February used to be a month that I dreaded. Now it flies by so quickly I hardly notice it. We’ve seen what I hope is our last snow of the year (Ambrose didn’t love it), and as I sit here typing, I can see daffodils blooming in the backyard. Thanks to violas that I grew from seed last fall, I had at least a few flowers blooming all winter long. Now I’ve got flats of seedlings growing in the greenhouse so there will be new flowers soon. I also have salves, several batches of goat’s milk soap, and a few things from Keats available in my shop.
In February, we celebrated Keats’s 19th birthday and Beatrix baked his birthday cake (it was delicious!) She has taken over most of the baking as I can’t seem to make a decent cake anymore. I’m very thankful that she can!
Keats plays viola with our local philharmonic orchestra and the day after his birthday I was able to sneak away from Ambrose for a couple of hours to see them in concert. Jonny texted that Ambrose wouldn’t stop crying as I walked to my car afterward, so I was glad that the concert ended earlier than I had expected. That has been the story of my life these past eight months: Enjoying every second with my baby, but also trying to do things here and there (including sleep), and typically being met with his cries in response.
I still don’t have much time for knitting, but I have been working on a hat here and there. Most of it happening in the waiting room at the dentist in recent weeks. Reading is starting to slow way down for me too as Ambrose has entered the nursing acrobatics phase of babyhood, but I did finish (affiliate links) South Moon Under recently and I really loved it. Beatrix read The Hiding Place at my suggestion (she loved it), and I just read Mary Emma and Company at hers. I snuck in The Optimist’s Daughter too. I didn’t officially give up fiction for Lent, but I am trying to avoid it now, replacing it with spiritual reading. Sticking with spiritual reading is always a challenge for me. Reading stories is such an escape, and there are lots of things we’d all like to escape right now aren’t there? Sometimes I just want to escape from my own thoughts.
I’ve always been a professional worrier of sorts and being up frequently throughout the night nursing Ambrose doesn’t help. I can feel at peace all day long, but nursing him at 3 a.m. often leads to my mind racing with intrusive thoughts and anxieties. So much for those calming breastfeeding hormones, right? I must have built up a tolerance to them. Most of what I worry over in the middle of the night are things I can’t control. I find it incredibly frustrating because obviously, I don’t accomplish a thing by worrying. So, I pray. I pray a lot. Surely the fruit of my middle-of-the-night prayers is greater than any worry I might have.
The following quote by Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, has been circulating recently and I find the truth of her words to be incredibly reassuring.
“The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something and enter God’s Realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.”
p.s. Ambrose’s blue sweater is the result of ripping this gown back. Mabel is wearing this red sweater, and I am wearing this hat. (Apparently, I never made my own project notes for the hat.)
Hi Ginny,
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve popped in as a matter of fact it was when you had your last baby. Wow, it’s been that long. Out of all the blogs I have found on the Internet yours seems soothing, inviting, and warm everything that makes me visit. I am happy to see the baby has grown what beautiful children.
Ambrose is such a cutie! And yes, looks exactly like Daddy! I love the knits—I didn’t pick my knitting up until the kids were older, so they had very little knitwear. It wasn’t “cool”.
I often try to forgo my beloved fiction during Lent, but I think there is ‘saintly fiction’ out there! Like Sigrid Undset’s Catherine of Siena, or DeWohl’s books. Those are the 2 that come to mind, though there must be others.
And that is so funny about the cakes! I lost my baking mojo somewhere and it seems the cakes for my youngest have been disasters for almost 20 years!!
Now when I wake in the wee hours I’ll think of all of us lifting up our prayers together . . Thank you for your honesty which sits in all our hearts.
Beautiful quote from Corrie Ten Boom. I needed that today, thank you.
I’m too awaiting my helleibore to bloom…so hopeful to see yours pictured.
And, thanks for inspiring my reading habit. I too have read Mary Emma & Co. and feel this entire Ralph Moody series is my favorite. Beatrix has impeccable taste.
I sure appreciate you…I always find inspiration and hope here.
Ginny, I enjoyed visiting your blog again today after many years. I was going through my binder of printed recipes and found that many of them had gotten moldy…I had one marked “Ginny’s Peanut Butter Cups” and I knew it must have been from your blog…I came back here and did a search and there was the recipe, from 2010…lol. So many years have passed since I used to read so many blogs…I’m very pleased to see you are still adding to the beauty and wonder of the world in big and small ways. And your family is so beautiful. God bless you. 🙂
I am sure your life must be as common and everyday as mine is, in reality, but what a gift you have for seeing the beauty, describing it in lovely words, and documenting it in such exquisite pictures! Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Lovely photos as always! Seeing your children all dressed in knits is so inspiring to me! I was thinking recently that February does seem to fly by much faster than I remember in previous years, but as long as I can make calm, quiet moments in the busyness, whether that means staying up very late or waking up very earlier, that’s okay with me! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Ginny for your words of hope and your deep humanity.
Ginny, if you want an interesting non-fiction book on the natural world which captures the spirituality of nature try The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature by David George Haskell. With your science background I think you will love it.
