Masterpieces: My deer for Valentine's Day

More than a month has past with no posts...  Last post was a bit intense and wasn't sure how to follow it up...but thankfully I finished some knitting so let's start there! 

Project details
Ravelry Project link
Pattern: my dear - a deer trophy by Claire Garland
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Natural
Cast on: February 3rd, 2015
Finished: February 13th, 2015
Notes: When I saw this pattern, I simply knew I had to knit it for my hubby!  He's a hunter and has been hoping to get a buck so he could get it mounted.  His grandfather has one that is named Buckey and I know it's always been special to my husband.  I figured while he's waiting for his, I would make him this one.  I wasn't sure if he would like it but he loved it!  I was so happy with his reaction and it put him back on the knit list. .He had been put on the no-knit list because of an incident with a hat from Target.  I'm not going to run out and start knitting him a bunch of stuff but he's knit worthy again.

I haven't talked too much about this on the blog but I swear I'm NOT a toy knitter!  I keep repeating this to myself as I seam things together.  I want to love it because they are so cute but I struggle with the stuffing and seaming.  My Christmas secret knitting for the girls is still...well not done!

I had an issue with this one because I overstuffed the head...which I had understuffed the last toy I knit and struggled so I was thinking I was learning from my mistake by making another one.  The head after you knit it on a loose gauge is supposed to shrink down. BUT if you over stuff it...it won't shrink and hence will be slightly too big.  After throwing a small temper tantrum, I'm really happy with how it came out and SO excited that my husband actually hung it on his wall with his other prized stuff.

Hope you like it!

Happy Knitting!

Did you knit your significant other a Valentine's Day gift?

Currently: my blogging voice, family, knitting, holidays

Hi long lost bloggy friends!  I miss you all and I miss this space.  Some how over the last couple months I have lost my blogging voice and I'm not sure how to get it back.  I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write a blog post and just get lost.  It always comes back to where do I start and what do I say.  I've been blogging at this space for over 7 years and in that time I've had one podcast, which has been put to rest, and now doing another.  I realize this space isn't the same as my podcast but for some reason I can't figure out what I want this space to be.  As I work this all out, I still want to share what's going on in my life as I always have.  So today we are going to start with a Currently post.  Hope you enjoy!

Currently:

I'm FRUSTRATED with my lack of voice on this blog.  As my life has changed, this blog has changed and I love going back and reading old post about what I was focusing on or thinking about.  I don't want to let this space go quite yet. I need to turn the frustration into planning and organizing the blog posts that are swirling around my brain.

I'm RELIEVED that my girls, hubby, and I have been managing our newish schedule well.  The change happened over 90 days ago and I don't really want to share lots of details but my hubby got a different job with different hours. This change has changed everything about our work week so it was a bit of a transition.  I was happy for my husband because the job change is so good for him but at the start I was very stressed about how it would effect our family.  We've had some difficult times of lack of sleep but overall I think everyone is doing well with the it.

I'm THANKFUL for my local family, who always steps in to help whenever we need them.  When our schedule first changed, I had to have surgery but it was not the greatest timing.  My family was very supportive of me getting the surgery as soon as possible as the doctors were suggesting and they all pulled together and helped me in every way they could.  Without them there, I'm not sure it would have gone as smoothly nor would I have healed as well.

I'm DELIGHTED that I have been able to knit quite a bit lately.  I don't feel like I've had all that much progress because of the lack of finished objects but I have actually been getting a lot done!  As I've said many times, knitting is my therapy and my mind is a better place when I have time to knit.  I have some very pretty things to share with you all soon!!
I'm EAGER to start decorating my home for CHRISTmas this weekend!  I love our home with the Christmas tree lit and my nativity scenes out.  It just makes our home feel so warm and full of holiday cheer!  We won't be in town for the week of Christmas this year but my sister is going to be staying at the house for the week with the pups!  I figured why not get my Christmas decorations up early so we can enjoy them longer and she will then get to enjoy them the week she's staying at the house.  My sister's family across the street will also get to enjoy our outdoor lights so it's worth it.   Picture is from last year.
I'm BEWILDERED how my first daughter is about to turn 4 on Dec 1st!  How is she already 4?  The time has flown by but she is just blossomed into this smart, kind, and loving child that fills this mama with pride!  I can't wait to celebrate her birthday with our family and friends on Dec 6th!  Someone got her a pretty awesome experience gift for the following day that I can't wait to experience with her!!!

