Festival of Stones....

Festival of Stones

The First Light of Advent is the Festival of Stones...
Stones hat live in crystals, seashells, and bones....

....At this first ceremony we will light the red candle of stones
We will place our stones we have chosen on the altar as well as shells we have gathered in our travels

This week we will reflect on stones which are the bones of our Mother Earth.









Tonight begins Advent here at our Home. We begin with the Festival of Stones. Here is the emblem of the Week, the Moonstone Mandala:


This is what the Seasonal Table looks like this morning (the children haven't seen it yet, as they have yet to go to the kitchen).....


There is my personal collection of stones: Kyanite, Rose Quartz, Rainbow Moonstone, White Moonstone, Agate, Blue heart rock, Shiva Linga, Petrified Wood, a Geode, Ohio Pink Granite, My Butterfly Stone (remind me to show you a pretty picture of my butterfly stone sometime), and I am sure I am missing some....

There are also Seashells from The Gulf of Mexico, The Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean, as well as from here in Ohio and from Colorado...

And a wishbone i have been saving :)

The Four Advent Candles are there: Red=Stones, Green= Plants, Yellow/brown= Animals, Blue= Humankind and White=Soul/Yule/Solstice (i have a candle that belonged to my father, who died on Winter Solstice 1996 that I burn a little every year and at "occasions" such as births and deaths. It is the one which will be lit on Solstice Night itself)

Tonight as part of our ceremony, We will add to the altar favorite stones of our own (jonathan and sebastian) as well as stones that we all picked the other evening in Yellow Springs at the Craft Store....the Littles even picked their own....
(pardon the picture, it is a scan. i couldn't take a picture that was any better...it is a new year's resolution to learn the camera, i promise)

Jonathan- Citrine (he hasn't made the Sacral Connection, yet. I wonder if he will...
Steffani-Kyanite, a Stone Rose, and the Harry Potter Moonstone i saw a few weeks ago but was still at the shop...
Sebastian-Green Obsidian and Copper (wise of him to choose a metal too, and I draw the connection with Bobby and Copper, but he hasn't yet)
River-Onyx
BellaLuna- Rose Quartz....

Through the week, we have Advent Guides that ask a question for discussion that day, prompt activities and thought, and which I look very foreward to....I hope Jonathan and Bastian enjoy it....
I scanned pictures of the actual sheets and then will type what the questions are, but, to enlarge, click on the pictures...

Monday: What are your favorite stones and gems? Why are they your favorite? What do they mean to you?
Tuesday: The three different types of Rocks are Igneous (created by fire) Sedimentary (created from layers of sediment) and Metamorphic (Igneous and Sedimentary rocks that have changed forms into metamorphic rocks).... Tell how each of these stones have meaning to your life. For example What sorts of igneous things have made you who you are, sedimentary, and how have those things Metomorphosized you?

Wednesday: Find the meanings of 8 gemstones you want to learn about...
Thursday: What does being a MoonSTONE mean to you? What does the STONE in moonstone mean to you? How can we better live up to our name?


Friday:Find out all our family's Gemstones. What do they symbolize? Do the Stones fit the people? How are they Like the stone? Different?
Jonathan:
Steffani:
Sebastian:
River:
BellaLuna:
Saturday: Create a Moonstone Art Project out of Stones, Shells, etc. WIth a "stone" Theme....To share at tomorrow's ceremony and keep for future advents :)

