Earth Hour Roots and Wings style

(I actually took this picture myself. I was having too much fun playing with my camera and the candle and the yellow light of the candle. I love how this one came out.)

I took my two boys over to my parent's house for Earth Hour. My two oldest nephews were there too. Rebecca's daughter had her tonsils and adenoids out this week and just wasn't up to driving anywhere. So they stayed in.

We turned off all the lights and everything in the house. My Dad read The Selfish Giant from Oscar Wilde. Dad's voice is deep and calm. There are some very tender parts in the story. Dad slows down until he can compose himself, then he carefully reads on. The 4 boys mostly played with their flashlights. Mom and I soaked up every second of Dad reading the story. I cried as I always do. It is a short story and yet so moving.

I am in love with my parent's candle stick. It has that adorable slot for your finger. I don't know why anyone would want a candle stick that is anything but this. Now I must find one for myself. I about squealed when I first saw it. It was so cozy with the lights off. Everyone is closer together. The yellow of the light makes me feel warm. Talking with my loved ones fills my soul.

Slowing down makes me want to do it more. We played with our shadows. Everyone tried their best to come up with something fun. Mom was making some kind of swan with both her hands. Dad made a dinosaur. I went with a dog;)

We went outside to find some constellations and match them up with our book. On the drive to my parent's house, my three year old was already commenting on the shape of the moon. He said it looked like it was sleeping on a bed because the illuminated part was a crescent on the bottom. It seems like the one constellation everyone knows is Orion. My six year old can always find Orion.

What a great way to spend an hour (actually three) with my family.

Along the same lines as Earth Hour a whole other bunch of people got together to be unplugged on Friday, the day before Earth Hour. See what they did.