I see you project

Most New Years resolutions are geared around fitness, drinking less, quitting smoking, etc. All great and worth pursuits. Often these resolutions are short lived. True lifestyle changes usually are better made gradually over a long period of time. Terry is on day 30 of a detox diet, consisting mostly of juices and smoothies made from fresh fruits and veggies....and for the most part he has stuck with it and has lost about 15 pounds. Me, I didn't really put much weight into a resolution, more like a life goal that I have been thinking about that has been evolving over many months designed to help me to have a more positive experience in this life. I realized that when I am unhappy, that feeling is usually related to or focused on a person. So my goal is to see you (all people I encounter) not through my eyes, but through my Heavenly Father's eye.....to see past your circumstances, your gender, religion, your race, your culture, your words, your life style choices, your sexuality, your disability etc. To see you in the raw and perfect form that God designed you with unlimited potential. I am trying to see past your temporal choices, the things that I might not like or agree with. I am trying to love everyone, even when they aren't easy for me to even like. I am trying to judge less, understand and help more, and just be at peace.

back to school

family

Edit 4/18/21

I just noticed the date of this post was the day before loosing our sweet son Caleb.

I don't know if that had an impact on my continuing this blog. but it has been hard and I know it must have, because this blog was a celebration of the joy of this family, which is now, temporarily, a little less complete.

Been a bit busy....

....because we have a new baby in our family!

I am still not getting full night sleeps three weeks later, a harder transition than Andre's. Caleb is 17 months old, and the kids are loving having him....mom and dad too.

I probably should have...

Just posted these on here, but it is kind of different than just our regular family blog so I started a new blog: http://livingoncents.blogspot.com/
This blog is about coping with all of the allergies Andre has and how we are adapting things for him and saving a ton of money while doing it too! It is all about frugal living and doing things for yourself. I have a lot of posts already planned and I wanted all of these ideas in the one, same place so I can go back and reference them without sorting through all of the other stuff I post about in this blog even though a lot of it overlaps.

Bitter Blue Bobble Booties

This free pattern is available for personal and charitable use only, and is only for the booties. Patterns for the rest of the set may be made available at a later date. You do not have permission to sell this pattern or items made from it, if you would like to sell items made from it please contact me to obtain permission and consider making a donation to our adoption fund. These booties are designed to fit a new baby, but can be made slightly larger or smaller by using finer or thicker yarn or adjusting your needle size.

Guage is 15 stiches and 20 rows in stockinette equals approximately 3"x3"

Made using sport weight yarn and US size 3 needles.



co 30 sts in french blue

k1 p1 across then change to chocolate and rib 5 more rows

stockinet for 6 rows

eyelete row *k1, yo, k2t* across

p across
k across
p across
k10, k1, m1, k4, m1, k4, m1, k1 turn

p13 turn

k13 turn

p13 turn

k13 turn

p 13 turn

k3, work bobble on stitch 4, k5, wor bobble, k3

p13 turn

k13 turn

p13 turn

k6, bobble, k6

p across
k across
p across
k, pick up an knit 7 stitches on side, then k10 to end of row

p30, pick up an purl 7 stitches on side then p10 to end (47 stitches)

k across
p across
k across
p across
k across
p across
k across

sole

k k2t k14 k2t k9 k2t k14 k2t k

k k2t k13 k2t k7 k2t k13 k2t k

k k2t k12 k2t k5 k2t k12 k2t k

k k2t k11 k2t k3 k2t k11 k2t k

k k2t k10 k2t k1 k2t k10 k2t k

bo all stitches

sew up seam and make a 10 inch icord as the tie or use ribbon weaved through the eyeletes. Use basic embroidery to accent booties with a feminine touch.

Make two alike.

Family of 7 portrait!

Our first family portrait as a family of seven! It was a hectic day battling to get everyone ready, but in the end it worked out....can't believe it is possible that in a few months we could be doing this again as a family of nine!

Spoiled....

My sweet husband and kids surprised me with an early Christmas present yesterday. I am so excited about the greenhouse and have planted all the heirloom veggies I got for free on Listia. I can't wait to see what comes up and eat the delicious fresh veggies. The kids also planted tons of flowers in my little love heart garden in the very front of our house yesterday and it looks so pretty. I LOVE our autumns and winters here and am looking forward to getting out potato and onion crops in soon and trying out some sweet potato this year too! I will post pictures soon!!!!! To top off my holiday weekend, we are waiting on Princess Laya to deliver our first bunnies of the breeding season, she has built a nest of hay and fur and is probably waiting for the cover of night for the arrival.

Small things, big miracles.

