homestead // our ritual of following light

throughout the humdrum of our day we find ourselves moving to the rooms in our home that are most filled with light.  to the places where warmth seeps in through our old latticed window panes, making things feel wholesome and joy-filled.  where yellows and whites and oranges dance on the walls like old friends, welcoming us to take part in their song.

in the morning, between the hours of eight and ten, light shines forth in the front of our home, beaming proudly, announcing the arrival of a new dawn.  the chandelier in our dining room, sparkly and shiny, radiates like a fountain of new pennies or a river of diamonds cascading on a steep mountaintop.  it gives us that extra nudge to "wake up! wake up!" as we slowly eat our oatmeal and sip our coffee gathered round the table beneath it.

in the afternoon, the light shifts upward to the second floor of our home, illuminating the bedrooms, giving them life.  our bedroom with its considerable amount of windows, is most consistently the sunniest spot in our home.  i suppose that's why andrew and i chose it over the darker, yet more charming loft, to call our very own.  without its presence of long, flawy drapes (as one would find on the lower level of our home) it speaks of renewal and happiness, allowing light to creep in no matter the circumstance.  we love it this way, for it is during this midday slice of sunshine that we trek up the wooden staircase to the mater bed where we read and play before retiring to naps.  stella particularly likes laying on the floor in front of the wall of windows where the sunlight has been present for hours warming the wooden floorboards.  she'll lay there on her back as theodore and i throw balls back and forth, "getting cozy" without the need of her blanket because without fail, it is always warm there.

and then as the hours fade into the early evening, our kitchen, the true hearth of our home, is flooded with the most spectacular golden light.  it pours in, igniting the room rather deliberately, making it a delight to chop and stir around the butcher block island grounding the center of the room.  that light stays put for a few hours before drifting off into what becomes moonlight.  it is then that we light candles or a start a fire in the living room, allowing makeshift sunshine to warm our toes within the walls of our home.

after snuggling in, we end our day with the dim light of a lamp overhead, our eyes scanning the pages of a crisp, new book, only to wake in a few short hours to chase the light once more.