Girly Afghan

very happy with this newest baby afghan I made....very soft and pretty

A while

It's been a while. I have missed you. We are busy with school right now. Contemplating field trips. Eliana is doing gymnastics. Tasha is doing tap and jazz. Talon gets to go to story hour at the library. Add in the fun of jury duty for me a couple of days a week. Oh, wait, I almost forgot art classes for the girls. It's going to be a wild, yet strangely relaxing semester. I really, really love the start of school. I love buying new school supplies. Ask my mom. I have always loved school. In fact, I am kind of surprised I am not still in school. Ok. Kidding on that one. I am mulling over and toying with the idea of taking some sewing classes again. At least I have fun reading through the descriptions every semester.

Instilling a love of learning in children is one of the most valuable things you can do for a child, I think. I have always loved to learn. Not sure how my parents did that, but thank you Mom and Dad. Mom, how did you guys do that, anyway?

Oh, here's something funny. I have to stop Tasha from reading books to do things like go to bed, eat, finish her schoolwork. Ha ha ha ha ha ha...I have created a little me. She is sooo like me in that. I just need to surround her with good books, and away she'll go. :)

It seems that there was something else I was going to say. Hmmmm..... yeah. nothing. I guess I can always come back later and fill you in, when I remember.

as for now, woke up with this song running through my head:
My heart sings a brand new song
The debt is paid, these chains are gone
Emmanuel, God with us...........
Like hinges straining from the weight, my heart no longer can keep from singing

if you want to hear the entire song on youtube, click here:

MercyMe/God With Us/All That Is Within Me

Dirt Guy

This is Talon's Dirt Guy. He got him at Vacation Bible School. Talon gave him a nice haircut right after this pic. Dirt Guy's head, which is made from pantyhose, was filled with seeds and dirt. We soaked his head in water for about 10-20 minutes, then set him in the sun. We saw happy sprouts within a few days, and a full grown head of "hair" not long after that. Lots of fun. I think we will be recreating this fun activity with the girls, and maybe try different seeds for different kinds of hair :)

Pretty in Pink

Here are some pictures of one of the two matching baby afghans I made for a friend who is having twin baby girls. Thank you to my Aunt Sandy for all the beautiful yarn!!!! I will be busy for a long time :)

Good. Great. Wonderful

Recently, during family night, we sat down to watch What About Bob? Funny movie. Every morning Bob says, "I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful" over and over to himself. What a great way to start the day! I am already a morning person, and this would be a great addition to my morning routine. Ok, ok, so I don't really have a routine per se, but it sounds really good when you say it together. Try it. Morning routine. See, don't you feel better? Anyway, something weird and miraculous has been happening in the world of me lately. I have been managing to get my bed made every day. And...I have been having this weird urge to get all my dishes washed and sinks cleared before I leave the house. Pretty cool. I like it.

Recent highlights:
Talon is now 3 and is a repeater. Catch him at the right time and he will say everything you say. At least if you are Eliana. So, watch what you say :). Wiggles, cars, trucks, Spiderman, Transformers, some of his current favorites

Eliana is 6 and can't decide whether she is not growing up fast enough or is growing up too fast. She mourns the fact that her teeth are just barely wiggly, and is not encouraged by the fact that she might be able to sing, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, by December. Energetic and extremely athletic, this strong beautiful child will either lovingly pick you up or climb your walls (literally)

Natasha is 8 and wow, she is a reader. No, wait, she is a book devourer. Give her a book that she likes, and you'll have a friend for life....or you could just invite her to play Scrabble :)

We recently started family movie night up again, and I love it. What About Bob? was a diversion. We are currently working our way through all the Star Wars movies (nevermind that we've only seen the first one...here is where I will not go on a diversion and discuss whether we watched the first chronologically made Star Wars or otherwise). :) Your only clue is that all the girls want to dress up like Princess Leia, including me, hahahaha

Oh, wait, I have more good news. The guy who mowed my lawn last week didn't mow over all my hibiscus plants or black eyed susans. Triple Yay!!!! Daylilies are blooming. One yucca bloomed early, the other one is indecisive. My hostas are getting ready to bloom, too. Did I say, Yay! Yay!!!! Well, gotta get this show on the road.

I feel good.
I feel great.
I feel wonderful.

I feel good.
I feel great.
I feel wonderful.

you try it :)

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....

First Winter Snow

I forgot I took this video with my new camera right after Christmas. This was the first snow we had. We got a lot more snow the second time, at least 5 inches. I didn't get any video of that today, but the kids had just as much fun. In today's 5 inches of snow, we ended up making a Miss America snowman :), in honor of tonite's pageant.

Living History Night

Our homeschool group had a Night of Living History. My girls were excited! Natasha was Laura Ingalls Wilder and Eliana was George Washington. Wish you could have been there to see how cute they were giving their speeches!! A friend took this pic. If mine had been working properly there would be pics of their presentation boards too. I am sooo proud of them!!! I love you, girls! you guys will have to forgive me as I am having fun playing with the free backgrounds from the Background Fairy :)

Scotty's Place: Post #1000!

