Waiting for Spring, Enjoying the Winter

I like to try to enjoy and be present in the time I am in right now, no matter what season it is. Whether it's summer or spring, winter or fall, happiness or hard times, today and right now are things that I focus on. It always baffles me how much energy I see people use on complaining and worrying and wishing something were different. Always saying "if only"....You hear it all the time. "If only it were spring," "If only I didn't have these problems," "If only I were richer," "If only these people acted differently," ad nauseum.....

I like to enjoy the season I am in. It is winter now, and wow, we've had a memorable winter with 2 huge snows. My kids will be talking about these snows with 10+ inches for years and years after they're all grown and finished with school.

I love looking for signs of spring, too. I have seen my first crocus this year, in between the two big snows. It didn't bother me that they got snowed over. They did their beautiful job. Crocuses love to bloom when it's almost spring, even through snow.

Parenting is the same. My husband and I have always been given generous amounts of advice at each stage of our children's growth. The main theme was always something like, Just wait, it gets better.....or Just wait, it gets worse. Why not just accept the fact that each stage is wonderful and each stage will come with joys and challenges? No need to rush through each season. It is enough to know that each season has a time limit. Each season has joy and grief. Some seasons bring more death than life, like fall and winter. But even in the winter, the crocuses and other flowers and perennials are preparing to bloom again. Shoot, some flowers, like tulips, actually need a super cold time or they won't bloom at all in the spring.

So it is with life, too. Kids grow into young people, and then adults. Adults grow into adulthood and middle age, and then into older years. Watching friends and family mature and grow into older years is definitely a hard season. It has been hard for me to watch my grandparents and great grandparents pass on from this life. It has been hard for me to watch my parents grow older and watch them have more physical challenges, ones that come with everyone as they get older.

That is a comfort, too. Just knowing that growing and aging is something that everyone goes through. It is common to the human race. Moms survive the sleepless nights and round the clock baby feedings. Moms and dads survive toddlerhood and potty training. We all eventually succeed in reaching different milestones of growth and maturity. I find myself saying to myself encouraging words......if other people have experienced this and survived and even thrived, then I can, too.

When you get to different stages, I find that there are new levels of ways you can relate to other people, and that's good, too. Some things you just can't relate to until you go through it.

So again with the seasons.....it is winter now here where I live. I choose to enjoy the winter and enjoy the slow pace of snow days. Busyness and the urgency of spring will come soon enough. I just have to remind myself to not get too grumpy at times and look for the joys of today.

A New Year 2015

Happy January, 2015! May it be a year of peace and calm and love for you and your friends and family. I am still amazed at the nice life God has given me, even with all the normal ups and downs. Married almost 19 years, 3 beautiful children. My oldest is a teenager now!! 13 is a beautiful age. I love watching her grow and mature, and yet still be my little girl at the same time. We like to read and play games together, and enjoy music together. My 2nd daughter is 10 now. She is strong, beautiful, and spunky. She is quite athletic and funny. We enjoy laughing and being silly and singing together. I can always count on her to do goofy things with me. My little young man is 7 now, and he is still such a snuggler, and I don't mind it one bit. He loves his kitties and Star Wars and his friends. He likes school and legos. I couldn't ask for better children for me. I love how they all love to pile up on the couch with me, fighting over my lap, or snuggle up in bed with me. I'll never be in a rush for them to grown up.

Still crafting quite a bit, and really I am about as caught up as I ever get. I still have a couple of things I'm making for friends, and then I'll be totally caught up. I have some personal projects I'd like to finish this year. I'm still selling my things online and in the brick and mortar store Raggle Taggle. I'm enjoying working part time there. I'm also immensely enjoying all my volunteer time at the schools. I love it that my kids beg me to chaperone their school trips with them. So much fun!!

I guess I will throw in a few pics to go with the new year.

Ana and I had lots of fun trying on Christmas decorations at the little shop around the corner

future legislator??

somebody loves his kitties

The Songs in My Head--Get Back Up

Yay!! It is nearly spring!! I saw my first little yellow crocus yesterday in my yard. My outside kitty TigerGirl came up and wanted lots of snuggles and love. She and Snowball, my 2 outside cats, are strong and have thick winter fur. They have been hard to find this winter. They must have good hiding places, because no matter how many times I've called and gone outside and looked for them, they'd only come home when I was least expecting them. I did get them inside for some of the coldest weather, but there were lots of times I'd pick one of them up and bring them in, only for them to run right back outside. Cats do have a mind of their own. You can't say I haven't tried to get them in the house this winter.