I'm EXCITED about all that is coming in the next couple weeks.  My favorite holidays are Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I love spending time with family and give me a turkey dinner and this momma is happy!  I also love Christmas traditions!  This year we are road tripping up to spend the week with Special K's family and I'm so excited about it!  We haven't been up there in 2 years and I am looking forward to the girls getting time with their cousins, Grandma, Aunt, Graunt, and more! I can't wait for them to all meet Miss Maria and get to know her.  Will be an adventure as it's our first LONG road trip with them but I'm so very excited! 

 

I feel LOVED.  With our new schedule, my husband and I don't have lots of time together but the time we do have is spent focusing on family and quality time.  I'm so grateful for everything he does every day for our family.  He works so hard and loves us so much.  I can't express how much he means to me but I look forward to celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary next month and many many more in the future.

Thank you for reading!

How are you currently feeling?

This moment - my girls

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo(or several) – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

FO alert: Special K's Christmas Stocking

Two years ago at Christmas time, I realized that if you looked at my house with our Christmas decorations you wouldn't know that I was a Knitter.  That prompted me to begin my scheming so that one day when the holiday's came around, knitting would literally throw up all over our home!  Each year I plan to knit something new for holiday decorations.  The first step in this plan was to knit stockings.  I was only able to complete the ones for my daughters last year before Christmas came so this year my goal is to have the Dad and Mom ones completed.

Here are the ones I completed for the girls last year.  I used the same pattern and yarn for these as the details below for Special K's but if you want to see the specifics of these you can check out the project pages for Carmen's and Maria's on ravelry.  As you can tell, I opted to stray from the typical green and red Christmas colors.

And here is Special K's stocking all ready for this Christmas!  After my sister gave him the idea, he wanted Michigan colors as he's a big fan! Ignore the wall design...it is not my favorite but we haven't started redoing the living room since we moved in.

Project details
Ravelry Project link
Pattern: A NEW Family Portrait - A Collection of Three Christmas Stockings by Dorene Delaney Giordano
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cascade 220® Sport
Cast on: May 19th, 2014
Finished: July 18, 2014
Notes:  I am so happy with how this came out!  The stocking for Carmen was my first colorwork and I was so nervous.  Color work is actually easier than I had anticipated but it is so potato chipy!  That means that I just can't do one row and want to just knit the next line to see where the pattern goes.  It's so fun to knit and I can't wait to see them all up and making my house festive. 

My only real struggle with these was getting the tension of the floats correct on the sides where the loops of the needles are.  I knit these using the magic loop method.   I think my tension is still a bit tight although Maria's was knit a little looser as I was more comfortable with it then.

I was so excited to have completed his stocking this weekend that I immediately wound yarn and cast mine on Sunday night!  It's not going to count for big points in the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup but I think I'll have to just live with that.  UNLESS I can finish mine in 10 days and then it will be lots of class points.

All in all, I'm so glad I picked this pattern, which is very well written.  She has a ton of other similar patterns to choose from so if you want to have different patterns for all your family you can.   The last step for all of these will be to line them but I'm waiting until they are all complete before I do that.

Happy Knitting!

What holiday decorations have you knit or crocheted for your house?  Are you planning to craft some this year?

Garden Love: Flowers, tomatoes, and plants.

Flowers...colorful...full of life...love...potential...flowers!

Cheating with the picture above...this is actually a flower growing in front of my sister Fleas house, who lives across the street. It's just so beautiful I had to share. Now let's begin...

My all time favorite flowers are Gerber Daisies but I'm not brave enough to grow them yet...it's coming.  Over the years, I have had potted plants that have survived my care but having moved 10 times in a year between 2004-2005 I stopped dragging them with me.  When we were renting, Special K always persuaded me not to buy plants and flowers because he knew we would just have to move them.  Pretty sure if I had been willing to part with more of my books, he might have not stood his ground on this one.

When we finally closed on our house last year, I wanted to get busy planting new things!  I wrote about my first attempt with 2 of the planters attached to our house in this post.  It's fun to see what we were doing then and to see the little we began with. 

