Love and Joy

Happy Valentines Day! We celebrated early by going out on Friday since that's when my sister in law offered to come and watch the kids. It was such a blessing to be able to get out and go on a date with my husband! I always dreamed that we would be able to go on dates once a week, but that has not always been feasible for us. We have had to improvise a lot of the time, and have dates at home where Lee or I would cook, or where we would have some super yummy dessert or popcorn and a movie. To me, it wouldn't be any fun if there wasn't some sort of creativity to it all. Sometimes, the more simple dates that were cheaper but had more thought put into them are the more special dates, in my opinion. :) This Valentines Day has been a little different, though. I have been stuck on knitting these socks for Lee, and he's really excited, so we went and picked out the yarn and the pattern and bought the supplies, and I'm working on them still. Lee got me two books that I have been REALLY wanting (One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider), so we are both taken care of there, but the funny thing is that we both have another part of each others' gifts that are still on their way! :) My 2nd part for him is expected to arrive on Wednesday, and his 2nd part for me (which I know will be much bigger than my part for him, if I know him) is expected to arrive even later, by a few days! I'm super excited, though. I love Valentines Day, but it's even more fun when surprises are involved and when it doesn't end quickly. I have been known to spoil my own fun on this special holiday, with my expectations for how things should be for myself. And it's not that my hubby is one to go halfway on things, it's just that I'm more a "hand made" girl and he's more of the "nicer the better" kind of guy. It's a funny mix, almost backwards seeming, but we're learning. I'm so excited to be able to "hit the nail on the head" with these knitted socks, and I know what he's got ordered for me is hand made, so we're reaching that middle ground there somehow. :) I had forgotten until today, but this is our 14th Valentine's Day to celebrate as a couple! The first 3 we were still dating, but wow, it seems like it was just yesterday. We have both grown and changed, so it also seems like ages all at the same time. :) I am so blessed! I know I am, and I sometimes feel like I'm bragging to say so, but I need to bask in these blessings! They are a part of the story that God has given to me and I sure LOVE this story so far, even with its twists and turns and jigs and jags! It's a tear jerker and an action film, along with being a beautiful romance and a documentary all wrapped up in one! ;) I am learning to "stay fully awake" the way that Ann Voskamp's video preview mentions about her book, that I have posted in my previous post. I keep having to remind myself that my kids won't be throwing cereal around the room forever (Titus) or needing my help tying their shoes for an eternity. These are solitary moments that I have with them, and I have 2 ways I can handle them, with joy or with drudge. I pray that I embrace each of these moments with joy and that my husband and children will find that it rubs off on them. The same goes for the things I do for my husband, like laundry, dishes and preparing meals. These things are hard to accept as being "fun", and my personality gravitates toward the fun, creative, and non-tedious things in life (hence the crocheting and knitting), but I have been making it my goal to keep a positive attitude toward these tasks. I have even played mind games with myself, like had a competition to see how long we could go in the month and not eat out! I was surprised at the joy I experienced at the creativity I was able to have in the kitchen. :) I'm learning, and I think I need to bring on the personal competitions again! They seem to work with me. :) I am excited to begin to grasp life again, with less fear and with more ambition and with more joy. That is what the Lord has worked in our life, after all, that makes us different from the natural bent of the world. What a blessing that we can look forward to changing our perspective in a way that allows us to look forward to doing the dishes because maybe we will decide to pray for the users of the dishes instead of curse the job of washing them! :)

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10







"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;" Psalm 98:4

Adventures in... socks?