When Ethan was born and suffered a severe Hypoxic Ischemic insult (HIE) we never would have dreamed where we would be at today. His life was destined to be very short and probably spent in a vegetative state. I don't know that we fully understood the gravity of the situation at the time. I was getting my dream come true to be a mom and I wasn't going to let a little brain damage get in the way. It is only now after all the struggles and fights and ups and downs, unknowns and clear test results that we have a better picture. There was only one thing that mattered back then, and that was that I was going to cherish every moment I had with my son and do what a mom is suppose to do.....love, nurture and teach. You have to take what doctors tell you with a grain of salt and realize that ONLY Heavenly Father knows what is in store for this precious life and rely on him to give you the strength to face what ever may come. I have been incredibly blessed that Ethan was not in a vegetative state, and his life was not ever meant to be as short as doctors anticipated. I have been given this amazing child who despite many challenges is very determined and goal oriented. That said there are a great many things Ethan has accomplished in his 10 years, but just recently, the he has gone through a huge developmental growth spurt. These may seem like very small things to the parents of a typical child, but they are miracles to us. Ethan's latest accomplishments are things that I certainly did not expect to happen....he is completely out of diapers, and today marks 5 weeks without a tube feeding. It has been a tremendous amount of effort but with our help Ethan has met two of his goals....I can say he met them because I know how stubborn my son is and I know that after his effort he will never go back to tube feeding as he really wants it out for his eleventh birthday and I will do all I can to help him make that happen.

Hand made Christmas, progress

Almost done with this one, but the kids will be home soon so I need to put it away until tomorrow. I also made another head and am working on yarn hair for her. More pictures tomorrow!

How about...

A Home Made Christmas Challenge instead????? Trying out some cloth dolls and thinking I might make some for the kids for christmas, as well as to use as adoption fund raising items. The first one is turning out super cute so far! I will post pictures maybe tomorrow!

Isn't it about time for a Kids Clothes Week Challenge?

I think next week I will do my kids clothes week challenge....since it is a little late to think about doing it for this week!

Funny things kids say....

Well, my youngest daughter, Chloe age 6, got strep throat after the first week of school and had to spend the last two days at home. This morning she exclaims as she throws open the front door to wait for the bus, "HELLO FREEDOM!" at the top of her lungs!

Thought for the day....

If you BELIEVE in something, you shouldn't be afraid to stand up and say it.

A couple days ago a good friend of mine posted a joke that not only was a bit offensive but went against religious fundamentals I believe (my friend is of the same church). I gently stated that I found the idea of it distasteful because of my principles and morals. I was then attacked verbally for my beliefs by another individual. I don't have any problem hearing other views as long as there are truthful and rational explanations that support their views, it is never as simple as just saying this is what I think, there is always a WHY, if there is not a why, it really has no value. I try to look and things and circumstances from many perspectives before developing my own conclusions. I find it very disturbing when a person says they believe in something, that it means so much to them, but then they will speak out against the fundamentals of what they say they believe in. Relative to the situation mentioned above, I believe that we have leaders, (political, religious, community and family) for a reason, and that country, church, community and family require a level of support from citizens and members in order for them to function. I may not always agree with everything the leader says or does, but I support them and pray for their guidance. I believe that failure to do so would contribute to the degradation and decay and ultimately the demise of the said organization. I believe these institutions were designed for a divine purpose and are vital and neccessary for an eternal plan of salvation. I believe the laws and commandments of my Heavenly Father are the same are still the same from the time of creation and have not changed to comply with man's idea of what is right and acceptable. I strongly believe that genocide, no matter the circumstances is ethically and morally wrong. A persons ethnicity and beliefs are owned unto himself, and while they might be different than mine they are not justification for ritual execution because I don't agree with them. I believe that in the end, God will hold man accountable for what he knows and how he acted on that knowledge in deed and in thought. I believe that every man has amazing potential for good as well as ill, we also have an incredible capacity to discover for ourselves the path we would like to take and are not blindly lead by any other choice than our own. I encourage you to KNOW and OWN what you believe and think long on ideas before you take them to heart.

Our Adoption Journey!: Back to School 2011

Our Adoption Journey!: Back to School 2011:
Newest pictures of the kids are on our adoption blog!

Our Adoption Journey!: Holding my Breath....

Our Adoption Journey!: Holding my Breath....: "....hoping that the certification comes back from the court this week. The weekend away did help some....but I had a stomach bug while we we..."

Our Adoption Journey!: Being a MOM

Our Adoption Journey!: Being a MOM: "While sitting in the movie theater today with my children I was reflecting on the value of being a stay at home mom. We go to a kid friendly..."

Our Adoption Journey!: So touched....

Our Adoption Journey!: So touched....: "I guess it is because I don't see what I do day in day out as extraordinary or special I was shocked and humbled when I read my husband's no..."

Yummy!

Fresh potatoes from our garden. I can't believe how well the yukon golds did this year....not to mention the zucchini which always does well and the egg plant! Helen is learning to peel potatoes so she can help with dinner tonight ;0)

Our Adoption Journey!: Keeping busy....

Our Adoption Journey!: Keeping busy....: "For my birthday, I picked out this beautiful fabric and over the last few days I made a Mei Tai Carrier and a beautiful one of a kind diaper..."