a birthday storm

I awoke before all of my children on my birthday (not a normal thing) but I was instructed by them the night before not to get out of bed or leave the room until they came to get me. So I took advantage of the quite time by reading some more of the first grade curriculum and watching storm clouds move in. After a short while, Little L woke up. He smiled at me and left the room to go help his sisters. They all came and got me shortly thereafter. K gave me a bouquet of magpie and mourning dove feathers they had been collecting the past couple of weeks and a rolled up piece of paper that was my first clue in a scavenger hunt they set up. I followed the clues going from room to room in our house until it led me to the kitchen. There the girls threw confetti on me (that they spent months making by ripping paper) and yelled Happy Birthday! They led me to the birthday table complete with a birthday ring and had me open their sweet little handmade presents. What a way to wake up!

Those storm clouds I mentioned brought another birthday gift  - a thunderstorm! Full of loud thunder (or as I used to say as a child, "the angels bowling in Heaven"), heavy rain and dashes of lighting. What a treat! I don't know why but I didn't actually go out and capture the rain this time but instead the darkness in our backyard just before it hit. I could smell the rain in the air as I watched the bees quickly gathering what they could before it came. It was so serene (but it also made me wish I had a proper lens to capture those bees!)

Later in the day we enjoyed some lemon cake they made. When it comes to desserts most people would say chocolate is best but lemon has always been my absolute favorite. I can still remember my Mom making me lemon birthday cakes when I was little. Add strawberries to lemon and there is nothing better in this world!

And hey, what do you know, I managed to include a picture of that rainbow knitting project in every post this week. Ha! After reading the talented Simone's notes on the pattern, and contacting her about it, I realized that something didn't look right. I tried the dress on both girls and it was not even close to being full enough for them to move their legs in. I thought I was getting through that project awfully fast. Now I know why! I ripped it all the way back to the ribbing, added a lot of KFAB increases (thank you Simone!) and now I am back on track. I just wonder if I will have enough yarn to finish it...

a birthday storm