Gratitude Sunday

Inspired by:  Wooly Moss Roots -Simply Joys of a Soulful Life Gratitude Sunday

G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y 

{Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.}

This week I am thankful for:

My Dad being re-elected on to Fort Bragg's city council.  I feel like I can rest easy knowing he is working to help and better our town.

A dedicated Pippster who goes above and beyond.  I don't know what I would do without Rachael at Pippi's!

The cool weather and rain.

And Rainbows.

All the cozy, colorful holiday stuff we have in at Pippi's.

Looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with my family <3

Tea.

A yummy scallop dinner made by Marshall with scallops that were gifted to us. Thank you!

And the way the air smells after a storm.

And the wind.

My new niece who will be entering the world any day now!

My helpful and darling little kids.

Working with Toto Zaida to beautify the outside of our shops, I think it is going to be lovely.

Getting to see my niece swim a great 200 I.M. at her meet today.

My husbands dedication to his passion, his book.  He works it and re-works it and re-works it again. I am always amazed by him.

Love.

Gratitude.

10 Reasons to get Excited for Winter

1) Cozy Socks.
Who doesn't love cozy socks! I will take any opportunity to wear cozy socks or even better legwarmers!

2) Cozy Sweaters, and scarves, and boots.
Basically, I love layers, and being cozy, and dressing for winter. Also sweaters and scarves are awesome, and cute.

3) Pumpkin...everything.
Because what other time of the year can you get pumpkin lattes, ice cream, bagels, pie, bread, yogurt pretty much pumpkin anything...everywhere you go!

4) Family.
Usually we get some extra time to be with, and appreciate our family during the winter.  Maybe, because we are all inside together, but also we get to see distant family for holidays, and I love spending time with our huge extended family.

5) Smells.
Pumpkin spice, pine tree, cinnamon, wet earth, baked goods, crisp air.

6) Movies.
All the best movies come out this time of year this year.  And, I am pretty excited for a few like: Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1,  Annie,  and  The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

7) Gratitude.
Amongst the hustle and bustle that the holidays can bring, they also tend to bring moments to pause, and savor the moments we have together.

8) Giving.
I love giving.  Not just gifts for the kids either but love and time to my family.  I like to show the kids that the most fulfilling part of the gift giving season is in the giving, and making, and thinking about who you are giving to. 

9) Music.
Sometimes people complain about holiday music.  But I love it.  For me it is so nostalgic, and happy.  And when we are lucky enough to get carolers at our door it always makes me so happy, (and yeah I get a little choked up by it).

10)  A new start with the new year.
The New Year always feels like a fresh start.  I like to think about my goals for the coming year and look back on what we did in the past year.

Gratitude Sunday

Inspired by:  Wooly Moss Roots -Simply Joys of a Soulful Life Gratitude Sunday

G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y 

{Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.}

This week I am thankful for:

That the kids are showing interest in music.

For the hours they spend at their art table.

Family.

Our parents.  The kids are lucky to have two sets of adoring grandparents.

Family visits.

Siblings.

A great family gathering at our house this weekend.

Cousins.

Family board games.

Books and cuddles.

Holiday excitement.

Staring to decorate the shop.  Zo and I did Pippi's tree this week, we turned on the holiday music and had a great time.

Another visit to our house from the tooth fairy!

Our growing gratitude tree.

Collaborations.

Generous gifts.

People who care for others.

Looking forward to bringing down the holiday boxes from the attic soon!!!

Gratitude Sunday on Monday

Inspired by:  Wooly Moss Roots -Simply Joys of a Soulful Life Gratitude Sunday

G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y 

{Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.}

This week I am thankful for:

Lazy Sundays...and working Sundays too.  I am at Pippi's today.


The right to vote.

A family who is always there for each other.

A good check 3 year check up for Zo.

Finding a new Pippster, I am so excited, I think she will be a great fit.

A new shop in town.  I am so excited for this, the shop is on Franklin St. and it is called Dot & Twine.   It is full of locally crafted amazing-ness and it is beautiful!

A lovely birthday party for one of our little friends.

Starting to bring out all the holiday socks and goodies.

A husband who cooks many meals a week and does a lot of stuff for us that I am having a hard time fitting in with my new work schedule.

The stories that I over hear the kids telling each other.

The bond that Ro and Zo share.

Positivity.

My parents taking the kids to the circus, they are so excited.

Marshall's dedication to his novel.  I don't know how he does it but he is getting close to finished!

Our Gratitude Tree

This year I decided to do a gratitude tree at home.  We started it on November 1st and we plan on doing it until Thanksgiving.  Ro likes the idea so much she is lobbing for...ever, but that's a lot of paper leaves to cut so I'm thinking until Thanksgiving.

I love the idea of practicing gratitude, if you are a regular reader you have probably read my Gratitude Sunday Posts. I feel that talking about and thinking about what we are thankful for it is a good reminder and it helps keep our gratefulness at the forefront of our thoughts.  Anyway with my family, we try start dinner each night by going around the table and each saying something that we are thankful for that day. For this November I wanted this visual reminder of what we have to be thankful for, so tada a tree! The kids love doing things like this and I think it's a nice way to talk about what they value in their days.

There are about a million ideas for gratitude trees on pinterest, I love the look of the newspaper trees, and the trees with real branches in vases.  But for us, I wanted to keep it simple and use the materials I had available at home, Ro and I cut our leaves from construction paper and made the tree with washi tape on a wall that the kids can reach easily.

I love that Rowan wants to write hers all by herself and Zo usually has a lengthy list that he dictates to me.  They have been asking to "do their leaves" first thing in the morning which is nice, I had imagined ending the day with it, but starting the day with it is a sweet way to start.

Gratitude Sunday

Inspired by:  Wooly Moss Roots -Simply Joys of a Soulful Life Gratitude Sunday

G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y 

{Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.}

This week I am thankful for:

My lovely and kind employee at Pippi's.  Rachael goes above and beyond and I am so grateful to have her here.

This up coming season.  At the shop it will be busy (which I love even when it's hectic.) And even with the busyness of work this time of year, I LOVE the season.  The traditions and all the family time I look forward to it so much.

Pumpkin carving.

Many days of Zo this week.

A nice morning with my mom this week.

The opportunity to help in Rowan's class for their harvest party.

For getting to watch Rowan take care of her little sibling and kindly help with the activities at the class party.  I am also so grateful that the teacher let Zo participate, they enjoyed it so much.

My crafty and creative little kids who love making things with me.

For being able to make their costumes for them so they could be what they imagined.  Also for them wanting to help.  They may not be the most patient customers or crafters, but they are the sweetest.

For Zo letting me do the Octopus as a "Socktopus". ( I was very excited about that one!)

Our first family theme Halloween.  The kids decided on the theme.  Well they decided on their costumes and that I had to be their "mommy mermaid" ... graciously, daddy agreed to be our Aqua-Man.

A great Halloween night with some lovely friends.

My little starfish who lead the way. And our sweet little friend who joined us.
 

After deciding to basically let the kids gorge themselves on candy Halloween night  that they seem to have forgotten about the candy by Saturday morning. (Whew.)

The start of our gratitude tree.

Getting some organization done around the house.

The start of rains and a bit cooler weather.  (I am d so glad to be wearing a big cozy sweater right now!)

A very successful first Instagram contest for Pippi's.  And a very happy winner.