Then through the week we will have different verses in the Advent Stockings for each theme. I have four that I have found so far, will fill in the rest before we get there :)....
Monday:
I feel the stone
and through the stone the earth
and my past
and my future
as i am grounded to my present...
In the ridges and hollows,
are the rise and fall of my heart,
as I live out my destiny
to tell of the stone
to tell of the earth
to tell of the journey....
My journey on the surface of the stone.
I am but a dust mote
pitched from place to place
on the whim of the wind.
I scatter the seeds of some poerms
to be carried on the beaks of birds
to be mixed in the whispers of the wind
for the ones who hear my message
and come bearing me treasure.
The treasure of Truth
in that one line
of Love.....
Tuesday:
Stone rough and jagged
Tumbles down the hill,
Falls into a river,
There lies calm and still.
River's ever-flowing,
Water sparkling bright,
Curving, twirling, slip and slide
In the Summer light.
Years flow by like water-
water on the move....
At last the stone once jagged,
is polished, round and smooth
Wednesday:
The rocks are hard
and we stumble.
The rocks are sharp
and we bleed
The rocks are heavy, jagged and dense
crushing and dark indeed....
But the rocks bear the weight of the world
They bear up our steps with might
And deep within, like stars on earth
Their jewels glisten bright....
Thursday:
Deep in the kingdom there spreads a great forest
Deep in the forest a mountain soars high
Deep in the mountain a high vaulted cavern
Secret and Solemn where fools may not pry....
Deep in the cavern there stands a great granite
Solid and silent and strong as the earth
Deep in the granite there glistens and gleams
A radiant jewel of wondrous worth....

Each week we will also write our intentions/manifestations/gratitudes on our prayer flags for the week, and each week i will add the colored stars for the weeks that the Littles and I glittered until at Solstice, i will place on the altar a white cloth with silver and gold stars....

sooooo excited! :)

Our Advent calendar came in the mail today! yay!

Marci made this for our family. It is our advent calendar forever and always and we will cherish it greatly.

This year is the first time I have been able to prepare in advance to have a full celebration of Advent. Many activities are planned for each week. A special gathering each Sunday night (where we will learn about the festivals and share thoughts from the week prior, as well as work on our prayer flags we will be making, and time for reflection and sharing about each element as we learn about them and honor them....among many other ideas....i will of course share with everyone.... i am soooooooo excited to be doing this)

The Verse the idea comes from is:

The first light of Advent is the light of stones.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.

The second light of Advent is the light of plants.
Roots, stem, leaf, flower, and fruit by whom we live and grow.

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts.
Animals of farm, field, forest, air, and seas.
All await the birth in greatest and in least.

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind.
The light of love, the light of thought, to give and to understand.

Each night of advent Sebastian will draw a verse pertaining to that week's festival from the stocking and will read it and we will share our thoughts on the topic....

We will begin our advent next Sunday evening beginning with the Festival of Stones....

The first Week of our Advent is the Festival of Stones.... During this week we honor the stones of the Earth and how they help build our lives. How buried deep in the cold ground they are the bones of the Mother Earth.....

The color of our prayer flag for that week will be Red and the symbol is a moonstone mandala....

The Second week of Advent is the Festival of Plants.

During this week we honor the place of plants in our lives and the life of the earth. We will do activities and have verses that reflect on our dependence on plants and green things....

(during this week we will plant our bulbs for next spring, among other things)

The prayer flag color for this week is Green (of course) and the Symbol is the Tree of Life...

The Third week of Advent is the Festival of Beasts (animals). During this week we honor the spirits of the animals of the world and their wisdom and ways of being.

If all goes to plan, this will be the week we will receive our new moonstone animal family member. We are looking to get a cat or kitten so that we can extend our lives to a pet.

We will also go meat-free during this week and much more again after.

Other activites will include feeding our yard squirrels some acorns we gathered on a picnic in yellow springs, as well as making pine cone bird feeders to hang from our tree....and reading animal stories....

The color of the prayer flag for the week is Yellow and the symbol is Ta, the Wind Horse....

The fourth week of Advent is the Festival of Humankind . In this week we will honor our fellow human beings and learn to more peacefully coexist with each other and all people.....

Activities will include Charity, Helpfulness, Giving, and Kindess ........

The prayer flag color for the week is Blue and the symbol is Om.

