~this moment~

Joining SouleMama and her followers in this moment - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Workbasket Wednesday...

 Here is a wee update on what has been occupying me over the past few months.

Isaiah's sweater - I posted about this way back here and then here again and so here it is.  I weaved in the ends while the kids were asleep in the sunshine Monday afternoon.  A labour of love, this sweater.  This was the first time I tried Elizabeth Zimmerman's Percentage System for a sweater from The Opinionated Knitter.  It worked like a charm for the entire thing but the neck opening.  That I had to rip back a few rows to make a bit wider for Isaiah's gargantuan melon.

Thrummed Mittens - I made good progress on these on Mother's Day - sticking them in my purse with some torn unspun yarn in a ziploc baggie.  I'm pretty impressed with how fast they knit up once you get going.  Tearing the unspun wool is what fuels the procrastination.  Thanks to the Yarn Harlot for the hilarious yarn-along.

Isaiah's "Superhero" - that is what he lovingly calls all capes - just "superhero".  So he's getting one and I am excited to give it to him with the warm weather upon us.  I have visions of him wearing only this cape and his underpants running around the parking lot.



Those Socks - yes, yes.  I'm still working on them.  Sort of.  I lost another needle a couple of weeks ago so I'm back down to 3 size 2mm needles.  sigh.  now I have to go buy a new set of them before I can make any more progress.  Update: The very nice Chinese man at the drycleaning/yarn store gave me a set of 2mm for free - before I dropped off Keith's pants for cleaning!! Nice man.

I have a couple of projects for my little miss.  One is finished but too small so I'll be making another LARGER one soon.  The other is still in the works so I'll be posting on them a little later this week.

What have you been working on this week?

Weekending

We had a wonderful long weekend with a trip to the Carp Farmer's Market and some other garage sales on Saturday, Sunday morning church followed by an afternoon at the Tulip Festival and a Monday spent on a drive and a beautiful (hot) afternoon at Petrie Island.  Here are some photos of our long family weekend.

Wholesome(er) Whole Wheat Cookies

My craft-night friend, Becky, wrote out her very yummy chocolate chip cookie recipe for me a while ago and I've been experimenting with it to make a healthier version for the littles.  Here is what I've landed on.  Keith even liked them, so I think I'll stick with this version.  I've been trying to get a picture of the finished cookies for ages but they never last long enough for me to take one.

1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup combination of raisins, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, oatmeal, coconut, dried cranberries or any other add-ins you'd like to try.

Cream together shortening and sugars.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour, baking soda and salt.  Combine well.  Fold in chocolate chips and other add-ins.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheets.  Bake @ 350F for 10-12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to wire cooling racks.

Gardening as a Family Affair

I have been dreaming of having a vegetable garden for years.  When Keith and I got engaged and I lived with Dave and Jill I tried to grow some herbs from seeds on her front windowsill.  no luck.  Then I tried (weakly) to grow some tomatoes in containers on our apartment balconies.  no luck.  We have been fortunate to live quite close to community garden plots and I had visions of getting a plot and going there with my kids to weed and water.  The reality of being pregnant with an under 2 year-old and then having two under 3-year-olds was enough to smack that vision out of me.

But now we're at Matthew House and the kids are a wee bit older and the gardens are quite literally in our back yard.  We have been trying to establish the "Garden Golden Rules" such as "The dirt must stay in our own rectangle" and "Do not touch the other rectangles." etc.

I am really looking forward to this initial year of sticking seeds in the ground and waiting until little green heads pop up.  It is always a bit nerve-wracking trying something new that you really want to turn out well.  As we were turning over the garden patch I told Keith that I hoped I would be a good gardener.  "You will be eventually." he replied.  Ah - permission to fail.  It was actually encouraging to me to have this permission since it is quite likely things won't go according to my lofty plans.  He still dug away at the soil knowing the seeds might not yield up their fruit.  So I dug too.  Isaiah made roads in the dirt with his trucks.  Lucy pushed her stroller up and down the footpath.  Even if nothing grows - the time spent together will yield a harvest of joy.

Spring Around Matthew House

Spring is underway here at Matthew House.  The other day Isaiah looked out of our bedroom window and said "Mommy, there's popcorn in the trees!"

So sweet.  I explained that the trees had flowers on them and that the flowers were going to turn into fruit.  I sincerely hope that idea was just as miraculous to him as popcorn in the trees - because the way God created things is pretty amazing - even if we do take it forgranted.  A couple of years ago my friend Jordan bought a book for the kids called "Watching".  It is a wonderful story.  Read it if you get the chance.

We're trying to get outside as much as we can these days - with the warm air and the trees just pushing out their leaves again  - and before the bugs.



Enjoy the Sunshine!

A Weekend to be Thankful For...

Our little family shared a lovely Mother's Day weekend.  After an eventful week that involved hours of driving, an afternoon in the ER with Lucy (she's fine - she probably didn't swallow any of the pills but we had to be sure), and a lot of activity around residents and new apartments, it was a welcome reprieve. 


Today, I'm thankful for:

• the beginning of farmer's market season
• horse-drawn wagon rides downtown
• new haircuts
• long walks in the woods with walking sticks, bog monsters and fertile imaginations
• a newly overturned garden with fewer raspberry bushes
• a stack of twigs ready to mark the rows of planted seeds
• sleeping littles in the next room
• a husband who desires better things for our family - like spending time reading inspirational books together
• a church who encourages doing the hard work of discernment instead of a "do not" list.
• skype dates with family far away

Enjoy your week.  Hoping to post some project updates soon!