Charlie Brown Blanket Tah Dah Moment

 It's done.  This is a happy and sad moment.  All that soft, cuddly, warmness done and off to it's new home. I really enjoyed making this blanket, and the warmth of it draped across my legs in the cool evenings was delightful.

It started out as 7 skeins of Carons Simply Soft yarn paired up with a G crochet hook.  You can check the yarn out at caron.com.   The pattern for the ripple blanket is from attic24.typepad.com/weblog/.  Lucy has some adorable patterns on her blog, and her palette of rainbow colors makes me happy every time I visit.

When folded up this view always causes me
to crave mint chocolate anything.

Here we get an island vacation somewhere
surrounded by the sea.

The even, steady stripes relax the eye.

The pattern is supposed to be random.  Random, however, is not my forte, so I worked hard at it.  My dear Matthew had a brilliant idea for pulling off the randomness.  We cut 4 pieces of each color yarn into 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Then he would take one pile of the 7 colors and throw them up into the air.  Whatever order they landed in was the order we gave them.  He repeated the process for each pile and recorded how they fell.  We did this Since 5 repeats of the seven colors would be needed for the finished size, we decided to use the first seven color pattern for the fifth repeat.  Confused?  Sorry.

I just had to stand on it for one picture.  Did I mention how soft it is? 

 My dear sister and her belly bump are the reason and the inspiration for the Charlie Brown Blanket.  Let me tell you a little story.  This is Debra.  She is married to John.  They are going to have a baby, due this winter near unto Christmas.  He (the baby) is full of surprises.

Surprise #1:  You're having a baby!  Oh, how excited he made his parents.









Surprise #2:  It's a Boy!  What a lucky boy is he.  He has three older brothers waiting for him.  He will be named Charlie.

Surprise #3:  He has Trisomy 18.  Little Charlie is a special little guy.  We don't yet know how long he will be allowed to be with the family here on earth, but we look forward to whatever time The Lord allows.

The more I heard about Charlie, learned about his physical condition, and watched his mommy grow with him, the more I realized he would need a very warm cuddly blanket.  Time was also a factor.  It would need to be made pronto.  I'd been wanting to make a ripple blanket, so I decided to make the first one for Charlie.  

You may wonder why I call it the Charlie Brown Blanket.  Well, when my brother-in-law, John (a.k.a. Charlie's dad) saw the blanket in it's first stages, he commented to my sister that it looked like the Peanuts' character Charlie Brown's shirt.  That's all it took.  The blanket for Charlie was named.  I just love that the name includes his given name as well.

I look forward to meeting this little bundle of love from Heaven.  Every baby is precious, and some a bit more so.

Happy days to you.  Remember to give thanks to the Lord above for every day you get with your loved ones.

Stacie

P.S.  Comparing bellies.  John says he's right there with her--and he always is.  He's a great guy.

Mission blog updated -- please visit it

At last I have updated the mission blog.  Please go on over and take a peak at the pictures of our reunion.

Coca Time and other News

Oh, yes.

Who doesn't need a bit of breath time each day when you just stop for a few minutes, rest your body, quiet your mind, and chill?  I know I do.

 It was easy to sit and rest just a few years back, mandatory for sanity's sake.  We had a routine.  For approximately 18 years I was either pregnant or nursing a child.  Oh, how I miss those days.  Every afternoon I would shut the house down for a two hour napping time for all people in the house--mommy included.  You could sleep, read, or play quietly alone during this time.  When I had a baby or young toddler in tow, every few hours I would have to sit down and nurse.  Some days it seemed such an interruption to have to sit down and nurse, but those regularly scheduled sit downs along with quiet time in my day proved to be my life savers.

Here I am now, six years past pregnancy and three years past nursing  EXHAUSTED.  Most days you will find me and mine running from dawn till dusk with never a restful moment.  This past week provided a perfect example of what's been happening as a result.

While reading to the elementary aged sons on Tuesday right in mid sentence I fell asleep.  My 12 year old son awoke me with, "Are you asleep, Mom?"  The next day I repeated the falling asleep incident, and they laughed.  Yet the third day I did it as well; but this time I awoke to find the room emptied, the house silent, and all the sons off reading or playing quietly by themselves.  This is the very couch where I feel asleep 3 days in a row--very cozy spot for snoozing.  The very children who take such good care of me whenever I am tired.

So, I officially announce, 

We once again embrace the observance of afternoon rest time on a daily basis.

They look so content.

Again there is the option of sleeping, reading, or playing quietly alone so as to not disturb others.  We will be adding what I and the children lovingly choose to refer to as "Cocoa Time."



Cocoa Time must have the necessaries such as something to drink and something to eat in a pleasant spot.  These things calm the nerves and regulate the afternoon blood sugars, something from which we will all benefit.   Today's Cocoa Time included Hot Cocoa and Magic Cookie Bars.  Mmmmm . . .

Chris, a.k.a. Castle Builder 

Gran and Grampa Wartena came to visit for a week.  What fun.  The boys have been enjoying the puzzles they brought them.  Here is the castle they built over conference weekend.