The song running through my head first thing this morning....
"We lose our way, we get back up again....you may be knocked down but not out forever...love calling, love calling.....you may be knocked down but not out forever"

just snippets of a song. Until I looked it up, I had totally forgotten it was a song off a cd that my kids have, and they ask to listen to it all the time.
Here are the complete lyrics for Get Back Up:

You turned away when I looked you in the eye,
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright,
Seems like you're fighting for you life,
But why? oh why?
Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare,
You saw it comin' but it hit you outta no where,
And theres always scars
When you fall back far

We lose our way,
We get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you will shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,
Lose our way,
We get back up again,
So get up, get up,
You gonna shine again,
Never too late to get back up again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever
[May be knocked down but not out forever]

You're rolled out at the dawning of the day
Heart racin' as you made you little get away,
It feels like you've been runnin' all your life
But, why? Oh why?

So you've pulled away from the love that wou'd've been there,
You start believin' that your situation's unfair

But there's always scars,
When you fall back far

We lose our way,
We get back up again
Never too late to get back up again,
One day, you gonna shine again,
You may be knocked down but not out forever,
Lose our way, we get back up again,
So get up, get up
You gonna shine again
It's never too late, to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever,
May be knocked down, but not out forever!

This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken,
This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken
This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin',
I am so broken
This is love callin' love callin

Lose our way, [way way way ay ay ay]
We get back up, [get back up again]
It's never too late [late late late ate ate ate]
You may be knocked down but not out forever!

Lose our way,
We get back up again,
So get up get up
You gonna shine again
Never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,

This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [get back up again]
To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin'
[may be knocked down but not out forever]
This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [we get back up again]
To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin'
[may be knocked down but not out forever]

This is love callin' love callin'
Out to the broken,
This is love callin'....

The song is by TobyMac....here is a youtube video if you want to listen to it...

to finish out my post today, I'm going to just add several pics of things that are really important to me .....have a great day.

missed a week of school with this ice and snow

Eliana wanted a picture of this sky so she could draw it later

when my kids were out of school, they came to work with me

Talon getting ready to play in the snow. Cutest lumberjack ever

pink kitchen set at Raggle Taggle

purple/and green kitchen set at Raggle Taggle

Eliana and Talon getting ready to play in the snow

stretchy bracelets the kids and I made

TigerGirl came to see me in the snow. I was looking for crocuses. She wanted snuggles.

Winter sale of my things at Raggle Taggle

the little yellow crocus I found yesterday, coming up through the snow. Looking for the crocuses is one of my favorite times of the year

Happy Valentine's Day!

the obligatory boxes of love, aka love in a box=candy

fyi--yoda's head is staying on because of 3 popsicle sticks

also, it does take a very long time for a 9 year old to cut colorful squares of duct tape

also, I'm so happy that they're happy

technically, I don't think Talon was supposed to bring a Valentine's box. The whole class made bags earlier this week. He might be the only one with a box---a very large box with a yoda head, ha

I am pretty happy with how the drawing of yoda's face came out. When I draw, it's usually stick figures or cartoon characters. At least Yoda looks happy. The gray kitten is Lady Gray Hurricane, and is Talon's constant companion. Also, I *always* waver about whether to spell gray "gray" or "grey". They both look very nice to me. Which one do you use most often?

Cold Winter Creations

Here are a few things I've been working on this year so far.....

trying something new...I joined a crochet square swap. The idea is that you exchange squares with complete strangers and by the end of the year, you'll have enough to make a pretty blanket. Here are the squares I made for the first month. It has been fun to see the pretty and colorful squares that have been sent to me so far. It's been fun to get them in the mail.

this was a custom order for a teenager --puppy hat and matching pink infinity scarf

lots of potholders I've been working on

Not sure where these will end up---maybe at the local art guild or maybe in my etsy shop

I haven't decided yet

Starting the Year Out Right...

We've had a nice weekend off with the kids. Several of us have been sick, and Natasha was hit the worst, missing three days of school. I am so glad today is a holiday and a day off school. We need the extra day to rest and recuperate.