The Fifth and final bit of our Advent will be (something i kinda made up) the Festival of Soul....There are a few days between the last Sunday of Advent and Solstice itself, which is on Tuesday....And still a few more days between Solstice (the 22nd) and Yule (the 25th)....So on this week, we will learn about the Yule festival and what it means (Yule literally means "Wheel" as in the turn of the Wheel of the Year.)....

Activities will include the Decorating and Lighting of our tree on Solstice, and all the yummy lovely goodnesses of the Yule celebration, with presents, music, movies, good food and treats, and of course Santa's visit!

Following Yule, we will hang our Prayer Flags we have made in order to set our intentions for Good Fortune in the coming year....

I am excited about the Season this year. I feel I am doing a great thing in honoring this time of year and its significance as well as creating memories, gifts, magic, and knowledge for the children to remember, cherish, and enjoy for the rest of their lives.

The Art Cabinet

I LOVE the art cabinet. It is one of my proudest Mothering thingies. I first read about this in the book (that i LOVE) Mrs. Sharp's Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach. (Someday I will blog about the book. Till then, you'll have to find it on your own. Its card catalog number is: 646.78) SHe called it a "Rainy Day Cabinet" filled with things to amuse the children on a rainy day.

The idea is to make a cabinet where your kids can always find what they need to create art-type projects and crafts. One centralized location for all their fanciful needs. And as they grow it is more and more invaluable. I have had mine since Sebastian was very small, I would say three, if I remember correctly.

It is pretty uniform at this point. Sometimes I add new things that I didn't have before. But normally I just stock up on things during Back To School and at Tax Time when we have a bit of extra money. But the possibilities are endless, and the value is immeasurable.

The cabinet itself was Sebastian's Great-Great Grandparents'. When they passed, it is the thing I picked for our family (without knowing about the art cabinet quite yet)....I started it then, when Bastian was three....Not even knowing I was doing it. It sat by My desk in the old kitchen and i put my envelopes in it and stuff and Bastian's coloring books, and odd stuff. I have always kinda had a school/office supply jones....

I decoupaged it and really started the Art Cabinet in earnest in the fall of 2006 when we moved to the Basement Apartment in Greeley. When we went for Bastian's School supplies i resolved that that weekend was THE weekend and the art cabinet would be born.

I would encourage every mother and other to make one. Even for yourself, as a creativity haven. It is amazing to have everything in one place. And, I believe, it is an INCREDIBLE parenting tool, for the littles. I know that Bastian feels pleased to've had one his whole life. It really is a special thing.

Here is what is in ours....(and on ours....and yes, i just cleaned it out and organized everything...it is NOT always like THIS....)


On the top are containers for:

• Pens


• Pencils


• Colored Pencils


• Sharpie Markers


• coins/money


• one small container for "Stuff"

The camera also resides on top (we had a time this afternoon when we thought the camera was gone! yikes!) normally. As do wallets, and all sorts of junkola...but not this day :) on closer inspection i also see the HOTSAUCE for cursewords....(which are almost nonexistent now, thanks to the HOSSOSS)

On the Top Shelf inside are:

• Index Cards/Post-It notes (for scribbling, mostly ha...and at back to school time you can get the packs of index cards for a quarter or less...)
• crayola markers
• beads
• glue gun/glue sticks
• stampers and stamp pads
• stapler and staples
• watercolors
• oil pastels
• modeling clay
• The TAPE (having the tape in one place is incredible in itself)

Normally I also have Elmer's school glue and Rubber Cement, but at the moment it appears that we are out....( i think i might i remember a cataclysm with the glue-all....)

On the second shelf are Mostly my stationary and things. What a great thing, eh? To have all this in one place. Mostly I have bought vintage cards and stationary at thrifts and yardsales, etc. VERY cheaply. For pennies, really, at the most. By the bag for a buck or less, preferably.

