A Gift, A Thank You

At the end of February, on a Wednesday evening...after coming home from church, Mike and I noticed a gift bag on the side of our driveway by the flowerbed.  Mike parked the van and I ran back outside to see what was there.  I picked up the bag and it was surprisingly heavy!  As I looked inside I saw 3 copies of A Gift of Time.  (I wrote a post about it here.)  I mentioned earlier this was the book for which I submitted Noah's Story.  I also mentioned that I wanted to donate a few copies to my perinatologists office.  Not only did I think it would be insightful for the staff, but more importantly they have a lending library for moms/families to utilize.

I searched in the bag for a card or note or something...NOTHING.  An anonymous gift?!  I was SOOO excited to be able to deliver these to the doctors office in memory of Noah and Joanna.  So, whoever you are...THANK YOU FOR BLESSING ME, and many other families who will read Noah's story as well as those of many other families who have walked this difficult road of loss!

"That's when I knew..."

A "Light Bulb" moment for my 6 year old...

Mike and I were having a conversation with Drew as we were driving in the car.  The boys like when Mike does trivia with them...name that song, riddles, math problems, whatever!  Drew has memorized many a math problem...mostly doubling numbers...i.e. 10+10=20, 20+20=40, 40+40=80 and so on = like up to 3,200 - he's so funny!!

Drew started sharing about an incident that happened on the bus that week.  He said a cocky little 1st grader asked him, the puny little kindergartner, what 80+80 was.  Of course, Drew KNEW it was 160!

The first grader, however, was NOT convinced.

But Drew became even more confident with his answer when the 5th grader sitting nearby piped up and said HE was RIGHT!

And that was it...

"The moment he knew," he told us...

As I looked back at Drew telling his story, he was smiling from ear to ear and nodding his head up and down, only as a satisfied kindergartner could do...

He said with all confidence and sincerity..."and that's when I knew...I was smarter than a FIRST grader!"

Yes folks, in case you didn't know...

...LET IT NOW BE KNOWN...

...we have a Kindergartner that is SMARTER than a 1st grader.

And Mike and I couldn't contain the laughter at our sons enlightening moment!!

Ain't parenting grand!!

Gotta LOVE this kid - nergartner!!

Nesting?

...Nesting?...Um, yeah...IT HAS BEGUN!

I haven't made any blankets this time...instead, I'm stuck on...

HATS!

I tried a pattern I found here.  I liked the little bobbles!  CUTE!  UNIQUE! Can't wait to try this one out on my little GIRL!

I also tried crocheting a cocoon...I just used some yarn I had on hand, but I'm planing to make another one...variegated brown, along with a hat with little bear ears and pink ribbons...can't wait!!  I spent an afternoon drooling totally inspired by the creativity of the hats/cocoons I found on etsy...WOW!

Soon, of course, I'll be breaking out the sewing machine to make these peanut shaped burp cloths!  I've stocked up on some fun, pretty, girly, flannel.  I made these for Jen's little girl Evie...thus the "e."

I'll have to save a few back to make later, so I can do a "letter" too.  No news on the name front...I have one I like/keep coming back to, but nothing set in stone yet, having a hard time with a middle name.  We'll most likely keep her name a surprise anyway :)  So, you'll have to wait, oh...11 more weeks or so!!

What do you do when...

you have 3 days off from school?

During a BLIZZARD?

Play outside, of course!

A Milestone

This last week I made it to 27 weeks.  Lots of emotions as I thought about/compared my pregnancy now with Joanna's - the last week I carried her.  So many memories...

I'm thoroughly enjoying feeling Baby K move and kick, not so much the heartburn, but I'll take it.  Can't wait to see what SHE will look like.  Trent and Drew have indulged me by walking throughout the baby sections of whatever store we happen to be in.  I got a 10 dollar reward from JCPenny and I thought it would be fun to see if we could find a good deal...preferably free.  I haven't allowed myself to buy anything for her yet!  When I commented to Drew that there were just too many outfits to choose from...he gladly took over and picked out a cute outfit set for his sister and it only cost $2!!

I also received my copy of the book A Gift of Time.  Not quite a year after Noah was born I saw on the Perinatal Hospice website that two ladies were asking for submissions to help write this book.  I sent in Noah's story, answering various questions they supplied on a questionnaire.  So, Tuesday I sat on the couch - 3 years later - and just cried as I read several of my very own quotes...bringing me back to those very moments...emotions so raw.  So thankful that Noah's legacy will continue to touch the lives of families that are going through similar situations even now.  I trust this will be a great resource for families to read when given their own devastating diagnosis.  I'll be saving up to get a few copies to give to my doctors office!!  You can read a few excerpts on amazon.com, just click on the book cover.

After the boy's b-ball games, Mike helped me clear out our catch all/office/craft/computer room.  We set up the crib our friend gave us (thanks Ian for moving to your big boy bed!).  One of about the only things that didn't sell at our garage sale was the baby bedding.  So, I just got that out too.  The other half of the room will continue to house my office and the boy's desk/computer.  I organized the closet floor to ceiling with all my craft stuff.  So, needless to say, I'm glad to get this part done while I'm still feeling good.  Want a peek of the work in progress?

A little B-ball action...

Trent and Drew have started playing basketball at the Y.  Mike is having fun coaching both teams, so it makes for a busy day.  Mike, shall we say... repeats himself A LOT...so that's "fun" (ahh the joys of teaching...I just smile as I remember back to my own teaching days.)  It's definately a job to keep 10 kids on track while teaching basic skills and coaching the game, but we are both glad he has the opportunity to get involved.   I'm excited to see how much they'll improve over the 10 weeks or so!  Here are just a few pics I was able to snap of the boys last week.  ENJOY!!
**Be sure to check out what's been  happening since I last posted in October.  I will date my posts about the time they occurred, so make sure you scroll down to see what we've been up too!!**

Feelin' Crafty

I've been working on a few projects.  It started before Christmas with some presents - this bag - I made for my SIL and my SIL to be.  I even picked up some fabric to make a cute - small diaper bag of sorts for the little girl that will be joining us in April.  I found this "Moma Bag" from the book...Handmade Home.  I, of course, had to add some pockets on the inside!  See, what do you think...

I also seached the internet for a tutorial on how to make a camera strap cover.  I used fabric I had from previous projects...it was really fun to do something quick.  Click on the pictures for a link to the tutorials I used.