Ambrose is the spitting image of his dad. So cute!
Thank you for your posts. They are my “escape”. I am glad you had flowers all winter. And thank you for the quote from Corrie Ten Boom.
Oh my goodness, what a sweet little treasure is Ambrose…all his little expressions are so lovely. I especially loved his grumpy face in the quilted suit with the teddy bear ears. How fondly I remember waking in the night to nurse my babies. Just me and our little one. It just all felt like such a miracle. Thank you for writing for us again Ginny. Blessings to you ~ Linda
Your blog, your stories and pictures are such a needed respite and place to renew.
Nighttime prayers are sometimes the best and truest ones. My dad told me that when he was awake during the night, he used that time to pray for others. When he died, I found index cards beside his bed with the names of people and prayer requests. Looking at those cards I realized I felt blessed and inspired by his prayers. And of course, my name was on the cards. Talk about feeling loved. Now my own night awakenings are filled with prayers.
Thanks for another wonderful post, Ginny. Ambrose has the most lovely, expressive face! Warm wishes to you, Emily 🙂
Hi Ginny;
I enjoyed this post. Ambrose is adorable with those gorgeous blue eyes. It is so nice that Beatrix likes cooking cakes. Of course Mabel is precious in her red riding outfit. I have finished reading the life of ST.Bernadette, Now I am half way through the sequel to Kelegeen Erin’s Children. We have the house decorated for ST. Patrick’s Day. Marilyn and I went out and cleaned the front yard. There is much more to be done but a little by little and it will get done. Congratulations to Keat on his being a member of the orchestra. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY KEAT.
God Bless
Marion
What is chrism essence?
Hi Ginny;
Love the post. Mabel looks so cute in her red riding outfit. Keats must be a fine musician to be a member of the orchestra. The weather has been mild the last few days but will turn colder and might be snow Wednesday and Saturday. Keas i hope you had a wonderful birthday. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY
God Bless
Joan
Hi Ginny;
So nice hearing from you. Thank You for the quote. Love Mabel as Little Red riding Hood. Ambrose is adorable. Hopefully he will be easier as he gets older.
I ordered Pansies and Lily Of The Valley plants(they will not arrive until April). The Pansies arrived and I put them out. They like the cold weather better than the heat. Beatrix is so talented. she is an amazing young lady.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY KEATS Happiness and Blessings
God Bless All
Marilyn
Thank you for this excellent quote.
As usual your pictures are beautiful we still have snow up here in Canada and more coming. I can’t believe Ambrose is already 8 months he is so sweet
Bless you my dear and your beautiful family .Sandra in Stratford Ontario.. 🤗🥰
Thank you for your beautiful post. I love Corrie Ten Boom. How old is Beatrix? My daughter Annie is 14.5 I wonder if she is old enough?
Warm wishes,
Victoria
I am 13 she is definitely old enough it’s so good
Gunny, three weeks ago my 38 year old son was diagnosed with testicular Seminoma cancer. Since that time, my life has been a whirlwind of dr’s appts, tests, and treatment.
Seeing your blog in my email was like a breath of fresh air. Your pictures are wonderful and you always have a way with words to brighten my day.
Thank you for helping me through my tough times.
Carol, I’m saying a prayer now for your son’s health and your peace.
Ginny, that photo of Mabel is so magical – one of my favorites of yours!
Good to hear from you Ginny. Your pictures are amazing and hard to believe how your children are growing!
Night-time anxiety is such a real thing and caused me much suffering. I have gotten better as I grow older, but I dread running around in my head, in my thoughts-not a neighborhood to be in alone. Praying helps, putting my thoughts in something concrete, and will always end in something good no matter if I am aware of the good or not.
Love seeing Ambrose’s sweater and Little Red Riding Hood, ( knitted both of those for my grandkids.) Downloading your book recommendations, thank you! Take care of yourself and your beautiful family.
What beautiful flowers! Still so much snow here in Atlantic Canada…
I know what you mean about the worrying when nursing in the middle of the night. My first was born March 2020 and second came the day of the Ukraine invasion so it seems like in the nursing round the clock days there’s been a lot to worry about. I try praying but need to be better about starting by praying before the worrying begins if possible.
This quote and your photos just brightened my whole day! Thank you and really enjoy reading your blog. You are not alone in the nighttime worrying department. I notice that as I have aged, the amount of worry though has decreased. It’s a good thing. Thank you again for sharing.
I can so relate to that type of intrusive thought worrying/OCD/middle of the night anxiety over things I mostly can’t control. :/
That cake looks amazing!! A chocolate dream.
Your photos of the emerging garden life are just beautiful. We’ve tried planting tulip bulbs in pots, bc I totally ran out of time to plant them in the fall (and they were in cold storage so the poor things all started to sprout). It was also the nature/special study in our curriculum, so we’ve enjoyed watching the stems grow taller and hopefully they’ll bloom! I also brought in some cherry and forsythia branches to force; I’m really needing some green life in the house while we bridge the gap to spring blooms!