On This shelf are:

• Envelopes (Normally Long AND short, but only short today....i think maybe it might have something to do with glue-all)
• Extra Index cards (looks like I need to stock up....I had, but gave some to charity with a stack of school supplies)
• Packs of Recycled Looseleaf paper (watched it go from $3.29 to .63 cents...yay)
• cards, cards, stationary, cards, stationary....Sorted by different occasions (in another fit of organization, of course)
• my BIRTHDAY BOOK....one of my favorite things....It is sorted by month and then has a page of numbered "days" of the month where you write the birthdays in it. It helps, because I really do aspire to send cards. It's something that makes me happy.
• the multitudinous address labels aforementioned....

Third shelf down is The Children's Shelf.... Can you imagine having something like this when you were little??? Did you? Lucky duck!...

• The tin is my FAVORITE mucha...The Zodiac...this is maybe my favorite tin of them all. Inside it is full of Crayola (only! and the extras from when we go to Frisches) Crayons...Bliss!
• Coloring books
• The white box holds a project I have been working on since I was pregnant with Sebastian, that I will complete, I HOPE before Fred's Birthday next year...It is an Alphabet/Color Book.....I am sure I will blog more about it soon...
• Construction paper (lots! always!)
• The brown box is full of stickers (see earlier blog "frugal hack: FREE STICKERS") and in the ziplock baggie are even more stickers that wouldn't fit in the box for size.

Fourth Shelf holds the box i created to hold my beatiful magazine clippings in. The plan is to get another box for the littles with pictures they love in it someday..... Under it is the "fancy paper". I like to stock up on "scrapbooking paper" at the craft stores when they are on sale. I won't pay over 10 cents/ sheet, though. I am cool like that. The other thing on the shelf is a HUGE box of old printer paper that our old neighbors were throwing away a couple years (!) ago when we lived in the basement apartment. A couple years and we haven't even made a Dent in it.

The bottom shelf (which is broken and sure, yeah sure, i am gonna fix it...) is loaded with Highlights magazines from when Bastian had a subscription from grandma mae for a couple/few years and some that Jonathan's grandma had held onto since he was little and others we have found at yard sales, etc. Also a Big stack of Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill magazines from the 1960's....awesome!

I imagine we can only branch out in our new home. (the manifestation is a craft ROOM with LOTS of closet/cabinet space) To fabric crafts/knitting/sewing/painting for ALL :)

Thank you for sharing...Go forth and make your own Art Cabinet, mothers and others!

***BONUS picture....the side of my fridge that sits next to the art cabinet***

frugal hack of the day---***FREE STICKERS!!!***

I have collected Frugal/Helpful Hints every since I have been a Mother/housewife. Sometimes I magically get the wherewithall to use them. Today was one of those days, so I am passing on my experience/idea to you just in time for the holidays....We are all too poor to be ashamed of homemade, ingenious, sweet gifts, aren't we???

Start of 2009, we Moonstones dedicated ourselves to contributing more of our (not much) money to charity. So we scoped out our favorite charites and started saving mailers of who we wanted to give to. I have even more ideas of how to do this, but after our experience in this, we have taken a break from mailing money to charity, and just contribute when we are asked in person, and things like that.

We gave (pretty tiny amounts, really, but what we could) to perhaps five charities in the first couple months. (I won't name them i guess....) Environmental charities, a couple animal charities and a couple diseases....

THEN THE FLOOD OF MAIL..... I don't have to tell you if you've been through this. But I was SHOCKED at the amount of mail that has poured into this house DAILY from this. And especially infuriating are the ENVIRONMENTAL charities....I wish I had the gumption to make a stack to photograph....One day I did take a picture when the stack for that DAY was especially high....

I was just flabbergasted and astounded. It was really bad that the charities we had JUST sent (a TINY amount of) money too, IMMEDIATELY sent mailers asking for MORE money and for RENEWALS....

Then millions of other charities started in. A deluge. Deluge is not too dramatic a word for this.

And they sent STUFF....Paper stuff mostly. Notepads, Greeting Cards, Calendars, all sorts of ephemera. We COULDN'T give more. And we certainly couldn't give to all of the charities that sent us STUFF. The amount of address labels alone could wall paper our kitchen!

