Sunday

                                                        Source: wanelo.com via Cris on Pinterest

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

~Matthew 5:14-16

Weekend Loves

Some links...

: : Homemade polymer clay.

: : Cute printables...especially these and these.

: : Super cheap and easy DIY wreath base.

: : A new to me backyard game.

: : Emerging Mummy's Practices of Mothering.

Have you found any good links this week?
Happy Weekend!!

Sigh...

Fia is teething. I know this event isn't nearly as awful for us as it is for others. She takes most things in stride, but boy, has she had trouble sleeping. Of course, that means I don't get much sleep, but I do get cuddles. Cuddles are good.

Got any suggestions for fabulous stuff for me to check out whilst cuddling and browsing the net?

Yarn Along

I'm joining Small Things' Yarn Along today. (I've been blog stalking over there for a month or so...love it!)

Soakers for Fi are on the needles yet again. Are you shocked? Yeah. Me neither. She's beginning to outgrow all the medium sizes, so here we go with knitting larges. I'm using the Frantic Mama Soaker pattern. It's still my favorite and very easy to customize. I've begun to change it up a bit so it doesn't get too dreadfully boring. When I'm done with these, I have some lovely purple wool waiting in the wings and some bigger revisions I want to make. Eeek. We'll see.

As far as reading, I'm pretty far into Attached at the Heart. Until now I've been winging it on the whole attachment parenting thing. I've read articles and blog posts on the subject, but (Gasp!) very few books. This is a good basic primer with many great resources. It has me excited about some other books on my "to be read" list.

"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" has been Levi's most requested book this week.  The kid's got good taste for sure. :) It's a fun read and the illustrations are beautiful and funny.

 

So are you reading and/or knitting anything wonderful this week?

Happy Birthday....A Little Late

Photos taken while visiting Stephan at work.

Yesterday was Stephan's birthday. I totally forgot (written while cringing). Thankfully, he's the sweet, forgiving sort....nothing like me. I'd have cried if he forgot mine. I did finally realize it about halfway through the day after he had already gone to work. Yipes! Hopefully I semi made up for it by leaving him a little surprise for when he got home...a plate of homemade cupcakes and some mama and kiddo made cards. Levi even dictated his. "Happy Birthday, dear Daddy! Happy Birthday, dear Daddy! I love you. I love you. I love you. I love how real sweet you are."
So, Happy (belated) birthday, Stephan! I love how real sweet you are!

Counting Blessings

It's Monday, and I think I might be in need of a little gratitude. How about you? ;)

I am grateful...

~For those two lovely faces above.

~For a husband who, in the middle of his work week, after a 12 hour shift, stopped and got surprises for all of us.

~For a wonderful but tiring week and a very rest filled Sunday.

~For a house that keeps the rain off our heads (We'll just ignore it's current disaster zone status thanks to the two angelic looking "tornadoes" up there).

~For the extra snuggles that a downpour elicits from my little ones.

~For Stephan's upcoming week off....none of us can wait!

~And for good books and knitting....my saving graces every evening this past week.

Your turn. What's got you smiling?

Sunday

Just a little throwback photo...the day before Sophia was born.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Philippians 4: 8-9

Thrifty Finds

You can blame my friend Erin, at Swonderland, for the two posts in one day. :) Her new weekly thrifting column was just too tempting not to join in.
We've had a busy week, so not a lot of thrifting has been happening. But, I did want to share the story of Levi's new prized possession, the little stove top espresso maker in the picture above. We've been on the hunt for one just like it for a few months now. In the meantime Levi has taken every chance he could to steal mine. 

A few days ago, we were on the way to my parents' house. As we passed an area with a few thrift/consignment shops I heard one call to me. What? Thrift shops don't speak to you? ;) Anyway, I pulled the truck over and toted the kids inside. As we meandered through, we spotted it....his very own itty bitty coffee maker. He beamed. I beamed. It was cheap, so it came home with us. The coolest result of this little find is that Levi is now officially hooked on thrifting. Of course, that makes this mama so proud.

Weekend Loves

 Just another Rocky Springs photo.

Here are few lovely links for your weekend....

: : I want to make these pancakes and this Starbucks' knockoff for breakfast soon. Of course, I'll have to make them dairy free, but that's not so hard.

: : Since I've been on a chalkboard kick lately, why not a chalkboard play cake?

: : Love, love, loving this little diy dress up station. (found via Pinterest)

: :: : Levi has asked me to knit him a blue jacket. He was pretty insistent on the jacket part. I'm hoping a cardigan will suffice. I'm considering one of these...

 

                                                         Source: ravelry.com via Madeline on Pinterest

                                                       Source: ravelry.com via Madeline on Pinterest

                                                     Source: ravelry.com via Madeline on Pinterest

It may take me awhile to pick one!

