~Gratitude Sunday~

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for  Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.

can't remember where i found this picture, it is beautiful

~ Weekends with the whole family home
~ colored eggs
~ chickens
~ bright colored cotton yarn
~ fresh sheets on the bed, that dried on the line
~ our pediatric dentist
~ cloth diapers
~ cadbury mini eggs
~ making time to journal everyday
~ salmon on the grill
~ my husbands good listening ears

Happy Birthday

and he is hardly ever serious in a picture!

My dear, sweet Logan turns 15 today. Can I just say, he is a full on amazing person. He leaves me in awe everyday. He isn't afraid to try new things, put himself out there, work hard for what he wants. All the things in the world that are scary, he seems to not be scared of them. He is funny, I mean truly funny. And magical on an instrument. How did this kid come from me? He is honest and true. And he loves his family. He is probably the worlds best big brother, really you should see him with his little brothers and with Fiona. They all adore him. I use to wonder what sort of man he would become, I don't any more because he truly is all that a good man should be. His future is so open and bright, I love watching him grab it and go. My sweet Logan. Happy Happy Birthday. I love you so very very much.

Lexicon Project: Fresh

Joining The Mayberry Home Journal and House Full of Jays for the Lexicon Project.

Yarn Along and give away winners

the books

knitting

I had a bit of sadness happen last week, and got out of the sock knitting mood. I needed to knit something mindless and easy that could be used, so I took some of the left over cotton yarn I used to make Fiona's summer dress and I made some "grandmother's favorite dishcloths" they are so super easy and pleasant to knit, I think I might just keep knitting them for awhile, use up all of that left over yarn... maybe do a rainbow one.
I am still reading "Practicing Happy" which is very good and helpful, and I pulled out "Handbook for a New Millennium" which is full of lovely photos and great quotes, very inspiring.

hat and baby socks

I forgot to post a photo of the hat and baby socks I knitted up for a friend's friend's baby (is that confusing??)

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AND THE WINNERS ARE....

 Tie-dyed doula won the Sacred Pregnancy book

and

Hannah@homebaked won the Mother Wisdom deck

Congratulations!

Weekending: urban hike

part of downtown tempe

getting ready for the hike up

pretty cactus

heading up past the "A"

more downtown tempe

heading down

awesome retaining wall at hayden mill

looking in the mill

more mill peaking

and still more peaking

heading to the ice cream shop

maple bacon ice cream... yum

met sis at the ice cream shop...see the new glasses :)

my monkey boys

YES! i got a picture of my big guy

books from the sweeeet used book shop

Mike and I took the kids for an urban hike up "A" mountain (AKA Hayden Butte). Totally fun, quick hike and not terribly scary at the top (although I must admit to not actually getting to the tippy top as I would probably have ruined the boys fun by freaking out about them maybe falling off the edge or something). Lots of people were out hiking and laughing, felt very connected to the community. The camera decided that it would NOT work at the very top, so no super cool pictures of the city from way up top, but a lovely view just the same.
At the bottom of the butte is the old Hayden flour mill (how Mill Ave got it's name!) which apparently is going to be fixed up some and made in to some sort of museum at some point. They have places for you to peak inside and get a look at all the cool stuff that was used in the mill. Apparently it was a mill that ran on water power... very cool. After checking out the mill, we headed over to an ice cream shop and met up with Audrey and then stopped off at "Old Town Books" and looked through all the old goodness, there is just something about an old bookstore, it is the smell I think, that sort of attic smell, but in a good way. You can not get that smell from an iPad that is for sure. I found some great books for the boys, and when they found out I home schooled they gave me a 20% discount for life! Yeah local used book shop. (Plus they have an ancient cat who is just as sweet as can be.)

Lexicon Project:: Fragrant

Come join House Full of Jays and The Mayberry Home Journal for the weekly Lexicon Project.

Yarn Along and GIVE AWAY!

Joining Ginny from Small Things for the weekly Wednesday Yarn Along!

finished baby socks

one of fiona's socks (the yarn is so much more lovely then this picture)

Still enjoying the sock knitting. Slowing down a bit, just 1 and 1/2 pairs this week. I have a big project looming and I think I am moseying along with the ones I am currently working on. I think if there is enough yarn left over after making Fiona's socks I will knit ANOTHER pair of baby ankle socks, you know, just to put off the bigger thing. LOL

what i have been reading

I have been reading! I mean really reading stuff this past week. Maybe that is why the knitting is going slowly. Besides the books I read about 10 times a day to Fiona I have been reading "Knitting Rules", "Practicing Happy" and "Full Cup", along with two magazines and a math book. Sitting outside in the sunshine while the kids ride bikes, draw with chalk, make mud pies, and run around is just heavenly with a good book and a cup of iced herbal tea.

