This little light of mine ...

We've entered the darkest part of our year here in the frozen North. The sun doesn't rise until about 9:00 a.m. and sets around 4:00 p.m., so we have fewer hours to do all the things we need to accomplish in a day--including blogging.

But last Sunday we scored a little extra time--and light--when we participated in the Lantern Festival our little Waldorf School. It was probably about -25 that night, but despite the frigid temperatures, we bundled up the whole family and joined with about 40 other families to walk around the school singing songs and carrying lanterns--and then we quickly went inside for hot apple cider and cookies.

All those kids with homemade lanterns (we cheated and bought ours at Ikea) and the clear, starry night--well, it just filled my heart with joy. I  didn't even mind the cold. So, I decided to bring a little of that joy and light home with us.

For the past couple of days Colin and I have been making our own homemade lanterns using tissue paper painted onto jam jars with a little bit of water and glue. It turns our it was an ideal craft for a two-and-a-half year old as it involves a lot of imprecise cutting with scissors. Sadly, we also cut up our pajamas. Oh, well! At least we have some colourful laterns to decorate our playroom through the long winter.

Now, if only their light cold actually add a few extra hours to the day ...