Happy Weekend, Y'all!

A Little Adventure

While we were at Rocky Springs, Stephan convinced Sophia and I to go on a little adventure with him. The goal was to find the old town site of Rocky Springs, which was only supposed to be 1/2 a mile from the spring.

We walked, and we walked. Oh, yes, and we walked some more only to find a long road that led to a bench where this drenched in sweat mama and baby decided to sit and wait for Stephan to go find the truck....

Our walk was just a large a loop, so we didn't have to wait too long before our knight in shining plaid came to the rescue...

We finally managed to find our destination via the comfort of an air conditioned vehicle. There's not a whole lot left of the town. But, if you go down a little path....

You'll get to this quaint church. It's the only building left standing from that town.

While looking at what little is left of a once thriving community, I was reminded of this...

"They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last.
      They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure."

Job 8:15

There's a tinge of sadness to the stories of towns that once were, but they are a reminder that there is someone much more important to whom we cling.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Since everyone worked so hard Monday, we spent yesterday playing at our favorite spot, Rocky Springs...

Sophia was so into it that she refused to ride in our (new to us) Kelty...

And, Levi would have nothing to do with family photos...

Apparently, playing was far more appealing...

No critters were harmed in our adventures, but some were definitely played with.

It was a much needed get away for all of us. It even had Stephan talking about taking a "real" vacation.  Any ideas or suggestions for somewhere within driving range....as in 4 or 5 hours tops?

Work Day

My mom, my sister, and my cousin's two boys came over yesterday to help Stephan clean up our yard. We have about 30 trees on our lot which means a whole lot of leaves and limbs. Not to mention everything has been overgrown since we moved in.
The little ones mostly did this....

They tried to convince us that their job was truly important  because they were "cleaning" the sandbox. :) To their credit, they also picked up quite a few sticks.
The rest of the crew worked their tails off. Seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if they all woke up minus a few pounds. They raked, mowed, cleaned the roof, hauled off sticks and giant bags of leaves and cut back overgrown bushes.

Sophia and I sat on the sidelines and watched. We also cooked...a lot.

The final result....I'm no longer scared of my own yard. Yippee!
I probably should of taken pictures of that part too, huh? Oh. Well. You'll just have to take my word for it.

A List Of Thanks

I finished yet another pair of soakers for Sophia. I swear I'm going to knit something other than soakers...someday. Fi doesn't ever sit still for long, so excuse the blurry instagram photo. They're cute. Trust me. :)

Onto the real post....
The kids have both had colds this week which translates to Mama hasn't gotten much sleep. I've found myself getting very grumpy (and dare I say....whiny). Of course, that fixes everything....ha. So, what better way to alter ones mood than to express a little gratitude, right? Here we go:

= Our backyard has closely resembled a jungle since we moved in...ahem...over a year ago, but my mom, sister, and my cousin's two boys are coming over today to help Stephan do yard work! If that's not something to be grateful for I don't know what is.

= An attachment parenting group was started recently in my town, and I've met so many awesome mamas over the past few months because of it.

= Levi has made a friend...as in one he wants to see regularly. Until now he would befriend kids, but he really didn't care if we saw them again. They even hold hands sometimes. It makes my heart go all puddlish.

= I have the world's sweetest husband. Seriously. He does the dishes nearly every day. And, when I haven't had any sleep and the kids are attached to me 24/7 and the house becomes a disaster zone he tries really hard to help me put it back together....even when he's working (12 hour shifts). Yep. He's a keeper.

= (I probably shouldn't admit to being thankful for this one.) Since Sophia has been sick, I've been getting extra cuddles. Squeal. I love baby cuddles. She's always on the go, so I'll take any snuggles I can get.

= Levi told me that when he's four he wants to learn to read. That made me smile. He's pretty into letters right now...so who knows? Maybe he'll get his wish. He also told me that he wants to learn about trains and monsters. :)

So, tell me what's on your list of thanks today?

Sunday

"But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
      let them sing joyful praises forever.
   Spread your protection over them,
      that all who love your name may be filled with joy."

Psalm 5:11

Play

"Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath."  ~Author Unknown

 

There is evidence of this in the fact that my tub was shortly thereafter covered in sand.  

Happy Saturday!

Weekend Loves

Some good links for your weekend enjoyment:

: : The story of these twins might just make you get all teary eyed.

: : This video of artist, Augustina Woodgate, spreading the joy of poetry makes me smile.

: : I really, really want an outdoor chalkboard for the munchkins.

: : I'm fascinated with every article I read on making natural dyes. I'm just scared too try it with little ones around. I really must put us all in junky clothes some day and bite the bullet.