Do you ever get in the mood to create? I get in these moods often. I think it's something that I feel that I have some sort of control over, since everything else seems to be out of my hands. :) Sometimes it crochet, sometimes knitting, sometimes painting (rarely these days though), sometimes writing poetry and sometimes its blogging. The other day I was just wanting to get my hands busy with something beautiful! I was wishing I had practiced more at the piano or stuck with those moments of playing around with the guitar I had in junior high! I could just feel my fingers working together to make a beautiful composition of praise to the Lord... but, alas, the symphony cannot be found here (except for Pandora, YouTube or CD), so today I blog :) Not that it's all that beautiful, but I love words and what the release of them does to my days! There is nothing like sitting down to the computer and just letting it f l o w! ;) I write poetry and but don't share it often. I have always loved it. These days I've been on mission "knit a sock for the hubby"! :) I haven't done a lot of knitting in the past at all, and have made small strips of knitted-ness (that were nothing) with dropped stitches and all (which means HOLES)! :) Then I made myself a single knitted cotton wash cloth for the dishes. It was nice. But I have really busied myself with crochet! I LOVE crocheting, but there is really one thing that I have wanted to be able to make since I started 10 years ago that I can't crochet; socks! Crocheted socks are just not cute!!! :) So, this year, one of my New Year Resolutions has been to knit a sock, well, a pair of socks! :) I started out with all of the stuff: the 4 double sided needles, yarn! BUT it didn't last long... my yarn was too thick and my needles too small! So, after my first project was hurting my hands, I went to Google and "researched" what I needed and found a website that showed me what yarn I should get for what size of needles! I have so far made a "not a sock", a baby hat, and a doll baby cozy, all in efforts of making these socks, until today! :) I have, as of now, conquered one tube sock! Those are the socks that don't have heels. These are going to be for me, since the hubby wants socks with the heels and all, but I am one step closer and VERY excited! I will be starting on the other sock tomorrow. :) I know it probably seems so weird that this project has me so excited, but I am really proud of myself for learning how to knit on my own, and now teaching myself how to knit a sock through YouTube videos and online tutorials! I am so glad that God created us with the ability to create. I don't know why, but I always find a sense of calm when I'm working on a project like this, and I feel so accomplished when I can set a goal and achieve it. I am really looking forward to the days that the girls can join me and we can knit or crochet together. Both Zoe and Lenci have worked on crocheting, and they love it. They are both always begging me to work with them on it. :)
I cannot imagine what the Father was feeling when He made us. It was a much easier task for Him to speak us into being, yet it is IMPOSSIBLE for us to do, than it is for me to knit or crochet or paint... anything, but He looked at creation upon its completion at each step and declared it "good". :) I also love that the Bible uses knitting to describe the creation of the human body in a mother's womb.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16
These passages bring a whole new meaning to my crocheting and knitting projects! I have prayed for the recipients of my creations before. It's very neat to know that with each stitch I can lift these people, created by the Lord Himself, up and intercede for them in my own prayers. I know that it really doesn't "bless" the item any more, but it really gives me a good excuse to pray for them. I'm looking forward to knitting my husband's socks! :) I will surely be praying for him as I knit each stitch. Believe it or not, I think he's looking forward to getting his very own socks knit by Yours Truly! :) I guess I'm going to be working at blessing his socks ON! ;)










So, here's the progression of working on the first finished sock that's the right size! Now on to the other... :) I think I'll just go strait to it, though the girls are most definitely wanting another dolly cozy! ;)

5 things:
1. a hubby happy to cook
2. snow days that keep daddy home from work :)
3. rearranging rooms and repurposing furniture
4. conversations with my hubby over dishes
5. completing tasks and marking things off of my to do list

Memories of moments

Last week came and went with LOTS on my plate. :) It was the hubby's long work week, and this particular week we had a few sickies passing stuff around and sharing things we don't like to share. ;) It's so hard to keep young ones from sharing colds! They just don't understand that you don't drink out of each other's cups (and from Mommy's cup). :) Somehow, I managed to ward off the cold with a little help from Vitamin C, water and the extra cloves of garlic I threw in to spruce up a few dinners. :) I really thought I had it a few times, but thankfully, I am well. :) We were thankful when Daddy was off and we celebrated by heading to the park for a picnic lunch with the duckies! :) This week we are getting an arctic blast, so it was nice to get outside a bit before we are stuck in the house. There is nothing like seeing things in the eyes of our 2 year old, Titus! His eyes were so bright as he was looking at everything and just soaking it all in. He was almost glowing and I could see his little mind learning, even with every chilly gust of wind. :) All of the kids had so much fun and I know that we made memories this week!





