Fall celebrations

November 11, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” -George Eliot

It is that time of the year again! My favorite. I can’t believe that it is already here & in full swing again. Fall. Beautiful, GLORIOUS, perfect fall. I truly feel that this time of year is a time of reflection & a time to be grateful. It feels as if nature itself turns itself over to us for this very purpose, to see the splendor of the changing leaves, the fire that they light the world with before they say goodbye & fall to the ground for their eternal winter sleep. It’s as if the world around us is calling out for a final push before the winter, a timely opportunity to make the most of our days & light a fire in our souls. So with that, I thought it would be worth sharing some of my favorite things from this season, that are simple, but a good start at living WELL each day. A few things that help us celebrate this season as a family. Enjoy!

“I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.” -Robert Browning

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree…” -Emily Bronte

Leaf Garland tutorial.
- Step 1: Go outside! Find leaves from your neighborhood, or your backyard, or if you have to, buy some fake ones from your local decor/craft store. That will work too! This is the second year that we have done this activity & without a doubt it is being established as a family tradition for fall. I blogged about my experience a year ago about creating these, but this time I wanted to share pictures so it’d make it a bit easier to do for yourself if you are interested. Make sure you grab an ample amount of various leaves so as to have a bunch of color & different shapes to work with.
- Step 2: Get a needle & thread. It can literally be whatever color you have! If you have a tiny sewing kit you commandeered from a hotel, use that. You really don’t need much. Grab some scissors also.
- Step 3: Find a comfy seat & spread out your treasures!
- Step 4: Thread your needle & start adding one leaf at a time, poking it carefully right in the middle, so as to not hurt yourself or break your leaf.
- Step 5: Keep going! Make it as long as you want. (It helps if you have a space in mind to hang it.)
- Step 6: Take pushpins, or tiny nails, or whatever you fancy & hang it up for all to see. 🙂 Make sure it is out of reach for little wee fingers & animals who might crush or ruin your fabulous garland.
- Make more! Give them away! Hang them in all the rooms of your house. Whatever. Have fun.

2. THE BEST Double Chocolate Pumpkin cookie recipe EVER. pumpkin-cookie-pic-2

(Picture credit: Janssen at Everyday Reading blog)

I found this recipe on Pinterest & so want to thank Janssen at her Everyday Reading blog for providing this goodness with the world.
http://www.everyday-reading.com/2013/09/double-chocolate-pumpkin-cookies.html
I am copying the exact recipe from her blog for you below. ALL the credit goes to her!
Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

(adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe)

Makes about 2 dozen

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
4 ounces semisweet chocolate (I just used chocolate chips)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.

In a small saucepan (or in a microwavable bowl) over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth. Don’t let it burn. Set aside to cool for a couple of minutes.

While the chocolate cools, use the attachment paddle on a stand mixer to beat together the sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat until evenly mixed.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner, and scoop golf ball-sized balls onto the cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each one (they spread a lot).

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges look dry and the tops are cracked. Let cool for 10-15 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

(Picture credit: Janssen at Everyday Reading blog)

3. Paint a pumpkin.

For those of you with 3 & unders like myself, or any age for that matter, this may be something that is more appealing for you than carving your pumpkins. Still messy, but in a different way.

Step 1: Get a pumpkin.

Step 2: Set up a paint station with newspaper, paints, brushes & child. (I prefer to keep Eliana shirtless so as to avoid even more of a mess.)

Step 3: Paint away! Let it dry & then put it on display. Wallah.

4. Sunset walk.

After dinner (if you eat early) or pre-dinner (if you are running late or have a quiche baking in the oven), head out the door. Grab your sweater & wagon for the little people, a cup of tea & walk.
Take a jaunt around your neighborhood & look at the sky. REALLY look at it. Look at the trees changing colors. Look at the combination of the trees & the sky. WOAH.
Make sure you have your favorite people come with you & hold hands. 🙂
Ask your wee ones about the different colors they can see & talk about the beauty of nature & the creation we get to enjoy.
Take some deep breaths of the chilly night air & reflect on your day.

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” -Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” -Jim Bishop

There you go! I hope you can get at least one idea to try. These are some of our favorite activities, but we have lots more! Simply put, it is a GOOD THING to enjoy nature. To enjoy the season that the world is in. For us, right now, it is autumn. A time to both push for our best as well as reflect. A time to shore up before winter & to relish the days. A time to set our souls on fire. So I will do my best at enjoying all that this incredible season has to offer.

ALSO, I didn’t add this into the list but it is just as amazing. Go find yourself a copy of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery from the library, a thrift store, online, whatever. READ IT. October hit & I immediately made the decision that my autumn read would be Anne of Green Gables. I just finished it & it was INCREDIBLE. If you haven’t read it, it will be one worth your time. After this, I’m off to start the next one in the series!

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” -Stanley Horowitz

Cheers,

Katie.

KINDNESS.

October 20, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” -Aesop

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For months & months & months, this word has been etched on my heart, on the back of my eyelids, on my mind. KINDNESS. I have had conversations about it with some of the people closest to me & I know that it is time to share about it in a broader context because I can’t get it out of my head! This subject of kindness, is something I hope to be improving on for the rest of my life. It is so so worth it.

kind·ness

ˈkīn(d)nəs/

noun

noun: kindness

the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

synonyms:

kindliness, kindheartedness, warmheartedness, affection, warmth, gentleness, concern,care;

consideration, helpfulness, thoughtfulness, unselfishness, selflessness, altruism,compassion, sympathy, understanding, big-heartedness, benevolence, benignity,friendliness, hospitality, neighborliness;

generosity, magnanimity, charitableness

“he thanked her for her kindness”

2. a kind act.

plural noun: kindnesses

“it is a kindness I shall never forget”

synonyms:

kindliness, kindheartedness, warmheartedness, affection, warmth, gentleness, concern,care;

generosity, magnanimity, charitableness

“he thanked her for her kindness”

(Thank you Google.)

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There is just something about kindness. There is something significant & profound about it. The way we choose to USE it, to SHARE it, to FEEL it for ourselves will literally change things. I know it has for me. I feel like for the past several months this has been a theme for me. I have quietly operated in it, trying to practice it on my husband, my girls, myself & on others. Others, being simply, neighbors, strangers, friends. And let me tell you, I have failed miserably. I have also succeeded, but it has definitely been a mixture of both. I still feel like I am barely scratching the surface on what kindness is & all that it means.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear & the blind can see.” -Mark Twain

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Have you ever spent much time contemplating kindness? Have you ever taken a season of life (or even a DAY for that matter) to PRACTICE kindness? I honestly hadn’t. I would consider myself a kind-hearted person, someone who typically acts with kindness. But still, to actually practice it, to meditate on it, to discover it in motion… It is quite revealing! I have learned over the last few months about my kindness towards myself & others, how it is affected & how it causes effect on the atmosphere around me. I have learned that, while I am indeed a kind-hearted person (because only Jesus could have made me that way), I still need to CHOOSE it. Oh it can come more “naturally” on really rad days, but on the average day & on the not so hot day, it is ESSENTIAL to choose it. It makes a world of a difference.

