three day weekends

we had a wonderful three day weekend.
as a stay-at-home mom, you might think I can make my own three day weekends whenever I want, and you may be right. but even for this mom, there's something freeing about knowing you and your family have an extra day "off."

over the three day weekend:
we celebrated uncle tom's birthday.
we made our favorite breakfast (thanks for the recipe uncle john)- chocolate chip pancakes.
mark and uncle tom played, worked, and played some more with their computers.
and then there were our wii competitions! bowling, baseball, golf-the sport doesn't matter when you're among competitive relatives! mark was crowned bowler of the weekend.
mark surprised me on thursday with the new wii fit! spencer, connor, and I all registered our stats and played a few games. I found spencer's toes irresistible!
we shared lots of moments.
aunt karen welcomed a walk with connor for some one on one time. down to the quick mart they went, for a "sweet treat" while the big guys picked up pizza after the Narnia movie.
my sweet boy even picked out a sweet treat for me!

after seeing hand sewn baby blankets, I thought I would try sewing again. now I remember why I don't enjoy sewing. thanks for trying with me aunt karen.and then yesterday I finished up a few projects that have been patiently waiting for me. 1. I finished my Christmas 2006 (Disney trip) scrap.2. I picked out photos for a special scrap I'm preparing for spencer's 11th birthday gift.
3. I did my version of gardening in the backyard- mowing, mulching, and weeding.
4. I completed a few loads of laundry.
5. I walked for 45 minutes!
6. And most exciting-I finished my first baby hat from the Itty Bitty Hats book!

I was so proud of myself last night. The top actually looks pretty good! How fun to try something new and get it right! special thanks to all the blogs I visit and those special knitters in my life who don't yet share their projects online (mom, lisa, beth, kathy) for all the inspiration and encouragement!

shells

we went to mc donald's for lunch today. a special treat for cer doing a good job "trying" to obey mommy, although he's still not allowed to go shopping. before we ate, we stopped at the library to check out Last Minute Knitted Gifts and simple knits for cherished babies, so mom would enjoy the play time as well as connor.

as I paused between books, I noticed three out of four people around me were either on or using (playing games or texting) their cell phones. one mother/daughter set were sitting together but both involved in separate conversations on their respective phones. I overheard one mother tell her young son to "go play" so she could finish a text. when did we become a society too busy to "be" with people in front of us? when did the next activity or the next phone call become of higher importance than the one we're already in?

Jesus knew how to "be" in the moment. He didn't hurry, rush, or wish away time. He didn't run to the next activity (remember Mary and Martha? their brother Lazarus was in the tomb four days before Jesus came and resurrected him- John 11). I'm more aware now more than ever that I need to stop rushing. mark and I are already very protective of our children's schedules- now I need to take control of my own. just because I CAN do something, does that mean I SHOULD do it? I'm beginning to believe the answer is- no.

in his new nooma episode: shells, Rob Bell asks the question "what is your one thing?" his thought is this- if you're holding onto a handful of insignificant shells, how will you grab or take hold of the starfish you desire when it comes along?

what's your "one thing?" will you sacrifice the one significant for the insignificant many?

preschool graduation 2008

well it happened. connor graduated from his first stage of higher education. preschool graduation was a joyful time (as you'll see from the pictures). mark did an awesome job of taking 116 photos of cer. At one point in the graduation ceremony i had to kick him to stop taking photos!

i picked a few of my favorites and you can view more out on my flickr page under "my boys." and don't miss mark's interview with the graduate on web.mac.com/firstinitialp.

the processional:

the graduate waiting his turn to step up:

I did it dad!

the program, diploma, and duck:

connor's teachers:

thanks for the memories St. Paul Preschool:

punishment

sent cer to his room today for disobeying mommy.
went in to "talk" about how to act and how not to act.

found him playing on his bed with his star wars guys.

is it still punishment when you're sitting on your bed play acting with star wars figures?

i'm not sure anything i do impacts him.

he's in such a "do what i want" stage.

it's hard to have two boys who are totally different.

spencer would obey; connor does not.

i can only pray my way through each day at this point.

God, give me mercy, patience, wisdom, and grace.

give me the words to say and take away the ones i shouldn't.

teach connor when i'm unable.

allow him to learn while maintaining his childlike spirit and engaging smile.

give me patience, lord, give me patience.

knitting update

today is connor's last full day of preschool, and the teacher gifts are finished just in time. i made each teacher a granny smith apple dishcloth and added a bottle of pampered chef hand soap (you can purchase this from me, just can't add a link, just email me). the soaps arrived on saturday, and i finished up the cloths this morning!

