And He's Here . . .

He maybe didn't come as early as the Dr. thought He would . . .


and He might not be as small as the Dr. thought he might be (8 lb. 11 oz.) . . . .



but He is just as sweet and precious as we knew he would be!

Aiden Ryan Hunt is absolutely perfect! Mama, Daddy and Aiden are doing great. Tyler loves him! Poppa and Mia are overwhelmed by God's goodness to our family.

It just doesn't get any sweeter than this. Thank you God.

This Weekend, I . . .

* Hemmed three pairs of jeans, one pair of slacks and a blouse - all for my daughters.

* Walked a total of 9 1/2 miles - 3 miles on Friday, 3 miles on Saturday and 3 1/2 miles on Sunday! I impressed myself.

* Made more salsa - a favorite summertime menu item.

* Moved Jess into her dorm. With our four daughters, I calculate we have done this 12 times now. We are pro's. It seemed easy this time. We only have one more time to do this. That makes me sad.

* Got a sweet card in the mail from my sisterchick. It made me smile.

* Enjoyed our church service.

* Shopped for a new flat-screen television. Found what we want - now we have to start saving!

* Had corn on the cob and tomatoes for dinner one evening. Simple and good.

* Took a Sunday afternoon nap - a rare occurrence for me!

What did you do this weekend? Write a post and then link up over at Becky's so we can all read it.

The Bridge

Today is the first day of school in our area. It's always a day filled with such emotion and it makes me think of this post that I wrote a couple of years ago. I decided to post it again today for all you mom's who are having a hard time letting go of your little ones. I've been there. I understand. It's going to be okay - I promise!

They say the only certain thing in life is change. I wonder why then, change so often times seems difficult and challenging, as though it's something we have never faced before.

Every day of our lives brings some type of change. An unplanned event, a detour on your normal route, getting a cold, spilling something on your blouse. You know the kind - just unexpected occurrences that cause us to rethink, re plan, refocus. Minor inconveniences that we deal with all the time.

But some days life brings bigger changes. Changes that we knew were coming but somehow it seemed so far away that it didn't really matter. We would cross that bridge when we came to it.

We arrived at that proverbial bridge this week. And the crossing of it is reminding me of why I didn't want to think about it before.

We are moving our baby into her college dorm room tomorrow. And this change, well this change is hard. We just don't feel emotionally ready yet to cross this bridge. Our lives are changing big-time and Jess has said that she wishes we would have had more kids so she wouldn't feel like she is leaving us all alone. Me too Jess. Me too.

Yesterday she packed up her bedroom. When I came home from work she had everything packed in boxes. She was crying. I was confused.

"Jess, you aren't planning on taking everything from your room to your dorm are you?"

"No mom, this pile of boxes goes to the dorm and this pile of boxes go to storage." sniff sniff

"Storage? What do you mean storage?"

"Well, you know, it's the stuff I don't want to take but I don't want to get rid of it either."

"Well honey, why don't you just leave it here. In your room?"

A blank look crosses her face.

"You mean I don't have to move out everything?"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry harder! After talking about it with her I realized that her three older sisters never did return home after leaving for college. They either got married or moved across the country to go to more school. In Jess's mind, that is how it works. She felt that once she left she wouldn't be coming back home.

Oh dear child - our address will always be your home. Always.

So I helped her unpack the storage boxes and put the items back in her closet and on her shelves. So now her room doesn't look so bare. But I have to admit, based on her sisters before her, I fear she may never really come back home to stay again. And my heart can hardly handle that thought.

Change isn't bad. It's just different. Our home will be different without her. Our relationships will be different as we adjust to parenting adult style. Our marriage will be different as we adjust to being alone with each other more than we have been in the last 28 years.

But I wouldn't hold this girl back even if I could. She has so much promise and potential in her being that it is exciting to see what her future holds. God's hand is on her and He loves her dearly. His plan for her life is unfolding before us and I feel so honored and so privileged to have been a major player in the first part of it. She is so much a part of the both of us - she will do things I only dreamed of.

So those of you who are taking your babies to preschool and kindergarten and first grade this week - my heart recognizes that aching that you are feeling. As you have been told so many times - enjoy these days - for they are fleeting.

Love these days with your babies. Every now and then you will be tempted to look far into the distance and you will see the faint outline of a very large, seemingly formidable structure. It's shape will become clearer and closer every day and soon you will recognize the form of a bridge. Don't be afraid of it. It is supposed to be there. It is there for you to cross- it is strong and secure. Life on the other side of it will be good too.

Just different.