“A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.” -Joseph Joubert

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Let me tell you. Being a mom is hard. WAY harder then anyone can ever try to explain. Motherhood is ALSO the most REWARDING thing. But kindness is crucial to help get to the rewarding part. I know. I’ve been practicing, remember? Lol. I know that when I am not kind, when I choose to operate out of something or a whole lot of somethings OTHER than kindness, my children bare the brunt of that. They are living in the atmosphere that I help create on a daily basis & when that atmosphere is full of say, frustration & exhaustion & short tempers & little patience, I can tell that that is not an environment that they thrive in. It’s like they are plants & they suck it in & breathe it back out. When KINDNESS steps in though, WOW. It is incredible seeing & experiencing the fruit of that in my little ones as well as in myself. And let me tell you, those days, those moments, make the whole of motherhood worth it. Kindness really is a game changer.

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, & he who plants kindness gathers love.” -Saint Basil

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Another area where the fruit of kindness is so obviously GOOD, is within myself. I think that is the hardest part for me, choosing to treat myself with kindness. I’m just being honest. The change that kindness brings within my own heart is tiny, miniscule, on some days. But on other days, it can be like life or death! Speaking kindness over myself as a woman, as a wife, as a mom, as a daughter, a teacher, a friend, an advocate, a believer, is like eating Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter straight from the jar. It is ALL sweetness. And just a little bit, really does go a long way.

“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Lastly, I want to share about kindness in the world. This can look like a SMILE as you drive down the street & pass the neighbor walking his dog. This can look like choosing to bake cookies with your daughter even though it makes the kitchen such a mess. This can look like not getting fiery with someone over the current state of politics & ripping their view apart, instead it can look like choosing to stay off of social media, PRAY & stay friends with your friends, regardless of who they are voting for & why. It can look like bringing in the newspaper for your elderly neighbor or volunteering to babysit for a young family so the parents can go on a date. It can look like picking up those pieces of garbage on the sidewalk that you didn’t put there, but throwing them away anyway. It can look like making EYE contact with the cashier at the grocery store & really asking them truly if they are having a good day. It can look like holding the door open for someone. It can seriously look like a million different things. However it ends up though, kindness is a good decision.

I heard somewhere once, “throw kindness around like confetti.” I couldn’t agree more.

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I hope that this helps move you in a direction of choosing kindness. For yourself, for your family, for the world around you. We really all could use more of it!

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” -Scott Adams

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Cheers,

Katie.

England & its rain

October 14, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“London, thou art the flower of cities all!” -William Dunbar

England! The land of english speaking, beer pubs, gardens, medieval towers, castles, fish & chips, rain, bridges, & the Queen. A good place. A MARVELOUS place to end our trip with. My only regret is that we didn’t have an extra day to stay & explore more, but hey, there’s always next time. 😉 And, it is always good to “have a next time”.

We flew into Heathrow from our exit in Vienna, Austria & arrived in the afternoon. We hopped on the tube & headed towards the main part of London to find our hostel. It was a great location & with Noah’s stellar leading we found it without any issues. We were blessed to have a large family room with a bathroom all to ourselves! (We have a bit of hostel experience & this doesn’t usually happen. So it was a treat!) We spread our stuff out all over the bunk beds, grabbed city maps & headed out. We booked it to the Tower of London thinking we could tour it that evening, but ended up not having enough time to do it justice, so we decided that we would get City Passes & tour the Tower the next day. We walked around, drank coffee, enjoyed the foggy town & its intermittent rain spells, walked across the London Bridge & back again, took lots of pictures, walked through the parks, visited Buckingham Palace & did our due diligence waving at the guards & ended our first day of touring at a nice little pub where we had gigantic hamburgers & beer. It was perfect! From there we took the tube back to our hostel & crashed out.

The next day was our one extremely full day of being the ULTIMATE tourists. We woke up & enjoyed (not really) our instant coffee & wheat flakes before heading out to brave the big city. We had purchased our special city passes the night before, so after finding some better coffee we went to a designated bus stop for our bus tour. We rode it until we came to Paddington station where we boarded a tiny train bound for Windsor Castle, where the Queen still stays on the weekends. It was overcast & OH so perfect. We were surrounded by school groups & listened to our handy dandy walking tour guide through headphones & tried not to bump into people. We were able to see the changing of the guards, eat lunch & tour the castle before the girls had their no-nap meltdowns. After that, we went & had sandwiches at a little cafe & got on the little train back to Paddington station.

Once there we walked through the rain back to another bus stop that took us on a tour around the city where it felt like we saw so many things, but in reality scratched the surface. London is an immense city with SO much to see & do! It was perfect timing, because both girls took naps the entire time. It was a good break for all of us. We hopped off once we got back to the Tower of London & barely made it onto the last guided tour of the day with the Beefeaters while the skies OPENED UP! It was insane how hard it was raining. We learned a lot, saw the crown jewels & got absolutely drenched while we laughed & ran from covered spot to covered spot before leaving. That was quite a memory, I’m so grateful for it.

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.” -Rabindranath Tagore

From there we decided to try the traditional fish & chips, which in hindsight was probably not a good idea because none of us typically eat fried food… but hey, when in England. We jumped on a boat tour after that which took us up the river Thames. It was great & the tour guide was both hilarious & informative. He made quite a few tips that day, for sure. We disembarked at Big Ben & toured around, saw Westminster Abbey & got bombarded with street petitioners because it happened to be VOTING DAY. Each time we got stopped, we just had to say we were american & then we’d move on. It was fascinating being in that nation on THAT monumental day. It seems like things like that happen each time Noah & I travel internationally. A while back we were in Spain when they won the World Cup & that was absolutely ridiculous. SO COOL. I’ve never enjoyed soccer/football so much. 🙂

After that we headed back into the tube to get back over to our hostel, but with how much rain there was, some of the lines were flooded…Let’s just say that that creates chaos & the crowds trying to cram into each train car are in each others armpits & basically holding you so as to not get smashed by the closing doors. This ALSO happens when Noah & I travel. It’s always humorous. Unless you are claustrophobic. Not to mention that everyone was soaking wet from the rain & sweating from the mass of people, so the smell was also, well yuck. Everyone was gracious towards our family unit though, which I was impressed with because of it being time for everyone’s commute home for the evening. It had to have been our cute kids. They open doors nothing else will. A huge perk of traveling with little ones! We got separated at one point during the chaos, but thank goodness my mom has a LOUD voice. 🙂 It all worked out & we ended our last evening in London at a pub standing outside in the rain with our beer. It was PERFECT. That night we showered & packed our stuff so as to be in the right weight category (free) for our flight back home the next day. After almost 3 weeks of traveling, I was impressed with all of us. Our bags, including a few souvenirs picked up along the way, were all less than 9 lbs. Pretty rad. My mom was superwoman & jam packed her bag because she was flying separate from us & had a bit more room allowed for her carry on. The next morning we got up, grabbed some egg croissants & espresso from a train station kiosk & headed in two different directions. My mom flew out of Heathrow, so she went her way & we took a different line to Gatwick. On the train we met a group of traveling dancers who played with Cora & taught Eliana how to point her toes like a ballerina. It was sweet.