One of the planters did really well through the Florida winter without much care.  The crotons we planted at the end of last year didn't grow much but they weren't dieing.   The surprising thing is plants that we had tried to plant and things I threw into this planter because they were dieing in pots all of a sudden popped out of the ground in late winter!  So below is what it looked like back in early April at the start of Spring. (please ignore the wood covering that window...that was a little accident the doggies did while we were at work.  Neither of them were injured when they broke the window. It has since been replaced with some plexiglass so that they can't do that again. Can't wait until we replace that whole window!)

The picture below is what it looked like last week.  The vinca that is growing out of this planter was never planted there but I love how it looks.  Although out of place, I refuse to move it since it's doing so well.  I may transplant it eventually but for now I am enjoying all the flowers it produces.
Right behind the vinca is one of the pentas that I attempted to plant last year that had completely died but I didn't remove.  After the winter, it just popped right up and is doing great!

Then there is this tomato plant, which I forgot I had dumped there and really held no hope for it growing.  Early this year, I saw it pop up and I asked a couple people what they thought it was and most said it was a weed...until the day I ripped it out of the ground and my husband smelled it and told me it was a tomato plant.  Why I hadn't asked him before, I'm not sure.  Lesson learned.  I kicked myself several times for pulling out that tomato plant and was not expecting a new one to grow but surprisingly enough here I have a new tomato plant!  Special K put a dowel in so that we can have it vine up. It is doing very well with daily watering even with the summer heat in FL.

 So excited to see those little yellow flowers!  YAY!

The other planter never was mulched so by the end of winter it was over-run with weeds, grass and needed lots of care. Wish I had a picture of what it looked like before I did all the work.  There is also a small black snake that is living inside the left part of this planter but I've only seen twice and never with the girls with me. I usually make noise as they get close to give the snake some time to go back into it's hiding place before we get there.  When I was digging right by the opening to his home, I never once saw him.  I did talk to him about not bothering me while I garden in there.
On the Saturday before Father's Day, the girls, Special K, my sister Fleas, and I all ventured to Home Depot where we bought some mulch and plants.  I let Carmen pick some and I wasn't paying too close attention so I came home with 3 crown of thorns...those were dug up the next day and I tested out Home Depots plant return/exchange policy and came back home with some vincas.
Before I planted anything, I inspected what was there and decided I would keep several of the vincas that were doing well.  I then proceeded to rip everything else out and transplanted one of the vincas that seemed to be doing ok but wasn't where I wanted it.  It's fun to have all these fresh flower and too see all the potential beauty they will bring to this area of my home.

It makes me so happy to see colorful flowers begin to grow around our home.  When we moved in, we had lovely trees and green bushes but no color.  I have some fun ideas that I can't wait to make happen...Special K doesn't know about my idea for him to build a window box planter under our long window in the front. I don't think he doesn't read the blog so I'm safe. hehe! In the picture above, it's the far window on the other side of the front steps.  We plan to work on a flower bed between this planter and the front steps eventually.  Special K also would like small palm trees in that flower bed.  So much potential... 

Happy Gardening!

Have you done any gardening this Spring?  What has been your favorite plant to see grow in your garden?  Have you planted any fruit or veggies?

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: If I were to win the lottery, 5 Things I'd Buy

This would require actually playing lottery, which my husband and I don't do but it was fun to discuss this week's topic with him as I made my list.  Some of these were on both our lists and one wasn't.  Here are the first 5 things we would buy...

 

1. Pay off our house. Enough said...no monthly mortgage!

2. New cars...I really want a minivan!  Yes, call me soccer mom or whatever you'd like but it would be great to have a minivan with all the extras!  There have been countless times that we've borrowed my sister's minivan because neither our cars fit more than just our family.  Special K really wants a new truck and I would love him to get a new one with a bigger back seat! 

3. Renovate our house.  We have a list of things we plan to do within the next couple years but if we had lottery money then we could do them all right now!

4. A vacation cabin in the mountains.  Not sure exactly where this would be but would love a nice cabin to vacation to.

5. Pay off family mortgages or buy them a house.  We would pay off or purchase a home for each of our parents and our siblings.

Kenny added another one that I wish I would have thought of before I made my list but it would definitely be something that would be on the top of our list if we did have this money. His great idea was to set up trust and college funds for the girls!   When I thought of this list, I thought of right now...figured I wanted immediate satisfaction. 

What would the first 5 things you buy be?

