One Year

We were supposed to be up early to greet the day... at least I was. I had a 6 AM date with my Kempo DVD followed by a shower and breakfast at 7:15. School beginning promptly at 8 AM.


But today is one year.


One year since Brian's mom passed away.


It's hard to believe it has already been a whole year when it feels like it has been just a few short weeks- maybe months, but definitely not a year. I know in my head that so much time has passed since then and life has changed significantly in that time, but the feeling is still there. It has been barely any time at all...


And we have all felt it the last few days. I don't think we knew it really. I mean, Brian and I knew the date was coming and that awareness hung over us, but even the boys seem to know something isn't quite right.


So today we took advantage of the beautiful homeschooling perk of starting a little bit later and hanging out on the couch instead of around a table. We are cuddling up instead, reading about explorers, working on some memory verses and the order of the U.S. presidents, and Ender is just about bursting as he tolerates "school work" for a short while in order to get to the reading portion of his day. He started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on his own and he's been carrying the book around just waiting for opportunities to read a page or two.


A year ago we were stuck in each day, not sure what would come next. Each day seemed to be 100 hours long as we navigated her passing and the following events of flowers and funerals and holding sad little boys.


Today we will be quiet. We will draw and talk and read and play and remember.

Summer Redux

Wow- where did August go?


I always seem to forget that even though it is my month off from the studio that it is our busiest month- a month full of school and vacation and camp, swimming, big projects, and lots of appointments. It is full, but so wonderfully so!


And now we're settling in for our regular schedule. I'll be back to teaching a full schedule this week and while school has been going since July for us with time off here and there, we will settle into our real schooling schedule beginning Tuesday.


This month has also taken some adjustment. We just learned that Ezra has asthma and we're adjusting to that and still figuring out meds for him. He does such a great job dealing with his health issues and it certainly helps that he loves our doctor.


Ellie is 4 months old now and rolling and cooing and already pushing up so high on her hands. It's amazing to me how quickly babies catch on to new skills. She smiles so much and is starting to really play and interact... oh how quickly this time goes!


What are you up to now that the school year is back in swing?

Lately

Summer is a beautiful but busy time...

Saturday saw the end of baseball season for the boys and this week they've been off to camp every day. When they asked me if they could go I didn't think they were old enough, but their excitement about the idea convinced me that maybe it would be alright...

And sure enough, this morning they marched right in like they owned the place. I almost thought they would forget to say goodbye.

I almost haven't known what to do with myself this week. I worked a little, but otherwise it's just me and Ellie hanging out and since she has a bit of a cold she's been sleeping more than usual. So I've been knitting on my Citron shawl for the Ravellenic Games and watching the Olympics.


Exciting and exotic, right?


Today I think the plan is to actually get some photos of the shawl and the baby (who is already too big...) and make some real progress on the shawl.


And maybe I'll continue to enjoy the quiet, since there is little of that around the house these days.

Peach Canning

In past years I've sort of just dabbled in canning and got a little more serious last year. But the truth at that time was that my kitchen was tiny with very little room to work or to store more than a month or so worth of food at any given time. I canned only small quantities a handful of times through the summer.

We canned a LOT of peaches this year.

First of all, our new kitchen has far more room, making working through a bigger process like canning a much easier venture.


And second? I had a lot of help this time and the process always goes faster when you have great conversation to help pass the time.

We canned about 65 pounds of peaches as peach slices in light syrup, peach sauce, peach jam and peach butter and then split the jars between the 4 of us according to how many pounds each person contributed.

Making Things Again

I think it's fair to say the knitting and general craftiness has come to a stand-still around here lately. When you add a new baby to the mix priorities change for a bit, right?


But she's sleeping most of the night now (NEVER thought I'd get to say that about a babe of mine after two boys who didn't sleep through until around the 1 year mark) and I'm remarkably less foggy. I'm getting back in the swing of working in the studio again (albeit half-time still) and managing the house and baby and those big boys of mine.


And after spending the better part of the last month using pinterest and ravelry as a way to fulfill my desire to be crafty and creative without actually doing anything crafty/creative (thereby using up my limited amounts of energy) I'm ready to get back to making things.


I'm currently making plans for the Revellenic Games (July 27-August 12) and also planning to actually make some of the things that I've spent the last month pinning.

I know... it's so easy to go pin crazy and never actually do anything with those pins, right?

Most of the pins I'm interested in right now have to do with our house. We've been in the house for almost 5 months now and I still have nothing on the walls. The mantel has pictures of our kids kind of haphazardly slapped up there, but that's it. I'm ready to start putting our family sentiments into our home and to really make it speak about us and the life we are building together.


After hunting down projects, quotes and verses for our home I think I'm ready for a DIY night with the girls. Sounds like the perfect way to get back into making things, wouldn't you say?