Friday, December 5, 2008

My first knitting project...complete!

I posted a while back that I was attempting to learn to knit. Remember that forlorn looking blue ball of yarn?
Well, with the help of Eeyore, my mom and Aunt Susan, and an opportunity from God to strengthen my patience muscle, I finally finished my first project and have started my second.

I was able to finish this scarf after many, many, many attempts and do-overs while driving down to California for Thanksgiving. I love that I was able to get something done while sitting in the car. I'm all about multi-tasking.

So here it is!

God used this small project to teach me a lesson in perseverance and patience. It also was incredibly gratifying to make something out of nothing. I never thought I would knit...way too domestic for me. Yet here I am a model of domesticity. Will I ever learn to never say never?

Have a blessed day!

Kim

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Silly Tigger!


Tigger is my youngest daughter. She is 2 1/2. She was a suprise gift to us from God. To be honest, it took me a large part of my pregnancy to get used to the idea of having another child. To me, it felt like our family was already complete and I couldn't imagine how we would manage with another child. But God knew. He knew what was missing and he knew all along that we needed her. Our family was not complete until she was born.

Tigger is a light of laughter and silliness in this family. Every day she makes me laugh and warms my heart. And it's not just me. Even preteen Eeyore giggles and gets silly around Miss Tigger. So, I thought I would share just a little bit of the silliness that goes on around here.

Upon noticing the enormous lit up snow man in Grandma's front yard Tigger replied, "Come on! Yet's go check it out!" She then walked slowly around it inspecting all of it's parts, " Oooo, nice hat, BIG nose!" and nodded her approval. We then pointed out the two penguins nearby. She sqealed with delight and ran over to take a look. " Oooo, Pinkins!" She said. "Nice hat, BIG nose!" She proudly commented on the similar attributes between the penguins and the snowman. Then, with a sharp nod, she marched off to her other important inspector jobs.

Tigger has only two speeds. Dead stop and full sprint. She runs everywhere. No walking in her world. Not only does she run, but she runs with utter abandon. Everything jiggles and bounces from her curls to her belly, and her squeals seem to fuel her speed. It's hilarious, and usually encourages others to run with her.

Tigger greets almost everyone with an excited, "Hi!" and a wave. Sometimes you even get a hug. Grandma, Grandpa, the family, friends at work, strangers at Fred Meyer all get the same greeting. We always leave the check out clerk smiling and waving like they are a new member of our family. That's Tigger. Everyone feels important and included when she is around.

The flip side to Tigger is that she doesn't share well and let's the world know about it when she doesn't get her way. She has this shreak that can shatter windows and cause everyone to come running only to find her standing in the middle of the room tugging at her sweater with all her might trying to get it off and shreaking while doing so.

When she is done eating, she still sometimes throws her food to let us know. It's quite effective, but messy. Lately, as she is learning to "use your words" more she has moved to this new hybrid phase of throwing her food WHILE using her words and say, "I'm done!" ***sigh***It's progress.

I'm so thankful that God gave us Tigger. Tigger's charisma and charm add so much to our family. I can't imagine life without her.
Don't ya' just want to hug her?

Have a blessed day!

Kim

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Family Road Trip

We survived! In fact...we thrived! God is so amazing.

This is the first road trip we have taken in years that we made it through without the kids having any major meltdowns, without Christopher Robin and I having any major arguments (well, we did have one at a rest stop over how long we should stop...pretty lame) while totally enjoying our visits with family.

While spending 30 hours in the car, our 3 girls (1 toddler, 1 preschooler, 1 middle schooler):

*Watched the movie Tinkerbell at least 8 times
*Talked about the "froggy owside" (translated from toddler-ese to mean the fog outside)
*Watched the Sound of Music, Annie, Finding Nemo, and Wall-e
*Listened to some Rockin' Music
*Worked on their lacing skills (thank you Amanda for the lacing boards)
*Worked on their drawing skills
*Practiced their manners
*Saw some beautiful scenery

While at Poppi's, Great Grandma and Grandpa's, and Grandma's houses, our girls:

*Played, visited, cuddled, slept, ate, bonded, entertained, and in general had a wonderful time.

Thank you to our family for making this such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We love you all!

Kim