Happy Thanksgiving

Our day was full and beautiful. There is much to be thankful for.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving 
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 100:4-5

Happy Five!

Wow. I promise you it was just yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. I can still feel those first days of sleep deprivation and pain mingled with the most intense joy. Blink. Blink.
Now he's a boy who thinks he's big like BawBaw and Daddy yet still needs help putting on his socks. He mostly resides in his own little world where he is a different animal every day. He lives them and breathes them. Last week he was an otter. This week a flying squirrel. He rarely answers to his given name. "I AM a squirrel," he says with deep conviction.

Each morning he climbs into our bed and snuggles with Lillian. He whispers "I love you." and "I'll take care of you." into her ear. He spends his days poring over books and playing with trucks. He pulls Sophia into it all at every chance. They are thick as thieves those two.

Five years ago this little boy stole my heart, and I don't ever want it back.

William "Bill" Cole Jr.

Stephan's father passed away today. He had been in declining health for awhile, but over the past month he worsened. Two weeks ago Stephan traveled to Florida to visit him for what we were afraid might be the last time. We are grateful that he had that opportunity.

We've spent part of our evening flipping through old photo albums. I thought I'd share a few of our favorite pictures of these two handsome fellas from back in the day.

We are very thankful for all of the prayers and kind words we've received from family and friends. Past Novembers have seen deaths on both sides of Stephan's family, so this was already an especially hard month. I am reminded, though, of this verse:

 

"Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Our hope is in Him.

An Almost Five Celebration

Saturday we had a little party for Levi. He'll be five on Thursday...FIVE...five. Oh. my. Nanno made the cake, and BawBaw fired up the grill and the tractor. I think it was a pretty fabulous day.

Levi "art directed" the cake cutting. It's a good thing we only had family there because he insisted that none of the dinosaur be eaten.

After burgers and cake (two of Levi's favorite foods) we loaded up for a hayride.

It was a beautiful fall day...perfect really.

At the end of the hayride we tossed hay to the horses...

While Levi carried hay he talked about how big and strong he is now that he is five. Then, as he fell asleep that night, he said, "Mama, when I am five I am a little bit braver." And, my heart did that thing where it cracks and melts all at once. I know you know what I mean.

Five. I'm still not sure I quite believe it.

Sunday

"Be still and know that I am God."
~Psalm 46:10

A dear friend who has counseled me through many a tough time used to say this to me often. "Be still. Be still and know that He is God." It's a work in progress...this stillness. I imagine that to be still in this world full of busy and chaos is quite the challenge for all of us.

Lately I've been hearing these whispers and rustles. His quiet voice speaking to my heart. I am not always still enough to hear Him above the din of 3 children and life, but I am feeling more and more the need to seek out quiet spaces. Quiet for all of us, the small ones included, so that we might be still and know...know His voice and His love.

And More Knitting

So that sweater is nowhere near finished. The second I decided to speed demon it through some knitting Lillian also decided that she was cutting back on sleep, and the two bigs....well, they are their normal jump all over mama 24/7 selves. The needles just didn't get the workout I thought they would.

It's okay, though, because Levi had no idea what my plan was, so he'll be thrilled whenever I give it to him.

In the meantime, here's Sophia's sweater and matching hat* in action...

And, here's a little peek at a hat I made for Lillian. Pattern found here.**

And, since she's so darn cute, here are a couple more pics of her sporting more mama mades.***

Well, I'll be getting back to knitting now. Happy evening. :)

*The yellow hat is the Pomme. I wish I'd gone a bit bigger with it. It was a quick knit, so maybe I'll do another one.

**The pattern for the first (pale pink) hat on Lillian only comes in newborn size. It was easy to adjust, though, by going up a needle size and extending the length a bit.

***The vest is a Milo, and the last hat is a crocheted bobble hat.

A Sweater Deadline

The washing machine has been going non stop all day long, and that beast of a laundry pile just will not die. So, I'm done for the day with 4 loads still waiting and more to be added in tomorrow. Someday I will find peace with this whole laundry thing. Okay, so maybe not. But it's 9:30, and I'd rather be knitting than folding.

I've set myself a lofty goal...to finish this sweater in time for it to be Levi's birthday present. Yikes. That means a lot of knitting between now and Saturday. I can totally do this. Right?
I did at least lower my initial expectations. I was going to aim for a matching hat by then as well. Considering it took me 2 weeks to knit Sophia's sweater, I think it will be a miracle if I finish just the sweater by then. I only started it Friday. Better get to knitting. Wish me luck!

For curious knitters it's the Limepop Sweater.

Sunday

I was watching Sophia yesterday playing with her BawBaw. They have this game where he throws her  into the air and catches her on her way down. When he grew tired of playing that (she never tires of it) they moved on to "climbing" trees...him holding her up high to grab a branch and letting go just enough to give her the sensation of holding on. She plays similar games with her daddy. I look on with heart thudding. She laughs and squeals. She has so much trust that they will always catch her.

I bathed Lillian this morning, and she fell asleep in my arms with feet still dangling in the water. Not a worry in her head about getting cold or falling in. She had complete peace about her, and she knew that she was safe and that I would keep her warm.

Then, tonight Levi came to me full of sadness. He laid it all out in front of me with complete trust that I would know what to do about it. Trust that just speaking it all to me would somehow help.

And, now I sit here thinking about all of this trust in me....me, who fails daily (maybe even minutely). Me, who never has it all together. I pray that God uses me, shortcomings and all, to point these children in His direction and to show them who they should really put all of that trust in. And, I pray that I lead by example. That I trust in Him with a trust like theirs. That I might be able to feel the thrill of the fall knowing that His hands are always beneath me ready to catch. That I might rest so easily in His arms with His peace in my heart. And, that I might always turn to him to lay my burdens down.

I was reminded so much today and yesterday of God's call for us to be like little children.

One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.
Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."
 ~Luke 18:15-17

Some Drawings

Stephan drew with the kids today while I had a bit of knitting time to myself. Levi has never really gotten into drawing, so you can imagine my surprise and joy when he presented me with this portrait of our family of five. This is probably one of only 3 times that I can recall him actually drawing something other than scribbles. Eep. I do love a good surprise, and I'm thinking that Stephan and the kids should draw together more often.

Levi wants to make sure everyone knows that the middle figure is him. :)

This was Sophia's scribble. She looooves to "daw", and I love to hear her say "Daw, Daw!" whenever she wants paper and pencils.

On an entirely different note, Sophia said, "Wuv oooo" today. The recipient of that oh so coveted phrase was none other than Levi, or "Vi" as she affectionately calls him. It melted my heart almost as much as it would have had she said it to me. Sigh. These kids are nearly unbearable in their cuteness.

A Sweater

My mother and I share a love for Agatha Christie mysteries, so when I saw a girl's sweater pattern aptly named 'Miss Marple' how could I possibly pass it up? It didn't hurt that the sweater was also adorable. Of course, this is what's been on my needles for the past couple of weeks.

I also just finished a hat to go with it, and I'm hoping to manage a matching pair of legwarmers soon. Eep. I do love knitting for little girls.

Ravelry notes here.