At the airport, we boarded our flight home & were delayed an hour & half getting off the ground…with no explanation. But we did eventually get in the air & made it to Iceland, where we were told once we landed that our next flight was delayed an additional 3 hours. It seemed like the tiny airport was swarming with other travelers also stuck in the same predicament. At that point there is nothing else to do but let the little ones run WILD to get their wiggles out, order a pizza & charge your phone. The airport had a row of baby carriages (old school strollers without any harness systems) to use while stuck in the airport like we were, so we took turns pushing Cora around in it, making sure she stayed seated so as to not fall out. Well, of course, that DID happen because she is so quick & luckily Noah grabbed her before she did a full tumble onto the concrete. She did however, score her very first fat bloody lip & covered her onesie with blood. She was a trooper though, & by the next day her lip was back to normal. Plus, we get to say that it happened in Iceland, so that’s pretty cool, especially if she ends up becoming a stunt woman or something.

Eventually we got back in the air & made it home to the big old US of A after a VERY long day of travel. The girls took short naps during the course of the flight home & we adults, did not. By the time we arrived at LAX, we were delirious. My amazing brother & sister in love picked us up & we crashed at their house for the night before driving 5 1/2 hours home the next day.

That, my friends, brings us to the end of our summer of 2016 european adventure!

Needless to say, it was INCREDIBLE. It was the best part of my summer, personally. I was so full of joy, I had such great peace, & my heart was singing to be getting the amazing opportunity to travel again. If I made enormous amounts of money, I would make it a HABIT to travel, both domestically as well as internationally. It is so rewarding, so fulfilling, so enlightening, so exciting. And so exhausting, but so so worth it. I am grateful beyond words that we had the opportunity to GO & that we chose to do just that. The memories gained from an experience like that are so valuable to me. Getting to travel the globe with my husband, my girls & my parents (!!!) was such a treat. I really hope that we will get to do a multi-generational trip again someday. I am blessed. BLESSED.

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” -Rabindranath Tagore

It has been wonderful for my heart to reminisce over the past few months of my life by getting to look back on the highlights from a great trip. Sometimes in life, regardless of what is going on in TODAY, looking back & reflecting with thanksgiving in our hearts & on our lips is significant. It can shift things into perspective for today. It can sometimes be a simple reminder of the sweetness of life. It can push us to reach higher, go deeper. Reflection & meditating on the gift that life has been up until this very breath in our lungs is something we hurry too often, or skip over completely because we are too busy & have too much on our plates to deal with. But taking the time to reflect & BE GRATEFUL is well worth it. It has been a healing balm for my soul to walk down memory lane. Not because my life is insanely hard or because I am in the depths of despair or anything like that, but just because it reminds my heart of the goodness in my life. The gift that it is to be alive & to get to eat gelato in Italy with my 3 year old. Things like that. I encourage you to reflect on the last few months of your own life & see what it has offered you. Find the sweet things. The little moments, or the big ones for that matter! It is ALL valuable because it is part of your story. It has helped shape who you are in this exact moment in time. Reflect. It’s good.

“Meditation is the soul’s perspective glass.” -Owen Feltham

I’m glad I did.

My heart is full.

Cheers,

Katie.

Austria & its history

September 29, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” -Marcel Proust

Austria! Oh my lanta. It was such a joy getting to travel back to Austria. Riding a train through its landscape is worth every penny. We traveled to Austria after leaving Venice by train. It was a beautiful day getting to experience the northern part of Italy we traveled through & into Austria as we made our way to Salzburg. We met some very interesting people on our different trains & made it to Salzburg exhausted from the day of travel but more RICH because of it. My eyeballs were so grateful for the entire day.

Once we arrived in Salzburg, we heave-hoed our backpacks & walked the 2 miles to our AirBnB, that was LITERALLY, sitting right below the fortress walls overlooking the old town. It was the BEST location thus far for what we were wanting with exploring by foot. Cobblestone streets & all. Once we settled into our room, we went & explored a bit. We found a tavern that didn’t look like much from the outside but you could hear voices traveling up from within its walls & it had wiener schnitzel on the menu so we dove in. It went on & on! Practically every table was full & all of the servers wore traditional leather lederhosen. We ate one of the best meals of our trip there complete with schnitzel & beer. It was ALL delicious. From there, we crashed out for the night after planning our next few days of exploring the old city.

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” -Confucius

The next day we started off our very full day with breakfast at an outdoor cafe & headed off on a hike to the fortress, which really looks like a castle, but hey. Fortress it is. It is called Hohensalzburg Fortress & it’s STUNNING. We paid to get in & got our headsets with a walking tour & explored. It was great! We spent several hours walking around learning all about the fortress & the history of Salzburg. If you are ever headed to Austria, Salzburg is a must in my opinion as well as touring the fortress. Do it. After getting our fill of the castle (& desperately needing food), we headed back down into the old town where there was a race going on. We sat in the cheering section as each (very) long distance runner (either a 50 mile distance for some or 80 mile distance for others) made their way across the finish line & cheered along with everyone there. We had bratwursts & beer & massive chocolate covered pretzels. DELISH. It was a delightful experience. From there we opted out of naps so as to continue our exploration. We downloaded a Rick Steves podcast (another must if you are traveling Europe, they are wonderful!), & went on our walking tour of the old town. We got to see some of the places that the “Sound of Music” had been filmed as well as some of the true locations where the Von Trapp family had been during their time in Salzburg. We learned about Mozart (He was born there & lived in Salzburg until he was 17 & moved to Vienna) & his experience in the city, saw incredible churches & listened to live music. It rained & we just covered up & kept on walking! We had dinner at the same restaurant from the night before & had ice cream after. It was a LONG day, but so full! We even heard a choir practice in an old stone building & it echoed gently down the streets right after hearing the church bells toll. Eliana thought it was angels singing. For the rest of the trip every time she heard church bells, she asked if the angels were going to sing! It was a beautiful day in SO many ways.