A Series of Thoughts: Maria's Birth Story Part 2

We left off here with me heading to the hospital to hopefully have this baby girl! 

On the way to the hospital my contractions kept coming regularly and with a vengeance. The trip to the hospital thankfully is a quick one but it felt like it took forever. Before I knew it though, we were pulling up and Fleas was letting me out. She had to drive over a bit to get the car valeted because it was pretty late and the Baby Place valet was closed. I went to check in and the security guy offered me a wheelchair several times but I didn't want one...I wanted to keep contracting and sitting was uncomfortable so I just stood there, swayed, and waited for her. As soon as we got up the elevator and onto the Baby Place floor, my sister grabbed the paperwork, which after being there 3 times before during this pregnancy and twice with my first, we were pros at filling out. She had to help me this time because I was having trouble focusing enough to write my information down...another clue that this was probably it!

We got checked in and taken back to triage.  The nurse had me change into the hospital gown, lie down, and get checked.  This part is hands down my least favorite part.  At this point I was 3.5 cms and super soft.  She said they wanted me to stay in bed being monitored for 15 mins, walk for 45, and then she would check me again and at that point call and ask doctor what she would like to do.  I asked who was on call for the practice I go to and when she said Dr. T, I was thrilled!  Not only is she my favorite docor in the practice but also the one who delivered Carmen! I thought the triage nurse's plan sounded fine but told her that after being in pain and contracting for the last 2 weeks, I want an epidural and I wanted as soon as I could get it!!  She got us both some water and off she went.

I stayed in bed on the monitors and continued to labor for15 mins.  I was really having to work through the contractions and was happy when the nurse came back in and told me I could walk around.  I was ready to get things progressing and I told my sister that I can't go home...I was in too much pain!  She agreed and we began to walk the halls.  As we walked, I was struggling more and more with each contraction.  I don't remember this whole area of the hospital last time as I didn't walk around like I did this time.  

We waddled by the nurses station for the labor and delivery rooms and I noticed there was a younger male nurse.  I didn't remember seeing any men on this side 2 years ago.  I even commented to my sister how I didn't recall any male nurses back here.  We continued walking and stopped in the room with drinks for a quick drink.  I knew as soon as I got my IV, they weren't going to let me drink anymore so I wanted to get some liquid in before I had to resort to only ice chips.  At this point, I was really in pain and thought I was ready to waddle back to the triage room.  

We got to the room and still had 10 mins before she was coming to check me.  I tried laboring sitting down and decided that I was NOT going to do that again.  I kept changing standing positions and my sister helped me focus on my breathing and held my hand during each contraction.  Not sure I could have made it through this part without her as she kept me focused.  During both pregnancies, I found when I was going through a tough contraction I had to close my eyes and breath or I would start getting a bit panicky.  It felt like an eternity passed before the nurse finally came in to check me again.  She checked and said that I was progressing but not by much.  She asked if I had a procedure done when I was younger that may have left scar tissue on my cervix and I said yes.  This was the exact thing that prevented progress with Carmen.  She said she could break up the scar tissue now but didn't recommend it because I was already in so much pain she worried that it would progress me too fast.  She said they would wait until after I got my epidural.  I agreed to that!  Before she left the room to talk to the doctor, I told her to please tell Dr. T that I can't go home and that I am asking for pain meds NOW!!  I told the nurse that Dr. T would know I was serious if she shared that with her.  

Before having Carmen, Dr. T and I discussed at length trying for a med free birth and after 14+ hrs of slow progress and lots of pain, I got the epidural and couldn't have been happier.  After that birth and throughout this pregnancy, I had talked about trying to go med free again but after the 2 weeks I had just gone through...I was at the state where I wanted drugs and I wanted them NOW! 

The nurse went off to call the doctor and ask her if I was to be admitted or not.  My sister helped me continue to labor.  Not 5 mins later, the young man I had seen at the nurses station knocks and comes in and through the door I hear the best words come from the triage nurse, "She said to admit you!!"  Relief came over me as I couldn't imagine that I wasn't in labor or that they could possibly send me home!  

The nice young man, who had a southern accent and manners, proceeded to set me up to put in my IV.  He asked if I minded and I said go ahead but please promise me that you'll get it in one try!  2 weeks prior to this, the nurse had blown a vein in my arm so bad that I still had a bruise to show him.  He said he would try his best and I wanted to kiss him when he did it quickly and in one try!  He started my IV and got some of my vitals as we waited for another nurse to come take me to labor and delivery.

