Things of Beauty

I am joining up again with the Yarn Along that Ginny hosts each week - books and yarn are two things that give me such satisfaction and I kind of store up my chat about those here in my space until Tuesday night for this post.  I am still plugging away on the Sugared Violets that I was hoping I'd have done this week but with sick kiddos, I use my valuable evening knitting time to catch up a little on the housework.  I have made significant progress but I can only get through about one row per night with over 300 stitches per row at this point!  I am musing about my next project after it's done... I really should make a diaper cover or two since we're a little short on those for RosiePie (Millie calls everyone Pie.. like MamaPie, DaddyPie, RosiePie), but I also have this yummy blue yarn I picked up with a special Christmas gift card from my brother Sam.  I don't have any pictures of that yarn yet but I am sure you will see it soon!

As far as books... I have several books that I am reading right now.  Sometimes I get book ADD and then there are books scattered everywhere because I can't make up my  mind which to dive deeply into.  I am barely into The Book of the Dun Cow but oh my, it is good and intense and it makes me look at my rooster differently.  Jesse has read it and agrees that it is an intense book.  I am also reading a little through Rez Life which I picked up on a whim at the library.  I had no idea if it was going to be worth my time but the author is a really interesting and engaging writer and I am learning a lot about the Ojibwe tribe here in the first couple chapters.  And I finally finished listening to Dracula and I'm allllllmost caught up to the current podcast of CraftLit for The Age of Innocence.  It is fun to pop it on in the afternoon when everyone is resting and I'm cleaning the kitchen or starting dinner.  Starting February 7, we will be starting North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill, so if you have a hankering to start in with a new book you really should check it out.  If you don't like the crafty chat, she also has Just the Books with only the book and book chat. 

This isn't my project, but this cowl and these mitts were gifted to me by my sweet mom for Christmas and I've been waiting to show them off!  I love them so much.  They are the only reason for being disappointed with the unseasonably warm January we are having since there's not a lot of reason to wear cozy mitts when it's getting up into the 50's.  But I'm sure in a few weeks we'll be back to shivering again and I will wear them all the time even around the ol' homestead.   

  

My second kid went down with a fever today and I was feeling a bit down so I made extra effort to focus on the things of beauty around me.  That does really help me keep my eyes up and lifted to the Giver of all good gifts.  
Once Lyddie's ibuprofen kicked in, she felt pretty dandy for a while and entertained us both with silly faces for the camera.  She has an incredible giggle that bubbles up out of her and lights up her whole face, especially her eyes.  You can practically hear the giggles when looking at the pictures above.  She giggled at every one of the silly pictures I took and begged to take more.  Jesse looked from her to me last night and said, "Is she just like you when you were little?"  And I laughed because I'm sure she probably is, my sweet, kind, lovely little flibbertigibbet.  Speaking of that munchkin, the picture of Rosie and I was actually taken by her, all by herself, and I think it turned out really nice.

Our family has joined in with Ann Voskamp's Scripture memory challenge, which was something I was already trying to decide how to incorporate into our morning family worship, and lo and behold, she had a system for me that made it easy!  So far all four of us have joyfully memorized John 1:1 and have mostly memorized John 1:14.  I printed off the artwork and keep them at the table and we practice in the morning and the girls want to do it again at lunch and again at dinner.  This is a lovely habit to form, I think, a new verse each week.  I am amazed at how fast these little ones can memorize the words and I love the doors that open to understanding and explanation as the words become embedded in their minds and hearts.  The same is true for me, and I am reflecting on Jesus as the Word as I go through my days.