Alive

I really need to write it down, to share it, because it feels so incredibly good that I need to let it out and to give a readable shape to these feelings to remind them in the dark moments that will sure come again ( as it happens to everybody from time to time ). For the first time in many many years I feel alive. Not exactly alive, because it might seem that until now I was numb and depressed all the time, and it not true. I feel like if I found my true self again. Like meeting an old dear beloved friend that you lost any kind of contact with and all of a sudden you meet her again. She aged, she's greying, she's heavier, but it's her, and you're so happy about meeting her that all the changes are not important at all. I'm not really sure how it happened. I started meditating daily and praying daily and most of the time I'm doing both at the same time, Christian meditation that's it. And I tried to just soak in beauty, and to practice mindfulness and to be fully in the moment, whatever moment it might be. And I found myself sitting on the thick carpet of my living room, with a box full of fabric scraps, colorful wooden beads, tiny silver bells and my little one freely ravaging through it all giving me all the freedom to let my mind and soul go and I found myself sewing and arranging and playing and having plain old fun with it all and when i felt it was finished I felt like waking up from a very vivid dream, still a bit dizzy, with a beautiful piece of ... art ... do i dare to call it art ? ... Yes, I can only call it a small, lovely piece of my very own art. My. OWN. art ... So liberating. So invigorating. I read lately, that if God gives you a gift, He will give you the chance to live by that gift.... Maybe ... This is what I'm talking about. Welcome back Flavia, here you are, in your beautiful uniqueness. In your imperfect uniqueness. In your perfect God-made uniqueness. This has been a real Easter for me. I feel I'm born again to a new fullest life.

{this moment}

{this moment}

 I'm joining Soulemama today.

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Lately

In the last few days we experienced at least three different seasons. We went from spring, to winter to autumn. Of course we're not really pleased ... let's saying we were enjoying our early spring quite a lot, but of course whatever it comes it is right, so we simply changed our pace to 'cold' and implemented our indoor projects. After nearly four years living in Finland I am a bit tired of feeling cold all the time, and so is all my young crew, so everybody prefer to stay in waiting for the sun to come back ....

Can you imagine how deluded we've been when outside the window we saw snowflakes flying in all directions ? We closed the courtains. We didn't want to see it happens ...

 I was so disheartened that I started painting some fun cards summer-inspired ...

do you like them ? I think they're nice. I think I might make postcards out of them.

A child and a box. Poetry.

Sheep-day ! 

To see other children's activities check my Homeschool Blog  

later today.

 And here Milla and James are painting together, lovely !

How's your today ? Hopefully warm and joyful.

Have a nice day, dear friends !

Total Eclipse

Yesterday our 'astronomical week' has come to its glorious end. Actually I never planned this as astronomical week, but as unschooler I love letting life teaching us the right lessons at the right time.
So when tuesday we had the chance to admire the northern lights for the first time and in our own yard, questions started flowing almost no-stop and when I told my children that in the same week they could have the chance to see also an eclipse they were just eager to know more and more. And so we spent basically all the week learning about the solar system, the motion of the earth and of the other planets, the reason why the eclipse was happening and the northern lights were happening. Then on thursday we got ready for the big event prapring some homemade tool to watch the sun without any risk for our vision. We took that black film that you put on the glasses of the car and folded it 3 or 4 times and then we laminated it.
Friday morning we headed outside in the garden and waited, even if it was very cold and windy. But it sure was worth. I already experienced an eclipse, in Rome, in the summer of 1999, few weeks pregnant with my oldest doughter, with morning sicknesses in full swing. 16 years went by and there I was, in Finland, with my 5 children. It got me quite emotional and I told this story again and again while admiring what was happening above us. As 16 years ago, at some point the birds became quiet, and the light was dim. This time I had my Nikon and I tried to take few pics, but none of them showed what was happening, probably you need the right filter otherwise the sunlight it's so strong that the camera keep capturing the roundness of the sun even if the eye can clearly see the black spot becoming bigger and bigger and covering up all the sun. But here few pictures...

