An 8th Birthday

Anna's 8th birthday was Saturday. We spent her day:

Making a fuss of her and enjoying her goofy faces

 Playing at the beach

 Eating cake - she approved

There were also presents and a wedding (without power!) thrown in for good measure.

By all accounts, a good day.

In which you cast a vote

So, after all the baby and kid knitting I've been doing, I'd like to work on a larger project - namely, one for me. With a baby due to be born in time for autumn, I'm thinking I'd like to do a new cardigan, one that buttons at the top but not the bottom, that would work well for a few months of winter nursing. However, I'm having decision-making problems (I'll put it down to pregnancy brain and leave it at that), and I'd like your help! Cast your vote for my next project, won't you?

First, we have the Rocky Coast Cardigan. By far the most ambitious project on my list, it's also one of the prettiest.

Anything with the word Effortless in the name has to be good. Not sure if this style would suit me, though - any thoughts?

 Coraline is another nice, subtle yet interestingly-yoked cardi.

 Peasy has been on my list for a while and I love the lace work across the front.

 Audrey in Unst is pretty and simple. I'd have the flexibility to button all the way or only the top, but I think I'd need to lengthen the body a bit - the cropped look doesn't tend to suit me.

 Honey. Love the cables - not too little, not too much.

 Finally, it's Celery. I really like the texture of knitting one direction, then knitting the other way for the edge.

Personal favorites, please, with reasons why for bonus points!

I've been bitten...

...by the organizing bug.

I'm totally blaming Pinterest, by the way (isn't it great to have something else to blame?) Why do people have to share such clever ideas? And yet I'm so happy they do...

So, here are some of the ideas I'm hoping to implement this week (or next, or sometime I have energy and before the baby comes):

This would have been so helpful that (one!) time we were pulled over - couldn't find anything in the messy glove box!

 I don't think I'll do it exactly like this, but I am inspired - currently the bed linens are tossed onto high shelves with great hopes they won't fall on anyone's head.

 This would be great in both my bathroom and the kids' bathrooms, leaving shelf space for "pretty things".

 Now, I don't think I'll go this far in the car, but again - inspirational. I love how it's all there, but in the trunk, away from nosy hands. Didn't know hands could be nosy, huh? I assure you, it's possible.

 I might be most excited about this one. I am so weary of traipsing up and down the stairs looking for various school/craft tools and stashing them on random shelves or dark and dusty nooks because they don't have a decent home. Finally, homes for the homeless supplies!

All these ideas and more are on my Pinterest board - none of them have I been clever enough to come up with myself!

I know there are others out there getting their homes/school supplies/lives sorted out this summer. What are some good ideas you've come across?

Reading - 50 People Every Christian Should Know

This book has been sitting on my bedside for a while, and I've rather enjoyed picking it up and slowly working my way through it:

Basically a set of mini-biographies, 50 People...was a faith-building and easy-to-read collection perfect for reading shortly before you drop off each night. The chapters are pretty short, though I think Moody was an exception - not surprisingly, since the author was also a former pastor at Moody Church. As well as chronicling the basics of each saint and their ministry, he also helpfully lists any books they authored that (he felt ) might be of special interest to the reader.
I love the little anecdotes or quotes that really put flesh on these godly men and women: Samuel Chadwick contending for the true gospel, "Until you have got a gospel that works - shut up! This is not an age for twiddling your thumbs!"; of William Borden, "The sight of that young millionaire kneeling with his arm around a 'bum' in the Yale Hope Mission (impressed a visitor to America)"; a young Fanny Crosby wrote of her math lessons, "I loathe, abhor, it makes me sick, To hear the word Arithmetic!"
One thing that I particularly noted throughout was how hard these amazing people worked! Some were college and seminary educated, some were working 12 hour shifts at a cotton mill (followed by several more hours of study), but every one of them worked to a degree that is unlikely to be seen today. From Katherine Von Bora to J.C. Ryle, Charles Spurgeon to William Culbertson, they poured out their lives to the people God gave them to serve, and considered it an honor to do so.
My one reservation is that there were so many people included that by the time I got halfway through, I could no longer remember the distinctiveness of each individual. I met some new folks, learned some new names, but probably would have remembered them each a little better if I read about 25 of them, rather than 50. But thankfully, the book now lives on my shelf, where I can happily consult it for memory refreshers.

Tearing Down the House

The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.  Proverbs 14:1

As I read this chapter one morning recently, I began to think, "How do I tear down the house (family) I am trying to build?" There are four areas, for me, that I identified as potential threats to building the kind of house that honors and blesses God and others:

1. Anger.  Those who live with me (and few others, I suspect) are well aware of my propensity to anger, and while "righteous" anger is biblically defensible, mine is not, no matter self-righteous I might feel at the time.  My anger toward those who inconvenience me or thwart my plans injure my relationships with my husband and children, grieve Christ, and threaten to reflect the life of a Christian as that of a hypocrite. And all that - for what? There is no way that I have been offended or put upon that I haven't done to someone else, or more importantly, to God Himself. He has so freely forgiven me, how can I refuse to forgive someone else?
2. Impatience.  When I make a request or give a direction, I want it done yesternow. Again, my need for efficiency and ease turns my home into an army boot camp, not a place where people are cared for and encouraged toward growth in Christ. And while I might defend my impatience with the idea that I'm impatient with the behavior and not the person, it's the person that gets the dubious "benefit" of my ire.
3. Selfishness. It's all about me. You knew that, right? Well, apparently, not everyone does, because some people around here have the audacity to need something from me when it doesn't suit me. Sometimes children injure themselves or get sick when I had important plans. And sometimes, sometimes, someone needs me to get up out of my chair just as soon as I've sat down. Happen to you? Yet when I mistakenly work on the assumption that it's all about me and my plan, I miss opportunities to serve my family and be blessed in serving them. I also miss the blessing of being served by them, since I act as if I already deserve their kindness to me.
4. Pride. Somehow, this seems to be the heart of all the other stuff, the sin from which all the other sins find their beginnings. I think I know the best, or see the issue clearly, or simply shouldn't have to deal with my family's "issues" because I have better or more important things to do. And I forget - this is why I'm here, in this family, with these children. I'm here to bring the truth of the Gospel to bear on my family's life, and I cannot do that if I insist on presuming that I'm above it all.

So, what do I do about all this? How do I continue to pursue wisdom in building this house, rather than giving way to folly? To be sure, I'm still working this and will continue to work on it until Heaven. For now, though, the need for the sturdy disciplines of Bible reading, continuous prayer and Christian accountability are so important. Bible reading informs my mind with the revealed mind of God, prayer postures my needy heart before a powerful God, and Christian accountability makes the burden shared and the need taken seriously.

I want to be wise. I want to build my house as an altar to the Lord. I don't want to tear it down, wounding the people within, so I must commit myself to the hard and humbling work of submitting my will and plans before the Lord and allowing Him to change them, for my good and His glory.

Kid knitting - Gathering Stripes

When I showed Noah a bunch of patterns that I'd be willing to make for him and he chose this one, I groaned. A whole sweater in tiny little sock yarn? That'll take forever! Or not, as it happens...

 Though not my particular color choices, the Cascade Sock Yarn was wonderful to work with, and the whole thing was fun to make. I love top-down construction. Plus, this yarn is super comfy, not at all itchy and has a great drape to it. This might be one he actually gets some wear out of (though not for a couple more months, anyway).

I've noticed that there is an adult version. Hmmm...I might just be up for a whole lot of sock yarn knitting...

Baking Day

For baking day this week, the girls made Double Treat Cookies together. The cookies are mega-messy, but mega-yummy. Try them out yourself, but get the kids to do the mixing...

 Double Treat Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1.5 cups brown sugar

2 cups shortening

2 cups peanut butter

4 eggs

3 cups flour

6 cups oats

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

 4 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

Have your kids mix it all together by hand (Abi says be sure to do it really well). Gotta be with the hands - don't cheat with a spoon or mixer! Form into small balls and bake at 400F for 10 min.

They're worth the mess, truly.

Sometimes...

...my kids drive me up a wall. Truly. I can be baffled by how petty, spiteful and downright mean they can be to each other, or how difficult and stroppy they can be with their dad and I. I shouldn't be surprised, of course - the same sin that's in me is in their hearts as well, but still...
It's about this time that I realize that I need to focus on and be thankful for the grace I do see in their lives - the kindnesses, the opportunities they've taken to serve someone other than themselves, or the growths in godliness. Because it is there, really - I just need the eyes to see and celebrate...

• Anna and Ellie caring for Noah when he fell off his bike
• Abi putting away Ellie's clean clothes
• Noah offering to help with chores
• Abi helping Anna with her piano music
• All being quick to hug and play with Dan
• Anna changing a dirty diaper
• Abi helping Ellie in the shower
• Ellie cheerfully doing her chores.

Most of these things are little things and don't always happen regularly, but they help remind me that God is at work in their lives and things aren't as bad as I am tempted to think on the rough days.

How has your child unexpectedly blessed you this week?

Baby Knitting - Wyatt

The photos are pretty lousy (dark room + iPhone camera, you know), but the sweater itself is lovely. I am so gonna love snuggling my new little babe in this!

The pattern is well worth the investment, as I foresee making a few more of these for the other kids and even gifts, since it's truly a unisex pattern. I like the detail of the "stripes" without it being too busy and too...much. The nice surprise is the pattern called for 2 skeins of Malabrigo, which I duly purchased, but as it turns out, I only needed the one. Extra yarn!

I've now cast on for another In Threes with this same yarn. There are going to be some brightly-colored, toasty warm babies this autumn!

Keepers of the Home

A couple weeks ago, our girls celebrated the end of the year for their Keepers at Home group. For those who have never heard of this group, Keepers at Home is very similar to Girl Scouts or Girl Guides, but with a very specific Christian element. They learn skills and participate in service opportunities, but also have the chance to grow in Bible reading and memorization. Each meeting (our group meets monthly) has a focus for learning (baking, first aid, etc) but also is tied into a Bible Study - looking into God's Word is a priority.

So, the planning committee thought it would be appropriate to celebrate all the girls had done and accomplished this past year by hosting an awards banquet, as well as showing off some what they learned through various displays.

Some of the topics covered this year included health and fitness...

 ...cookie baking (which most of the dads particularly appreciated)...

 ...and camping (which was sooo cold!).

All the girls had sashes with pins or bracelets with charms for their accomplishments. Dads presented their daughters with their sashes/bracelets and took a moment to commend their girls on their accomplishments and growth. It was such a special night for these girls to be honored by the men in their lives for their efforts!

I'm already looking forward to what we're going to do next year and seeing all the ways my girls will grow in ability and godliness over the coming year!