Scotty's Place: Post #1000!

Wow, check out all the beautiful Works in Progress (WIPs) this person has. I am amazed!!!!

Jan 2010

Life is short

Keep it simple

Nothing is more important than really loving people

I am taking things slowly

I am talking softly

I am treasuring every moment

I am being thankful for you

Not Much

Not much new going on around here
wanting to spend lots of time at home
it has been a year without many extra curriculars or field trips
it has been a year of simplifying
(though, really, the more I give away, the more seems to come in)
have had not much to say, and yet a lot to think about
we still have 3 cats, silky white mama kitty and her 2 grown babies
one white and one tabby (purr babies)
they are turning into very sweet cats, but nothing can seem to replace the 2 lost ones (they don't even seem to like yarn...)
we had a very peaceful fall semester of school, with very little sickness
I am very thankful for that
I am very thankful for Christmas break, for that matter
Resting is very good
Thinking and not worrying is very good too
I find myself not worrying or being anxious, and that is good too
This has been a year of practicing letting things go, things out of my control
I like letting go of things out of my control
I like the idea that you can do what you want, and I don't have to let it bother me
I like the idea that you can think what you want, and I can too. No big deal
I like the fact that I don't have to be like you
I like it that my family does not have to be like yours
I like the desires that God has given me, to create beautiful things for my family and to give away, to be a blessing to others, to give someone else a smile or a laugh or a hug
So anyway, I say "you" but don't take it personally, I mean the whole world and not just you, whoever you are, just now......that reminds of the story my dad always tells, that he really thought that Carly Simon song really was about him :).....

so here's another Carly Simon song, just for fun


thank you to the Background Fairy for my new pink damask background :), very pretty (it did kind of mess with my pics from previous posts, but it will take me a while to go back and fix that)

Trying something new...

My first try at crocheting snowflakes, and yes, in some of the later pics one of the bigger ones looks a tad stretched downward....as if some random curious 2 year old came by and pulled the snowflake.....still very pretty though and I am happy with this first attempt, so much so that I will do this again. I used a pretty simple recipe for stiffening them- one part white glue and one part water. One of these is for a friend in an ornament exchange I am in, and the other 2 are for the kids. I still have to make another one for Natasha. Who knows, you all may be getting snowflakes and potholders for Christmas, ha ha!!!!!!!!!

Metamorphosis

The End of an Era

The end of one stage of my daughter's life is coming to an end, and a beautiful new one is beginning. My Natasha is now 8 and is nothing like a baby girl anymore. She reads chapter books and does multiplication. This week she made us baked apples in the oven. They were so good. Somehow, in recent weeks it dawned on me that she was ready and able to start using the oven. She has enough maturity and safety-mindedness that I thought, "Hey, why not?" So, she made up her own recipe, and it was so good.

Now I did core the apples and cut them in half for her, and I did get them out of the oven. Other than that it was all her. She looked up recipes and then just picked which parts of which recipe she liked, and then made up her own (just like mommy).

I taught her how to make Ramen noodles on top of the stove the other day, and today it was frozen pizza. I know, I know, it is a lot of processed junk, but hey, you gotta start somewhere....and she already knows how to make Spaghettios for her brother and sister in the microwave, too, ha ha.

Anyway, back to the apples...she put the halves skin side down and put some margarine on each one (we were out of butter or she would have used that). Then sprinkled on sugar, cinnamon, and then drizzled on some honey. Then she put them in the oven, preheated to 350 degrees, and baked for 45 minutes. After that, I turned the apples over, skin side up, and baked for 15 more minutes. We ate them after they cooled about 10 minutes or so. All the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and honey, made a yummy syrupy glaze in the bottom of our dish that we spooned over the apples.

You are probably not surprised, but there were no leftovers :). I can imagine that they are very good with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I also know that she will be making this again :).

I am also finishing up nursing my youngest child. He is very close to the age the girls were when they weaned themselves. It is going to be a new thing for me to have no babies to nurse and change. He is totally potty training himself, too. I know that there is the possibility, slight though it is, that there will be more children, someday...But for now, we are saying that we are done. There, I officially said it. For now, we are done. Whew, that was hard to say. I am not sure I really meant it, either...








It won't be long til all my children are school-aged too. I am spending this time dreaming about the future. What new things does God have for me to do? Don't get me wrong, we are a homeschooling family, and I don't see that changing any time soon. I am not wishing away my children so I can go and do something else. It just dawned on me one day that there are ways for me to grow as a person and keep learning at this point in my life. I thought, Hey, that's pretty cool.

