i love it all!

ahhh..the joy of creating & crafting...i love it!

the dilemma?? so many amazing projects & so little time.

now that i have mastered knitting in the round, i feel like the world of knitting has opened it's doors even more to me.

i haven't been knitting a long time, by any means...in fact, the only reason that i started knitting is because knitting is part of the waldorf grade one curriculum. helps to hone motor skills, bring peace & balance to our mind (& souls), counting stitches...i could go on & on.

i really only learned the basics back then (this would have been fall 2006) as i was about to have our third child. it was great though, my favorite book by far, for beginners, is bonnie gosse's, first book of knitting for children. i know, i know...a child's knitting book?? the pictures are amazing, step-by-step, but it is the projects that i got hooked on. loads of simple projects that one can complete relatively quickly, this was an amazing motivation. sweet little farm animals that i could knit as natural toys for our children.

there are also lots of good ideas in the children's year, and my latest discovery ravelry.

i knit up quite a few pairs of mittens for the children for christmas, and am in the middle of knitting loads of fingerless mitts... i have been wanting a pair for awhile, but i was weary of knitting in the round. that is, until i found this little gem! :) i made a pair for my sister & for orin (our eldest) for christmas, then a pair for myself. lance (dh) swiped my first one, so i made him a pair.

now i am finishing up pairs for lance's mom & each of his sisters (x4)...well, except for the sister in arizona...doubt it will ever get chilly enough for her to use them...to mail out with our photo pages.

i am so excited about things to come...already thinking ahead to birthdays, mother's days, etc...shhhhh! ;)

i think my next project will be this great little sweater for evyn, and perhaps one for ehren as well. just darling!

here is another great little find, hand stitched felt. i know it only got 3 stars on amazon, but i love it! it is simple, whimsical, hand sewn felt projects...many would make great gifts & they are perfect projects for the boys to make for their handwork lessons!

i made the mistake of leaving it out on the counter last night & orin & aydin are both already asking requests, "can i make this??" ... "oooh! can we make this??" so, i am now rearranging the boy's handwork schedule for the spring as a result! :)

happy handwork(ing)!

an amazing day!!

i have been feeling a bit off here lately...

feeling like i have (once again) been letting the little things in life get in the way of what is most important to me...my family, especially our children.

i think as moms we have to make a conscious effort, every minute of everyday, to keep everything in check...to maintain the balance. and it's hard, you know!?!

it's so much easier to get sucked into the vortex of the dishes, the house, the lessons, the laundry, meal prep/cooking, diapers, etc...

today, though, was amazing & the best day that we have had in a while!

(aydin & orin, oct 2006...one of my all time favorite pictures.)

why?? i was so hoping that you would ask...:)

our morning looked something like this...

*baby slept thru the night

*i got up at 6am...hot shower (alone)

*hot cup of coffee (NOT microwaved 5x!)

*knitting

*baby up @ 8, 20 min of nursing & snuggling

*boys wake up happy

*no squabbling @ breakfast, or all morning that i can remember!

*after breakfast, puzzle w/aydin while 2 youngest finish eating

*then go fish w/orin when he's done getting cleaned up

*boys began morning lessons w/out me!

*snack/game break (hi-ho cherri-o w/aydin & ehren),

& close the box (an excellent math game, by the way) tournament w/orin

*finish lessons, then lunch

was it a perfect day?? no...

i didn't get dinner made in time for lance to take to work (he works 2nd shift) & the house is totally trashed!

do i care??...no! did i get stressed out about it??...no!

what is important, really, is that everyone had great attitudes today & we got all our lessons done, the boys didn't squabble & we all had a lot of fun!

what was different about today?? hmmm...

-i got up early & had a bit of (long overdue) "me" time

-i made a conscious effort to talk less, let the little things go & have some (also long overdue) fun w/the boys

i am feeling really good about today & looking forward to the many tomorrows...hooray us!

love...

inspiration sometimes comes from unexpected places...


tonight we watched brother bear 2, and when melissa ethridge's song, "it will be me" came on...well, i was in tears...


we have 4 children, and they are my entire world, but do they know that??

baby orin
baby aydin

baby ehren

baby evyn...

in my heart i know that they do.

but as my new year's resolution is 'honesty', i feel that can & should be doing a lot better job of letting them know just how amazing they are and how thankful i am for them having chosen me, us...

orin, 9 years old

aydin, our 6 year old

ehren, 3 years old

evyn, now 9 months

turning over a new leaf...

and so it begins..."the new year".

i have been absent lately because, like a great many of you, i have been reflecting on this past year and what i should focus on for this upcoming year...

so many amazing developments this past year...the largest & most life changing was the birth of our fourth child, our first baby girl.

the birth of evyn has changed me in so many ways, it is perhaps impossible to relay them all. the changes began even in utero, as her journey was my only difficult pregnancy. with all of our boys, it was just life as usual, but i had a huge belly!

with her i had to really watch what i did, and be careful not to overextend myself...which was insanely hard (on my ego!) because i was used to doing whatever it was i wanted to be a part of & i would...even if it killed me. i had to come to terms with many parts of me, and really look at what i had previously considered to be my strenghts & was for the first time seeing them as my weaknesses as well.

her birth was beautiful, but she has indeed changed our lives, and not just because we now have pink in the house. :) again, it is hard to describe the rippling effect of her arrival...everything from what stories i read to the boys to how i see myself. there are so many changes i want to make to be a better role model for her, but also to make sure that our boys grow up to be amazing men, husbands & fathers.

i am now taking more responsibility for my own life & where i am. orin, our 9 year old, is famous for quoting my own lines back to me & one of his favorites to "remind" me of is "it all comes back to you". and its true! i cannot blame(/credit) any part of my life on anyone but myself, as it is only a result of the choices & decision that i have made.

so, back to new years...my family came to visit for christmas, and we had what could have become a falling out, but what we have turned into more of a "coming clean".

so often we say what we want people to hear, or we keep key bits of information to ourselves so that we don't offend others. but by doing this we are not only not being true to our own life paths, but in the end we create more problems than the ones we were trying to avoid. does that make sense??

an example...how many times lance has asked me "what's wrong?" and i say "nothing", not wanting to start trouble. well, after this scenario plays out 5 more times...all of these 'nothings' kept just below the surface add up to a rather large something! i lose it & it all comes out, everything...and NOW we have trouble, right??

so, my new year's resolution is honesty.

this covers so many facets of our lives...

being true to ourselves: being honest about how much time & energy we really have, so that we don't overextend ourselves.

being true to our children: not "letting them slide", as that gives unclear messages about what is expected, and robs them of true satisfaction of a job done well.

being true to our spouse: it really hurt me when you _______, i would love it if you would help me out with _________, etc...talk things through when they arise, and not storing things up for a bigger battle later.

being honest with our lives: what is really important to me?? does this show by where i am putting my money/my time, etc??

being honest with our possessions/space: do i really need this?? do i use it, do i love it?? freeing ourselves from our material possessions, from the burden of clutter...

being honest with ourselves means more of our time & energy going to what is really, truly important to us, and letting the other things fall to the wayside...this all results in a truer life path & a happier "us"...

now...to take the plunge!

cheers to the new year & cheers to you!