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Happy Friday, y'all! We're finally coming up for air after market week, and it's been so good to slow down, celebrate our kiddos' birthdays properly, and watch our dogs get into trouble. Here's what's been happening in our slower, sweeter week.

This past week in a minute:

Slowing down... This week has been a much slower week for sure, and we've been soaking it up. Our massage on Monday was exactly what we needed to start the week off right; Jordan and I both left feeling like actual human beings again!

We cleaned the house properly for the first time in what feels like forever, enjoyed the cooler fall weather finally moving in, and spent a ton of time outdoors. This is Ducky's absolute favorite time of year… he comes alive when that crisp air blows through.

Admittedly, we did lose a day or two because of the insane winds we had here, which makes the outdoors pretty unbearable (and honestly a little scary with flying debris). But we took full advantage of most of the week. Relaxing, reading, making two different types of soups in our big stockpot. I'm diving headfirst into fall cooking mode, and lots of recipes are coming your way soon. Channeling my inner Shirley 😂 ….

Birthday celebrations… We finally had time this week to properly celebrate Ducky and Evie's birthdays. There's a certain magic about a 4-year-old's party and a bunch of balloons… pure, unfiltered joy. Family gathered around our table, and we got to spend some intentional time recognizing our sweet kiddos and making them feel extra loved and seen.

The Great Pyrs start to ‘disappyr’ again… Hopefully this isn't becoming a trend. It just happened once, but as soon as the cold weather snapped in, the Great Pyrenees decided to go on an adventure. We had no idea it even happened until our neighbors pulled up at 8 o'clock in the morning with these two giant fluffballs in tow.

Our neighbors snapped these pictures of the two not-so-grateful passengers after their "Uber" ride back home. Look at the guilt written all over their faces. They knew exactly what they'd done.

Something about that first real cold snap just makes them want to roam, I guess. Guardian dogs doing guardian dog things... even when we'd rather they didn't. We're incredibly grateful for understanding neighbors when our dogs decide to wander off… even though, let's be honest, they're never actually on a leash anyway.

Finds from the week

I thought I'd start sharing some of my favorite finds from the homeschool world, homestead world, and slower living world. Little treasures I've stumbled across that are helping us lean into more intentional rhythms.

Wondergarten Stories - You may have seen this on my Instagram stories, but I have to call it out here too. If you don't know Nathaniel and Lisa at Wondergarten, you need to give them a follow right now.

We've been absolutely in love with their short stories (The Gnomes of Wondergarten) that they've made available on Spotify and other platforms. They're so beautifully done… slow in all the right ways, innocent but captivating, and full of imagination. (Seems like a little bit of Tolkien magic woven into everything they create 🪄)

Our kids actually ask for them. They love listening and slowing down with these stories. It completely changes the mood in the car when we're driving, bringing us back to a sense of peace and wonder instead of chaos and noise. We can't get enough of them.

No Roof November Challenge - I also love the intentionality behind this idea from Kori Meloy. If you didn't see it, she started the NO ROOF NOVEMBER CHALLENGE 🍂🔥

The concept? Thirty days of consciously moving your everyday home rhythms outdoors:

• Cooking and prepping meals

• Building fires

• Reading and homeschooling

• Playing and working out

• Even washing dishes and folding laundry outside
  

It's about reconnecting with nature in the middle of our regular routines, not adding more to our plates but simply shifting where we do what we're already doing.

We're seriously thinking about joining in! What about y'all? Would you try moving some of your daily rhythms outside for November?

 — Tabitha Paige, Author/ Illustrator, Speech Therapist & Mom

Sometimes I make books & other pretty things…