I wrote last week about a few new blogs I've happened upon this past month, and I am super excited about them! :) I have them linked in my blog on the right hand side, but below are a few of the links!
This first one is such a blessing! Ann Voskamp has recently written a book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, and the theme of her blog and her book is to find the gifts from God in the every day! I have been so encouraged by it and look forward to reading what she has to say every time she blogs!
http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Here is a trailer for the book! :)
(You can push pause on the music on the right hand side of the blog if you want to hear this better.)


I'm going to start posting five moments that I am thankful for from this past week:
1. playground knee jeans and sewing on patches
2. the seal I found in the printer (placed there by our man, Titus, himself)
3. the frustration of not having hubby home for "normal" hours (because that means that I miss him and enjoy his company)
4. creating with the kids (stories, art, food, ect...)
5. Unlocking the door to reading with my kindergartner, Lenci, this year

And I will leave you with this link to Bloom (in)courage, which is a group that is going to be doing a book club with Ann Voskamp's book! :) I'm planning to take part in this and I'd love to know if you do too! :) Blessings!
http://www.incourage.me/category/bloom

Yay!

I'm proud to say... I'M BACK! At least for now I can say I have blogged twice this month! :) I may not have much to say this week, but I'm here! :) I have really been taking this years resolutions seriously, and I resolved to blog once a week at least! I have also really been trying to find real ways to balance my life with order and family time so that there is a more natural flow! I float somewhere between the artsy frazz and the get with it gal to create this frazzed out momma never feeling like I'm meeting my own expectations! I guess that's what it's all about, though! I have been reading a few super blogs about organizing, simplifying, and passionately living completely aware of each moment and grasping each memory! I had talked before the new year about really focusing on trying to live more with intention than in survival mode all the time! God has more for our lives than just mere survival! I have read the first 3 chapters of Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life" a few times (I have a problem with moving forward if I have waited too long, not that I know what that time frame is...haha), and these ideas are all there, but it's been sooooo refreshing to hear these ideas from these ladies who have blogged lately on all of these topics! I feel such a kindred spirit with them, but then look at myself and my shortcomings only to see them as somehow "above" me in a way. I am continuously learning how to better manage my home and the needs of my family, and I'm so glad that these ladies have posted such genuine blog posts! They have let us all know that they are real too! Our blogs don't show the mess of cracker crumbs that our little munchkins just threw all over the floor behind us, right! ;) We all have our days, and I know that I am learning these things in just the way I am so that I can take others through what and how I have learned! I am glad that I have posted tonight! ;) Another thing I can mark on my list to remind myself that I can resolve to do things and follow through with them, so if this post isn't for anyone else, it was for me! ;) Blessings!






"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
2 Corinthians 12:9

Celebrations of many kinds

Well hello there! :) It's been a few since these fingers have touched these keys to update our little world here! :) We have made up for it with our busyness! :) Sleep deprivation in the last months has become the norm but we are finally recovering, although that threat is never unfathomable! :) I'm not exactly sure when sleep is ever the same after having kids, but I'm fine with that. :) We have so many blessings in our lives, so it would be silly to let that be something to cause me to loose more sleep! ;) Anyway, we have several bdays in our family, and we only have 2 people that share the same month in our immediate family! We actually have a birthday to celebrate nearly every month starting in August! We have April, August, September, October, December, and January covered just in our family!!! :) Once we hit the fall we're celebrating all the time! :)

Our wedding anniversary is also in October, so that's something else exciting to throw in the mix! This past year, Lee and I celebrated 10 years!!! We were very excited to claim that benchmark! So many wonderful memories! I love my wonderful, hardworking husband! We are definitely a match! ;)

