Here and there (and some knitting inbetween)

Our last few weeks in photos.

Belated birthday bouncy house fun for the boys

Ash Wednesday (I missed getting a photo of K. She was already in her co-op class)

The sun is coming back!

L was here

A new favorite park

I took my girls to their first concert. What an incredible experience it was! My first concert was New Kids On The Block - I am so glad their first concert was with a band that uplifts and feeds the soul.


Lastly, The gifts I knit for L for his 8th birthday. I don't think I shared them here.
A rhino at his request (rav notes here) and a megalodon shark tooth fairy pillow (rav notes here).


I hope to be back in this space this or next week with a spring book list.

Here and there (and some knitting inbetween)

Our Pumpkin Tradition

We are always drawn to the animals wherever we may go.

Such a serious boy!


It's that time of year again and I am so happy that this year we were able to do it! As you know we were in a bit of a rough patch while living in Oregon so we ended up not being able to do our yearly pumpkin patch fun and photo. 😞 This has been our yearly tradition ever since I learned how to knit (while pregnant with C) - most important to me is the group shot of all my children in mama made pumpkin hats. So thankful to be out of that barely surviving situation in Oregon to thriving here in Pennsylvania.

*Apparently I need to knit my three oldest new pumpkin hats for next year. These are all knit in the adult size but they are much too short now. Looks like I have a new project to work on but not until after the Christmas rush!

Our Pumpkin Tradition

beautiFULL

These days have been beautifully full. We took our dying dog Paw Paw to the yearly blessing of the animals on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. The children all brought a chicken as well and Baby F, who is not old enough to be responsible for a pet at the blessing, brought his favorite stuffed animal fox. I am sad I didn't get any photos of the actual blessing but if you just look at the face on my baby boy in the 2nd photo from the bottom, you might understand why. 😉😇

Kevin and I took the boys to a local harvest festival while the girls were having some special Grandma time. Baby F really enjoyed the folk band that was playing. I love to see him get into music like that. The festival couldn't hold a candle to our beloved Portland Waldorf School Harvest Festivals but we still had a good time. I think the boys were just happy to see firetrucks and pumpkins. They are easy to please.

Kevin had the chance to help out our landlord in the fields last week. Of course this made him a rock star to his boys. They watched in awe as he drove by. Our landlord is teaching him everything he knows about the tractors and farm life. Kevin told him just how much our boys love watching him when he is in the fields working so he brought them a John Deere book to look at and a toy catalog. I thought that was such a kind thing to do. It was a big deal to both my boys, especially L. I am afraid to say because well, Murphy's Law, but we really, really like our landlord. He is such a kind, caring person. We feel so fortunate to be renting from him and just to know him.

This move has been a blessing to us on so many levels.

beautiFULL

*Summer*

Summer is in full swing here and although the heat can be unbearable we are trying our best to enjoy it! Yes, that means some plastic actually entered our lives. So very much the opposite of who we are but I am glad we got that little water play table for Baby F. He loves it. At least it is kept outdoors, right?! 🙈

We took a trip to Strasburg to make two little boys' dreams come true. Well, it was mostly for the bigger boy but the little one seemed to enjoy it just as much. Not only did they get to ride a train for the very first time in their lives (all our lives actually, except for Kevin) but it was Thomas the train! L has so enjoyed his Thomas books ever since he was three or four so I am sure you can imagine what a big deal this was to him.

We had to drive through Lancaster to get to Strasburg and oh my - I want to live there! Amish farm life - is there anything more beautiful?! If only it wasn't so crowded there (farm plots were small) we would live there in an instant.

My children and I have been discussing what we miss the most that is currently in storage (and has been for more than a year now 😭 ). L missed his toys and trains the most, which I figured. C missed her books and C Baby. K missed her books and furniture and one other thing - our salt rock lamps. At first I thought salt rock lamps were a rather funny thing to miss but then, with a dreamy look in her eyes, she went on to explain how cozy they made our house feel and all the good memories they brought back to her. I could not deny her sentimentality.

Shortly after our conversation I came across this article on salt lamps and my goodness, no wonder they are so missed. I forgot about all the good that they do for us and our home along with the cozy feel they bring. Although I did not realize the danger they could potentially cause for cats. Seriously, check out the article! I am kicking myself for not bringing them with us - granted when we packed I thought we only needed things for 3 - 6 months tops not over a year! I hope our salt lamps survive being in storage for so long.

p.s. Thank you so much for all of your movie recommendations. You guys are awesome! I can't wait for August!!

*Summer*