Wish you were here enjoying sun, sand and water with us – it’s absolutely lovely.
xoxo,
Reb, Dan & monkeys
On Wednesday I found myself with 2 free hours and a to-do list the size of an elephant. I had no idea what to tackle first and sent this email to Dena:
Crazy, crazy, crazy morning. I have a little over two hours before kiddos come home and all I want to do is curl up in bed. I can’t afford to not be productive today, but I have no idea where to start. Ever just feel … stuck?
Do I work on house stuff?
Photography stuff?
Soul searching stuff?
Upcoming vacation stuff?
Health/wellness stuff?
Sigh.
I give up.
And give up I did. I crawled into bed with a long-neglected journal and read through sporadic entries from the last 18 months or so – I laughed and cried and came away with a deep sense of gratitude for where life has taken us. I’ve talked in the past about how less is more, but it’s a funny concept – very easy to talk about, very difficult to actually live. Our move this summer forced us provided the perfect opportunity to let go of things that once may have been wonderful, but were no longer fulfilling or feasible and guess what I’ve realized? Less really really really is more. There is room here for thoughtfulness, creativity, long deep breaths, and for dreaming. It is a place that is slightly uncomfortable for the over-achiever in me, but uncomfortable in a good way – a growing and stretching kind of way. It is a place I am anxious to explore, particularly as I consider my work, this blog, and various projects for the coming year.
And now it’s back to that elephant, which I am finally ready to conquer … one bite at a time. 
Love to all and happy weekend!
R.
p.s. Dena and Lila shared their apple orchard pictures with me, but I have yet to edit any of my own and couldn’t resist this image today. I love those loud, lively monkeys …
by Rebecca
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Last month, my baby turned three. THREE! Wow. Where did the time go, and have I used it wisely? I have loved on that baby boy as much as humanly possible, so I hope I’ve appreciated him as much as he deserves. It’s hard to carve out time when you have a zoo to run, but then again our time just the two of us is that much sweeter – I know he’ll be all grown up begging for more computer time or a pocket knife and so I try not to take him for granted. I’ve been a mom long enough to know it only gets more complicated.
Speaking of my 3-year-old “baby”, he’s been very sick the past few days. Poor, poor baby. 
On the bright side, he’s been snuggly and sweet, so even though he’s feverish and keeps throwing up on me I’m loving all the “nuggle” time. Yesterday he told me I was his best friend. I love it!
Happy Weekend!
Reb
by Rebecca
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Wow. 2011. What a momentous, absolutely HUGE year for our family. In January my Mom flew out to help me get our house ready to sell, in February we put our house on the market, took a house hunting trip to Columbus and almost bought a gorgeous little 1920′s Victorian. In March Dr. Dan and I took a trip to France (oh la la), came home and a few days later took the monkeys to Boston for a very winter-ish Spring Break. In April we we accepted an offer on our home in Chapel Hill, made an offer on our home in Columbus and I traveled to Utah for my sister’s wedding. In May we closed on both houses and in June Dr. Dan finally (!!!) (I still can’t believe we’re actually DONE!) (no really, somebody pinch me please!) graduated from all those crazy-difficult-incredible-intense-wild years of medical training, we said a tearful goodbye to wonderful friends, and moved to Ohio. We spent July, August and September shell shocked from the first 6 months of the year. Okay, and we traveled some a lot too. And had lots of visitors. And started new schools. And got a dog. Oh my. Anyway, sometime in October the shell shock started to wear off and I started to breathe and feel again (both very good things). November we worked like crazy on the house and hosted 10 out of town guests for an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving, and December was spent celebrating the birth of our Savior, making Christmas memories in our new home, and most recently enjoying Dr. Dan’s family in D.C.
Friends, there have been many New Year’s where I have felt chewed up and spit out. Or felt incredibly ambitious and ready to conquer the world. But not this year. We are in a good place, and I would love if we could simply stay here for awhile. So my hope for 2012 is to keep on keeping on: to keep plugging away at the house, keep running this crazy zoo of mine, keep meeting wonderful new friends and enjoying old ones, keep up with my yoga practice, and keep photographing a little here and there. In many ways, it seems that to hope for more would be ungrateful for all that we’ve been blessed with this year. Our lives are far from perfect, but life has certainly been much much harder at times and I feel immense gratitude for how good this last year has been.
Here’s to hoping 2012 brings peace, love and happiness to all!
Big hugs and Happy New Year too,
Reb
p.s. I think peppermint ice cream is going to be the death of me.
p.p.s. Here is a picture of the monkeys keeping warm around the fireplace on what was a very magical, perfect and chilly Christmas morning. They were so so sweet all day … all week actually. Bless those dear monkeys of mine.
by Rebecca
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Today marks the official start of winter, and I’m thinking it’s time to have a more romantic outlook on the dark, cold months ahead. Here are a few winter things I’m loving right now:
My dear friend Steph recently posted about the blog Dear Friend and I’m so glad she did. Rebekka’s prose, illustrations and photographs are truly lovely and her recent posts about winter had me feeling – dare I admit it - excited (gasp!) about the dreaded season. A miracle, I know.
NPR just started a series on winter songs and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve heard so far. I hope to eventually put a winter song playlist together.
And speaking of winter songs, this is one of my favorites. Enjoy!
Happy winter!
R.
by Rebecca
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by Rebecca
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