Other news of the fall would include school.  We are back in session full time.  Here is the small band of students for the 2011-2012 year at Wartena Homeschool Academy:

Ben and Brig had fun trying to construct the United States in the form of a card house.  Looks good.

The Gang minus one.
Even Josh took the opportunity to join the fun --
and the little bros thought he was awesome in his gore,
tie-dye, and cowboy attire.

We have also had our first Weird Wednesday.   All were invited to dress in whatever they deemed to be weird.

Ben chooses pj's, a dog, and 4 hats.

Matt goes for the good 'ol pj's, doghat, missing slipper,
and sword ensemble.

Jo in his bike helmet/3 baseball caps combo
rocks with the addition of the bat and flipflops.

Nate decide pink would put him over the top weird, but he just looks to good to look weird.

Two of my most favorite pictures of the season taken the same day.

It's been a busy 2 1/2 months.  We are all together again and we thank the Lord everyday for this blessed gift.  I'm off to a bit of crochet, then to bed.

Happy quiet time to you,
Stacie

Change is in the air -- and in the kitchen!

Just taking a moment in the business to update.  We are in the thick of construction with the end in sight.  Floors, cabinets, sink, everything just moving around and changing for the better.  Jeff is beside himself with excitement over the changes.  I'm working hard to adapt at a quick pace.  It's actually a lot of fun.

I'd share pictures but we don't want a certain child of our to check out the blog and see the changes before his return home at the end of the month.  Sooooooooooooooooooo . . . pictures will come in a few weeks.

We truly have been blessed with this little model job.  The mold is gone from the kitchen.  Our kitchen table is not being hit by two different entrance doors and the refrigerator door.  The rolling dishwasher is no longer sitting in the middle of the kitchen on an angle being hit by the back door.  But perhaps the best of all are the three new windows on the back of the house that are filling the kitchen and family room with much needed light.  The kitchen is a bright sunny, happy place to be to cook or visit or both; and we can all sit around the table to eat, relax, and share our day's happenings together.

Have a wonderful Day.
 

Life is so exciting in the fast lane called parenthood.  Each day presents a new adventure to be experienced.  Alas, at our home it is also the season for curriculum planning and I am having so much fun deciding what we will delve into this coming year.  Couple that monumental task with home construction, preparation for a son coming home, and a business to run and you have the makings for a huge stress attack.  But all is good at our house.  We are just busy and not able to keep the blog up to date as regular as would be liked.  I promise that I will be taking pictures at unregular intervals, so perhaps in the future I will share some with you.  Until then, please pray for us and our construction mess.  It really must get done to lighten the load on my dear, poor hubby.  He is trying so hard.

May the Lord bless you and yours,
Stacie

Yes, we are well past Easter, but I still wanted to share our happy little sign with you.  Ben and I worked on it for a few hours having lots of fun making it.  Thanks to my wonderful sister we now own a Cricket, thus the sign.  Thank you, Karina.

The flowers have been extra beautiful this spring.  We've had tremendous amounts of rain which has made everything green and lush--well lush compared to our normal around here.  The tulips really surprised us this year.  We had at least double our usually number of blooms.  In addition they seem to have cross pollinated producing striped varieties in addition to our regular reds and yellows.  Spring flowers are such a ray of hope after a long winter.  I love them.

Just had to share Nate with you.  He is enjoying his new smile, care of Dr. Thompson.  His teeth are moving quite rapidly.  Now instead of hiding from the camera, he jumps right to the front and smiles from ear to ear.  He has turned into my right hand man in the kitchen making everything from bread to desserts.  Nate also is always the first to volunteer to watch any girlie flick my heart desires.  He'll watch them all.  Last night we watched Grace is Gone.  It's fun.  We do watch a few action packed screen stories as well, the Bourne series being at the top of our favorites.

 My crochet and knitting projects are bringing me such joy and relaxation.  My little neighbor shares a birthday with me, so I just "had to make" this little girl purse.  She, of course, "needed" this creation to hold her valuables in as she goes to the store.  It whipped up in about 2 hours time and was a delight to make.  Ben agreed to be my model so you can see how big it is compared to a child.  The purse is not suited to his size as you can see; but the little girl is a tiny 5 year old, so it fit her just great.

 Ben decided to play photographer while I was knitting on the scarf.   There was plenty of time to knit to my heart's content as we sat and listened to a recording of Where the Red Fern Grows.  What a wonderful book.  I had no idea it talked so much about relying on prayer and our Saviour in life.  I recommend it to everyone.

My lovely necklace is a stitch counter.  What a life saver that proved to be.  The hair was washed and drying.  I especially love the way it does that fly-away thing.

I've added a pair of wooden circular needles to my knitting stash.  They are nice in concept--you don't loose your work as easily as with the straight needles, and the needles are real short so they don't hit your arms while you knit.  The down side is two fold:  first, the yarn sticks on the wood slowing down the work; second, the plastic cord refuses to relax so it fights with the knitter all the time.  I can't complain.  They only cost $4.80 instead of $8 with my 40% off coupon at Robert's Crafts.  I think I'll start saving up for the nicer needles as supposedly the cording will lay flatter and not fight with me.