The next day we headed back out to the train station where we boarded a train headed for a teeny tiny little village tucked on a hillside next to a lake called Hallstatt. (A dream come true for me!) It was so PERFECT, it seemed fake. You know what I mean? It was raining & foggy & oh so glorious. We got off at a train stop & headed down to a rickety ferry with two crusty old sailors who ferried us to the other side of the lake. (Hallstatt is accessed by train & then boat. Come on.) It was raining lightly when we arrived but within 30 minutes it was pouring! We ate some gyros from a great little food truck next to the ferry landing & then did a loop around the town. We popped into woodcarving shops, the church & watched the swans on the lake. AND took lots of pictures. LOTS. I could live there. If you have ever been to Disneyland & ridden on “It’s a Small World”, you can get a taste of this place. It was like a fairytale come to life. Even with the torrential rain, it was MAGICAL. We spent a few hours getting soaked & enjoyed some hot coffee before boarding our ferry to head back to Salzburg for the evening. Another must for Austria (in my opinion) is to take the 2 1/2 hour trip for the day to visit this quaint town. It was iconic Austria for me. That evening, once we returned to Salzburg & changed into dry clothes, we ate at an italian restaurant right outside of our AirBnB & then did another few loops throughout the old town. It was amazing at dusk, when all the tourists (minus us) had disappeared & the streets were empty.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

That concluded our time in that region of Austria. The next morning we took a taxi (it was raining again & walking two miles in the rain with two littles & all our stuff didn’t sound too appealing), which was quick & a great decision back to the train station. We sat & had espresso & croissants & jumped on our high speed train to Vienna. Once there, we headed out to the main part of the city with another Rick Steves podcast. We spent several hours being “Viennese”, including sitting at a famous side street cafe having coffee. We saw loads of ornate fountains, toured the Hapsburg palace, prayed in St. Stephen’s cathedral, & visited a WWII memorial. It was a WHOLE lot of history in a short period of time. I was impressed by Vienna, for sure! After traipsing around & getting a shotgun tour we hopped back on a train headed for the forests outside of the city & were picked up by our 79 year old AirBnB host who took us to her house encased with flowers & vines & all things green & good. It was the best experience as far as staying in someone’s home has gone with our AirBnB-ing, especially in the sense of cultural immersion. Gerda was INCREDIBLE. We broke bread together, celebrated her 9th grandchild’s birth with some of her friends while singing along to Noah playing folk songs on the guitar, had homemade strudel, visited a heurige (a wine tavern open only when the new wine is harvested & closed for the rest of the year) & tasted the new wine, walked through meadows & spent time outdoors in the sunshine of the garden after all the rain we had gotten. It was a much needed time of rest before the last portion of our journey. It was EXACTLY what I was hoping for! Thank you Gerda for an unforgettable experience sharing your home & sitting under your wisdom.

The next morning Gerda & one of her lovely friends drove us back to train station so we wouldn’t have to take a bus. It was so gracious of them! We hopped back onto the train & headed back towards Vienna, for the airport. From there we were headed out on a flight back to Great Britain to round out the final days of our trip. I will blog about that portion of our summer trip soon!

“Certainly, travel is more than seeing the sites; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” -Mary Ritter Beard

Overall, Austria was a highlight for me. We had so many different experiences, met INCREDIBLE people, consumed yummy food & drink, sang folk songs with some delightful austrian grandmas, rode the train across the country, stood on top of a castle, learned a great deal about the immense & impressive austrian history & really experienced the culture. It was an ENRICHING week in a beautiful land. What more could we have asked for?

Like I keep saying, if you want to GO, just DO IT! Explore! Adventure! Journey! It will enrich your life & infuse you with more cultural understanding & depth. Plus you’ll get to eat really interesting food. Win. Win.

I hope you are enjoying walking down memory lane with me! AND I hope it inspires you to grab ahold of some of your own dreams & go after them.

“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” -Frank Borman

Cheers,

Katie.

Northern Italy & its gelato

September 1, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy.” -Giuseppe Verdi

Italy! Oh my goodness me. It is one of my favorite countries on earth, no doubt. Every time I have visited I can’t wait to go back & explore more. It is so varied, so full of differences, so exciting. I bet you could spend a lifetime adventuring through it & still be amazed at how RAD it is! Not to mention that they have THE best gelato, or “belato”, according to my 3 year old.

We spend a lovely week in northern Italy, traversing it by train. We headed toward the lakes area after leaving Switzerland, starting off with an afternoon in Domodossola, where we sat at the train station eating yogurt & fruit. We jumped on the next available train after our arrival there, which happened to be a local commuter train. That simply means that it stops at EVERY stop along the way, turning a 45 minute ride into a 2+ hour one. Which, turned out to be a gift because it meant that both girls crashed out on the bench seats & got a decent nap (HALLELUJAH!) as we rolled through the beautiful countryside. We arrived in Milan & ate some pizza, had our first cappuccinos of the trip & encountered numerous Romanian gypsies. We jumped onto a train again which took us up to the middle lake region of Lake Como, while both girls slept on us in a much more crowded train.

Once there, we disembarked & made our way down to a little cafe restaurant on the water where we had a local favorite dish of pesto gnocchi. It. was. good. From there, we jumped on a ferry out of Varenna & across the way to our little hamlet of Bellagio. We were greeted by our great AirBnB hostess, who whisked us away at lightning speed winding our way up to our house for the next few days. It was a great location where we sat in the backyard which overlooked the lake, drinking good italian wine & eating more pasta, of course. It was a FABULOUS few days of exploring the middle lake region, wandering through the cobblestone streets, watching the swans, eating gelato while admiring the locally handcrafted olive wood pieces. We explored beautiful gardens, found countless lizards & even got to experience a very boisterous thunderstorm. I loved our time there, especially taking ferry rides across the water from port to port, gently rolling across the waves gazing out at the pastel buildings & ancient stone church towers. It was a peaceful place, full of incredible views, wonderful food & artful culture.

“In Italy, they add work and life onto food and wine.” -Robin Leach

One of my highlights from our time there was when we got caught in a downpour & sat at an outdoor cafe across the square from a 500 year old church, while we waited it out. We bundled up & sipped on our cappuccinos as slowly as possible, watching kids kick a soccer ball around while their parents had their afternoon cigarette & espresso. When the rain decided to finally peter out a bit, we grabbed our umbrellas & found another winding way down to the port where we boarded our ferry back. It was a simple, satisfying moment in time with my family.

