the countdown

both kiddos are very excited about the advents calendar this year.
each day is filled with a fun activity or two that we can all do together.
on the list for today?
-go for a walk in the park and collect sticks to add to our stick pile (which are used frequently around here for forts, houses for fairies, wands, whatever you can imagine)
-make a paper garland
-and - Breakfast for dinner!
have a wonderful weekend everyone!

decking the halls

K's yarn and popsicle star

painting by miniman - cutting by mama

did you remember...

to leave out a shoe?



happy St. Nikolaus day!!

miniman feeds the thankful tree

sunday road trip

Since moving in this past summer we have been trying to explore this new state we call home. This past Sunday we ventured out once again for some birding, visiting ancient civilizations, and of course to see how many Lincoln statues or Lincoln references we could spot along the way. perhaps it was still the hazy feeling in my head and body from being sick -or perhaps it was miss K's insistence that we listen to "Lincoln and Liberty" over and over and over as well as (re)read the Lincoln biography from the library ("Abraham Lincoln" by Amy L. Cohn. it is a wonderful book for young and old. check it out!)- but I felt absolutely haunted by the giant man today. on our way home we passed by New Salem and glimpsed a large statue of Lincoln on horseback bent over reading a book. my favorite one so far!

"hurrah for the choice of a nation!
Our chieftan so brave and so true;
we'll go for the great reformation,
for Lincoln and Liberty too"
-from the Carl Sanburg's "the American Songbag"

exploring over 12,000 years of civilization on the Illinois River

a peek back in time layer by layer

the kiddos set up their own village along the river. this discovery room at the museum was incredible!


catching snow outside the museum

birds spotted on our outing:
-red tailed hawks
-american kestrels
-a barn owl
-great blue herons
-two snow geese (yes the white dots in the photo below)

the trip back home: miniman fell asleep holding big sister's hand. her take on it: "he's so cute when he's asleep! oh how my heart just grows for him!". the girl has got a way with words!

Belated Thanksgiving

A happy (albeit belated) Thanksgiving to you.
a couple of posts today since i have been a bit absent. we have been hunkered down trying to shake off strep throat but are on the road to recovery!

on Thanksgiving proper we wandered around in a patch of woods not too far from home and played with leaf boats and built dams in one of the small streams.

the morning after:
we decided to thaw some of our berry pickings from the summer to eat on pancakes and use as facepaint.

the art of tritrophic ineractions

some b&w prints of Maria Sybilla Merian's work + salvaged window = a happy wall

still can't believe this is Indiana

we crossed the border for a hike two weekends ago and were pleasantly surprised.
In the middle of flatville lies a gorgeous landscape carved out by ancient glacial melt rivers.

warmth

some mittens for K ready to go out and play



a scarf for miniman. since i can only knit small projects due to the pains and numbness in my left hand I am trying to so up as many of the warming winter items this year. The inside layer is made up of scraps from felted sweaters similar to Josh's and then used a piece of fabric from the scrap box that I got for christmas from Reprodepot last year. Then I just quilted the two together with a zig zag pattern.

Laterne Laterne Sonne Mond und Sterne

St. Martin's Tag

my bus spotter

klara's pic

perhaps i should just always hand the camera over to her

a little expedition

after a few days recooperating from strep throat we decided to make a small excursion to a lake not too far away from home to do a bit of birding. the original plan was to head north east to see the sandhill cranes but nobody quite had the enrgy for that long journey (but hopefully next weekend).

may i present

the little prince (with big sister and grandma in the background) and....

viking girl


i hope you all had a wonderful holiday

linger for a while...

there's a moon over my street
tipping back like a silver chair
and the sweet smell of dogwoods
is bringing summer in the springtime air
and the kids on the sidewalk
drawing faces with crooked smiles
we're all out on the front steps
can you linger for a while?...

aggie's making ices
and there's a party on mary lou's stoop
seven games of hopscotch
there's a thousand things that we could do
this block seems like a universe
everytime i see you smile
spring just turned into summer
i hope it lingers for a while...
-Dan Zanes

well, Spring is not turning into summer, but the changing of the seasons and the cooler weather alway make me feel a bit nostalgic and melancholy. fall always seems like such a vibrant transitional time - trying to hold on desparately to the long days of summer full of days exploring and playing long into the night, yet there is also the blanket of night that falls earlier and earlier with each passing day - just begging to be met with a hot drink, a warm blanket, and a pile of family members paging through book after book. fall always feels like such a contemplative time - especially this year. I am missing the familiarity of our old home and friends, missing the spectacular fall foliage of central PA (perhaps the gypsy moths nixed that this year?). but at the same time i am slowly accepting this new, flat territory as home - even if it is a temporary one.
as time passes here a new rhythm emerges - we meet people, make friends, form bonds, discover the surroundings and fall in love with the sky (i must say the cloud formations are magnificent and the storms as well!)...but still wish to linger in the past too.

long time no post

that was quite a hiatus from posting. sorry about that - we were in Germany visitng family but are now back home.
It might take a few more days before I can put up some pics from the trip because the camera computer connector seems to have been left on a pleasant spot along the Rothaarsteig trail..ooops! should have a replacement in a few days. until then here's hoping your fall foliage is spectacular, there are plenty of puddles and streams for little boots (and big boots of course!) to splash in and a mug of hot chocolate or gluhwein waiting for you in the evening hours.
cheers!

craft week take five: cup+paint=miniman art

craft week take four: more gifts that just flew the coop

craft week take three:

up and away - to welcome new babies into the world

craft week take two: klara's hand sewing

she asked last week "when can i start a sampler?". thank you laura ingalls wilder!

craft week take one

just thought i would post some pictures of crafts and art projects happening in the house this week. this first one is of two dolls made for klara's scchultute, which she got on the first day of school. on the left may i present Ronja, k's favorite person to dress up as and pretend to be. the shaggy headed dude on the right is the little prince. he seems to have already lost a few hairs- where'd i put the glue?

papa's helper in the lab

this child of mine, the one with over a million silly faces has been helping her papa the last couple of weekends run some fly behavioral experiments in the lab and loves it! she helps look for the behaviors of interest and track the flies who are "behaving" rather than those doing the fly equivalent of sitting around scratching their butts.

(many hairs) cut

i know i'm lame...

instead of some images higlilghting the past week how about a whole bunch of images from a single day?

miniman botanizes

trying desperately to carry all his sandtools to the playground

a rice cake moment

checking out the acorn top - will it fit on my head?

not just a painting but also a scratching post

digging time with his pal Izzy

klara checks her teeth for renegade pieces of spinach

"bee bee bee bee bee!!" - miniman loses it trying to point to every bee

dance breaks are a must in this family