. a bit of my love contained in words.

i also wrote it to give others a small glimpse at our reality.  i have been censoring many posts and tweets and status updates these past two months and it became increasingly difficult not to share.  this isn't a craft blog or homeschooling blog, but a my-life-as-annalea blog.  hence the whole blog name.  while aspergers is definitely part of luca's story, it is also mine.  much prayer went into what and how to share.  it came down to the fact that there is no shame here.  nothing to be embarrassed about.  labels aren't bad if used correctly.  i want to make that clear to my son as he grows.  he has been fearfully and wonderfully made.

and i know that by sharing our life, another's might be impacted.  i have read numerous stories over the past year that have given me insight and encouragement.  thank you to those who have shared.  my goal here was to be real and authentic, yet respectful and sensitive.

several of your comments mentioned how blessed luca was to have me as his mama.  man, did that feel like a punch to the gut.  so often i feel like a failure.  so often i lose my temper or become impatient or act out of selfishness.  i know i am imperfect.  amazing that grace, indeed.

all this to say. . .
i am blessed to have luca as my son.
i am blessed to have gia as my daughter.
i am blessed to have enzo as my son.
and i believe He can bless their lives through me.

and, once again, thank you.

Source: obyandtarabennett.blogspot.com via Annalea on Pinterest

thanks-giving

i once heard that thanksgiving is about having something to be thankful for and someone to thank.

well, yes.  of course.

i have much to be thankful for.

i am called to give thanks in all circumstances.  i believe it.  even in life's hardest seasons, i have found gifts.  an increased hope in what is eternal and true.  more grace to cling to and revel in.  the loveliness of a friend or a book or a drop of golden sun.  i come away with more patience, more love, more compassion and more humility.

it is not fun.  i don't have to love the mess.
but in it there can be joy and beauty.
i do not use the terms "joy chooser" and "beauty finder" loosely.
it is essential to give thanks right where i am.

and i have Someone to thank.
He gave me life and Life.

i can't even grasp that enormity.
but i can give thanks to the Giver.

every day can be one of thanks-giving.  in fact, if i didn't seek out my blessings daily, my heart would not easily turn to gratitude in late november.

regardless of my mother's gorgeously set table.
and those sweet bird shakers.

weekend loveliness in progress

it has been a good one, friends.

there have been days full of visiting family and jesse at home, eating yummy grandma-made food, picking out a luca-approved christmas tree, listening to sufjan stevens and bing crosby, and watching the gia-bee "play jesus."  

and so much more loveliness, i just might burst.

this is the first time i have felt truly rested in months.

so thankful for His provision in the big and little things.

so thankful, indeed.

now it's time to pick up a groggy enzo from his crib and feed some hungry bellies.

all part of the package that is our sweet, messy, and beautiful life.

the practice of thankfulness

originally posted at the homeschool village last fall.

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Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise . . .giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father.

Ephesians 5: 15, 20

When I was asked to write about how we can teach our children thankfulness, my mind initially jumped to creating a thankful tree, the yearly project of Operation Christmas Child or beginning a family gratitude journal.  I actually started and stopped several posts on these topics.  The problem was that none of them felt right.  I was forcing out the words rather than sharing my heart.  And while I think all of those things are fantastic traditions, I felt God wanted me to share the nitty gritty, everyday thankfulness.  The "how I get through my day when the going is rough" thankfulness.  Because if I can't model it at those times, it won't matter how pretty my journal cover or detailed my activity, right?

Let's set the stage.  The math and reading lessons have been pushed to the side. The littles have turned on their selective listening. The laundry is breeding in the basement.  I am frustrated and weary and defeated.  Except, I don't have to be.  I simply need to change my perspective.

• We have been blessed by intelligently crafted curriculum that is available when needed and wanted. 
• We have been blessed with beautiful freedom to learn together at home in a manner that suits our family.
• We have been blessed with gorgeous and amazing children that we have the privilege to train and teach.
• We have been blessed with clothes to wear and a washing machine to clean those clothes.  

The situation was exactly the same . . . except for me.  I took the things that can discourage or depress and viewed them through a lens of gratitude.  And that changes everything.

Passing down this habit to my children would be amazing.  Instead of hearing me complain about the six loads of laundry waiting to be washed, I can thank God for His provision.  Instead of yelling about disobedience, I can calmly tell them,

Mama loves you too much to allow you to act like this.  I am so thankful God made me your mother and He has asked me to train you.

If I want them to be thankful, I need to be thankful.

I don't want to ignore the hard stuff - I can't ignore it - but I also don't want to be defined by it.  We have been showered with gifts in a broken and messed up world.  We can be thankful in all situations.  Not faking it, not wearing rose colored glasses, but truly being thankful.

If we want an attitude of gratitude in our homes, we need to practice it.  Everyday, in every situation.  We can foster a spirit of thankfulness in this simple, yet powerful practice.  

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today, i needed this reminder.  maybe you do to?

we are together in the battle, sisters and brothers.

xoxo,

annalea

a few things to love about the bestest season

 

i found some medicine for that gloominess.
or it found me when i remembered that tomorrow is the first day of fall.

"I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel soooooooo bad."

autumn is the bestest!

just think of all the wonderful to come in the months ahead. . .

 

harvesting the rest of the potager 

(a look at last year's carrot color fun) 

the illini life fall retreat!!!

(photo flashback to 2006)

lots of outdoor learning.
(here's my recipe for a fall afternoon)



 costume making
(like this quick and easy tutu)



costume wearing
(we almost missed last year's trick or treating when the sickies hit our family)



and this little one is turning two!
(remember his tiny party?)

there are also trips to the orchard, decorating with pumpkins and apples, baking pies, making soup, bonfires in the backyard, and so much more!
i think it may be time to make an autumn list!