Awana and Crocheting Week Two

Week two (and the last week) Mrs. Z teaches Little Princess how to start a hat.  I wasn't there, I was working Bingo to pay for hockey.  When I peeked in Little Princess' room that night to collect laundry, I was told to get "out".  She had something she didn't want me to see.  Had to explain I was on a laundry hunt.  I could not fathom what her surprise could possibly be!  The next morning, she peeked in on me to see if I was awake.  She quickly showed me the hat she had started the night before.  This hat took under 48 hours. Earlier in the week, I had to institute a new rule NO crocheting before 4 pm.  She would be grounded if she didn't put her school work and chores before crocheting.  She submitted and only picked up her crocheting after 4 pm on school days.  She crocheted away while her brother competed in the Sparks A Rama.
Then, The Man, asked for a Sparky hat.  So what does the Little Princess do?  She gets online and does a search or two to discover how to make this darling hat complete!
Wow-ed beyond belief.  Know what she is doing now?  She is online watching tutorials for crocheting!
Here's the pics from The Man's modeling debut of the "SPARKY HAT"

Awana and Crocheting Week One

You would think the two wouldn't go together.  When you are the Little Princess and you have to wait on your little brother, The Man, you find something to do.  Little Princess approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked if our friend Mrs. Z would teach her to crochet. I encouraged her to call her and ask, pretty sure the answer would be yes.  Mrs. Z has her own Etsy store.   I posted several months ago about her birthday present to me.  She is amazing and amazingly sweet!
During Sparks A Rama practice, waiting from the Awana game practice, Little Princess has had her crochet needle in hand with yarn in her lap.  I wish I had had the forethought to take pictures.  She has been learning to crochet.  Week 1, she learned a couple of basic stitches.  The next day, we put her in a van to go to a conference in Tulsa for 36 hours.  She came home with this completed.  She "created" the loop on her own.

I was flabbergasted and impressed beyond belief.  One hour of sitting with Mrs. Z and learning and she had her first project completed.

Awana Games

Not to be outdone by The Man, Little Princess shined in the Awana Games this morning as well.
It was a good morning.  Seeing cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Friendly and enthusiastic competition.  Smiles and giggles.  I slipped away for about an hour to see my parents cause they were down the road just a bit.
Here are some of the pictures "The Dad" was able to snap.

Sparks A Rama !

Sparks - A - Rama was this morning bright and early. 

The Man was Excited !  

His first competition....here are a few pictures from this morning. 

Cleaning up

I carved out some time Sunday to go through a few piles.  

I found this prayer request from Dad's Bud. 

He dictated to Uncle Ben at "Wit's End" of the Focus on the Family Building/Store.  

That is Uncle Ben's "PTL"

His sensitive and caring heart makes me smile. 

Counting to 180

166. Teaching Fun Girl to drive
167. Laughter with my daughter
168. Chivalry towards my Grandma
169. A gift of tin...(thinking of the Tin Man) the heart of my doctor and her care for me.
170. A gift of glass...The views of our clear and beautiful blue sky
171.  A gift of wood...Hubby will be able to deliver the hockey sticks to practice, I am running behind.
172. Precious early morning sleep
173. Little Princess crocheting
174. Laughter while trying to pack Little Princess...she is distracted and trying to crochet a stitch here and there
175. Gift nearly worn out....Swimsuits
176.  Gift New...the perfect dinosaur fleece
177.  Gift Made do.."recycling" being used to teach science lessons
178. God is patient, not slow  2 Peter 3:9
179. Secret things belong to the Lord, and future things are secret things.  "Jesus Calling"
180. Little Princess dances to praise music

Some of what I have been pondering lately.. Joy versus Calm

I am waiting for the day when all will be calm.
Waiting...
Waiting...
Then I get an afternoon, all is tranquil and quiet.  The kids are playing.  I hear sounds of laughter through the door.  Inside, quiet rumblings from the pursuit of various ventures.  Moments to reflect and ponder the goodness of God.  Some writing, getting things accomplished.  Ahhh, this is what it is like, a life of calm.
Kaboom, Crash, Wails and Tears.
It is over and I am waiting again.
There is a tree limb in my son's hands.  A limb long enough to be a pole vault.  Images flash through my mind of children flying through the air as a result of jumping with this "stick" in their hands while jumping.  REALLY??? I am thinking.  Calmly, I announce tonight is the not the night for accidental impaling, head concussions or other serious injuries.  I grab the tree and imagine myself with super human strength flinging it out of our universe.  Onto the other side of our fence will have to suffice.
I am still waiting.
Yet, if my life was calm and peaceful as I imagine it with no drama or antics of children, I would be lost with out all the laughter and joy that bubbles over from it all.  Without the scares and rescues from my dear Lord and Savior I would not have the treasured moments of reflecting on His intervention and faithfulness.  I am finding in my life much of my Joy from the Lord comes with the hard things in life.  Don't get me wrong, I don't like the hard.  Don't like it one bit.  But then again, I didn't enjoy childbirth.  I do enjoy the children and joy that has resulted.

