New things at every turn...

I thought it was worth taking a few moments to make sure we highlight some of the recent new things... I'm taking a few very precious moments of complete quiet AND alone time to do so. The picture here explains what Alida is doing right now. While she still takes many naps in the pack or jogger or our arms, she seems to also be enjoying laying alone sometimes. Jason is working next door and Kali is enjoying a play date at a park with friends.

The chicks had a big move a few days back. Here you can see Alida going to visit them for one of the last times before they outgrew their indoor living quarters.



They are now in an snake-proof pen and just get outdoor playtime when we are nearby to monitor their surroundings. This connects to the other really new thing that happened this week. Jason and I enjoyed our first date since Alida joined our family. We cashed in a birthday coupon (yes, from September) for my folks to have an evening with both girls while we enjoyed an evening to ourselves. We enjoyed the time right where we most love to be - at home! Mom and Dad brought Chipotle burritos home for us and then the girls happily took off with them for a park and picnic.

I won't try to argue who had the most fun that evening, but the pictures here clearly show that our girls were not spending much of their time pining for home. Jason and I had fun sitting outside eating our dinner while the chicks entertained us. They were not quite confident yet of the great outdoors so they would jump on each other right at the entrance making them tumble out the entrance from time to time, only to turn around and try to get back in to safety as quickly as possible. Finally one stayed out long enough to peck at a blade of grass and I think that was the turning point. They now love to come out and run around and eat the delectable clover all around them.

Jason had developed a LONG agenda for our precious uninterrupted conversation time. We took a leisurely walk until dark and maybe got through 2% or so of the agenda. But it was a start. We feel the need to look together at all we are doing and try to determine together what we feel most passionate and excited about, what we do well, and what we could let go of. We both have a deep desire to create a home life that is sustainable and lifegiving for us and for all those that come in contact with our little homestead. We know we have a ways to go, but I'm glad for the space that evening opened up to keep working at it together...

Well, the sleeping baby is no longer sleeping and the big sister is home again so thus ends the alone and quiet time. Alida is so precious napping but you can tell her little mind can hardly slow down to sleep. While she was nursing at the tail end of her nap she was nodding her head "yes" in her sleep, one of her current favorite things to do. Very sweet!