Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.


The birthday unicorn is done and gifted (and I think it is safe to say the recipient was very happy). Now it's back to work on Baby F's bee hat. I am determined to finish it before he outgrows his super cute little bee sleepers.

What are you working on? Happy creating!

An InLinkz Link-up

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Mishaps

Looking at our Spring book.

The weather here in Idaho can't seem to make up it's mind. One day it's rather hot like summer and then the next day it's chilly and windy like early spring. It's funny going through my photographs and seeing Baby F go from wool sleepy sacks to short sleeved cotton shirts in a matter of a few days.

Speaking of summer like weather. We tested out our air conditioning recently to make sure it was working for when the hot weather really hits. In case you didn't know, I am not a hot weather person at all and typically suffer from cabin fever in the summer instead of in the winter like most people. I stay inside our air conditioned house only to poke my head out in the late evening to check on the garden or go for a walk. But back to our air conditioning test. It failed. The air was blowing in the house but the a/c unit outside wasn't even turning on. We called the maintenance men and well, long story short, it turns out our dogs killed the a/c unit by marking on it. I knew dog urine was strong and destructive but corroding metal?! Good gracious! Now I praying that they don't make us pay to replace it.

After spending nearly two weeks of frantically trying to find lost library books (which later appeared in the girls' momento boxes kept under their beds) I decided we needed to do something to prevent this all too common mishap from happening again. Going with "less is more" I started out by limiting how many books they each get. I think one of the problems was that they would get so many books each week that it was hard to keep track of them. Then I designated a book basket for library books only. Since we usually forget our due dates I decided to get a little creative and make a sign for the basket to remind us (along with how many books we have). I just took a small block of wood, drilled a hole in it and painted one side with chalk paint. The I attached it to the basket and used a chalk pen to write the important info. We'll be using regular chalk in the future but the chalk pen was just what I had on hand at the moment. Now let's see if this new little system provides us with a solution to those pesky missing books. I'm crossing my fingers!

Mishaps

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.


Now that we are finished with the AHG leader gifts, it's on to birthday crafting for a sweet little girl who is turning 7 this weekend. She loves unicorns so I am knitting her up one in her favorite colors. The pattern is another one of Linda's amazing creations.

What are you working on? Happy creating!

An InLinkz Link-up

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

This little light of mine...

My children and I have been having fun with beeswax the past few weeks (hence the outdated Mother's Day candle photo. We sent that candle to Nana). Too bad computer screens aren't scratch and sniff, our home smells incredible - like honeycomb! I love it when we do crafts with beeswax. Oh what I wouldn't give to have honeybees of our own. I pray someday that will happen but for now I am content with purchasing beeswax from beekeepers who love their bees.

Tomorrow is the girls' last night of AHG until next September. It will be bittersweet as we have grown to love the incredible ladies that put all their heart and soul into this group. Thankfully most of them live walking distance from us and I am sure we will see them over the summer. Speaking of these inspiring women - I need to run and finish wrapping up their candles and bake our snack for the party (our thumbprint cookie recipe - yum!). I hope you all had a beautiful weekend!

This little light of mine...

If you truly love nature

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere." - Vincent Van Gogh

I thank Van Gogh for his wise words as they have been stuck in my head each night as we take a family walk/bike ride. I soak in every ounce of beauty around me as I gaze up at the heavens or at a tree swaying in the wind. I feel my heart overflow with love when I glance at my children riding their bikes around me (correction - K is riding MY bike now. Stop growing my little weed!). The birds seem to dance in the air before me. Ah, yes. There is beauty all around us, every day. Some days we just need a little inspiration to remember to see it.

p.s. - Or perhaps I should have titled this post "Redundant" since it is similar to my post earlier this week. Sorry guys! I guess I am just so full of gratitude for this little life of mine lately that it is all I can talk about!

If you truly love nature

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.
Gotta love the last minute photo of my current knitting project taken in my lap on the drive home from Boise last night. I guess that's just how it goes when we are traveling the whole day. But enough about that. You guys - sleeves! Just look at the sleeves! I am finally nearing the finish line of C's very late birthday sweater. Oh happy days indeed!

What are you working on? Happy creating!

An InLinkz Link-up

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Clarity

You know those days when nothing seems to go right? When your children bicker endlessly, you're after them all day with the simple task of hanging up a towel, your cat misses the litter pan and your baby won't sleep? The kind of days that make you question your choices as a parent and have you wondering where did I go wrong? Yeah, today was one of those days. No, scratch that. This weekend was an extended version of one of those days. But then, just when I think I am at the end of my rope and one of my children proclaims that they just need time away from all siblings, I see my precious baby smile when I look at him. I see one child selflessly offer up the last two popsicles, even though that child was the one asking for a popsicle in the first place. I see a note written in cursive on the board from one child to another (and her cursive blew me away). I see the very same child that proclaimed a need to be alone snuggled up reading books to both of her siblings instead.

Then I exhale and remember - God only gives us as much as we can handle. Even if those moments are fleeting and everything goes right back to the chaos it was before, I can see the beauty and goodness with clarity and I know that everything is going to be okay.

Clarity

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.
Well, I thought I would be on to a new project or at least the arms of C's birthday sweater by this post, but nope. Still slowly working on the body. I have been having too much fun crafting other things for my family. More on that to come ;)
What are you working on? Happy creating!

An InLinkz Link-up

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

postponed

K woke up this morning sick to her stomach. We *think* it might be from partaking in some candy and other food her tummy isn't used to yesterday at the Mother/Daughter tea party we attended. Thankfully, as of this evening she seems to be doing a lot better, but we decided we would just postpone Mother's day until another day when everyone is up to it. I don't believe it is a day about me, but a day to celebrate my children. After all, they are the reason I am blessed to be called Mother in the first place. Mother's day just isn't mother's day without all of my children, especially that thoughtful K of mine. She had been making and executing plans for this day for the past couple of weeks, encouraging and exciting her siblings in the process. We couldn't just go about our day without her.

But for all of you that are celebrating Mother's Day today I wanted to share with you something I happened to read this afternoon that really resonated with me. I thought it might speak to you, too:

May our daughters grow up with an understanding of the truth, beauty and GRIT that is motherhood. That ours is the most demanding, most sacred, most god-like vocation on the planet. That women everywhere are sanctified and unified by this common point of sacrifice that all of us give, regardless of our socio-economic status or mothering style. We each one of us ache and bleed and cry for our children as women for all generations have always done and future women will always do.
 
- Ellie, Soul GardeningJournal Issue 17

Wishing you all a beautiful Mother's Day!

postponed