Counting to 165

151.  Lunch with my brother (in law) and sister (in law)
152.  Visiting the Masonic home with my dad
153.  Dinner with "The Man" and my dad
154.  We're up and going on time this morning
155.  Mad dash run for lunch...time alone in the car with my hubby
156. Dinner made by Hockey Player
157.  Pipe cleaner noses
158.  Fresh ice and no stress
159.  Clean white towels
160. The birds are singing.
162. Ebay done.
162. A husband who stands to defend and protect me.
163. Mask making with my boys.
164. A new Iron

165. A doctor's sense of humor.

Counting to 150

135.  A marriage that still is  ~ The grace of God.
136.  Family closeness
137.  Seeing the depth of my husband's love
138.  Kids oblivious to ambulance lights and hearts at peace
139.  Making bird feeders
140. Concern of friends
141.  Humor in the hiding
142.  A day with no unexpected happenings
143.  Patience in the meltdown
144. Tickles from a mustache
145.  Watching "The Man" work hard
146.  Dad's Bud "I Love You" note  written for Aunt Tracy
147.  Refund Check from the Oral Surgeon
148. The excitement of my boys from seeing a $500 bill worth $750
149.  Time with Granny
150.  A walk with Granny

Growing Up and Changing Online Nicknames

As hard as it is to admit sometimes, my kiddos are growing up.  Although they have not outgrown their names we so lovingly prayed over and gave them when they were born, their online names are another story.
There was some shock and dismay from Daddy's Buddy when he became aware enough of his online name.  Too little boyish for him.  He asked me to change it right away.  I didn't, but only because I did not know how to go about changing his name or what to rename him.  I couldn't possibly refer to him as child number 4.  He has since referred to himself as Dad's Bud.

Flutter Nutter has since turned 6.  And well, I will always hold dear this name we gave him, but I have to admit he is becoming quite the young man and Flutter Nutter no longer suites him.  The name around the house we hear more often than not is "The MAN".  So from this point on, "The Man" it is.

Fun Mom heard I was renaming her brothers and she asked about hers.  She's right.  She doesn't mother them much anymore.  They all are growing up and kind know what they are doing.  Sometimes she isn't even the one babysitting.  She is starting the transition years of getting ready to fly from the nest.  Oh where did the time go?  A friend of mine likes to refer to her as "Fun Girl".  So Fun Girl it will be.

Kind of sad this changing of names.  It is a mark of the seasons changing and my kids growing up.  But I am focused on enjoying the here and now with each one of them.

Counting to 134

126. sick children, knowledgeable doctors and medicine.
127.  moving forward
128. warm covers and snuggles in the early morning.
130. scarves
131. Gus in the snow ecstatic.
132. Wide Eyes when I try to sneak a gift unsuccessfully
133. Snuggles with my husband.
134. Heart shaped pancakes.

He is a Wolf Now!

This Past Week Daddy's Buddy  was awarded with Wolf Badge. 

Counting to 125

I have been slow to keep up with my posting my counts.  Will take a few posts to catch up.
When I last left off  I was at 109.
110.  Smooth going mornings.
111.  Healthy children
113. A car warmed up by hubby
114.  Time to fix memory issues on computer.
116.  News that Granny is not in complete congestive heart failure
117.  Great Tutoring sessions
120. Listening to my children play the game "Life" on their Ipods in the car.
121.  Super cold days and nice warm cars and buildings.
123.  A good game doesn't always end like we want it to.
124.  A sister in law's distractions allowing me to shop with hubby and kids are entertained.
125. MaryBeth Chapman's story.

Brothers making pancakes together!

Hockey Player likes food.  He is 12. 
But he has always liked food. 
He has always enjoyed being in the kitchen. 
I  hope I never forget his grand adventure in the kitchen.
"Sugar Pie"  A recipe all his own and make it he did.
Must have been 3 or 4 then.  He has learned a few things over the years.
He has grown up wanting to know how to make the things he likes and things he thinks he might like.
So after 4 or 5 days not being able to orchestrate the meal schedule so he could make the pancakes he was craving. We cleared the evening off and let him get busy!
Flutter Nutter likes food too. 
He likes adding the sweet stuff to the food he likes. 
So after his pancake was ready, Flutter Nutter topped it off...

Whip cream

Bananas

Chocolate Chips

Joy !