Most of all of it ended up in the recycling bin. I just WONDER about the multitudes who do not recycle. This charity mailer thing has to get pared down!

But the reason we are here, is my frugal hack. STICKERS!!!!

Some of the address label sheets had stickers embedded in them. And some just had the little pictures before the name/information. These made perfect FREE stickers for fred and bella (and bastian if he wants!) to play with!!! yay!

We are renting this house, we are planning to move in a year and half. I will NEVER mail 85,342,609 letters to use the address labels. So i kept a FEW (maybe a hundred ha) of my favorites (the exception being the Peta Labels that say "Steffani Moonstone" :)

Cut out all the rest of the little pictures and stickers, recycled the slough, and Viola! Free Stickers for littles!

I don't know about you, but I would not be in the least offended if someone gave my children these stickers for a gift. They are an ingenious present. Nor would I in the slightest ashamed to put them in a cute little box and give them to any other child.

We are all too broke for shame and offense, are we not???? These stickers are a WIN WIN WIN :)

Remember when we were young children? The THRILL of STICKERS!!!! Unmatched. As bribing tools, collectables, etc. etc. etc. Remember sticker books?!!! You could easily make a quick "Sticker Book" out of construction or other paper.... :)

There are stickers in this box of animals, flowers, all different holidays and times of year, fruits and vegetables....all sorts of things...Hundreds of stickers!

Enjoy! :)

(People who say "I don't have time to cut out stickers".......Think of the time, even slight that you are working to PAY for anytime you would ever buy stickers....)



The (million---no exaggeration) Address Labels that i still have left.........plenty!

shirt i made.....my bf severus....

(such a fangirl!)

jonathan ran off the pic on transfer paper and i put it on my just-off-color pink Mossimo longsleeve cotton shirt.....

Loves!

happy birth day, bellaluna!

We were walking into the marriage license bureau. I was wearing a green corduroy jumper over my most comfortable shirt....

I was pushing tiny Baby Fred in the umbrella stroller. Eight year old Bastian was off at second grade.Jonathan was walking beside me. The sun was shining very brightly. It was Valentine's Day 2007.

"You are waddling!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Like you are pregnant!"

HAHAHA we laughed.....Impossible! Women with eightmonthold babies aren't PREGNANT! haha! Must still be from Last time! HEE HEE HAHA... let's get married....

Two weeks later, I bought the trusty Dollar Store Pregnancy Test, for one reason or a waddling other.....

I remember that I swept back into the living room, swooped up baby Fred from his bouncy chair (see the incongruity of it?!), sat on the couch and started to cry.

I doubt this was Jonathan's expected reaction from me. Dunno.

I know that I still had Post-Partum Depression from Fred. I know that we had an income of certainly less than a thousand dollars/month (probably including our foodstamps) and that our bills were $1200/month alone. I knew that *I* wasn't supposed to be a "baby making factory"......This was absolutely the most irresponsible thing I had done since drugs......And it was very very real.

I am sure I called Marci next. I wish it were on tape somewhere what was said. Whatever we said, i KNOW i ended the conversation laughing and fine.....


I know that during my pregnancy with Bella, we ordered cable television, and I absorbed a lot of America's Top Model and VH1 specials....

When i was recently (just the other day) pregnant with Fred, I had READ every single book I ever wanted to read again because I probably wouldn't ever have the chance again (little did i know!) We also got an unlimited membership to the video store....

My (other)craving (besides, it appears, Radical Escapism)was "DoubleWhopperWithCheeseNoLettuceTomatoOrOnion"....to the point that the dudes and ladies in the drive thru knew my voice by the seventh month....

In July, in the midst of my Summer Pregnancy....(ugh... you just sweated and got body aches thinking about it, huh ladies?!)... Sebastian went on his visit with his dad and we experienced bobby's death in the exact midst of my pregnancy. It's THAT (even more hugerly) huge (than you may've thought).....