I couldn't seem to get a good shot of the granny smith green color, but it really is bright green!

this weekend i was also able to make good progress on my walkabout throw.

the van

mother's day weekend

sor, me, and cer in route to pick up our new family van! mark and I thought this purchase we might be able to downsize and not purchase a mini-van. we looked at the dodge journey, ford edge, and saturn vue, but decided with all the car travel we do, it just wasn't practical. the boys are only going to get bigger, not smaller. this van will give us plenty of space for luggage and for the boys to spread out and not "touch" each other. it's been several years since our last car purchase, so this was an exciting day for all of us.

we choose the chrysler town & country touring in clearwater blue. we purchased from a dealer my parents have dealt with for 40 years. Thanks Mr. Kempthorn! some of the highlights- grey leather interior, dual dvd players, wireless headsets, side and rear hatches open remotely, back up camera, and Sirius radio.

more than we need, better than we deserve.

a full week

I'm midway through the week and many of the projects I was "stressing" about on Monday are now complete.

one sales meeting finished.

the 4th grade recorder recital was today. spencer was in the front row next to Lexie and Kenzie. After weeks of practicing his four songs, they made perfect harmony with all the other recorders (and also perfect sense). I was concerned when I couldn't recognize the songs or even imagine the notes of the recorder as a song. :)

you'll have to enjoy the photos out of focus- we were in the back and had to zoom zoom to get close to spencer, not to mention he was sitting behind the music stand! what luck! of all the seats in the gym, we were postioned to watch spencer from behind the music stand! after the concert, the pto treated the students and parents to cookies and juice. connor and I were then off to miss bonnie's retirement luncheon.

next...one retirement gift to make, one to buy, one retirement luncheon to attend

connor and I were off to his preschool to wish blessings and congratulations on miss bonnie as she retires at the end of the year! I volunteered to collect money, come up with an idea and carry it out. this is what I (with some help from my creative husband) came up with: a special teacher poem framed and signed by the Class of 2008 and gift cards to her favorite places.

yesterday was a beautiful warm, sunny day. the perfect day to create a gift card flower pot out in our garage. just in case you'd like to create your own-i started with one flower pot; stuffed the bottom with target bags for bulk; filled the top with popcorn; glued clothes pins upside down to craft sticks; added a ribbon for color; then added the gift cards for blossoms.

our class gift gets received with lots of love-

one show complete, one thursday, one friday

the things on my mind haven't gone away although some of them have escaped the treadmill that is my mind and made it to a yellow legal pad that I "stole" from mark. what's his is mine and what's mine is mine, right?? more teacher gifts to come. the end of year gifts are in the planning stage...on that yellow legal pad.

haven't even had time to write about our new van!!

monday musings

this week promises to be busy- one meeting, one recital, one retirement gift to make and one to purchase, one retirement luncheon, three shows, and lots of things on my mind "to do" around the house. it's rainy here today, so i'm in the mood for a nap, yet many things pull me away from the couch. for now i'll do one item at a time; we're off to purchase items for the classrooms at church.

road trip knitting

27 hours in the van allowed me to begin my granny smith apple dishcloths for connor's teachers' end of year gifts. good road trip project.

one finished...two finished... one to knit

lisa was the saving grace for my thorpe hat. lisa is so: patient, willing to try new things, willing to make mistakes in order to learn, all attributes that i can improve on. i could not start this project on dpn; and i have to admit that i still can't start one by myself. hopefully as i get more experience knitting in the round with my baby hats, i'll be able to start one alone. i'll try not to mess it up, lisa!

27 hours, 16 relations, 3 day trip

we arrived home on sunday night from our whirlwind trip to the east coast. we drove 27 hours and saw 16 family and friends in our 3 day trip. WOW! we were awake driving more than we were sleeping the entire weekend, but oh how sweet the memories! thank you lord for safe travels and a working vehicle. this was our last "long trip" in the caravan. the chrysler town & country arrives this week.

it took me all week to get caught up on rest (is that possible?) and a long to-do list. we travel again this weekend, so I left two of our bags packed.

preparing for this long trip took me many, many hours. being prepared for cold weather and warm weather all in one trip- what to do, what to do?

"finally! new sneakers! thanks mom!" i'm sure that's what the boys had to be thinking last week.

along the way-the boys enjoy spending nights in hotels. hampton inn beds are our favorite.

we found a great pit stop for mark. i asked the boys to watch for a knit shop, but no one seemed to be able to find one.

we started out visiting mark's grandma in new york. we enjoyed lunch at an italian restaurant, watched the boys play baseball, and visited a lot of mark's childhood memory spots.

we then drove to philadelphia for the main event-andelyn's graduation. great food and great family moments. next stop... grandma mcguirk's house to visit great-grandma, aunt bonnie, and trey. connor decided he wanted to be our photographer for the day. my four year old did a great job don't you think?

and our resting spot before the long trip home...the quick's house. our best friends who we call family. aunt lisa, uncle john, maggie, kenzie, john samuel, and molly welcomed us with open arms! I so enjoyed walking through lisa's garden, watching the kids play, talking knit speak with my favorite knitting buddy, and wanting to stay and linger at the retreat that is their home much, much longer.

a welcoming entry, a beautiful garden, an amazing nest built by one of God's creatures, swoosh, a new bike for connor from john samuel, a crazy pose, best friends

and of course there was knitting along the way. check back for pictures of my completed project and the in process.