School is going great for me and the kids!
Zoe turned 7 a few weeks ago and is breezing through her 1st grade work! She is loving to read more than ever! :) She loves that she can read things on tv and that she can read stories to the younger kiddos!!! :) Her favorite thing to play these days is with her baby dolls since she got a new toy pack n play for her birthday!!! She also is a pro at luring her brother, Titus, to me when I need him to come to me when I'm feeding Eden! :)

Lenci is 5 and doing great with all of her K work! She is just getting into the swing of the reading thing, but it is so fun to enter that threshold with her! She and Zoe have very different learning styles, and it's just a really neat thing to see what pulls that desire to read out of her! :) She is an animal lover, and she has recently started talking about horses all the time! It's not rare to find her galloping on all fours around the house! I used to do that as a kid, so it's super cute! :)

Asher, 4, is such a champ! He begs me for work when his sisters are doing school, so I print learning sheets from the computer to keep him busy, and I have had a few instances that the girls will be asking me questions about their stuff and Asher knows the answer! :) Hahaha! Little smarty pants! :) He's amazing in math! I'm a little intimidated by that, but for now I know more than he does, so we're still good! :) Hahaha! He loves anything boy, but he is always willing to play with his big sisters! We always give him the big jobs, like smooshing bugs and stuff like that! He is a very proud bug smoosher! :)

Titus turned 2 on the first of the year, and he is just blowing me away with how many words he is adding to his vocabulary every day! Sometimes I'll get him up from his nap and he has new words just from that little time he has had to rest! :) He is a super sweet boy, but man is he a stinker! Yesterday he was putting beads up his nose, pulling the tv speakers off the armoire, knocking books off of the shelf and then climbing in the space the books left, crawling on the table, climing up into the girls loft bed and the list goes on! Needless to say I am one tired momma these days! I just really feel that I am a life guard! :) Titus loves cars, dinosaurs and anything that looks kinda scary! :) He also pretends that anything and everything is either a microphone or a guitar!

And Eden is joining Titus' need for a life guard in that she has begun putting anything in her little mouth! I'm trying to get her to take a pacifier, but she just has never taken one! ALL of the other bambinos have taken them, so I'm not sure what the aversion is, but I got her to take it longer today than any other day by trying my latest trick; COFFEE! :) Yep! I dipped her paci in the coffee and she sure slurped that thing! I have no idea why it worked, but we'll see! I think that's why she puts things in her mouth though! None of the other kids did that so early, so that was my deductive reasoning! :) She has also just started crawling, so she is EVERYWHERE! Her favorite place now, you ask? Anywhere the kids are playing! She has started following them, so I guess that means they're more fun than me! :) I know one thing, they are definitely more exhuberant! Hahaha! She gets so proud of herself when she's standing up too, although right now its just holding onto things! When I get her from her bed she's usually standing now! I can't believe she's getting so big!!! I think her favorite toy right now is her singing glo worm!

I have been crocheting as usual! I have been debating about whether or not to open up an etsy, so we shall see! :) I have decided that I want to learn to knit some socks for my darling hubby! :) He is a lover of wool socks, and it is a deep desire of mine to knit him some since crocheted socks are just not something that he would fancy, AT ALL! :) Hehehe! I really don't like them much either, except for slippers around the house! I went on youtube and watched a few videos of ladies knitting socks and just laughed!!! I am such a novice knitter and the sock knitting was the most complicated thing I had EVER seen with yarn work!!! I am still wanting to learn, but I think I'm going to need a teacher! So, that being said, it is one of my resolutions! I would love to make some socks for Lee for this coming Christmas, and I believe it could take me that long to get them done if I started on them tonight! :) If I learn, I'll post pics as updates! :)

Another resolution of mine will be to update this blog more frequently again! I sure do miss it! :) Words are a favorite of mine! ;) I just have too much to say and it is a really great way to remind myself of all of the sweet graces that God is granting in the everyday happenings of my little life! So, farewell for now!

Are You a Good Person?

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