Saturday in the Kitchen

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with cold milk for the kiddos with cartoons

another failed attempt at making cookies for me, ha ha
After the infamous "cumin is not really cinnamon" incident, I was feeling brave and decided to have another go at Oatmeal Raisin cookies. It's infamous because it just happened today and thankfully I caught my mistake before adding all the ingredients.
Unfortunately, in spite of all my best cookie efforts (butter not too melted, pans not warm/hot), my cookies looked flat and too brown around the edges. I didn't even have the heart to take a pic, haha. I tried to google you a similar pic, but apparently not very many people mess up their cookies and take pics, hardy har har har. Oh well, I will try again another day. I decided to freeze the rest of the dough and now I will have some in my freezer for a rainy day

Now I am off to google what to do with that pound of hamburger in the fridge....maybe meatballs with something? maybe mini meatloaf things?

September Flowers

hydrangea

mint

The good thing...

Hey, you know....the good thing about ice cream cones is that you don't have to get a bowl dirty AND you get to eat the bowl. How cool is that?

Hey, Jelly, this one's for you :) ....though of course, as luck would have it, I am totally out of ice cream cones, and in fact, am having to sacrifice and eat my chocolate ice cream out of a bowl, ha ha :)

Full Speed Ahead

School is in full swing already. The girls are doing very well and are very excited about school. There have been tons of distractions and side roads already, especially with family things. My husband just moved into a new office space, and then immediately got very sick with what they think is lyme disease (though they are not saying that definitely). He is finally back to work but still has lots of pain. He is on a very strong antibiotic. Natasha just missed a couple of days due to sickness but is up and running. Yay! Not much school missed there, thankfully.

Unfortunately we have had other sad family news already this semester. My husband's grandmother passed away and that was a hard way to start the semester. It was right before school started. His mom also found out she has cancer the very same week. My heart is very heavy for her and lots of prayers are sent up around here daily for her. Not only has her husband recently passed away (almost 2 yrs ago), but her mom died and she found out she has cancer in the same week. She is very optimistic and has a good outlook, and that is very good.

All that happened before my husband got sick. He missed a whole week of work when he was feeling so bad. Those of you who know my husband know that for him not to go to work is a big deal. I also knew how serious it was when he headed to the doctor just a few days after he started feeling bad.

We also just found out that my husband's other grandmother, Nana, fell down in her yard not long ago, and bruised herself up pretty bad.

My mom is doing much better though she is still recovering and doing physical therapy. Needless to say, I am very glad we are homeschooling and school is portable. The children were very happy recently when we packed up our school books and had school at Grandma and Grandpa's for 2 days.

As far as crocheting, I am still working on small, easy to finish projects like potholders. I found patterns for little sweaters for the girls that will be very pretty to wear to church this winter, but I have not started that yet. I have been trying a couple of patterns for a fall sweater for Talon, but have not settled on one yet.

Just wanted to stop by here for a sec, have tons to do....you know how it is when people have been sick at your house, everything seems to pile up while you are busy taking care of everyone. I am very thankful everyone is feeling better already. I am very thankful for loving parents and grandparents. I am thankful for a joyful, loving, hard working husband. I am thankful for my happy helpful children. What are you thankful for today?

"It's My Birthday!"

Note: This is a guest post by my daughter Natasha :)

Pirate Cuteness

Perennial Surprises

Let no feeling of discouragement prey
upon you, and in the end you
are sure to succeed."
- Abraham Lincoln



lots of these surprise lilies are blooming in my yard
unfortunately there are very few black eyed susans (got mowed over)
and zero hibiscus this year (again, lawn mower tragedy)

I guess that's what happens when you let other people mow your yard.....
oh, well, they will grow back next year :)
that's what I love about perennials

Ta-Dah!!!

I finally got the hexagon baby afghan finished this afternoon (just in time for the baby shower this evening). Here are some pics....my blanket testers gave this one a 2 thumbs up :)

Summer Creations

Here are some of the things I have been crocheting this summer. The pattern for the market bag is here. It is a printable from Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn. I used cotton yarn from Wal-Mart for all the kitchen things. The blue/white set has 4 washcloths/dishcloths, 2 square potholders, and 1 round potholder. I made up a simple pattern for the washcloths and square potholders (which are 2 pieces single crocheted together). I just looked through my pattern books and found a round potholder pattern and made 2 and crocheted them together. The rainbow one is a smaller potholder made with some leftover cotton yarn.

The yellow, blue, green, and white hexagons are for a baby afghan I am working on. The yellow/white zig zag is something I made up for a friend for a baby shower.
For the girls I have been making squiggly hair ties. Natasha is beautifully modelling all of them at once :). If you look closely you can see the patriotic red, white, and blue ones I just made :)

The blue/white kitchen set is available for sale, as well as the market bag, and the multi-colored potholder. If you are interested please make an offer. Almost forgot....the blue/white kitchen set also has a matching swiffer cover I made (forgot to take a pic of it, the girls were testing it out for me) :).