We left Bellagio at 5am, where we walked along the shoreline waiting for the ferry. It was calm, brisk & MAGICAL. On the ferry we met an interesting couple from Australia, who were in their 7th week of traveling all around Europe. We spent the next hour or so at the train stop & on the train speaking with them about their adventures & enjoyed our encounter with them. They travel 7 weeks every single year together, hiking & journeying through different parts of the world. I admire that. I think the people in this world would be much happier if they did more of that, I sure hope as our years unfold we can continue to prioritize adventuring throughout this amazing planet.

After arriving in Milan again, we quickly changed trains & headed east across Italy. We stopped for the afternoon in the beautiful city of Verona, where we checked in our luggage & headed out to explore. It was a great decision! I LOVED the city. We sat & ate in a large piazza full of people & music & fountains & ancient buildings. We toured the original amphitheatre that was a test design for the much larger colosseum in Rome, kissed under Romeo & Juliet’s fabled balcony, ate gelato & wandered across a moat & drawbridge & through a castle to a bridge that was rebuilt by hand after it was bombed & destroyed in WWII.

From Verona, we got back on a train after refueling with more espresso & made our way east again to Marcon, right outside of Venice. We were picked up by yet another incredible AirBnB host who took us to her renovated 200 year old farmhouse for our stay. It was by far, the most INCREDIBLE AirBnB we have stayed in thus far. Our hostess, is a designer & interior decorator & her husband is an architect. With the two of them working their giftings together, this old farmhouse is a fully functioning, beautiful oasis of tranquility. I wanted to move in, make it a bit more toddler friendly & transport it to California. That evening she graciously drove us to the closest market where we purchased the ingredients to make a fabulous italian dinner. She also gifted us a bottle of local wine & spend nearly an hour showing us all of the local spots to visit while in Venice, where we would be exploring the very next day. She was the best hostess!

“Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice.” -Matteo Renzi

The next day we dove right into Venice. This city has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, as well as on Noah’s, so this was a dream come true for us. We took the train over the marshy water as we entered another world it seemed. This feeling was deepened as we stepped out of the train station right onto the Grand Canal walkway where we were instantly overwhelmed by how COOL this new city was! It was totally surreal, seeing all of those buildings, hundreds & hundreds of years old, build literally on the water. Thinking about now, I am still blown away by how crazy those Venetians were & still are! The city of Venice is one of a kind. I am so so grateful that we made sure to experience it! We ate at a local walk in cafe where we had mozzarella & fish sandwiches for euro & drank spritz, which is also a local drink. We wandered through the winding alleyways, seeing on one street high end shops & on the very next street over one cathedral after another, smashed in between apartments & locals enjoying their afternoon espressos. We took a local gondola across the canal for half a euro each & enjoyed the rocking motion as we went over to the fish market. At the fish market we saw just about everything I could imagine! A woman even put a lively little snail into my hand so Eliana could have a close up experience. We walked over bridge after bridge after bridge, popped in churches, bought some watercolors from local artists, ate gelato, took LOTS of pictures & just enjoyed MEANDERING. It was a great experience, including our taxi ride back up the Grand Canal to the train station. That night we went to a tasty (& very fancy!) pizzeria & finished our time in Italy the right way.

The next day we hopped back on the train & headed back towards Verona, where we switched trains & headed north to Austria through the Dolomites (where we will most definitely going back to hike around!). We saw sprawling castles way up on the hillsides, beautiful mountains & rivers. That was also the day that the Austro-Italian border had decided to instigate border control checks due to the volume of Syrian refugees traveling across. It was interesting to watch as they stopped the train & checked passports. Although all that we encountered were lots of smiles from the guards as Cora walked (assisted) up & down the aisles over & over again. I’m pretty sure she made a few peoples days each time we took a train. It’s hard to resist a cute baby waving at you. With that, we made our way into Austria, which I will share about the next time I write.

Overall, Northern Italy was a highlight for me, I truly enjoyed each one of the cities we visited. They were all so different & each had so much BEAUTY to offer. I loved that in practically each place we were, little old men & women would stop us & squish the girl’s cheeks & call them “ciao bella”, & they really meant it. I love that Eliana learned how to say “ciao” so well & that it is now a household word for us. Just like I shared last time with Switzerland, if you haven’t been to Italy, you should. JUST DO IT. Make it happen. Especially if you love good food, interesting culture, beautiful variegated scenery & history. I honestly can’t wait to go back again. So until next time, ciao.

“Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy.” -Bertrand Russell

Cheers,

Katie.

Switzerland & its wildflowers

August 19, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“Climb the mountains & get their good tidings.” -John Muir

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Well we are back in the full swing of summer/please-don’t-tell-me-it’s-time-to-think-about-school-already(!). It has been an INSANE 6 weeks home so I’d vote that it’s about time I share more about the beginning of our summer, being abroad for 20 days with some of the best people in this world.

Like I shared in my last post, this summer trip couldn’t have come at a better time. With the craziness of buying & fixing up a new home & selling our first one, going to Europe would definitely seem to not be an option. Unless you already planned it, bought plane tickets & booked places to stay, which thankfully, we had already done. No backing out! To say the least, our trip was phenomenal. It was great for so many reasons, but ultimately it was full of peace & excitement, rest & adventure, and getting to travel with my parents & our girls was a gift; it was a trip I will carry in my heart for a long time.

Getting to reflect back on those weeks throughout the rest of this summer has been a foundational place of thanksgiving for me. When I start to feel the stress of our chaos I can simply choose to mentally go back to the beautiful valleys, mountain peaks, cobblestoned streets & tasty gelato. Thank you Jesus. I am so so grateful.

I am choosing to break this into a series of posts based off of each place we visited, so as to give myself more time walking down memory lane & more space to share photos from our time in each location. This post is about the beauty of SWITZERLAND. One of the places on this earth that sings the praises of our Creator in an awe-inspiring tune. It is, simply, stunning. So grab some tea, some swiss chocolate if you have some & enjoy walking down through the valleys & high up in the hills of Switzerland with me.

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“Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly & freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books & wise people. Everything – even mountains, rivers, plants & trees – should be your teacher.” -Morihei Ueshiba

So we begin.

We flew out on a non-stop red-eye (which is a WONDERFUL thing if you are traveling with wee ones) from LAX to London. From there we met up with my Madre who flew in on a different flight & made our way on a much smaller plane to Zurich, Switzerland. We eventually found our rooms for the night & crashed out.

