Happy Birthday, Phoebe Jane!

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Oh littlest birdie, we love you so. You are so beautiful and mighty but petite, feisty and funny, bubbly and silly, loud and very sweet. You can swiftly make a mess in twenty seconds that takes twenty minutes to clean up, take the childproof outlet covers off and pull your sister’s hair. You are so fast as you scoot around the floor on your bottom! You don’t have any teeth (yet!), but you love to feed yourself. Almost every day someone says to us, “that is the most beautiful baby!” And we agree. Happy Birthday, Phoebe Jane!

It’s amazing how much changes in a year, isn’t it?

love where you live – Christmas Cove Farm

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It’s been raining and raining. And raining. There has been a lot of screaming, crying, sniffling, coughing and whining in our nest. And not just by me. Ahem. Did I mention the rain and the whining? We needed to get out. So we headed out in the car on Sunday to induce some birdie napping and enjoy fall in northern Michigan. Despite the rain and some more whining, we had a great day driving up the pinkie finger of Michigan to Kilcherman’s Christmas Cove, an antique apple farm near Northport.

After car napping for the little birdies, there were finally some smiles. Phew.

We found apples like this “Lady” variety whose lineage can be traced back to the Elizabethan era! And they’re the perfect size for little hands. And just perfect for wee caramel apples too… more on that later.

Look up! In addition to hundreds of different kinds of apples, they have a glass pop bottle collection and an antique pop sign collection. Pretty interesting, but it was chilly and rainy and I was caught by a bug. The knitting bug! It was a great day to ride around our beautiful area, take in some of the colors through the mist (err, downpour) and knit. Yes, lovelies. I’m becoming a knitter! Can you believe it, Melissa? Neither can I. And the fat lady sings indeed.

knitting, again

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Lovelies, do you remember when I posted last February about trying knitting again? Well it didn’t go anywhere from there. Spring came and went, summer quickly came and went and here we are, fall. I have wanted to know how to knit so I would have a creative hobby I could take anywhere or have a hobby that was a good stress-reliever. Maybe one that would keep me out of the cookie jar so I could achieve my health goals. Ahem.

Well. Somehow it finally clicked for me. Another Mom offered to help a group of us learn to knit and it’s working! We’re working some “thick and quick” yarn on some circular needles. These two things are great for learning because I can see what I’m doing and it doesn’t feel like I have two left hands, neither of which work very well. I’ve almost knit enough for a scarf even though my goal was a cowl. I just keep going! I think I’m hooked, no pun intended.

I love learning new things and I love that the birdies are watching me learn something new. And there hasn’t even been much swearing this time around!

p.s. health update: I’ve lost about fifteen pounds. Yes, it’s been over six months since I started. Slow and somewhat steady…

process

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It’s important to me that my birdies enjoy the process of creating something as much–or perhaps even more–than the end result. This is such a great life lesson that can be applied to almost anything. Slow down, enjoy the process, be here now. This is easier said than done, but having children underfoot helps to keep this in perspective. It also helps that we do a lot of messy things and I don’t shy away from creating messes wherever I go. Chris could easily vouch for that one…

I’ve also been seeking out opportunities to show the birdies the process of making other kinds of things and Wren absolutely loves this: from the peanut (butter) grinder to the coffee bean grinder to the homemade marshmallows we made this summer. Some might ask “why?” because you can just buy marshmallows, peanut butter and coffee and be done with the shopping trip and moving on to other things. Process.

Process.

If you’re wondering what this process was all about, it’s marbling using shaving cream and paint. And it is SO fun and SO easy to focus on the process of creativity. You can read more about it over on The Artful Parent.

 

school picture day

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Today was school picture day, when your child is dressed in a super cute outfit, but the picture only shows the upper quarter. Of course, it’s the smile that counts anyway. I can’t wait to see Wren’s real school picture because she showed me what smile she was going to use… anyway, here are a few shots of the other three quarters. Thanks to Salon Shook who did Wren’s braids this morning as I have almost zero hair skills. My poor beautiful daughters got stuck with a Mom with almost zero fashion sense and hair skills. But they seem to be pulling off their own personal style just fine! Drama helps.

a few apples

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To kick off my favorite season, I took the girls apple-picking one day after school. Turned out to be a great activity for little hands and short attention spans because it didn’t take long to pick about a peck of apples and be on our way! Like the cherries in our area, the apples are in short supply this year because of the crazy spring (hot then cold) and are really expensive. U-pick was a great way to get them on the cheap. We took them home and within a few hours had eaten two fresh and eight more in an apple pie. Yum. Happy fall!

joy overcomes grief

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It’s been just over five years now since we lost our first daughter. There was a time I didn’t think we’d be able to have a family or even want to try and have a family. I am at a point now where I can reflect on that time and not fall apart, but instead be filled with so much gratitude for all that we have. The joy (and craziness!) in our midst has overcome the grief. Sometimes I see children who are about to turn five and I think of how I almost had a daughter just that age, but then I am reminded that if I had, I wouldn’t have my Wren and my Phoebe. They haven’t been in our lives very long, but it’s hard to imagine a life without them. So many blessings have come from such a dark time. Oh life, you continue to amaze me.