Who's Building Whose Character?

"Character Building"... the great parenting buzzwords. 

Last night we watched our oldest son graduate from high school.  It's been a week of emotions and reflection for me.  As a homeschooler, I feel a bit of pride/relief that he successfully transitioned to public high school after 8 years of homeschooling.  I hadn't ruined him.  Yay!  As a mother, I'm feeling incredibly proud of the young man he's become... and continually amazed at his hard work, dedication, and determination.

Next year we will graduate son #2 who chose to stay homeschooled along with his 3 younger brothers.  It might seem like at this point in my life I should have some wisdom to share with moms of young children.  You know... wise words about character building and such.  But I don't.  And not only because anyone who knows me personally would laugh out loud if I tried, but mainly because I've found raising these boys has had at least as much impact on my character as I hope I've had on theirs.

So my advice to you... don't miss out on the lessons your kids can teach you!

1.  It really starts when they are born... the sleepless nights, the spit up on a new sweater, or the colic that keeps us walking and bouncing for hours.  From their very first days, they are stretching ( think of this as exercising or growing) our patience, compassion, and ability to hide our frustration behind grace.

2.  Our children will disobey.  They will challenge us, disappoint us, and ignore us... and they will each do it a bit differently.  We learn quickly that what works with one might not work with another.  So we evaluate and learn to respond accordingly.  And if we are lucky, we learn to see these qualities in others and learn to appreciate and relate better to people in general.

3. This is a tough one... but the trait that annoys you most in your child, is most likely your own worst attribute.  Nothing is worse than the moment you realize that, in the worst way, your child is just like you.  But this gives us a chance to grow along with our child as we learn to adapt our behavior or attitudes to better coexist in society.

4. Then there are the qualities that we see in our child that are completely contradictory to the way we function.  My instinct was often to "correct" these qualities or "mold" them.  But I urge you to take the time to appreciate these qualities and learn from your child!  I have learned so much about perseverance, compassion, mercy, hospitality, and confidence by watching my children in their young journeys.  I can honestly say that they have made me a better person.

5. Your relationship with your child can teach you more about God than any book on the shelves.  Our love for our children gives us a glimpse at God's great love for us... and really, who better to keep us in prayer than our children?!  I still remember clearly an incident from my early years as a parent...

I had given a 4 year old a bowl of cheerios to nibble on.  He didn't want to share with his 2 year old brother.  This caused great grief and misery for all.  I urged him to share (because sharing is right, right?) and explained to him that he could have more when these were gone... in fact I had more cheerios than he could eat in a week in the box in the cabinet if he could just share what he already had.  He didn't care.  I finally had to pull out the box and show him just how many there were. And it struck me... God has more grace, generosity, mercy, strength, and good gifts for us than we can possibly imagine... if we would just seek Him.

Nothing is too much for Him.  And it is His grace and love I see in the lives of my children as they mature into fine young men.  Because I'm pretty sure that praying over them without ceasing is the only thing I've done right as a parent so far!

Camping with Yarn...

Count me in! 

Discounts, challenges, prizes... how could I not?   If you're interested, find out more here.
This is my yarn for the first challenge, a two color shawl, wrap or scarf.

String Theory Caper Sock in Jade and Fusion Lake.  :)

Eventually I'll get around to posting some finished knits...

but right now I need to prepare for my son's high school graduation!

Blessings to all.

Time Flies When You’re Going Crazy!

So, it's been a while. But I realized a couple of things earlier as I was perusing some old blog posts… (1) I'm a complete dork at least half the time, and (2) I have recorded a wealth of history and photos here. Since I'm not into journaling, scrapbooking, or even photo album-ing, this blog is quite the treasure trove for me. 
For example, here's a photo of my oldest snapped not long after I started the blog 6 years ago. Here's a photo of me sending him off to prom last month.

He will graduate high school in two days and we really couldn't be any prouder.
Another example, here's a group photo from about the same time. And here we are following D's baptism this past winter.

 As you can see, I've shrunk.
I continue to knit like crazy and homeschool the other four who will be entering 12^th, 9^th, 7^th, and 3^rd next year. I'd like to get back in the swing of things here and see where it takes me. Ideally I'd like to share not only my knitting (and I have lots to share!) as in the past, but my homeschooling adventures, favorite TV shows, and books I am reading. (Currently I'm thoroughly enjoying Anna Karenina, although I could do with less time on the farm.) So… We'll see how It goes J

Talk to me about LOST!

Hellooooo!

So I lost my camera some time ago, apparently around the end of November, and didn't want to blog without pictures. But over the last couple of weeks, I've gotten some of the nicest notes from people wondering where I'd gone and if everything was okay. I was so touched that people even remembered I used to blog, let alone care enough to reach out and check on me! (Thank you!) And wouldn't you know it... we found my camera not long ago to boot!

Life is crazy busy, but good. Really good.

But today, let's talk about LOST! Do you watch? How do you feel about the new season and all this sideways alternate reality stuff?

I'm not sure how I feel yet. I feel like any and all theories are up in the air and wouldn't be surprised to see Johnny Depp arrive in a pirate ship and flip the sea upside down at this point. Any logical progression of expectations seems to have been ripped out from under me and, well, this unsettles me.

And what's with the "The time for questions is over... now is the time for answers." What answers? Where? All I have are more questions. Argh.

Anyway, my favorite part last night was the wheel in the lighthouse!

The wheel showed 108 as being somebody named "Wallace" whose name had already been crossed out. Hmmm. Who do you think is coming to the island??????

Oh, btw, I did finish the flame socks... but can't find my camera again... sigh.

Stop Everything...

I have a child who wants me to knit him some socks!

So of course I must oblige.



Hot Rod Socks by Pink Lemon Twist

Stranded knitting on socks is new to me, but you know what they say... 4th (or 5th) time's the charm.

Ulmus

I finished this a while back but never got around to taking pictures.



Ulmus by Through the Loops Designs
I used 1 hand of Malabrigo Sock in "Ivory" and 2 hanks of Claudia's Handpainted Fingering in "Rock, Paper, Scissors"



I love this shawl!!!!



I agonized over color choices for weeks before casting on (as evidenced by the bold colors I settled on). I finally grabbed several possible variations and started casting on samples. I believe this is called swatching among knitters... although its a rather foreign concept to me. It really made a difference to see the color options in swatches (and saved me from knitting a Christmas tree) so I highly recommend this step if you are considering this pattern.

Now on the needles is Anne Hanson's Brambler scarf. Well, that and many other things.



The yarn is Sanguine Gryphon's Sea Wool and it has a lovely sheen that just demanded to be knit into this fabulous winter scarf pattern that I've had for some time. I couldn't argue with yarn fate.

So Unworthy!

In spite of all my best intentions, I have been unable to get my act together enough to blog over the last week (or two... at least). My boys are keeping me crazy busy with football and school, and I've been using my free time to try to finish up my February Lady Sweater (which should be done today!)

However, I was just swept off my feet by news that I had been nominated for a Homeschool Blog Award under the category Best Cyber Buddy! I am totally humbled that somebody even thought of me (thank you for making my day)... so now I'll do what any good nominee would do and beg for your votes! :P

So if you have a chance, get your vote in! And if you're a homeschooler, check out the different categories for links to some amazing, encouraging and crazy bloggers!