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The next day we took the train through the beautiful Swiss countryside & arrived in one of my absolute FAVORITE places on earth, the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Let’s just say that Tolkien based Rivendell off of this spectacular place with its 72 waterfalls & gondolas reaching the cliffsides through the low hanging clouds. It’s a dream. I find myself going there when I randomly daydream because it feels like a completely different planet. I. Love. It. It is stunning, peaceful & remarkably, not overrun. It is, however, a destination for those who choose to base-jump, or go wingsuit flying. (Picture in your head if you will, a man wearing a bright orange squirrel suit, soaring through the air on the wind hugging the side of a mountain cliff. Like a bullet.)

Getting to sit on our deck & watch parachutes open up consistently throughout the course of the day & flutter down in the valley was really amazing. It was also encouraging seeing the success of these experiences! Maybe one day I will base jump in the swiss alps, but for now I will drink my tea & watch those other crazy cats have the time of their lives. Win. Win.

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We stayed for 3 more nights there & filled out days with a mixture of rest, walking through the rain, exploring the surrounding villages (all accessed by gondola or cogwheel train), going to the Jungfrau & Shilthorn peaks, playing at parks, eating delicious root stews & schnitzels & taking naps. The girls adjusted to the time change fairly easily & that, my friends, is a HUGE win. It makes the world go ’round in a much smoother way.

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One of my highlights was getting to eat dinner at the only hostel in a teeny tiny town called Gimmelwald. It is a fantastic little strip of swiss farms, wildflowers, cows & views that seem to be a Hollywood backdrop. We have made it a point both times Noah & I have been to this area of Switzerland to go & buy some local cheese. We walk into the back of someone’s home where they have a self-serve fridge section & you leave your money in a basket. It’s wonderful! The cheese is tangy, hard & FULL of real flavor. Not for the faint of heart with its stray pieces of hair. 😉 Ok, back to our dinner. We ate outside of the hostel, watching the sun set behind the mountains as we drank Swiss made hard apple cider in all of its deliciousness. It was wonderful. I had root soup & crusty bread & we watched the last light hit the waterfalls before it fell into another dark night. It was one of those moments in time where you take some deep, slow, methodical breaths & just take. it. all. in. I love Switzerland. From there we walked down to take a gondola back to the valley floor & I got to snap a few pictures of my little peanut Cora surrounded by thousands of wildflowers. That was my one goal for capturing the Swiss landscape with my little one & luckily she didn’t freak out. 2 summers ago when I attempted the same thing with Eliana, she freaked. Wasn’t into the way they tickled her face I guess. But Cora humored me & it was perfect.

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After our stay in the Swiss alps, we moved on. We took the train to the border station Domodossola, in northern Italy & that is where our our Swiss journey came to an end. So that is where I will leave it until next time. I hope you had enough time to finish your amazing cup of cocoa, & if not, please continue in peace! Maybe start planning your own trip to the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, ya? You totally should. Go for it.

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“Come fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind & dance upon the mountains like a flame!” -William Butler Yeats

Cheers,

Katie.

Change

July 20, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

image1 (2) “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, & join the dance.” -Alan Watts

Change is HARD! The last few months have brought our family lots of it. We are in a season we were not anticipating, expecting, planning for. But isn’t that just how life is? At least for our family, we have learned that we TRULY cannot predict the future & that trying our best to “go with the flow” really makes things easier as the curve balls get thrown. And not all curve balls are bad, but they are still curvy, you know? So with that, it has been a few months of re-adjusting & re-adjusting & re-adjusting again. I’m getting pretty good at it. 😉 Our girls are handling it really well, which has helped. There have been moments of confusion & frustration, but ultimately it feels like it has been as smooth as we can make it. I am glad that our life has been FULL of the unexpected up until this point, so this is nothing new, really.

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We weren’t expecting to buy a fixer upper, to sell our home, to move in with my parents for the next unknown amount of time. We weren’t expecting all of this to pan out in the 2 months leading up to a trip to Europe for 3 weeks that we had already planned. We weren’t expecting to have to pack up our home that we have made into our haven over the last 5 years & have to start from scratch. We weren’t expecting to be able to buy a home in a neighborhood we love & be a mere 2 streets away from family. We weren’t expecting to do any of this! BUT WE ARE. And it is OK.

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“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” -Frederick Douglass

It has been a crazy, stressful, busy, never-ending last few months FULL of the unexpected. But that is ok, we have made it this far & we have a VERY FAITHFUL GOD. He is taking care of this & He KNEW that this is how our lives would be at this very point in history, before He even knit us together in our mother’s wombs. There is a lot of peace that comes from that detail. I love that we serve a God who knows what our lives will be like & that there is always so much GOODNESS in each unexpected season. I love that we planned our trip to Europe with NO idea that this was what everything would be like! It was really amazing timing & was a perfect break from the chaos that we have been experiencing. (I’ll share lots more about that trip soon!) I am grateful. I am grateful that everything is working out, that even with curve ball after curve ball, we are succeeding at choosing JOY & that we know everything is going to be even better in the end. It’s rad!

Life really is beautiful.

It’s a really exciting season, that’s for sure. Not what I was predicting or necessarily wanting, but still, it has been full of goodness. It will continue to surprise us, day by day, but in the end, when we move into our new home that we get to make into our new haven with details that we love, watching our girls run around outside in the backyard with our dog Gypsy, picking apples from our little orchard, sipping tea in front of a fire, taking evening walks around the neighborhood….It will all be so beautiful. For now, I will choose to be GRATEFUL for the season we are in, for the mornings I get to wake up & have coffee & eggs with my mom, for the pool in my parents backyard, for the evenings we get to all squeeze around the kitchen table for dinner, for my girls getting to live life under the same roof as Momo & Papa. For a trip to Europe & the ability to walk from where we are living to the remodel of our new home during the summer days & nights, for enough space for our family of 4 to share with my incredible parents. I am grateful.

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“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” -Wayne Dyer

I hope that if you are in a season of change, that you would be able to feel the winds of newness that that change brings you. That your life would be full of flavor & excitement & NEW hopes & dreams. That even if it feels hard, that that would bring you a deeper grounding & resilience in whatever you have to face today, tomorrow or 20 years from now. I hope you can find support from the community that surrounds you & that your heart would find PEACE even in the chaos. That your life would be lived out with GRACE & that you would bring love to the world around you even in the middle of change. I wish you well as you continue on your way through life today! Take some deep breaths & feel the breeze blow. Allow it to buoy you up & encourage you wherever you are at in this journey called life!

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“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” -Gail Sheehy

Cheers,

Katie.

Cora Kinsey turns ONE!

June 6, 2016June 6, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

image1 (1) “A cheerful heart is good medicine…The cheerful heart has a continual feast.” -Proverbs 17:22, 15:15

“The greatest gift you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love & acceptance.”- Buddy Valastro

OH MY HEART.

