#1 is now 12

In so many ways I can't believe that these two pictures are of my same boy, but really, not much about him has ever changed. I don't guess it ever really will, and for that I am thankful.

Eric has always had a clear sense of his own self. This may be because he is first-born, I don't know. He knows what he likes and is unwavering in that. He has always been my biggest helper. In fact, when he was 2, I wrote him a little book called, "The Big Helper". I can leave him with any list and he will get it done, any time. He has a particular taste and preference for his clothing and hair, for as long as I can remember. Eric's personality is strong and powerful...his electricity and energy can light up a room just when he walks in. Eric brings so much joy to the house through his musical talents...he has gotten to a level where it is soothing (and not painful) to listen to him play!
Our prayer for Eric is that he will allow God to use his particular qualities in mighty ways throughout his life...what a wonderful and special boy we have in our home!

Happy Birthday Eric!

First Knitting Project

I have been itching to try knitting for some time now. Not really sure why, though it probably has to do with the many blogs that I follow that feature people who knit lots and lots. I also love the idea of using my sitting and waiting time do something productive with my hands (dr. appts, homeschool coop down time, etc.). Also, I recently played around with Leah's knitting mushroom that she got for Christmas and found that actually doing it was very relaxing and I could do other things (like go over schoolwork with the kids, watch tv at night with Dennis) at the same time.So I went to our local yarn store, found a beginner book, some yarn and kneedles and came home with the idea to knit Leah some legwarmers...something she LOVES to wear and only has 2 pair that don't match all of her dresses. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I must say that it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. Granted, I did knit one entire legwarmer according to the pattern and the proceeded to rip it out because I didn't like the shape, and I made lots of little mistakes (please don't look too closely), but overall, for a scrunched up legwarmer, I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Then I knit a miniature trial version of my next project, simply because I wanted practice making stripes and also decreasing to join the hat at the top. Turns out it wasn't a wasted scrap of knitting, but actually turned into quite a cute little cap for this elephant! His ears were getting cold with all of this cold weather we've been having anyway!

For any of you fellow knitters out there, I have posted the details of the project on Ravelry...

Newest Member of the family, and other things...

Meet Fireball...Bay's pet Betta fish. Actually it's his 3rd fish, 2 others already died, but so far, so good with this one. It's now been over a week and he's still breathing! He loves his pineapple house, and when you come into the room, he swims out of his house and up to the edge of the tank as if to see what's going on! This was Bay's Christmas present...he has been asking for a fish for a long time. He's very happy with his new companion.

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was this book...and when we got home from our trip, both Bay and Leah already had projects picked out for me to get started on. I was happy to oblige them!
This is Piggy Pie

And here is Bay's Space Man..not sure if that's an actual name or just a description, but either way it fits him well!