30 days of smiles: Day 22!

Happy Beltane! In honor of the great fertility holiday, we had a spontaneous backyard celebration. We enjoyed wine, tortilla pizza & May Day stories by the fire. 

Baz took a long afternoon nap and was surprised to wake up to a blazing fire. He stared at the fire for a some time and entertained us with his dreams, thoughts & songs.

Funny how mesmerizing fire is... 

I've been feeling some "stuck-ness" lately and I think that tonight was a bit of a healing balm for my soul. When it became too cold for Baz & Benjamin to be outside, I lingered awhile and gave what has been holding me back to that fire. Feeling lighter already & very much looking forward to the blossoming to come. 

Settling in.

Soooo...

the journey continues. We decided to move to Oregon!!! I visited California for a week and then made it back to Salt Lake City soon after the last post and did much in the way of packing our stuff and selling some off. Sadly, we are renting and were unable to bring the chickens with us, but will revisit that project when we manifest OUR HOUSE (I know! I am so excited to see that happen!!!) in the near future! The last couple of months have been a whirlwind of emotions, lack of personal space + movement and I needed to save all of the energy I had... but:

We made it to Newport on May 2nd after a fairly uneventful move (which was only possible with the help of my rad dad who flew to SLC and then drove the moving truck for us and flew back to California!). We are unpacking in between the usual. You know?: eating, sleeping, taking walks on the beach... I decided to take my time pulling out the camera in an effort to really just be here now. We are finally beginning to feel settled. Found a much needed playground just a few blocks away today, so the routine that Sebastian loves can and will continue. Starting to feel the urge to dig out that camera and share a bit of visual love with you all. I'm thinking I need another week to complete most of the box emptying and then the photos will flow. Can't wait!

Garden blessing.

Being far from our magical family is extra hard at Beltane. I am used to welcoming springtime's fertility and increasing heat with a large group of free spirits; dancing, singing, eating divine treats & laughing merrily all the way. Of course, I couldn't let our new locale prevent us from celebrating this year. How could I? After all, we have a fabulous garden plot just aching to receive blessings as we prepare to spread seeds & transplant seedlings. 

I am sure Sebastian enjoyed eating & smelling flowers more than the maypole dance, itself... He did humor me, though. Ben lent his energy by taking photos and helping wrap the final strings around the pole. Yes, the pole is a shovel. It seemed fitting (& the perfect size for a child-centered ritual). I have to say: while I miss my magical family, I relished the intimacy of our tiny family celebrating together. Small. Short. Sweet. Perfect. 

Happy Lunar Beltane! d