So......sometimes as parents, my husband and I laugh and wonder about the things we find ourselves saying. Yesterday was no exception. I found myself saying...
"Don't run with the cat!"
and
"Don't hang the cat from the ceiling in a bucket!"
and also
"Why are you tying Barbie to the iron gym?"

Because I know you are very brave, I'll go ahead and illustrate with pictures (because you know I took some).

~back story~
Talon's room used to be the girls' room. At one time, they had a frilly canopy hanging over their bed. There is still an eye hook in the ceiling near Talon's bed. Since his bed is a loft bed, we often find various stuffed animals and toys having grand adventures hanging off the eye hook (as well as the ceiling fan.)
~back story over~

(this picture was taken when kitty, Lady Grey, aka Greyskull, was safely on the ground)

Apparently, kitty somehow jumped in the bucket, and apparently Eliana walked in just as Talon was hanging the kitten-filled bucket from the eye hook in the ceiling. Eliana rescued the bucket (and the kitty) and brought me the story and the bucket (because she is a good story teller)

Sorry, it's not a great picture. The kitty was actually quite happy in the bucket and didn't mind at all hanging from the ceiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Same kitty apparently was chewing on a Barbie. Barbie got a bandage glued onto her hand. And then.....she got tied to the iron gym to protect her from the cat.

(yeah....Barbie is still there, tied to the iron gym)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just wanted to throw this extra picture in there to show the neat toy I found Eliana on ebay, a little Barbie gymnastics set. It has uneven bars and a beam. The little tiny Skipper Barbie Eliana had didn't have a gymnastics leo, so Eliana painted one on with fingernail polish. This is just a glimpse of all the fun Barbies have in my house. Eliana assures me that little Skipper enjoys just hanging around on the uneven bars. 

As you can see, we really know how to start the year off right over here. Hopefully, we are over the worst of all the sickness. I'm kind of still hoping for a snow day or two before winter is over, but I'm just not sure it'll happen this year.

In a couple of weeks, it'll be the 19th anniversary of the day my husband and I met for the first time. Kind of blows your mind thinking about that. I've also calculated the time, and I've been out of school now longer than I was in it (high school and college combined). I guess that means I'm really an adult now. My kids are 12, 9, and 6. 7th grade, 4th grade, and 1st grade.

Anyway, this might end up being a surprising year, considering the start we've had.

What funny things have you ever found yourself saying as a parent??

Important Things

2014 is another new year. Things that are important to me for this year....
being a true friend
increasing the number of calm, peaceful days
enjoying my family
avoiding judgmental, critical, and controlling people
overlooking the faults of others
being kind to others and myself
doing more things together as a family
getting the kids together with grandparents and good friends more
reading more good books
enjoying more sunshine and more rain
listening for the laughter of my kids and husband and pay attention to what makes them smile

Other than that, now that it is January, I will look forward to seeing my crocuses pop up and bloom in the next month. In the spring, I love watching the flowers and trees bud and bloom.

January Happenings

Custom Baby Set

Kitty is not impressed with my new mannequin head or my new hat.

Crocheted Flower Hair Clips

Sweet drawing my 9 yr old daughter drew for me. I like that I'm so happy and that I have crazy eyes. I must be very excited that my shirt is my favorite color pink and has a kitten and yarn on it :)

Merry Christmas 2013

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the last month or so. Merry Christmas to you all!!
I've had a busy season filling crochet orders and keeping up with fun school and after school activities with the kids. The kittens are growing and are furry little snugglers. We did have a week or two when everyone was really sick. We did a lot of sleeping that week. Love and hugs to you all!!

The Day of the Crocus

The day my little crocuses pop up in my front yard has to be one of my favorite days of the year. I dream of a day when half my front yard is covered in their beautiful blooms. I also got a wonderful surprise in the mail, some wonderfully smelling handmade organic lemongrass and calendula soap from a dear mommy friend from a nursing mommies' group I was in starting when my oldest daughter was only 2 months old. My daughter's 11 now, and my sweet friend has moved far away. Getting her sweet note and handmade soap is like seeing the crocuses pop up each year. Now matter how long it has been since I've seen them, they always bring me great joy, and I can count on them being there year after year for me :)

February 1 today and winter's not over yet. We had a dusting of snow last evening. Here are my crocuses this morning.