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GIVE AWAY TIME!

Recently I was lucky enough to win an amazing give away put on by Sacred Pregnancy. It was full of all sorts of awesome stuff. Two of the things I already had (see I am awesome!). So I want to offer up the two lovely gifts to all of you!

#1: Mother Wisdom Deck This is a great deck! Lots of insight in those pages of the book that comes with the cards. I love mine a lot.

#2 Sacred Pregnancy book. Love this book. Wish I had had it when I was pregnant! So, if your pregnant, know someone who is pregnant, or you work with pregnant women, this book is a lovely resource. Heck, maybe you don't even need to be pregnant, some of the journal ideas are wonderful whether you are having a baby or not.

If you have a preference put it in your comment, that way I won't send you a pregnancy book if you don't need or want it. LOL
I will be drawing two names Tuesday March 25th at 11PM. Good luck!

On loving children

fiona rosy

rowan and fiona

more rowan and fiona

arts and crafts with cae, row, and fiona

audrey jane

logan ( as hard to photograph as big foot)

sagan being goofy

caelan lighting the sun

My kids. My wild, wonderful, beautiful, amazingly awesome children. Just a quick note, you can not ever love them too much, not ever.

~ Gratitude Sunday ~

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for a heartfelt Sunday tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.

playing in the water

~ a few really warm days
~ having all my kids in the house for a couple days over Spring break
~ my kids hanging out together
~ the Wednesday farmer's market
~ a date with my man
~ late night movies with Mike
~ paying all the bills and still having some money in the bank
~ having the prize I won in the Sacred Pregnancy give away arrive! such amazing awesomeness... i seriously am so overwhelmed
~ Mike getting admitted into ASU's EdD program! he starts this summer!
~ making the down payment on the Sacred Pregnancy educators retreat for this coming fall!
~ making Easter plans, so many people coming, so much good food.
~ green smoothies every morning
~ watching the garden grow, fingers crossed it actually makes it this season
~ sock yarn in the mail. :)
~ baby socks, man i love knitting those things (can I say that enough?? i don't think so)
~  Logan playing the piano every day
~ Audrey and Derek for watching the kids
~ my dear, dear friends... just because i love you all so much
~ Irish beer and dancing and music
~ Rula Bula for an amazing evening
~ coconuts... the world's most amazing food (i think i have said this before, but it is true!)

my girlies

my prize!

News

salt lake city, utah

That photo there, that is Salt Lake City, Utah. And This coming September I will be there for a week! A week! On an amazing retreat. I will be going to the Sacred Pregnancy Instructor and Sacred Postpartum Mother Roaster instruction retreat. I am so excited to be a step closer to realizing a dream of mine to help mothers and babies, in a new more honored and sacred way. I have never done anything like this before, leave my family to pursue a thing like this, but I so so want this.

I am not exactly sure how we will make this happen, money is tight as it is already... but Mike and I talked about it and we are going to do whatever it takes to make this dream of mine come true. I am just so happy, I felt the need to share!

(photo from sacred pregnancy) mother roasting

South Mountain Park

getting ready to go... look at fiona, hilarious

sunshine through the leaves

rowan on a pile of rocks

climbing up

fiona on her way up

actual petroglyphs!

more petroglyphs

walking and talking

more climbing

fiona running

saguaro with sunshine

more of fiona running

wild flowers

city from the top of south mountain

Mike and I took the kids up to South Mountain on Monday. I had no idea this place even existed! It is one of the worlds largest city parks. A park that big and I didn't even know it was a 20 minute car ride from our house. It is an amazing place, so many different trails, one that is over 14 miles long, and great shorter trails. We started out on a 1.7 mile hike, but then an enormous swarm of bees flew up the canyon and well, all I could visualize was us being stung to death in the middle of the desert. SO, we picked another trail. This one was handicapped accessible which meant it was paved and had lots of covered areas that were great for stopping and eating (because for some reason my children need to consume food about every 100 feet). Lots of rocks were climbed, flowers were smelled, jackrabbits were spotted, and hawks were spied.
After the hike (which totaled a mile, and yet took us about 2 hours. lol) we hopped back in the van and drove up to the top of South Mountain and gazed down at the city below. I am sure it looks stunning at night with all the city lights glowing below.