: : Levi is totally into Jenga (except ours is a thrifted set called Timber). Me thinks he'd dig this backyard set.

Happy Weekend!

Sophia

There's so much that I want to remember about her right now. 

She's beautiful,

independent,

sweet,

and outgoing.

She tries to engage everyone she sees with smiles and waves and baby chatter.

She definitely says "Mama"....mostly when she's wants to nurse. 

Her grin lights up a room.

She wants to be big not small, 

and she follows her brother everywhere.

I scoop her up to kiss those adorable cheeks,

and she wriggles down to go, go, go.

I think she'll be quite the little trail blazer.

Christmas In July

I finished Sophia's Christmas stocking months ago. It's been hanging in my sewing room waiting for me to snap a picture and put it away. Obviously, I'm a procrastinator. (Just ignore the fact that I took these photos at night in bad light.)

Um, you should also ignore the uneven stitches. It adds to the handmade look, right?

This is what's on the back:

Now, I just need to get to work on Levi's stocking. You would think I'd have done that already, but then again you know I'm a procrastinator.

He's Home

It always feels easier to breath when my babies are together and with me.Yay for an early homecoming! :)

A Little Early

There's been a change of plans. Levi is coming home tonight instead of Sunday. I can't wait to see him!! I kept looking at my calendar last week and thinking how long this two weeks was going to be, but now it's not. I'm down with that.

The day Levi left for his dad's we spent some time at my parents' house. We were picking blueberries, and Levi kept spotting spider webs around the garden. He pointed each of them out and instructed me to take pictures of them.

He's fascinated by pictures and cameras. I let him snap pics with my little camera sometimes. When he gets the hang of it I'm considering getting myself a new one and letting him have that one. The one I have is a Canon Power Shot. It's fine for outdoor snapshots, but I'm generally disappointed with it's indoor performance. I do like having a small, portable camera though.

Any suggestions on what to get?

Sunday

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
   bind them around your neck,
   write them on the tablet of your heart."

Proverbs 3:3

All Smiles

Love...It's good stuff.

Happy Saturday!

Weekend Loves

A few good things for your weekend...

: : My brother-in-law, Dennis, turned me on to the Sideshow Alley music project. Cool would be an understatement for this one.

: : This water birth is so sweet and peaceful. Watching it might have made me cry. Found via my friend, Amanda's Facebook page.

: : Another Facebook friend posted a link to this parenting article...good stuff.

: : I found this 20-minute Almond Berry Sorbet via Pinterest, so for supper last night I tried a version of it. I tossed in some frozen mixed berries, a little maple syrup, and a handful of spinach (to make myself feel better about the fact that I was eating sorbet for supper...what can I say? It was just me and Fi, and sometimes I'm lazy). It was so good. I'm going to try it out on Levi when he gets back from his dad's.

: : Also, I found this DIY train party on Ohdeedoh. (Thanks, once again, to Pinterest). Check out the fruit train. Cute and healthy!

: : Are you on Pinterest? Because if you are you should friend me, and then we could pin together. It'll be fun. I promise. I'm BarefootMama. :)

A Walk

 

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow. 

~Henry David Thoreau

Weekend Photos

Stephan actually had this past weekend off...a rare treat! We spent most of it at my parents' house celebrating my birthday and hanging out.

Turns out that my camera wasn't really broken. About a week ago, I had finally decided to take it into the shop...no more procrastinating. I tried it out for the first time in awhile, and lo and behold the thing worked. Oh, well, I'm calling it a nice birthday present.

Isn't she cute?!! She is the most curious and adventurous little girl. I just want to squeeze her all. the. time.

Also, she started waving....on my birthday. :-) Happy day to me!

And, happy Wednesday to you!

Trains, Trains, Trains

Levi has always had a fascination with things that go, "Vroom!", but just lately it's been 24/7 trains. Sunday, before he left for his dad's, we spent the day with Nanno and BawBaw. We pulled my old train set out of the closet and dusted it off.

He played and played with that old thing.

Note the intensity of his concentration. So intense that it required a bit of tongue-sticking-out action.

Lately, Levi has been talking about his birthday. (It's not until November.) During one of our birthday conversations I asked him what kind of party he wanted. He said, "A celebration kind of party."
"Um. Ok. But, what kind of celebration?....You know we could do a monster party!"
I was totally thinking of this as I said that...

                                        Source: ginaandkris.blogspot.com via Madeline on Pinterest

Cute, no?
He promptly dashed my dreams, by announcing that he wanted a train party. He couldn't be persuaded otherwise. Apparently the thought of an 'Adopt a Monster' favor basket does not thrill him as much as it does me.
So, I'll be googling train cuteness for the next few months.