Project bags

I am joining One Grey Elephant for her project bag swap. It is a mama swap with a project bag filled with all sorts of goodies. I finally have borrowed a sewing machine from my in-laws and was able to whip it up quickly now that I have a machine that actually works. I am still working on the hearts for Peyton's heart project as well and have a ton to go before Easter gets here.

What are you crafting this week?

Goals for Lent

"Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others."  

What is Lent

As our family varies in our stages and levels of faith I chose to encourage the teens and littles to GIVE of themselves this year vs fast or give something up. I chose the following 2 volunteer activities for our family to fill our time while we prepare our hearts for Lent.

The Peyton Heart Project 
This initiative's goals are to open discussion between teen bullying, suicide, and depression by spreading little hearts with encouraging words as their acts of kindness. Our goal is to do 250 hearts of various mediums during our handwork time. They also have a huge social media platform which was encouraging for Beanie and Kirky as they love Facebook and Instagram #peytonheartproject
https://www.instagram.com/peyton_heart_project/

Phil's Friends
Our littles will be making cards for people with cancer. Simple and meaningful since our Grandma Adeline was just diagnosed with skin cancer again and I lost my Gama to cancer right before I became pregnant with Nanners.



We also will do some fun things as always such as our egg hunt, resurrection rolls and maybe work through the resurrection eggs.

Oats Cowl {KCCO}

So I have finally figured out knitting...well ish. I attempted the Tin Can Oats pattern and butchered the ribbing. Wrapped the yarn around the bottom for each of the stiches so it has a nice tight spiral bound edge. Pretty, however not even close to the idea of a rib. I gifted it to Nanners as she was excited to have something that Mama made.

I have begun again with my Ravelry notes to make a real one for myself. I am using this beautiful fallish colored yarn. It is one of my favorite color combinations. I have been trying to push myself in more colored accessories vs all black so I  felt it a was good start. My goal is it will be able to hide my TENS unit if i need to be a little more socially acceptable and not have to answer dumb questions about all the wires around my neck.

What are you working on today?

BTW Happy Ash Wednesday! I will have a nice update regarding our Lent goals in the next post.

Got the kids...and the dog!

Some time to reflect on the last few weeks and share some things that have made me grateful.

No time to be depressed when you are happy for what you have.

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my car breaking down on payday and not before as we would have been too broke for tow...

a kind police officer that called another officer to bring me to IHOP vs sitting in the cold, and NOT giving me a ticket...

finally getting custody of Randy's old dog from his ex... now we have the kids and the dog!

yarn. all that's ever needed...

a kind friend reminding me this morning that its OK to ask for more than you ever think you are worth since more often than not you are selling yourself short....

the kids laughing about my lack of knowledge of newer social media and making me figure out how to use Instagram...


finally getting the strength to tell my one boss and her boss about some problems at work. I'm still nervous and waiting on resolution but it felt so good to stand up for myself and my team as we have had these problems for years...

finding out the growth on my ear is for sure a keloid. it will always look funny but won't kill me so we will take it!

 

a new TENS unit. great for pain relief with back and neck pain...

 

Giddy baby being a big boy and playing with play dough...

 

 

nature walks with the Magnar and the Gid.

 

what are you grateful for this week?

slowish weekend

 Some time to reflect on the last week and share some things that have made me grateful.

No time to be depressed when you are happy for what you have.
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When baby boy falls asleep after fighting a nap for hours. You don't dare move but enjoy the cuddles...

An afternoon outing with the husband involving lunch, 2 libraries and a thrift store....

Finding the best pair of minnie mouse pjs for Koda...

family wrestling night with nachos- and the one night a month the kids can watch dinner with the tv...

bonus checks from work covering all the extra bills built up...

Mohawks for the boys...

photos of the Gid with oldish crochet hats making him look adorable...

Sorry for the MIA...

I will be blogging a bit less due to simple energy conservation.

 I have started physical therapy due to my back and shoulders getting worse.  It has been very hard and discouraging as my muscles are revolting horribly due to being so knotted. 3 times a week is rough when some days I can't lift my arms to start. There is talks now of cortisone or saline shots in order to force them to cooperate but we will reevaluate in several weeks to see if it will be needed.

It often feels that my body is broken due to how damaged it is however I do know that this healing will take time a lot of energy. Thank you for being patient with me while I fight this in order to be fully here for my kids.

My great reminder to keep at it while going through this intense therapy.

spring poem

March nodded to Winter, “Goodbye! Goodbye!
Off to your home in the North you must hide.
Oh, have you forgotten, under the snow
The wee seeds are waiting — yes, waiting to grow?
“They are Spring’s little babies, and soon she’ll be here,
Whispering her welcome to each baby dear;
So I’ll tidy the earth; I’ll sweep and I’ll blow,
Getting it cleared for the flowers to grow!”


author unknown.
http://rhythmofthehome.com/spring-songs-fingerplays/