I can’t believe our baby is ONE. It has been a year full of life with her & I can’t imagine what our family would be without her. She is a GIFT.

I want to continue documenting these seasons & celebrations of life as it rolls along because I don’t want to forget how beautiful each birthday, each celebration, each step into a new season… is! It’s too easy to let it just pass by. So here is one small attempt to keep a hold of these memories.

For Cora’s birthday celebration, we had a party with friends & family in my parents backyard. OF COURSE, because my sister & I went through our pregnancies & births with the girls like twins, it was fitting to celebrate together! Riah Joy is 12 days older than Cora & we do so SO hope that they will be the very best of friends for all of their days as well as being cousin twins.

It was a perfect day for a party, a bit chilly, but windy & beautiful, not to mention we beat the rain that came pouring down later that evening. We spent the morning getting everything ready & when our guests arrived we had snacks & drinks & floral coloring pages with paint, bubbles & chalk & coffee for the parental units on a Saturday afternoon. We had pictures strung up of their monthly milestones up until this point, jars overflowing with wildflowers decorating the open spaces & books to be signed by our family & friends to commemorate this birthday for the girls. The kiddos ran around outside & enjoyed the freedom while the parents got to catch up over their coffee & popcorn.

We put the girls in their wooden high chairs, placed wildflower crowns on their little heads & sang them HAPPY BIRTHDAY as they blew (or lets be honest, the wind blew) out their tiny single gold candles on their baby cakes. Their big #1 birthday balloons danced behind them & they enjoyed slowly eating their cakes, starting with the blueberries of course. My hope for the day, all I really wanted was to get that moment captured in my hearts memory for forever. That beautiful picture of them in their tiny cream dresses with their heads wrapped in flowers eating their cake with their little fingers…. Oh man. So precious. I. LOVE. THEM. I got exactly what I wanted. It was perfect. One for the books in my opinion.

We opened gifts on a picnic blanket on the lawn & thanked everyone for coming to celebrate with us. It was a wonderful, short & sweet time to be with friends & family as we took the time to reflect on the gift of life & our girls turning one. It is always good, to slow down enough, to look back in gratefulness over the last year of someone’s life & all that it held. Because in turn, that beauty changed the atmosphere in which I got to live & breathe. That is a gift. My life is more beautiful now because of Cora, because of her life. I am so so grateful.

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A letter to my ONE year old daughter, Cora Kinsey Jenks

My little peanut! Oh how I love you.You make my heart explode with happiness. The joy you bring me is unmatched. I literally feel my heart pound when I hold you close. I am still so in awe that I get to be your Mama! I love being with you each day, getting to watch you grow & change & thrive. I love watching you with your amazing big sister Eliana & how you two adore one another. It is the best feeling. I am so grateful to the Lord that He healed my body from cancer & kept my womb in wholeness so that I could carry you, give birth to you & be your Mama for the rest of my life. I will never have adequate words to describe how thankful I am to have been able to have you & hold you from now until forever. You are a BEAUTY! You are so full of LIFE! The joy you carry, the laughter that you have that bubbles out of you, the voice you have. You are SMART! You amaze me each day with how quickly you learn. You are WANTED. You are LOVED. You are CHERISHED. Thank you for being so wonderful & bringing so much sunshine to our lives. I’ll love you forever & ever & ever.

With all my heart,

Your Mama.

So with that, our little peanut is ONE! Oh my word. I can’t even really believe it. This year has been full of adventure & in this next year of her life it seems that it will be even MORE full of adventure. It will be incredible watching her GROW & THRIVE & see her personality develop even more. I am looking forward to all that it holds. What BEAUTY! What JOY! What a gift it is to be a Mama.

I am the luckiest.

Cheers,

Katie.

Eliana turns 3!

April 16, 2016 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“Each day of our lives we make deposits into the memory banks of our children.”- Charles R. Swindoll

“Children are not things to be molded, but people to be unfolded.” -Jess Lair

Our little girl is 3. Wow. It is really true what EVERYONE tells you about the years flying by! They have been such a JOY & I have done my best to be intentionally focused on each day with my kiddos, to enjoy it ALL. But that still doesn’t change the fact that it has flown!

To celebrate sister turning 3, we decided to go the ZOO, as it is one of her current favorite places. It would be really neat if we lived closer to one to visit on a regular basis. She LOVES watching all the different animals & let me honest, so do I. It’s definitely a win win. We went to the Sacramento Zoo with some family & it was a wonderful day. We even got to stop in & visit Noah’s grandma which is always special.

On her actual birthday, we had a day blowing bubbles, running around outside (even though it was biting cold), drawing with chalk, baking a chocolate on chocolate cake, watching 101 Dalmatians, napping & of course, singing, eating pizza & getting lots of love from family & friends. It was a great day. The one moment I KNOW I won’t ever forget however, was when we were singing & having her blow out her birthday candles, little sister decided to reach over with her incredible infant stretchiness & BURN HER FINGERS ON SAID CANDLES. I mean, STRAIGHT into the flames. Of course we got it on video because we were paying attention to the SPECIAL moment for Eliana, but wow. I never thought that would happen. I now know, ALWAYS have a huge perimeter of space between birthday cake & little fingers. Our bad. Didn’t think that one through enough. Little sister is fine, by the way, she is a trooper & was totally happy 10 minutes later, no permanent damage done. Lesson learned for all of us! Eliana loved her cake & ice cream & definitely had a sugar high from this once a year occasion. It was a blissful day for her & that was all that I wanted.

For my beautiful 3 year old daughter:

Dearest Bug,

I love you so so much. You bring me great joy each & every day & there is no one in the whole wide world like you. You have fulfilled a life time of dreams for me & show me daily how wonderful life is. You are smart, resilent, warm, tender-hearted, kind, discerning, happy, thoughtful, determined & so many other things. You are an incredible big sister & an amazing daughter. I have enjoyed these last 3 years with you, watching you grow from a teeny tiny little one into a tall, strong, beautiful girl. It has been inspiring watching you grow & develop & change with every season of life. I can’t wait to see what this new year is going to be like for you! The things you are going to learn, do, see, taste, experience & discover! It is going to be a full year of goodness, Honey. I am grateful beyond words that I get to be your Mama & be with you every single day. There isn’t a better or more rewarding job in the universe for me. Being with you is a true joy. It makes my heart so glad! I am proud of you, I am moved by you & I am thankful every moment of every day for you. I love you to the moon & back, Bug. To the moon & back.

All my love,

Your Mama.

And with that, I am going to go pick up that big 3 year old & give her another hug, because I can never do that enough.

“The soul is healed by being with children.” -Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“While we teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.” -Angela Schwindt

Cheers,

Katie.

