WOW! Cassidy (our oldest daughter) turned 12 yesterday. So weird to think that I am the mom to 2 children that are now 12.  Both whom were born before my husband and I ever met, yet we are listed on their birth certificates as their birth parents.  WOW!

She received lots of neat gifts which included her favorite of horses (so there was horse pencils, drawing books, paper, and actual statues) clothes, money (to buy more horse stuff perhaps???) and lots of fibery stuff.  Her one gift that all the kids enjoyed was a set of knitting looms.

The kids sat around yesterday afternoon knitting like loom-a-tics and we have one baby hat nearly completed already.  I suspect it will be completed this afternoon.  I see a new obsession forming.

And I must show off what DH sent me on Friday.  I knew they were on the way when the company called to see if I would be home for the deliveries.  But I didn’t know how beautiful they would be or how sweet the card would be. (yes enough to make me cry several times already now)

I have such a wonderful hubby and I am so blessed.

Now I am off to the shower as I need to start getting ready for church then get the family up.  We go to the early service.  Still struggling to find a church family, but we are visiting again a church we have been to a few times before.  It’s so hard moving sometimes because you always feel like you are starting over….oh wait…YOU ARE!

Hope everyone has a blessed day today.

By the way…I know I said on Friday that I was going to start a Kitty Pi Bed….well, I didn’t.  I felt the need for “comfort knitting” and cast on yesterday for another pair of socks.  There’s just something soothing to me about knitting socks.  Perhaps these will be baby socks…..so far that’s what they are screaming to be.  We have a few babies waiting to be born in hubby’s unit so maybe they will go there, or maybe they will go to CIC.

Ten years ago I married a wonderful, caring, Christian man.

Life wasn’t always easy but God kept us together.  Things have gotten better and better and today I can’t imagine life without him.  Thanks Jimmy for putting up with me all these years.  I pray God blesses us with many many more years to come.  I love you!

The above picture was taken when hubby surprised me with a weekend at an Alpaca Farm/Bed and Breakfast Inn.  What a wonderful (but brrr cold) weekend.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14

I am done!  My sweater fest is over.  I am oddly let down.  So now I guess the Olympic Spinning will continue.  I have several pounds (yes pounds) of alpaca to get through within the next week or so.

Anyway…without further fanfare, here is Oylmpic Sweater #5.  This one was originally sized for a Cabbage Patch, but darling daughter decided to change her mind and now it’s for Baby Grace.  And the colors…well…not my choice.  I tried to convince her to at least let me make the bottom part of the sleeves black to match the black band on the main part of the sweater.  But….sometimes ya just can’t push your ideas off on others.  This color combo is surprisingly subtle for the child who loves to wear aqua and white pants, a neon green shirt, a yellow jacket and red boots all at the same time.  (and let’s not forget the orange hair thingies).

Hope ya all have a great day.

Next knitting project shall be a kitty pi bed I think!  Gotta use up all the odds and ends of my wool.

I am back and ready to really blog about something.  Ok, not really sure, what but I am certain something will come to me. 

I have officially set up my etsy.com site.  You can go HERE to see my short list of yarns and rovings.  More to be posted as I get a chance to do so.  Life with 5 kids sometimes often gets in the way, and I don’t get to do all the things I want to do.  Contrary to what Suzi thinks, I have not found a way to get more then 24 hours in a day.

 Hey, check out the picture tutorial that Josh and I  made this morning showing how to make a custom blended rainbow roving.  This roving is available for sale in my etsy shop.

Isn’t this a precious face?