Update: Jess did go on to college and moved into the dorm. Her first semester was pretty rocky - a bad roommate match-up and homesickness almost did her in. I didn't think she was going to make it. Who am I kidding? I didn't think I was going to make it. But she is not a quitter. She stuck it out and we all crossed that bridge with her. And the other side has been really good! This week she is joyfully moving back into the dorm with her three best friends. She is a junior now and will graduate with her B.A. in Elementary Education next year. Ah. Where does all the time go?

Off My Needles

As much as I love to knit, I don't seem to knit as much in the summer. Not because it is too hot but because the days are longer and I stay busier longer. By the time I sit down in the evening, the day is gone and I am tired. Too tired to knit.

But I have finished a few projects. I can't remember if I shared this one or not. I gave it to my niece at her baby shower and she loved it. It is called Bobbie Bear and you can find the pattern here. It was a quick pattern and once I got over trying to figure out the directions before I actually knit them - it went quite well. I love the bear and I will probably make more for future baby showers. I used Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton. It was incredibly soft yarn.


I have learned that I love knitting toys. They are quick, cute and my grandbabies love them. While I was in the mountains on our anniversary week I made these little mice

They were very quick to knit up and I must admit seeing those tails peeking out from under a baby blanket causes me to look twice! The pattern is called Mousie by Ysolda Teague. I used a yarn by Debbie Bliss called Baby Cash with an extra yarn called KidSilk Haze to give it a bit of a halo. I really loved how they turned out.

Then I decided to knit a baby blanket for my new grandson Aiden Ryan (who has yet to make his debut appearance as of the typing of this post). I had seen this sweet blanket in Susan B. Anderson's book, Itty Bitty Nursery. It is called The Circles and Stripes Baby Stroller blanket. I used KnitPicks Simply Cotton yarn - another extremely soft yarn. This was my first attempt at cable knitting (on the border) and it turned out to be really fun.It turned out so well and was such a fun knit I decided to make two. This time I put his name on the blanket. I really love making these blankets - they are fast and easy and so, so, so soft.

Just this weekend I finished my Cedar Leaf Shawlette.
I love this pattern. The pattern is very cleverly written and it really held my interest. I used the Lady Godiva yarn the pattern called for - a lovely wool/silk blend. It is such a pretty shawl/scarf and can be worn several ways. I am almost looking forward to cooler weather so I can wear it! The pattern is written by a new, young designer named Alana of Never Not Knitting. I love her podcasts.

Many knitters enjoy having two, three, four, or ten projects going at a time. Not me. I prefer to have only one project going so I can give it my full attention. Just this weekend I cast on for these fingerless mitts. A friend recently asked me what purpose fingerless mittens serve. I had to think about it and I really couldn't come up with a good answer. But I think they are so pretty and I think knitting gloves with no fingers will be definitely easier than knitting gloves with fingers. I'll keep you posted on the progress. I'm using a great yarn called Cascade Cloud 9 and I'm making them in the charcoal colorway. If they turn out as pretty as the pattern looks, I think I would also like a cream colored pair.

So anyway, that pretty much sums up my summer knitting. If you belong to Ravelry, you can find me here. I have lots and lots of patterns in my favorites. I'm quite sure I won't live long enough to make them all!

This Weekend, I

. . . Finally chose the paint colors I wanted to paint my kitchen. Nothing stresses me out more than picking out colors. It took me literally two whole years.

. . . Bought said colors before I could chicken out again.

. . . Bought all disposable painting supplies. I hate to paint. I would rather take a beating. And cleaning up paint supplies is the worst part of all. This way I could just throw it all away when I got done. Proved to be a brilliant plan.

. . . Friday night I began painting the kitchen.

. . . Made a midnight run to Wal*mart to get one more disposable paint supply item.

. . . Slept till 9:15 on Saturday morning. I can't remember the last time I slept that late. My daughter said she thought I had died!

. . . Saturday was spent finishing the painting project. What a great clean feeling. I love the finished product. It turned out even better than I had hoped.

. . . If you are interested, the colors I chose were Brown Tepee and Lost Atlantis. Fancy names for blue and brown.

. . . Made some salsa and guacamole. My recipe is just a little of this and a little of that and you never know for sure what the end product will taste like. This was a stellar batch.

. . . Met our kids at the Dairy Queen for a hot fudge Sundae. Don't remember the hot fudge ever tasting so good.

. . . Mowed the lawn with my husband. And wondered for the hundredth time why I get the push mower and he gets the riding mower.

. . . Took my yorkie, Willow, to the groomer. Nothing nicer than a freshly groomed dog.

. . . Enjoyed our Sunday morning church service.

. . . Cleaned up the house - getting ready for another week.

How about you? Join in on the weekend fun over at Becky's.