KittenYarn is...

thinking about fathers today. Another friend at church has lost her father-in-law. The anniversary for my father-in-law's death was just a few days ago, on Feb. 17. It has been 2 yrs since my husband's daddy William McKinney has been gone. We really miss him. Another friend wrote about the excitement of a small child waiting for their Daddy to get home from work. I remember standing by the door waiting for my Daddy to get home from work. Sweet childhood memory. I see my children's excitement and love for their Daddy as he comes in from work. It is as it should be.

I think of all the wonderful things my father taught me, though the few words typed here cannot really capture it all. I think of patience for untangling knots and polishing wood with the grain. I think of drawing flowers and cleaning the kitchen floor. I think of the fun and silly things my dad did when I was small. Somewhere my mom has a picture of my dad hula hooping and riding my brother's little bike down the street. I think of the sweetness and joy of watching my daddy teach my children too.

I know it is nowhere near Father's Day, but I am thinking about fathers. Maybe it is because of this habit of mine to always think of my heavenly Father when I get up in the morning. I think about His love, and how His words in Zephaniah say that He is rejoicing over me with singing. I am thinking about how all fathers are different, and how glad I am that my earthly father was chosen just for me by God, perfect for me.

I know that not all earthly fathers are perfect. Who of us is perfect? Not one of us. I thank God that even if our earthly fathers fall short of our expectations, He is creative enough to give us the love and nurture we need, one way or another. I am thinking about those whose fathers are just not there for their kids, who maybe cause them great pain and anguish by hurting them or deserting them or just not being there.

I thank God that we can be there for each other, no matter where our past has brought us from. I firmly believe that all of us can have a bright and loving future. I certainly thank God for my earthly father and my heavenly Father. They are both perfect for me, and I love them.

Spring is in the Air

The kids and I went out this morning to squish through the yard, and we found many signs of spring. First we saw my tiny yellow and purple crocuses poking through the soil. We found soft green moss, and huge mud puddles. After we came back in, Eliana found an earthworm in her pocket, so I had to take that back outside. While I was making lunch, they all drew pictures in their notebooks of things they had seen/done outside. Tasha's picture showed a T-ball in the middle of my baby plants. Eliana drew a pic of an earthworm on my crocus who had just eaten and a leaf and was "pooping". Talon drew a yellow earthworm too :). While they ate lunch, I googled "how to make an earthworm habitat" as I can see that in our near future :).

Eliana is loving her ladybug habitat, and one of her larvae is already in the pupa stage. Natasha is loving her crystal mining kit, too. The first crystal she found was an amethyst.

I am working on some special requests for Eliana's birthday. She said Green Bunny needs a party dress and some other clothes. My first try at crocheting bunny a shrug and skirt turned out to fit last year's crocheted monkey instead. Monkey looks very festive in her red and aqua outfit. I am working on a mint and pale yellow bolero for Ana, too. Other than that, I have been using up my cotton yarn making potholders. I did make a little white baby sweater, too, recently. I was so excited that it fit my friend's baby perfectly. Just in time for springtime and Easter. Yay!!! Happy Springtime! Now to start some seeds inside with the kids :)

Birds

It has been so nice to watch the birds passing through our yard this week. Though they were timid at first, the birds devoured one of the orange bird feeder snacks I hung in the tree. I found it on the ground completely empty. They ate all the peanut butter, raisins, and bird seed in there. It was much easier for tiny birds like the chickadees to eat from the orange feeder but I did see some bigger ones trying to balance on there and eat, too. I couldn't get a pic, and I couldn't find a pic to match in my bird book, but one bird that kept coming back was very pretty. It was greyish with a lighter colored belly and long tail feathers. It seemed to have a dark stripe across its eye and did have a white stripe on its wings. It reminded me of the pic of the Northern Shrike in my book, but my mom thinks it was a mockingbird. She was probably right....(ok, I just googled it, and my bird looked very much like the picture here. This is a Northern Mockingbird. Good job, Mom! Do you get these at your house?)

Over the course of the week, I saw a whole group of pregnant robins, lots of cardinal pairs, chickadess, bluebirds, junkos, a tufted titmouse, and what looked like a house finch. It had brownish colorings that reminded me of a female cardinal but its beak and crest were different and it had a reddish belly.

I was really happy to see as many birds as I did considering I am out of bird food now and I didn't know if they would like the orange feeder. I know my mom and dad get tons more birds at their house, including hummingbirds, but I just have one little feeder right now and am glad to see whoever decides to stop by.

For the Birds

We are getting ready for the Great Backyard Bird count and decided to make some snacks for the birds. Within the last week I have seen bluebirds, junkos, cardinals, robins, chickadees, and some other pretty birds. We saw these orange bird feeders in my mom and dad's Birds 'n Blooms magazine and thought we'd try it. We were almost out of birdfood, so it was pretty simple. I hope the birds like it. We just put in peanut butter, birdseed mix, and raisins. Our tabby kitty TigerGirl is running quickly on the porch because her paws are cold. At the end of the post are long belated Christmas pics :)

The 80s are Back

Today, after I took down Ana's barrette and brushed her hair, she said, "I look like I'm in the 80's!"

(and she did)

This is how her hair looked after I put the barrette back in :). Apparently the 80's are coming back

Sunshine

Had a few extra minutes before everyone got up this morning and made myself a sunny yellow potholder....