This is my youngest baby.  She’s 7 now.  I’ve only had the pleasure of being her mom for the last year and a half or so (technically she’s lived with me for 2 years, but the adoption wasn’t final for 6 months after she came to us).  Anyway, we have gone through quite a bit with her.  I have never seen her with front teeth.  Her top 4 front teeth were removed before I ever saw a photo of her.  But if you look really closely, you will see that her front right tooth is trying its hardest to make an appearance.  It’s been painful for her and it’s been bleeding, but we are seeing progress.  She also was nearly totally blind in her left eye 2 summers ago.  The eye was dead and would just stroll to the side but with God’s grace, a lot of prayers, tons of tears (both hers and mine) we patched her “good” eye for months and woke up the other eye.  She still has a little trouble with the eye straying when she’s really tired and we still patch a couple hours a day, but by golly she is doing great.  Of all the kids, she is the most ‘untouched’ from her past and struggles far less then the others do to make her mark on this world.

We can officially say we’ve been to Texas.  Jim spent a wonderful 4 day weekend home with us and after he and I got to go on our date Saturday night (how nice), we decided that the weather was ok and we headed down to Wichita Falls for a quick day trip.  We took the kids to Olive Garden.  It was a first for all of them.  They were thrilled with the unlimited bread sticks and made piggies out of themselves.  A good time was had by all and we drove home tired, but glad to have gotten out and done something as a family.

It’s dreary and overcast today….it’s muddy from the weekend weather (praise God for the rain) so the kids are house bound and driving me nuts.  I am going to further the insanity and treat them all to home made milkshakes.  Yes, I am crazy!

Just a quick note this morning to show off Olympic Sweaters 3 and 4.

I finished this sweater on Sunday.  It’s for Jacob’s beloved bear Chaplain.  Chaplain was received as a gift from Jim the day Jac had surgery.  Jim was away from us (thanks Army) and sent Jac some balloons and the bear.  That was nearly 2 years ago and Chaplain is still a highly loved bear.

I finished sweater 4 while in the car on the way to Texas yesterday for a day trip.  We didn’t do much there but the hour drive gave me some quality knitting time.  This is for Cassidy’s Cabbage Patch Doll.  We decided on a trim of eye lash yarn.  This doll is a “high class” doll after all.

One more sweater to go.  This also will be for a Cabbage Patch Doll.  The desired colors are purple and pink.  Have no idea how I will do this one yet, but plan on casting on tonight.

Will be back later with more to report and hopefully some new rovigns available.

Josh’s Olympic Sweater is completed

I cast on for the third sweater and am nearly done with the arm increases.  I have about half way to go with these events just about 1/2 over.

We got ice and sleet last night.  More forcasted for today.  So thankful for the moisture.  It’s cold and the kids won’t go out and play in it and they are wanting to run up the walls, but we really needed this to help with the extreme dry conditions.  Not sure if that means date night is out though.  Will stay tuned for that.  Until then, I have wool to card, a sweater to knit, alpaca to spin, a house to clean, meals to make, laundry to do, a bathroom to clean, and more things I am sure.

Say it isn’t so, but I am actually going on a date tomorrow night with my hubby!  He found us a babysitter willing to take on our crew.  She came over today and spent a few hours with them and they seemed to love her.  He works with her and her hubby and understands the needs of our children.  I am so looking forward to going out to eat with my hubby tomorrow night.  Although, after we are done eating, what else will we do?  (oh…let’s not go there ok?)

Rovings are now offered for sale HERE.  I do contract spinning for this mill.  More rovings will be available soon.

Hubby has a 4 day weekend OFF of work and we are going to spend some time together.  It’s that nice.  Yea.  We are looking at getting some snow.  So we will see what we actually end up doing, but even just sitting in this very cold house as a family is a good thing. We don’t get a whole lot of family time so any that we get to spend together is always good.

Working on the sleeves for Josh’s sweater so I hope to be done with that by tonight.

My rigid heddle loom arrived from my daddy’s place today.  Unfortunately part of the heddle broke and I need to order a new one.  It’s useable until I get the new one, but still….wah…broke my heart a little

Went to the doctor today and am being referred to the specialist and recommended for a hysterectomy.  A little nervous about it.  Will hopefully now more soon….just don’t know when.

But through it all, I am blessed and excited about so many other opportunities that are coming my way.  Hope you all have a great weekend.