Have you enjoyed the eclipse ?

{this moment}

 I'm joining Soulemama today.

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Revontuli : Northern Lights

Tonight something magical and blessed and wonderful happened. We saw for the very first time Northern Lights. Incredible since we're in the south of Finland, 800km south from the artic circle. I've been dreaming to see northern lights for ages, and tonight finally happened. I'm so thankful for the great gift of seeing such a beauty. We should focus on the beauty, there's plenty.

Words can't describe the feeling. I am small, way small, but oh so blessed by the beauty that surrounds me.

Wonders of a sunny day

We've been blessed by another sunny day. In the last week or so we got an incredibly beautiful weather, the snow is basically gone ( except for few scattered piles in the shadow in gardens or on the side of the less traveled roads. This good weather really encourage us to keep up with our newly established routine to include some outside work every morning. So today after some table work we all headed outside for some more pruning and rocks picking. During our chores the children had the chance to see something really unusual: they removed a bigger rock and under it there was a ant nest with all the ants sleeping in hybernation! I've never ever seen anything like that. After the rock was removed few of the ants started moving very slowly, hardly walking. It has rised a lot of questions about hybernation and I'll try to answer properly tomorrow. In the afternoon-evening we went outside again and I took few pictures of the house and the road, it looks so different from few weeks ago, when everything was white and grey.

The sleeping ants

 

Everything looks so different now.  I'm waiting for geese to come back and announce out loud that the good season it's here officially and for good !

My bedroom's window. Beautiful isn't it ? It's quite old, but the house is more than 105 years and this is big part of its beauty.

 

And here it is, light, blue sky, sunset colors and happyness. 

BLISS.

{this moment}

 I'm joining Soulemama today.

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

In the garden

Today it was a wonderful day, tamps were a bit lower than yesterday (-2 in the early morning, then probably around 3 or 4 ) but the sky was clean and the sun was shining and we just decided to have new family routines which include working in the garden together for at least one hour every nice day. So after breakfast and some family creative writing we all headed outside to enjoy the day, the company and work ....

Seba and Milla are pruning a bush

 

James is checking everybody's work ...

 

Leo is breaking the ice

Again Leo and Gaia are breaking the ice

 

Working together is a gift

 

Seba's antennas .... ( the ant-boy )

 

New roof for the neighbours ! Incredible how they took it away with the crane all together !

 

James painted this spring flower once back in.

Green is his favourite colour at the moment.

Such a good blessed day. Hopefully just the first of a lot of them !

Finally fine !

After five days of tragedy we're FINALLY FINE !!! Let's get back to saturday, we came back home from the hospital with poor little James still very tired and suffering. Then sunday came and as I was ready to listen my oldest doughter radio program ... I started being terribly sick ( be thankful, I'm sparing you the details ... ) and in middle of the night ... one of the older boys ... and monday morning oldest doughter ... and monday night ... second older boy !!!! Since our only toilet is downstairs all the children slept in the living room, on the sofa, armchairs and floor (!!!) and of course tuesday morning at 9:00 the plumber arrived unannounced ( in Italy when the say in the next days they never mean THE next day lol ). Probably he thought he was in some kind of horror movie ... five sick people, children sleeping everywhere .... he will never ever come again eheheheh.... But today ... Today we woke up fine, and outside the sun was shining, and the temp was +5 and ... we got out, some burgers on the way, some garden planning and shopping at a sale ( two small green houses and a nice decoration ) and once we got back home we had so many things done filled up with new energy and health. Here few pics from today ...

 Jimmy and Milla before getting out

 Seeds check

 Gaia and Jimmy working togeher on a gardening project 

 'Gimme a seed ! '

 Making the hole ...

 'Here your seeds'

 ' I put 'em there '

 Lovely sight !

Leo and Jimmy cuddling

(Leo doesn't want pics of him taken, this is the best he has allowed me to take ... )

Being healthy is such a blessing !!!!!