papa's love...

mother nature's gift...

we are blessed to have many amazing people in our lives, both friends & family.

this week, orin, aydin, and i made gratitude soaps as a way to thank them for, well, being there. felted soaps are simple & yet so beautiful... while felting, the boys and i talked about who we were making them for, remembering all that each person/family has done for us.

they turned out brilliant! (you should give it a go...)

materials needed:

wool roving
bar of soap (preferably natural)
a tub/bowl of hot water
a few drops of dish soap (to get the process going)

first separate the wool into thin, but long wisps.

then wrap the wool around the soap, both length-wise & width-wise, being sure to cover all the surfaces.

dip the soap in the hot water, being sure to hold the wool in place so it soesn't slide off/around, and add a few drops of dish soap to the top. rub your hands all over the durface of the bar...back & forth, and in circular motions. make sure to rub all the sides, flipping & turning it in your hands...dipping the soap into the hot water, as needed.

keep this up until the wool has felted down & forms a snug case around the soap (this could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 10 minutes depending on both your wool & your soap). if it is still fluffy, keep rubbing a bit longer. once the wool is snug around the soap, rinse it with cold water to set the wool & to rinse off the suds. gently pat dry with a towel & allow to dry overnight, turning once.

once dry, you can needle felt on any number of decorations/designs... enjoy!

the new fort...

aydin is especially proud of the floor...he did it all by himself...:)

kindness...

this week's thought from mimi..."kindness counts"

mimi: "one of the most common questions parents ask me is, 'how in this materialistic, competitive world can i raise a kind child?' my answer is to begin by being a kind adult...when your child see you go out of your way to help a friend...he will naturally see loving kindness as the way to live."

this is perhaps the simplest, and yet sometimes, the most difficult task to take on...

we teach our children by example, and yet we are not perfect, by any means. just tending to the physical needs of our families can drain us of our energy... i am a lot more patient, more mindful that i once was...but is it enough??

starting this week (as in last sunday) i have been making a conscious effort to point out the kindness & thoughtfulness of both the boys & lance. i have been careful to think before i speak, and to breathe before i react to a situation.

30 days for a new habit to take hold, right??...well, 25 to go. :)

Busy But Balanced, by Mimi Doe, has been calling to me from the bookshelf for a couple of months now. it was recommended to me by several mamas when i inquired about "mindful parenting" books.

it is "a year-long balance guide", organized seasonally to follow the natural rhythms of our lives. each months begins with a list of ideas to help you connect deeper with your family or a quiz to provide insight into our current state of balance. then come weekly thoughts for us to focus on, practical tips & even resources.

i plan on posting a thought per week...

this week's food for thought is: "creative flow"

mimi: simple writing exercises "can provide many of us with vivid inspiration & enlightenment". stream of consciousness writing, whether done on the back of a napkin or in a fancy journal, can "anchor us deeply within ourselves while unleashing our creative energy to sail into all aspects of our lives".

me: it is funny that this week's topic is writing/journaling, as i have just gotten back into that myself. :)

for the past few months, orin's interest in writing had been waning...he was tired of writing a summary & drawing an illustration for the various stories that we read. however, he needs the writing practice & the stories from our curriculum were chosen to follow his own inner development. so, i decided that may 1st we would compromise & begin journaling together.
he was a little hesitant at first, not sure how to begin or what to write about. after a week of a gentle nudge here & a simple prompt there, he has really taken to it.

do we adults not do the very same thing?? -- what is it about a blank page that causes us to feel intimidated, even vulnerable??

mimi: by "opening our creative channel, many gentle but powerful changes unfold. our parenting selves, our working selves, our spiritual selves are richer as a result. according to a recent study from the american medical association, even our physical selves are healthier when we write."

i can already tell a difference in my own life...

having the freedom to say whatever we think/feel; being able to share of ourselves without fear of judgement...it feels, well, good!

ehren's first haricut...

before...
and after...

i am still getting used to it myself, but he loves it...he just looks so much more grown up now (well, as grown up as i suppose a 2 year old can look :)

a week in florida...:)

some photos from our recent "reunion" in florida... (may 5-13th)

we had quite the age range this year, 5 weeks (evyn) up to 86 years (my grandma)...

great grandma & baby evyn...

"the fam"...

aunt samantha & ehren, orin & aydin at the beach park...

baby evyn chillin' beachfront...

one happy orin...

silly sk...

ehren & the waves...

adyin & his 8" spotted sea trout...

grandpa (aka rad-dad), grandma, & orin...

*orin set a new record this go round, 5 fish in one day!!

sk's big catch...gaff-top sail catfish...

mama, ehren, grandma (mom), and baby evyn (though all you can see are her legs :)

aunt samantha, orin (in the shadows), aydin & ehren

evyn & mama

simply beautiful...need i say more?

"bits of goodness" swaps update...

i am currently involved in two of the swaps on "bits of goodness"...


one is the gnome swap, which i am actually hostessing...:)


here is my lot for that one...knit gnomes (from the gnome craft book), they are stuffed with hardcarded sheeps wool.

and the mushroom goodness swap...

i love the whimsical little guys!!

they are my own design & entirely hand-sewn using felted wool sweater scraps, and stuffed with handcarded sheeps wool.

the van fiasco...

the victim: our van, bought mid-march, 2009

the culprit: ehren, our 2 year old

the weapon: a plastic hair thing

this happened the very first time that i took all four of our youngings out alone, april 15th (about 3 weeks ago).

it was a typical wedensday morning...we were missing our friends & craving osme of our old routine, so we packed up in the van and were on our way to our homeschool co-op's weekly playgroup.

there was a new thrift store along the way that i had been wanting to check out, so we stopped there first. afterwards, as i was getting evyn buckled in i noticed ehren sticking somthing into the ignition (a plastic hair thing). i told him to stop & get in hi seat, which he did.

well, when i went to put the key in, it wouldn't go. it turns out that a piece of the plastic thing had broken off inside the ignition, and by putting the key in i had only shoved it in further. i spent the next 30 minutes with a bent up paper clip trying to dislodge it. i finally gave up & called lance, who was not yet up.

i ended up having to call our neighbor, who just happen to be home & have a van that would hold our lot. she drove evyn and i home, and graciously agreed to watch theboys while lance and i tried to get things sorted out.

no luck...

we had to have the van towed home, which cost us $60. then we had to completely disasemble the steering column, which of course required special tools (another $40), and then order a new ignition switch ($60).

not to mention the time invested...this all happened on wednesday, and we finally had it up and running that next thursday.

needless to say, i learned to always put ehren in his seat first.

but just think of what we did for the environment by staying home for that whole week...:)

a squirrel!!

this may seem like an odd thing to post about and a few years ago i would have agreed with you.

however, we have not had a single squirrel on our property since we first our golden retriever, daisy. she was a gift for lance from the boys and i for his birthday back in 2005.

though she is no longer with us, as of march 2007, the squirrels have only now begun to reappear.

spring days...

i don't know what the weather is like where you are, but here in the mountains of western carolina it has been, well, gorgeous!!

beautiful sunny days, 80 degrees or so...

the boys, however, are loving it & making the most of it.




working in the garden...


ehren frolicking...

creation of the mud jacuzzi...