The scarf for my Sweetheart did get completed.  I think he looked quite nice in it.  The color is Velvet Orchid, very rich and yummy looking.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  If anyone should happen to find more of the color in the Lily Sugar and Cream yarn PLEASE get it and I'll pay you back.  I can't find it anywhere.

This bag was a steal of a find earlier this year.  I decided it would be perfect for my yarn crafts.  I love, love, love the colors, and inside it is bright yellow.  Such a happy bag.

 I finally finished my crochet clutch.  The flower over the clasp is still bugging me so I'll redo it soon, but for now it's okay.  I love the way everything is easy to find and access now.  I thank Kim Walus at www.bittybitsandpieces.blogspot.com for sharing her "My Crochet Clutch" pattern.  She has lots of other great stuff.  Check it out.

We have saved the best for last.  Little Jo decided that after owning a new bike for month he no longer needed training wheels.  Soooooooooo . . . we took them off  AND he took off.  Watch this little delight learning to ride his bike for the first time ever.  It took him about two time with Mom supporting him till he just took off on his own.  The next day we went to Auntie Deb's house where he proceeded to learn to start and stop all by himself.  That also took just a few tries till he had it.  Jo rode up and down her sidewalk for the next hour or two till he had mastered starting all on his own.  No more babies at our house.  I'll try not to cry as I am cheering for him.

Happy days to all.

Pictures and post coming soon.  I've been so busy knitting and crocheting that I just haven't had time to stop and record it all.  Hubby got another 4.0 for the semester.  Soooooooooooo proud of him.  Ben has outgrown another pair of Sunday britches.  Chris is about to graduate.  Nate and Matt have become my right hand men in the kitchen.  Oh, what fun!!!  I do lead a sheltered life here, but that's okay.

Just Keep Swimming . . .

I've been thinking about coming on and updating, so I think I shall today.

One more goal has been achieved on my resolution list.

 I Learned to Knit!!!  

I can make washcloths.  All you have to know is cast on, knit stitch, and bind off.  I love it!!!  It is completely relaxing to me to sit and knit away.  My favorite position is in front of an episode of Without a Trace or Criminal Minds while all stretched out on the bed.  I let all the troubles of life whiz past me and knit away while the T.V. drones on and on and on . . .  The children can come to me with their needs and I don't get upset.  It all just rolls off me as the yarn unwinds from the skein into another washcloth.

 So far this knitting frenzy has produced 5 washcloths, 3 of which are pictured here.  The pink one is made from two strands of the thin #10 size cotton.  It's soft, but odd in the finished product.  The others are from Sugar and Creme Cotton.  Below are the left overs.

I'm thinking that perhaps I'll just whip up the leftovers into "ugly style" ends and pieces potholders when I'm done.  That should be entertaining.  I figure potholders get spaghetti sauce stains on them anyway, so the color combos don't always matter.

This Velvet Orchid yarn was selected by Sweetheart to become a scarf for him.  The pattern looks pretty easy and doable for this beginner.  I am hoping to get some 9" needles in a size 8 for the project.  The pink needles are much too long to fit in my travel bag, and they produce a terrible feel in my hands when used with this cotton yarn.  If you can imagine the sound produced by scratching your nails on the chalkboard turned into a tactile feeling then you have conjured up what this needle/yarn combo feels like to me.  The needles are going to be a reward for me after I successfully go to the gym 5 morning this week.  

I really need a reward system in place to encourage me to go exercise right now.  

It's much more fun to just sit and knit.

 I also added this cute little carrier to my supplies.  

It is just the right size for a set of 9" needles, yarn, and a small project.  

 The yarn threads out the end thus keeping your skein in place where you can easily find it, and it stays clean.

 The small project fits right inside when you aren't knitting . . .

. . . and is ready to travel with you at a moments notice.  It is made by Creative Couture.  The website says their products are available 

at Michael's and Hobby Lobby stores nation wide.  

I found this at Tuesday Morning for $4.

 I truly must recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn to knit.  Lily explains things so well.  It has been a life saver.  I'll have to order a copy soon, though, because this one belongs to the library.  Love the library for "try before you buy" moments.

There were also some wonderful knitting classes on youtube.  They are listed by CitalL86.  These are knitting tutorials, 13 to be exact.  I am a very visual learner so these were indispensable.  I could watch them over and over and over until I understood a step.  She goes slow.  The camera is at an angle right where your eyes would be if you were the one knitting.  The gal is teaching teens and has a pleasant manner about her. I highly recommend them if you want to learn to knit.

Copy this address into your browser space if you want to check out the first one in the series:

http://youtu.be/G9hv44QwQ-A

Lastly, a big thank you must be sent out to my Sweetheart.  He is a smart fellow.  When he discovered how relaxed I am after sitting and knitting he acted on his new found knowledge.  Sweetheart whisked me down to the local craft store to take advantage of a fabulous yarn sale ($1.25 a skein).  Promptly he offered to buy me LOTS of yarn--27 skeins to be exact.  He even stood for 20 minutes and helped me choose yarn.  

Current score:  1,000,000 for Sweetheart

Well, alas, I must be off.  The library is calling, as are the knitting needles. 

Chou!