In October, things were pretty alright and leveling outish.....The baby was due on Halloween. (of course) We hadn't been seen by anyone by then, and needed an "official" witness for when we were to file for the birth certificate later. So I wrote a long rambling letter to a midwife referred to me by Marci and we got an appointment about two weeks before i was due. I really only wanted the letter and didn't need to be examined. But I had ONE teeny question....I didn't "feel" the same as when i was far along with Fred. SOMETHING was DIFFERENT. Could she please give Jonathan some pointers for helping check the baby's positiion, because of how i had been in labor much longer than I should've been with Fred because of my insistence that i didn't know if i was "At 10!"....Oh yes, dear, feel that? Baby is head down and ready to go any time! yay! :)

Bobby's birthday is the 5th of November. I discussed at length, on November 1st, with Sebastian what it would be like if the baby were born that day. Too Sad. Too Devastating...was the verdict.

I decided to try to induce labor the next night. Castor Oil with a doubleshot of whiskey chaser and lots of looking into the moon.....and THINKING.....

At four fortyfive o'clockish the next morning, 3 November, i woke up with such a terrible backache. I didn't place it for quite a bit. Just "gee! my back HURTS!".... "OH!!!!"

Woke up jonathan the 8th time my back HURT.

It was on. No joke, no foolin, this was it. Breathing OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTT SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS with one hand and trying to call Marci with the other....in candlelight in our bed, while Fred the new Focal Point slept in his crib in front of me.

This time we actually wrote down the contractions and timed them and all....they were absolutely perfectly two minutes apart from the time i woke up.

I remember saying at one point "I know i am always glorifying Birth and Labor and Women's Mysteries and all that, but this SUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKKKSSSS." second's later, my water broke.

Then it was on....I got up and headed to THE COUCH where i had fred. I wasn't going to screw around and be in labor one millisecond longer than i had to THIS TIME.

As I started walking though, i knew something was VERY VERY different. and SHARP! when i think of bella's birth at all, i think the word SHARP! it was like i was walking with the force ofgravity on a bag of sugar inside me with a carving KNIFE on the bottom that was jabbing at me....

When i got to the couch i had one big standingup contraction (as i stared into jonathan's papagandalf painting and contemplated the scores of women who stare at Mary instead...yes i can do things like that in labor)...reached down to wipe. Meconium!

Primal Fear!

Jonthan ran to get the book.....Meconium....Stress....Danger....Breech.....Transfer....Breech! that's all it really says....!

Well, THAT's Not so...because The Midwife said things were fine. But we are gonna proceed faster. I am going to go to the bathroom and loosen this all up and get this baby out in the next fifteen minutes. As long as the placenta is attatched to the baby it is ok....it is ok....it is ok....
(that was THE thought process)

........I tell this to lots of people each year...."When a woman commits to a homebirth, especially an unattended homebirth like we have chosen, or a hosptial birth or ANY birth, a woman has GOT to confront Head-on that the baby could die. If the woman isn't able to look that truth in the face, that is scary to me, in general. And a woman MUST confront that SHE might die. Death is Birth is Death is Birth, ladies....it is the veil between the two worlds, friends!".....

So i had already been HERE in my head LOTS of times....to SOMETHING'S wrong world land....But THIS was going to end WELL, dammit. So i went to the pot to check and birthed a knife...i mean, a foot. There is NO other feeling like THAT in the world, i hope....

Ok, jonathan! i yelled (who was standing at the (VERY BRIGHTLYLIT) doorway 4 inches infront of my face)....WE GOTTA DO THIS NOOOW!!!! This is IT...This is BUSINESS, now.

And from that point foreward, i just kept talking like an INSTRUCTOR....i will never be that calm again. (i HOPE)....

Jonathan's shaky voice behind me........ THAT is what i remember now. Poor, Poor Jonahtan's shaky voice behind me........(yet the love in THAT shaky voice cannot be measured or undersestimated.....)

