Lately

Lately, life has been zooming by and it has been fun!

We recently had a visit with some friends whom we've reconnected with. They moved from Idaho to our area of South Seattle. We shared some yummy muffins (Sweet Chef, you know who you are!), toys, and some talking. Simple and yet restful. Ah. Can't wait until our next visit!

We have finished our taxes. 'Nough said.

A girl friend, accompanied by her loverly daughters (who are the same age a mine), came over for the whole Friday to jump start me on sewing my daughters' Easter dresses. Yes, I decided to go out on a limb. And yes, I am hoping to finish by Easter. The whole reason why I'm sewing them, right? I'm excited as to how they are turning out. Let me just hint that they are an indigo blue with polk-a-dots. Okay, that's enough hinting. *wink*

Two baby showers this weekend. One for little Addie Lou, the youngest of four children. What an amazing brunch feast was presented by our pastor's wife! I think I dreamed of that decadent spread the whole night afterward! And the games were creatively un-boring. A great way to also meet more ladies at our church, seeing we are still "newish". I got teary-eyed at a couple gifts given by the women.

The other baby shower was incredibly relaxing as well! Tiny and blue-eyed baby Elijah. This little man has officially sealed the deal of me hoping for a baby boy in the future! The hosts of the shower made delightful cake pops and other goodies. I had my sugar fill for the weekend. And what a great time catching up with people I have not seen in ages! My eldest came with and I'm so glad I brought her. She has been such a good girl lately and needed to get out a bit.

This weekend, I went to Hammond Ashley on the Eastside and rented a....violin!!!!!!!! I am ecstatic! My old violin is worth beans. It is old, scratchy; and my bow is de-haired without recourse. I have had no motivation to play for the past 6 1/2 years. Isn't that a pity? An elderly lady at our church, discovered that I am a violinist and has gathered an ensemble. All I needed was a violin. Without further ado, I headed to HA to browse. I did not know you could rent to own! Hence, all the money I pay to rent, I can put toward a violin of my own (ahem...they start at only $700-800....) You can imagine all the years of suppressed violin-playing was released in a torrent of notes last night. My daughters loved it; we dance and jigged the night away~

Next up is Katie Girl's 1st birthday party! I can't believe I just wrote that. She is actually turning 1 early next month. AND she started crawling just a few days ago. Hurrah! She is more self-entertained. I have no regrets for this new-found mobility. My older daughter, however, is not so sure how to handle a crawling sister. Now she stores her "untouchables" on a shelf, out of reach. Her food is now perused and pursued. We all wonder when her legs will do the walking. But I am not in a hurry for that, nor will I prevent her.

My daughters are growing up and before I know it, some of my "goals" have not been met. What are my goals? Which are most important?

This is a reminder to me to stop for my hot tea in the morning, pull out my Bible, and just be still before God. Listen to His words. Perhaps I am not hearing Him because I am not opening the ears of my heart? I think it is easy (at least for me) to study the Word, but to spend time in prayer before the Lord Jesus is a whole different story. That takes time! And mind you, my brain wanders during prayer for all the things I have to do that day! But the reason I really want to spend time in prayer is because Jesus, the Son of God, spent time alone in prayer with His Father. If Jesus did this, how much more should I? It does not have to be formulated or even at a certain time of day, but it's a must and it is my biggest priority. To spend time at Jesus' feet. Even more than that, a spirit of prayer throughout the day is part of our spiritual armor, to fight against the spiritual powers of darkness and evil.

Another priority is teaching my children about the Lord. It is a life-long investment. Thankfully, spiritual topics come up all the time. I rarely have to seek them out. But when they do, am I ready with wisdom from above? If I'm not, do I take the time to seek out God's answers with them? I actually enjoy the moments where my oldest daughter asks me thought-provoking questions. They often blow my mind. I'm like "Why didn't I think of that?". In so many ways, our kids often show Jesus to us. Oh, that I would have a soft heart to soak Him up.

Bring Your Earl Grey, Please

Today was a wonderful day to go visit Grandma Mabel (my husband's grandmother)!

We pack up our tea things...cream, raw sugar, black tea, cookies...because Grandma Mabel loves tea. I also pack up The Farmer's Daughter just in case she wants to watch a little Loretta Young. We get there, look around for Grandma in the little group watching the St. Patrick's Day singers in the entertainment room, but don't see her. Even thought she said she'd meet us. The girls and I troop over to her room to find her all tangled up in her clothing, struggling to get dressed, and slightly confused. She has bouts of short-term memory loss. But she emphatically insists that she wear her dress or "they won't allow her in there". She also wants her hair brushed, and jewelry donned. You know, all the things us ladies typically want done before we walk out the door. As we walk down the hallway she asks me if I mind if she sits by her favorite man (!) Then she gives me her sly little grin and laugh (!) Thankfully, we make it to the room before they are done. Grandma (and my girls) love their sweets, so they do not at all pass up the punch and cake. It's a sweet time and after it is over, we end up watching a little of Farmer's Daughter. Obviously, we are all tired. The girls are fussy and Grandma is sleep in her comfy chair. After she stirs, we make our good-byes, and she insists we take home all the oranges in her frig (that she saves up for months at a time from the dining room). We make our way back to the car. It is only once we are back in the car that I realize I have forgotten to clip her toenails and let her hold Katie like I promised. But again, I think we are all tired and it is time to call it a day.

What a beautiful outing! Grandma is a social bug (she is formerly a pastor's wife), so I know she thoroughly enjoyed showing off the girls to all her acquaintances at the retirement home. And I know she was thrilled to have company at her small place. It's always very relaxing and quiet when we go. I like it. And I always look forward to going back.