Winter Days with the Kiddos

March 4, 2016 / katiemjenks / 1 Comment

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
-Edith Sitwell

*I know it is all of the sudden acting like SPRING (my daffodils are thoroughly confused & popping up WAY too early) — but I wanted to reflect on the winter season in this post, because, technically, it is STILL winter. So just go with me on this. 😉

During the last few months we have been enjoying lots of time indoors due to the AMAZING & much needed rainfall paired with chilly temperatures & fewer hours of daylight. It has brought me great JOY being with the girls as we have the days to get create with our time. I thought I’d share some of what our wintertime days have looked like!

In the mornings we have a routine where we cook breakfast & eat it together at the table & look at the day ahead of us. Next usually comes a dance party back & forth across the house to some peppy music to get our blood flowing (& my cup of coffee helps too) as we get dressed & clean up. I always enjoy opening up our window shades to let in the morning light because it is such a TANGIBLE way for me to welcome the new day. Each day is such a GIFT! Even if I am a zombie after being awake 3 times the night before with my wee one. Again, coffee is a wonderful thing. 😉

The early afternoon/pre-lunch hours include some preschool time where we work on letters & animals, coloring & reading. Eliana is such a sponge & SO smart. It is enjoyable for me to watch her thrive in her “school” time each day. Another common early afternoon activity during these winter days has been baking together. Grammy (Noah’s mama) got Sister the CUTEST apron to wear & it has become a daily staple. I don’t ever want to forget cooking over the stove with her in this stage of life. Her apron over her footie jammies, her hair wrap on, standing tip-toe on her stool to see into the mixing bowls & pots. Cutest. Thing. Ever. Not to mention how she says things like “oat-mo-mol”. I die.

On days where leaving the house is an option, even if it is bitterly cold, WE DO. Usually pre-nap, so that we can get the wiggles out & enjoy the peace of our neighborhood streets while most people are out at work. It is essential for us to get out, breathe some fresh air, listen to the birds songs & puddle-jump. It is one of my FAVORITE times of day.

During naps (that is, IF I can miraculously get both girls to sleep during the same time) I prioritize taking care of my well-being. Lately that has included a great yoga session ALL BY MYSELF (thanks to Morgan Day Cecil Yoga channel on YouTube), my daily Bible reading, a good cup of tea & if time, some cleaning/purging throughout the corners of my house or diving into my whatever book I’m currently reading. This is definitely another FAVORITE time of the day.

Once Noah gets home from school, the girls are usually waking up & we proceed to spend the remainder of the afternoon hanging out with each other, laughing, playing, dancing, reading, using our imaginations. Then we cook dinner as a family, eat at our table with Cora as our centerpiece. She sits in her Bumbo & gets to eat lots of yummy things like peas & winter squash. 🙂

After dinner, we clean up & Eliana has some free play time & then we get the kiddos ready for bed. Rountine is great! It brings so much peace of mind. Noah & Eliana do the “jammie dance”, jammies & hair wrap in place, brush teeth, pick two books & read out of her Bible. Snuggles & prayers in bed end the wonderful day. Currently, she also needs “one more hug & kiss” to mama/dada/Cora, another drink of water & usually “needs” to blow her nose. Oh & then its the back & forth “I LOVE YOU’s!” until the door finally closes. Cora is along for the ride during that time of night & then we get to spend some time playing with her wooden blocks on the floor until she is plum tuckered out & gets laid in her crib for the night. (Well, until she decides to wake up to nurse at least once during the quiet hours of darkness.) I am always in awe of the stillness of the night, how RESTORATIVE it is, even when I sit in the dark with our littlest feeling half awake. I am so grateful that the world was created with both day & night. There is something really special about experiencing the sweetness of the nighttime hours, adopting a quietness to partner with what it brings (PEACE) to the world around us.

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I thought it would be neat to create a list of our favorite winter time activities/memories so that when I look back at it I can be reminded of the BEAUTY in this season of life.

-puddle jumping.

-baking.

-snuggling in the early morning.

-crisp & windy walks in the afternoon.

-reading books by the fire.

-flash card “games”.

-dance parties in our jammies.

-coffee, oat-mo-mol & milk.

-stickers.

-so many playtime sessions on the living room floor.

-Cora swaying to music.

-layers of socks, hats, sweaters & blankets.

-listening to the rain hit the roof in the middle of the night.

-playing in the snow.

-listening to Housefires, United Pursuit, Will Reagan, Ben Howard & Norah Jones.

-Eliana dancing with her flags.

-coloring.

-being outside, noses turning red.

-wearing our slippers.

It has been a GREAT winter & I am still enjoying it so much (even though it is all of the sudden acting like spring, I’m still pretending). I LOVE the starkness of the beauty around us, the long nights by the fire & the days reading with my little loves on my lap. I continue to thank the Lord for the rain & snow, it has been so refreshing both for the earth & for my soul. This season reminds me of how GOOD His love is. It reminds me of how comforting His arms are, how much time He has gifted us with for REST. It refreshes me, prepares me for the upcoming spring & the warmth the days will bring. It is essential for us to understand WHY there are seasons & understand what they have to offer us. I feel like I am on my way to feeling satisfied with both what I have put in as well as received from this season of winter. It has been a season of intentionally seeking balance & rest, aligning my priorities & taking care of the world around me. I am grateful for the winter.

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.”
-Paul Theroux

“I pray this winter be gentle and kind–a season of rest from the wheel of the mind.”
-John Geddes

I hope that you can reflect on the last few months of your lives & discover what is has GIFTED you. Look back at what you have invested in, what you have received, if you have rested enough. Just like at the beginning of every year, most people make a list of what they want to see happen or accomplish. I think it is just as important to REFLECT on the time leading us into the season we are in, whether it is a look back over the whole last year or just this season of winter. I encourage you to make a list of the good things that winter has brought you. Think about the highlights & what you have learned. I plan on doing this throughout the course of the whole year, so as to be reminded on regular basis what our daily life has been like, what has been so RAD about the season we have experienced. I don’t want my life to go by like a vapor & not invest in myself or the world around me. I need to be reminded of what I am here for & how I can be the BEST version of me for myself, for my husband, for my kiddos.

So with that, I hope you can do the same. Invest in yourself & the world around you.

LOVE WELL. BE REFRESHED. ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF THE WINTER.

“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!”
-Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Cheers,

Katie.

the jenks tribe

celebrating the goodness in our every day living

Family

Fall celebrations

KINDNESS.

England & its rain

Austria & its history

Northern Italy & its gelato

Switzerland & its wildflowers

Change

Cora Kinsey turns ONE!

Eliana turns 3!

Winter Days with the Kiddos