show and tell

For the moment, the sun has returned to our corner of the world and the snow has melted. I felt almost giddy enjoying the sunshine today that extended past dinnertime. Those extra minutes of sun mean so much, don't they?

Every Friday, Abbott has show and tell at school. The assignment is to bring something that starts with a particular letter (each week progresses through the alphabet). This week the letter is "O". Thursday after school Abbott made a beeline for our craft table, and emerged a short time later with this word "oh". He said he made it to "stump the crowd".


He must also bring three clues to help his classmates guess what he brought. His clues:
1. It starts with the letter "O"
2. It is colorful
3. They are connected

A crowd-stumper, indeed.



And now, I have a show and tell request of you! Thank you all so very much for your Flat Stanley stories - and photos! I had no idea that post would generate such enthusiasm and interest. Please email me any Flat Stanley photos you'd like to have included in a follow up post to leciaandalexi at yahoo dot com.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

xoxo

little joys in the snow

We woke up yesterday to an unexpected snowfall. Having gotten to bed late due to our Ash Wednesday service the night before, the two hour delayed start for school was a real gift. Abbott normally wakes up around 6:00am; he slept until a record 8:20. We had a great morning.



Small joys:

treats for the belly

open heart, open home

why giving matters

The Welcome Table

this video

This book: I've been absorbed in it all week.

A weekend ahead full of good things.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Flat Stanley

Yesterday I assembled Flat Stanleys with some of the first grade parents at Abbott's school.




"Flat Stanley is the main character in Jeff Brown’s book series. We have brought him to life (well, sort of)! In the book, Stanley Lambchop has all sorts of adventures after he is flattened by a bulletin board. Your child will use their imagination to help create new adventures. Flat Stanley will go visit a family member or dear friend of your child’s choosing for the rest of the month. The job of the host family is to incorporate Stanley into their lives, create new adventures and correspond with the class. These correspondences will add to our conversations about the diversity of families, cultures and lands in our world..." - from the first grade newsletter

Lent and Sustainable Living

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The theme for Lent this year at my church is sustainable living.

"The word Lent comes from an old Anglo Saxon word meaning springtime. While often in the church, we think of Lent as a season of asceticism and denial, really at its heart, Lent is an opportunity for renewal and growth. Caring for creation in a way that is sustainable is part of Christian calling. Fasting is a traditional Lenten discipline. This year, why not fast from something that is destructive to creation."

- Pastor Shannon Anderson

Some ideas (from the church's Lenten devotional booklet):

Fast from disposable coffee cups or water bottles by carrying your own.
Fast from purchases at national chains by shopping at local stores.
Fast from individual automobile use for any destination in easy walking, bicycling, or public tranit distance.
Fast from energy and water use by taking a lukewarm shower and turning off the water while soaping up.

If you would like an electronic copy of the Lenten devotional booklet with many more ideas, please email me at leciaandalexi at yahoo dot com.

Seeing Beauty

Last week, I took a solo trip to Texas to visit two very special ladies - my Grandmothers. I also enjoyed time with my Granddad, my parents, a few aunts and uncles and a cousin. The sun was shining through all my driving across the vast state of Texas (yes Aunt Linda - windows down, heater on, music loud) and there was beauty everywhere I looked. I had a magical time alone with both of my Grandmothers - holding their hands, listening and talking about old memories and catching up on the present. I thought my heart would burst with emotion from all of the memories and love and beauty of it all.




The reality of their lives is that they both grew up on farms in rural Texas, very poor, during the depression and the dust bowl days, in large families, and saw much more than their fair share of tragedies. It's precisely that, I'm sure, that made them as tenacious as they are. My maternal Grandmother I've admired for her efforts to preserve and prioritize her family. She made Christmas gifts every year for her many Grandchildren - felt animals, dolls, and the like. She saved every letter anyone ever sent her, and made scrapbooks for each and every grandchild. She made copies of every old family photo for everyone, and put them in albums. Labeled. Before the digital age. She has made multiple photo albums for her children and grandchildren. I remember sending her negatives of a vacation as recently as college. She typed out her remembrances of her life and as much family history as she knew.

My maternal Grandmother kept this growth record of all of her grandchildren in the doorway of a walk in closet my entire life. My first entry at 9 months is pictured at the lower left "Lecia 9 mo".

My paternal Grandmother has inspired me with her joie de vivre. She moved from her farm to another town with her youngest daughter still a child after her husband died at a young age, and built a new life for herself. Until six months ago when she had to move to an asssisted living facility, she walked to and attended all of her town's high school football games. Walked every day for exercise. Helped care for her elderly friends. She still watches a lot of sports on television, reads voraciously, and plays games at every opportunity. When I used to visit her in her town I felt as though I were with a celebrity, so great were the number of greetings and the warmth that came with them.

Music: Guest Blogger Chelsea from {frolic!}

Today we are very fortunate to have Chelsea from Frolic! writing about her favorite tunes. She has great taste and aesthetic sensibility. Thanks Chelsea!

Hello! I am Chelsea from Portland. I write a blog called, Frolic! where I share my favorite things. Aside from my blog, I also work as a floral + event designer and on occasion a prop stylist. I enjoy living simply, wandering around snapping Polaroids, eating yummy food, attending shows, and hanging out with loved ones.

Lecia asked me to share some of my favorite tunes. Here's a little of what is spinning on my record player right now:

I think I've been listening to Camera Obscura everyday for about a year. Good thing they are coming out with a new album on April 20th! I can't wait!

The Innocence Mission might be old news to a lot of you but this '90's band recently released a new album that I can't get enough of. (Thanks for introducing them to me, Pam!)

The High Violets are a seasoned Portland band who's style is ethereal and dreamy. Don't they have the best name? Photo via the one true b!x, Flickr.

Blue Giant offers just the right amount of blue-grassy twang.

To me, The Kooks are the quintessential British rockers. Check out this pretty video they made.

Each time I attend a Loch Lomond concert, I am transported to a lovely, lovely place. Their music easily ranks in my top 10.

For more of my favorites, check out the music section on my blog, Frolic!. Thank you so much for letting me visit your wonderful blog, Lecia!

All photos from band websites unless specified.

butterflies

"Cal, let's walk, skip, then jump."

"I'm getting butterflies."

days of sun::5

Los Cabos, Mexico 2008

I'm traveling this week, so I've scheduled posts with a few favorite photos from the past few years' winter vacations (a bit of February warmth!). I have limited email/computer time, so I've closed the comments.

Wishes for a good week to you!

days of sun::4

I'm traveling this week, so I've scheduled posts with a few favorite photos from the past few years' winter vacations (a bit of February warmth!). I have limited email/computer time, so I've closed the comments.

Wishes for a good week to you!

days of sun::3

Maui 2007

I'm traveling this week, so I've scheduled posts with a few favorite photos from the past few years' winter vacations (a bit of February warmth!). I have limited email/computer time, so I've closed the comments.

Wishes for a good week to you!

days of sun::2

I'm traveling this week, so I've scheduled posts with a few favorite photos from the past few years' winter vacations (a bit of February warmth!). I have limited email/computer time, so I've closed the comments.

Wishes for a good week to you!

days of sun

This is the start of a week of 'sun' photos. I'll be doing so in a modified blog break sort of way. I'll be traveling this week, so I spent some time picking out a few favorite photos from the past few years' winter vacations, and have scheduled a few to post every day (to warm us all at the end of winter!). But there will be no words, and limited email/computer time for me this week, so I'll be closing the comments for these posts.

Wishes for a good week to you!