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Back at the turn of the new year I made a list. Not resolutions, per say, but rather some good things that I’d like to focus on seeing more of. It is a fairly flexible list, open to interpretation as the year goes by.

It looks something like this:

More water
More sleep
More salads
More movement
More Bible
More friends
More love

When I woke up this morning I had no idea where the day would lead. We had plans that changed at least twice, a great walk in the fresh air and fantastic sledding in the sunshine. We watched the Olympics and hung around in our pajamas.

I am happy to say that I ended the day with a check mark in the more friends category. I had a lovely date with my dear friend Heather full of heartfelt conversation, good feelings, promises to ‘do this again soon’, and a last minute, intimate, Dar Williams concert.

I’ve decided to add something new to my list this year:

More Dar

I don’t think I will regret it.


{bonus material} I ended up walking to the mostly empty parking lot with Dar herself. We had a short, but lovely, conversation about her concert, her time in MA and how nice the city of Salem is. I think that might make us BFFs now :)

Gaming Old School

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Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa’s super idea and persistence, we are now the proud owners of Parcheesi. We broke it out tonight and had a great time playing.

The little paper dice cups were a throwback for us adults and they intrigued the girls. The gameplay is simple enough, but there are plenty of strategical moves to be made (Mama’s many turn blockade, anyone?).

And, of course, I love the simple, geometric game board without loud colors, branded characters or hip/faddish graphics.

We had been playing for a while before any of us noticed something surprising- A game purchased from Amazon, and gifted in Ohio is produced by a company in Danvers, Ma, our former hometown and current next door neighbor! It’s a small world, after all!

A New Year

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There’s a sort of melancholy that sets in while packing up the Christmas things. A longing to hold on to the excitement and expectation of the past season lingers as the lights are taken down and the nativity boxed up.

And yet, I always feel a wonderful calm when, in the wake of greens and lights and baubles of Christmases past, I find the blank slate of a new year.

January has a starkness that sparks my imagination every year. It leads me towards new projects and new ideas. I find myself moving furniture and questioning ideas. I start to see the possibilities of the coming year.

And so, in the process of packing and storing away, I move on from melancholy to a peaceful anticipation of what is to come.

{Family portrait, original drawing by our friend Allison, Live Simply print by Katie Daisy, gifted by the sweet Jennifer. Home Sweet Home, and the hanging shells, original works by Catherine.}

2013 Favorites

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How to sum up 365 days of life and photos? Let’s take a look back at some of my favorites from the past year.

Favorite photo that tells a story:

Favorite Composition:

Favorite Giggle:

Favorite Selfie:

Favorite Catherine Portrait:

Favorite Esme Portrait:

Favorite Peter Photo:

Favorite Photo taken by Peter:

Peter’s Favorite Photo:

I have loved the discipline of this project. I have enjoyed taking the photos and sharing some thoughts. Choosing a daily photo gave me new insight into our days and often gave me the chance to look at moments and experiences through the lens of a post or through the eyes of a blog reader.

I have been flattered by those of you who have commented and ‘liked’ my photos and posts. I am humbled by those who have mentioned that my words struck a chord with you. I hope our conversations can continue into this coming year!

If you are so inclined, you can see all the photos in one big gallery here.

You can also see all of the 365 blog posts by starting here and then clicking the right hand scroll link at the bottom of each post to move through the days.

Have a favorite picture from our year? Or a favorite post? I’d love to know about it. Maybe leave a comment?

Snow Drive

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Despite the storm forecast, we made the decision to drive from Ohio to Massachusetts today, as we had originally planned.

It wasn’t a decision we made lightly. Here are some of the factors we considered:

*The storm: Using a couple of weather sites we checked the forecast for several points along our route at different times of day. We also noted the predicted intensity at given points.

*Plan B: Knowing our route, we knew that there were several places we could stay the night should the storm be worse than we had thought. At any point we could scrap the mission and start again later.

*Route Familiarity: We have driven this simple route (Rt 90 all the way!) many, many times before. Most recently just this past October. We’re comfortable with the route, the opportunities for stops, the average time it takes us to get between different points, and our general endurance for the trip.

*Our Kids’ road trip perseverance: By now we have a pretty good idea of how long our girls will last in the car, how often they’ll need breaks and the kinds of snacks to have along.

In the end we decided that an all day trip on Thursday would be our best bet. We left at 4:40am and, with only a few stops, drove straight through to Salem. Including our stop for dinner we were home before 8pm.

All in all, we seemed to stay at the forefront of the eastbound storm through New York and we arrived in Eastern MA just as the northward moving front came into town. Just as we had hoped. The roads weren’t nearly as bad a we had feared they would be and we kept up a decent speed for most of the trip.

Lots of experience, a little guesswork and plenty of prayer gave us a good foundation for our snowy trip. I’m not sure we would recommend it to everyone or if we’d even make the same decision next time, but it was a charmed trip today, for sure!

Continuing On

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We rung in the new year with family in Ohio and spent the day celebrating sweet Reuben’s first birthday. Cake and cousins are always a good combination!

As you can see, Esme and Reuben are discussing how I should continue here on the blog. Should I try another 365 project? Should I post as the spirit leads in 2014? Should Peter and I collaborate and write hard hitting articles on today’s most relevant topics?

It’s January first, a day of new beginnings. I have the whole year in front of me and I’m not sure what will come next. Thanks for following along during the last 365 days! I can’t wait to see what the next year holds!