These visits make me miss my own Grandmother Louise all the way over in Missouri. How I wish I could jog over a mere 30 minutes in the car to see her. We are so close and yet many miles apart. We talk of many things when we're together, like best friends. A good reminder that I need to call her tomorrow.

When I am old and widowed, I hope my granddaughters come to visit me regularly. I hope they bring their black tea and old videos. And just talk with me. Just because they love me.

A midnight prayer for my children...

Dear Lord, I have this earnest desire for you alone to meet my children's needs. I say "children" and not "daughters" because we'd like to have more, but You ultimately know what's ahead.

I want my daughters and future little ones to know You deeply. May you be the sole source of their contentment. May you be their Rock in hard times, may you fill every part of their being with Your Love. You are Love, and none else can fill us like You do. There is no material thing or human being I can go to that absolutely satisfies me. Lord, please be that satisfaction for my children.

I want them to bask in Your peace. Even in the midst of troubles, may their soul be at rest. As they grow up, help them to know You alone are faithful. You always hear; You always answer. You never let go of your children. Thank you, Jesus, for holding me in the palm of Your hand. I ask that my children seek to meet Your approval, and that would include a hatred for sin, a dislike for the things Your heart is saddened for. May their paths never seek to meet evil and if evil meets with them, may their hearts be protected. But God, they are human, and if they sin, may they repent, seek Your forgiveness and be brought back to Your side.

I love my girls so much, Lord. It is hard to think You love them even more than that. But it's true. I will fail them from time to time, even in my efforts not to. I give you my children, even the future ones; I dedicate them to You. Just like I had to give you our Amelia, I give them to You and I ask that You do with them what You will. But Lord, may they find You at a young age. And even if they stray and make bad choices, may they come in brokenness, realizing You are the only answer. I would love for them to avoid the mistakes I have made in my life! But I know You have a plan for each of their lives. And you redeem what Satan means for evil. You are goodness, faithfulness, righteousness. You are Holy. There is none like You.

Might they experience Your unfathomable grace, no matter how painful it may be.

Thank you, Lord, for saving me. For washing away the sin in my life; for making me a new creature. Make me an example for my children. Help me to raise them with Your Love and guidance, because it's so hard to do it in my own strength.

Amen.

More Stitches

Our company taxes are due on Tues, so we have been scrambling around the files like a couple of laymen trying to save money by using TurboTax and not hiring an accountant. :)

But I think we are done. There is always a figurative sigh of relief when taxes are over. And every year we vow we will keep better records next time. Cheers to having a new computer that will help us do just that.

We recently purchased an hp from Costco. We are very glad we did! With a 23" screen, I can see Solitaire from the other side of the room; it's amazing! But seriously, this more stable, dependent computer vastly outdoes the portable laptop, which was unfortunately dropped by me :( It still works (wow) but is snail-pace slow. We will not be fixing it anytime soon, however.

I have been crocheting more. I am excited to have finished two hats and a wool soaker over the past three days. Perhaps I will take pics once I have gifted the items. The wool soaker, heavens to betsy, is HUGE! As I was rounding up row 33, I did notice it was large, but thought, well, it's what the pattern said! But, the pattern also said, you could make it smaller/larger depending on the measurements. Silly me. I didn't think of that. But here is the link for the Zoe Soaker. Keep in mind, you may want to do several rows less. The easy way to measure, is just fold it in half (hamburger-style) and see how it fits before you're finished.

One of the hats is made from black, ultra-soft acrylic yarn. Here is Olivia's Butterfly hat pattern. I made it for a woman, so I made the stitches a bit looser and increased after row 5. This is my favorite design so far. Simple, but vintagely (is that a word?) chic. I've had several requests for this hat already! Katie is my little model :)

The other hat I will have to describe later, as it is for someone who may be a reader :) However, I can say the hat is in Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn, in Denim. Denim being a myriad of light blues. Think I mentioned before that S&C yarn, well, cotton in general, is my fave yarn to work with! I will post pics once I gift it! I am sorry I can't post photos tonight. Since the computer switch, I haven't had time to upload the software for my camera.

I am looking forward to making a couple more hats for friends and yet another gift for a baby boy. Can you tell I am hat crazy? I was just telling my husband last night why I love hats. I am all about finishing, and smaller projects are easy to finish. I also get impatient. I want to try one pattern while I'm still working on another!! Unfortunately for my family, I have discovered a few local yarn shops. And just when they thought that had seen enough yarn!

I do not think I will ever crochet big articles of clothing or big blankets. They take WAY too long and besides, I would rather sew a dress or skirt. However, I don't mind crocheting baby or little girl's clothing. They are small piecework.

Speaking of sewing, I am still at work on a project for a dear friend's baby boy. I am late; he is now 3 months old. I finally received my mother's sewing machine as a gift, but then I had to learn how to use it. Next, I had to find a spot to use it....the only area being either my kitchen table or the nursery; the nursery not being compatible during nap time, and the kitchen not compatible during piano lessons and life in general. Anyway, I finally attempted the finishing touch on this project...and had to tear it out! It was totally crooked! This is my first project solo, so I know I did something wrong. Wish I had a friend (hint, hint, Susi) to come over and give me tips. Anyhow, I ended up back where I started and am gathering the bravery at a second attempt. I just have to calmly remind myself that everyone has to start somewhere.

And now I have this inkling that I'd like to sew the girls' Easter dresses. Dare I try? Goodness' sake, I am having a hard enough time with this simple project. I have simple, but pretty pattern from Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy. My wish is to use satin material, but is satin good for beginners? Well, I shall soon find out.

Since I have been in this "cloud" of sorts, of paperwork, semi-normal life begins once again on Monday. Back to ballet, piano lessons and schooling. Ahhh....the comfort of normalcy. Even if it is the daily grind, it is our daily grind :)