Words Found.

I have been finding little notes written by Ivy around the house. This one I found this morning on the kitchen counter. I needed to see it just then because I was tired and grumpy, having been up most of the night with her as she had the stomach flu...again. The note I found before this one was an apology note she had made for Savannah, making amends for having hit her. These physical expressions of her love and regret are precious artifacts. Sweetness.

What's Up.

Yesterday was the best mail day ever. My seeds are here! The future of The Honey Hut's garden has never been so bright, so much hope wrapped in these paper envelopes. I've started the tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, rhubarb, kale, radishes and cabbage. The rest need a few more weeks or will be directly sown into the soil.
We've been working hard on the acre by clearing, burning, pruning and weeding. The Littles are right there with us, playing in a rough fort we cleared for them. When the fort got boring, I put up this tent under the walnuts and a whole new series of pretend make-believe came to life. I love hearing the dialogue The Little Girls come up with while deeply entranced in another world.

In "chick" news, I placed a small perch in the brooder for my Little Lovelies to practice and relax on. So far, only one Buff Orpington is excited about this. The other chicks just peck at it and lay across from this one, shocked at her audacity.

The Daddy Daughter Dance.

On Friday night Tim took The Little Girls to The Daddy Daughter Dance. For months we watched the bulletin board and looked for a handout for sign up information and a date. The night of The Daddy Daughter Dance is highly anticipated here at The Honey Hut.  

The highlights were; The Hokie Pokie, The Chicken Dance, The Cha Cha Slide and of course any Taylor Swift songs.

Afterwards Tim took Savannah and Ivy to frozen yogurt with friends Olive (Ivy's class) and her dad Jeremy. The Little Girls came home late, happy and even more in love with their Daddy.

Marking Time.

There is so much change and growth happening with The Littles. Savannah is reading all the time and very interested in history, specifically the Titanic and early 1900's. She has been writing her own books and taking great pains with the illustrations. Ivy is asking on a regular basis for alone time with me, sharing secrets about her day, worrying about her big teeth coming in before her little teeth have left her mouth type of big problems a 6 year-old has and trying to grasp ideas like how life is created and how fragile it is. Goo is talking so much these days. He pretends he is off to work for the day, gives me a kiss and tells me what his job is for the day. Usually he goes to work with Grandpa Dan on the tractor. Today he was on his way to the doctor for work. He had a play date today with his buddy Luxon. It was a lot of parallel play but sweet to see him hold his own without his big sisters as a buffer.

I feel like these days are slipping through my fingers. The Littles seem ridiculously bigger each morning they awake and in the busyness of life I have to stop myself and make an effort to remember these precious fleeting moments.

Room With A View.

The Little Girls have a reward coming to them if they can keep their bedroom clean for an entire month. They have been so diligent the last few days to maintain tidiness. Our friend Jenni stayed with us for the weekend and they worked hard to impress her with a spotless space however, they were less likely to play with their toys because they didn't want to have to re-tidy afterwards.

They set up two little bedrooms for their new Valentine's dollies, I just love their housing choices. Ivy's doll lives in an old jewelry box and Savannah's a tin lunchbox.

I am pleased to see order whenever I walk past their bedroom but I am also a bit bummed they aren't playing with their little dollies. I do love to hear the storylines they come up with when they think I'm not listening.

Pug Love.

Most days Ivy and I have an hour together while Goo is napping and Savannah is still at school. As soon as we sit and have our chat about the day, Izzie-Pug settles in for a snuggle. Pug loves that Little Red. While Ivy is away at school, Pug finds her blanket wherever Ivy last left it, and curls up on top for a snuggle.

Early Morning Revelation.

6:18am. I look out my bedroom window to see the sky turning on, illuminating the silhouettes of trees in the foreground from the depths of the brighter background. The house still quiet, I lay silently and run through my 'to do' list for the day. After hitting the snooze twice, Tim reaches under my pillow and takes my hand whispering, "We've been together longer than we haven't."

And it's true. We started dating in 1994 and have been together ever since. 20 years. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend over half of my life with and beyond.