Get the other foot out! I don't care how, just get the other foot! i INSTRUCTED...
`````"i CAN'T!!!! (shakkkkkkkyyyy shakkkkky) It isn't HERE I can't REACH IT! WHERE IS IT??!!"~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know, jonthan. Its ok. Just find the foot......

~~~~~~~~~ "It's UP THERE! I dont know! ITS DOING THE SPLITS!!!! (SHAKKKKKKY shakky shakkkky) "OK! GOT IT! OMGOMGOMGOMG are you ok?!!!"~~~~~~~~~~

I am fine. (Flash of instinct picture of a frozen chicken at the grocery) GET THE ARMS TOGETHER!!!! PULL THE ARMS TOGETHER LIKE A CHICKEN!!!!! (i somehow knew that it was the arms that would kill us both. the baby would grab the holes in my hip bones if he didn't get the arms out....it REALLY was THAT clinical and simple.

~~~~~~~~~~"OK! OK!OK!"(Shaaaaaaky)"OHMYGODOHMYGOD she's coming! i think she's a girl!"~~~~~~~~~

{{i tell the story (ha ha) that it is a good thing that she came out yoni-first because if she had been a boy i woulda given up the ghost! (yuk yuk!) }}

And she was born....as simple and in that same ten seconds that EVERY Baby is born, she was BORN!....

Perfect.

The first time i saw her, seconds later, she was PINK AND GOLD...no kidding. ask jonathan. PINK AND GOLD and absolutely perfect. AND FEMALE!!!!!!!!

Great Goddess of the Volcano and Mists! A new GIRL!!!
Time of birth 8:08 am 3 November 2007........ just at the sunrise....

"Marci's here!" bastian then called from the patio where he was outside waiting for her....

They took care of us then...Jonathan and Marci. And perfected us all up, treated us like queens and bought me a Double Whopper with Cheese at 11 am.

She is MY girl. She is OUR girl. She is Princess Moonstone. And she is the stuff of Myths and Legends......truly.

And i LOVE her more than LIFE itself....Next life carrier from my Light..

Happy BIRTH day, bellaluna evalina moonstone crummett!

a nutshell.........

janelle janel carrie moi leddee tara

GC assists Goober in her lovely table dance first off at Stocks

First I was early, then i was late. Story of my life ha.

Princess, Queen, and King of the Fun

It really was a beautiful night. So glad to see everyone. Everyone was kind and funny and entertaining and inclusive and sweet and remember-full.
and drunk.
(i wasn't drunk, but i tried to be all the other things)

The Costume Box Project

I am making the little's Big Present for Yule. It is a COSTUME BOX...I plan to chug away at it for the next few months. Their current toybox is an antique foot locker that was also Sebastian's toy box. But I have always dreamed of it to be a "DRESSUP BOX"....No time like the present (haha-pun) I guess.
As I imagine I will be blogging it later (if I put up the pictures, they will see them...maybe i will flickr them and link to it in the sidebar???) I thought I would give you all the head's up.

These are the costumes that will be included. As now I have only cut out felt feathers for the "native american headdress" and gathered several materials....

• Princess Gown/ Princess "hat"
• Witch Dress/Witch hat
• Pirate outfit with shirt, pants, hook, hat, and eyepatch
• Flower Wreath Crown/Wings/Magic Wands (my best friend marci is making Bella a tutu)
• Little Red Riding Hood cape
• Native American outfit for Fred with chief headdress, Native American dress for Bella
• Kimono for Bella
• Wizard Capes/hats/wands
• Crown of Jewels
• Jester Hat
• Top Hat
• Cowboy Hat
• Knight Costume
• Felt Swords/Shields
• Rabbit Ears
• Cat mask
• Elephant mask
• Dragon mask
• Yoda Ears

Any other ideas anyone? Would be GLAD to hear them on the comments.....