When the nurse arrived she asked if I wanted a wheel chair to head to my room or walk. After experiencing what it felt like to contract sitting down I declined and said let's walk. She looked at me in shock and asked again and I said no wheel chair lets go!  As we started a contraction came on and I had to labor through it...the nurses at the station asked the one helping me why I wasn't in a wheel chair and she giggled and told them I said let's do it!  That made me laugh.  We walked/labored as fast as we could over to my l&d room and got me settled in.

My labor and delivery nurse came in and introduced herself.  She was my favorite person all night!  She started asking a bunch of questions and got me into bed and back on the monitors.  One monitor for the contractions and one for the baby's heartbeat.  I tried to answer everything as quickly as possible and was just trying to get her finished and get her to get me meds!  She said she was going to go put in my order for my epidural and I quickly asked "Can I please have something now while we wait for anesthesiologist?"  She said she would check to see what orders the doctor put in and she would be back. 

By this point, my sister had already called Special K and put into motion the plan.  My niece Surfer girl had headed over to our house and my husband was on his way.  I was looking forward to having him with us.  He showed up just in time for the nurse to come in and start me on the meds through my IV. She had warned me it would make me loopy and within mins I felt high but it helped.  Special K took out his phone and recorded me all loopy!  We all were chatting and laughing and excited that baby was coming!!  I was happy to know my epidural was on it's way!  Check out this smile while I was in labor.  Can't remember if this was pre or post epidural but I know there was meds in me. :)

Please come back soon for the final part of this birth story, when Miss Maria finally joins us.

A Series of Thoughts: Maria's Birth Story Part 1

Our birth story has been something I've gone back and forth on sharing.  I had been wanting to share Carmen's birth story for so long but wasn't sure how to go about it.  One of my favorite things to read on other mommy blogs are their birth stories so I decided to finally jump in and share Maria's while it's still fresh in my memory.  I will warn you now...I can never be straight and to the point so I'm going to break this up into several parts to bring you along on my journey to having my babiest girl Maria Anne.  I may go back and share Carmen's as well since I still remember the details and I wrote it out but haven't posted publicly.

For those of you who were following along with my pregnancy, we ended at this post at 37 weeks...a week before Maria decided to join us.  We left off with me ready for her to come! I had finally given her the eviction notice but she wasn't ready.  That week I spent walking almost every day and generally trying to move things along.  I wasn't able to do much and mainly I would get the contractions going but once I took a shower, relaxed, and sat down they would slow and usually go back to just braxton hicks.

The week of March 25th was Spring Break for all my sisters(yes they are all teachers here) and many of them were planning to travel.  My sister G was flying out to Colorado Monday afternoon to drive back with her daughter, and my sister Fleasbyte was planning to leave Tuesday morning to drive around FL to check out colleges for her daughter.  These were the 2 that had jobs to do...so I did some stressing about what if this baby comes while they are both gone!  Aunt G's job was Carmen while I was in labor...but I was mostly concerned about Fleasbyte being gone since she is pretty much my doula...and a great doula at that!  She was there with Special K and I during Carmen's birth and she was such a great support for both of us.

The weekend started with one goal...get this baby out before Monday or she was going to have to stay put until Friday when they would all return.  I had the ok to move things along from my doctor, however, as with Carmen the most I was willing to do was walk her out.  Operation Waddle This baby out was in full effect, yet it was not successful in the way I had hoped.  I would waddle around the lake by my house and get home and be contracting and in lots of pain for several hours but it wouldn't push me into labor.  I would end up very sore and exhausted but with no baby.  After trying to keep labor at bay for 2 weeks I was ready yet she wasn't.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;...Prov 3:5-Prov 3:6

I knew in my heart God had a plan for this baby and knew her birth day was already planned but I had to have faith in his timing not mine.  This has been the theme for Maria's whole exists for me really.  Even before we got pregnant, I was praying for her and wanting to know when we'd get pregnant but I had to rely on God's plan in my life and wait as patiently as I could for him to show it to me.  So, here we were again...God teaching me a lesson in persistent, patience and trusting in his plan.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD....Psalms 27:14

That Monday March 25th came and I decided since labor had not started that I had to just let it go and get some rest.  I was exhausted from the 2 weeks I'd been contracting and in pain and I knew that if this baby was coming soon or not for another 2 week I had to give my body a real break and rest.  The plan for Monday was to lay around, knit, and try to get some sleep.  It started out pretty well.  As it had been routine, daddy got up with Carmen and they said their good byes to me as I slept in and tried to sleep as late as my body would allow.  My sister G called and asked if I wanted to go to Walmart with her just for a quick trip to get out of the house.

It was a short trip and we didn't walk around too much.  We were in, got what we needed and got out of there.  However, at this point I looked like a freak show that was about to POP so everyone had to either look at me strangely or say something.  It was interesting because people would look at me waddling around and you could tell they either wanted to say something or would blurt out the first thing that came to mind and then feel bad for saying something.  I don't know how many times I was asked how far along I was and looked at in amazement when I said not due for another 2 weeks.  I understood their need to say something...it looked like Maria was about to fall off my body!  I was a freak show!

After we got home from Walmart, I set up my spot on the couch...I had already worn a good indent into the corner of our couch from spending the last 2 weeks hanging out there.  I spent the afternoon watching TV, knitting, and catnapping.  My sister G boarded a plan that afternoon and was off on her CO adventure to drive her daughter back.  My other sisters Fleasbyte and CZbrats drove her to the airport that afternoon and then went shopping and had dinner before they returned from Tampa.  They all asked me not to go into labor while they were on the other side of the Howard Franklin bridge.   I told them I would try and stayed on the couch.

At around 3:30pm, I dragged my large body off the couch and went to pick up my girl Carmen from daycare.  I brought her home and we hung out while waiting for her daddy.  He arrived and we ate dinner and during dinner my contractions started back up.  He told me to go lay down and again as it had become the usual, he did bath, books, and bedtime with Carmen.  As I laid on the couch, the contractions kept coming.  I was concerned because they had come on after doing no activity.  They were about 4-5 mins apart at this point, which wasn't unusual but always concerning, and so I decided lets take a shower and see if they slow or hurt less, which had been doing the trick to make them go away.  They didn't slow or change at all but started to intensify.  I texted Fleasbyte, who lives across the street, and said "You are going to think I'm joking but I think we might have to go in to the hospital tonight...going to lay down and we'll make the call in 45 mins"  She replied with she's jumping in the shower and going to be ready.

I then laid back down on my spot on the couch and the contractions started to intensify even more!  I was having to really breath through them and I was timing them and they were on average 4 mins apart.  Special K as usual was giving me space and just kept checking on me.  After about 30 mins, I knew it was time to get going and called him back in from the 3rd bedroom where he had set up shop and texted my sister "let's go NOW!!"  I remember standing with Special K and laboring through a really bad contraction and my sister walking in.  I saw the concern on their faces and they knew it was go time to!

We had decided during our first labor scare that Special K would stay behind with Carmen until I was admitted and then he'd start the process of getting my niece Surfer Girl, originally my sister G, over to the house to stay with Carmen and he'd join us.  Only one person was allowed with me in triage and Fleasbyte is better at the waiting game than my husband so she won out as the person to hang with me until they admitted me.

After saying my good bye to Special K and getting a bit teary eyed...which I knew was another sign this was it.  We waited until another contraction was over and then we rushed me out the door and into the car and on our way to HOPEFULLY have this baby!

...the next part of this story can be found here.

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: My Life 5 Years From Now

I'm really not sure why this was such a hard post for me but I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about what to write. Usually I always have a 5 year plan in the back of my head but for some reason I'm having a hard time figuring out what mine is currently. I think I wanted it to be more enlightening but for now I'm just going to write and see what comes out.

My life 5 years from now will look much different but similar to what it is now. What I'm picturing:

We will still be living in our current home that we just closed on in Feb and I hope that it will truly be a home and not just a house. The kitchen and bathroom will have been redone and we'll finally have the landscaping I envision. The playroom will be organized and truly set up as a playroom. Essential I hope that all our major renovation plans are completed and we just have smaller room redos left to do.

In 5 years, my girls will both be getting ready to go to Elementary school. Miss CGR will be 7 1/2 and going into 2nd grade and Miss Ria will be 5 and starting Kindergarten.(I know this is 5 years from now, but I started shaking when I even thought about Carmen going to 2nd grade!) They will hopefully get a long great still and be each other's best friends. Hopefully we'll be on some great summer vacation 5 years from right now and enjoying ourselves before the new school year!

5 years from now, Special K and I will be gearing up to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary that December and hopefully have FINALLY taken our wedding honeymoon or at least have it planned that year. We still hope to make it to a cabin up north for some time together some day.

I hope to be a better wife and mother, as I know there is always room for improvement.  I want to be the best I can be both for my husband and my children.  I pray often about being what they need and being able to support them in the ways that are best for them.  My relationship with my husband is as important as my relationship with my children.  For them and for us, we need to put effort into making our marriage as strong as possible.  It's never going to be smooth sailing but that's ok...I just hope that we are there for each other for the rest of our days.  I hope that we can set the best example for them on love and security.

Sadly I'm not sure if our pups will still be with us. If they haven't crossed the rainbow bridge, then they will both be very elderly. Jackjack would be 15 and I anticipate having a lot of trouble walking because of his early onset of arthritis. Abigail would be 13 and probably still crazy and silly as ever! If they have crossed, then sadly we probably won't have any dogs in the house. I've agreed to not get any more dogs for a long time since Carmen is allergic to dogs and our schedules are just too crazy the way they are now for a new dog. I still can't imagine our home without dogs...so we'll see if I can keep my promise here.

I'm sure I could go on and on about how I will have all these amazing finished knitting projects and spinning away still! I can't imagine stopping that soon as I feel I am a Knitter/Spinner with capitals...not just someone who knits and spins.

My life 5 years from now will hopefully be full of family time as it is now. I know my nieces and nephews will be off at college or off starting their after college lives but I hope we still see them all often and my sisters are still around to get together with regularly.

I hope that I have found a church home by then. I feel a bit lost without one and I miss having my church community.  I hope to continue my nightly devotionals and to grow in my faith and share this faith with my girls.  I feel it's so important that they grow up with a church home and I need to start taking the steps to make this happen.

Well...hope you enjoyed this post...it's not what I envisioned for it but I think I wanted to make it bigger than it is at this moment.

Happy Blogging! 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?How often do you think about your 5 year plan?

This Moment: Togetherness

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo (or several)  – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

Happy Friday!!

What's your favorite moment(s) from this week?  Yes, I know I cheated with the last one but I love when Google+ makes these gif files from my pictures!  And this one is cute!!  My silly family!

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: What I live for

1 my daughters...they are my life, my air, my everything!  Love these two girls with all my heart.

2 my hubby...I wouldn't have my girls without him, our house would be lost without him.  We have our disagreements but even when I am mad at him I still want him around.

3 my family...I am not sure what I would do without my sisters, brothers, father, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and the rest of my family.  I couldn't possibly ask for a more support group of people!  They are always there to do what they can in time of need!

4 my friends...I may not always have time for them and we don't always get a chance to talk or hang out as much as I'd like, I am so grateful to have such good friends in my life that I have met over the years.

5 Jackjack and Abigail Grace...these 2 pups, who found me when they needed a home and love, are my furbabies!  It started out just me and ole Jackjack, who was so skinny and was on his last couple days at the pound.  He has taught me so much and has always been happy to see me.  Abbygirl had a rough start to life but she found Jackjack and me and we taught her about being a family.  Their lives have changes over the years as our family grew but I live for them.

6 yarn...as a knitter, you need yarn and I love my stash and in an emergency I would probably grab some as I ran out of the house.  After making sure my girls and dogs are safe first!

7 wool fiber...I love the smell of wool...yes I said it...I like the smell of sheep!  I like to spin it and play with it and generally spend time with fiber!

8 beach/pool...I have always lived close to the beach.  Even in San Fran where it was way too cold to go in...I enjoyed being around the water.  I like to hang out and listen to the waves and now that I am older watch my girl play in the sand.

9 vacation time...how could anyone not live for vacations!  A maternity leave is no vacation even though you don't have to work it is a lot of work!  I live for having time off with my family and traveling! 

10 holidays especially CHRISTmas...along with vacations comes holidays!  I love them!  Time celebrating together with family!  I love that!  I especially love all the CHRISTmas festivities and decorations, songs, food, and the meaning of the season!

What do you live for? What could you not live without?