Better Vision

I have horrible eyesight, as do several members of my family. So I figured it was only a matter of time before one of my children needed glasses. As it turned out, this was the week! Natalie has never mentioned having any trouble seeing, but after the pediatrician did a vision screening on Monday, he recommended a trip to the optometrist. After a thorough eye exam, it was decided that Natalie definitely needed glasses.

We just picked them up and she seems to think they help, so that's a good start.

Have You Ever Made A Phoenix?

Well Natalie did.

For Christmas, we decided to encourage Natalie's creativity with something new and different: the LaQ Building Set. I had only seen it in the Mindware catalog, but knew it would be right up her alley. At first it was overwhelming, with so many tiny pieces...oh, and the instructions are only in Japanese. Natalie made the recommended basics like a flat strip of repeating patterns, a box and a sphere, but it took a lot of trial and error for her to begin to feel confident enough to try some of the other designs that are shown in the pamphlets. Before long, she was able to figure them out.

There was one in the pamphlet, though, that was elusive. And complicated. And she thought she could never do it.

Then, one day, she did.

I proudly present to you, Natalie's phoenix:
Here is a close-up. LaQ's are comprised of squares, triangles and various connecting pieces.
And here is what Natalie had to work from:
She's pretty amazing, I think.

Big News in a Tiny Package

I was really hoping to have a picture to share in this post, but alas, I was not given one. Part of the reason why the blog has been pretty quiet lately is because I have been exceedingly tired. Beyond tired, actually. But it is all for a good reason, though.

We're having another baby!! (See, this is where I would post an ultrasound picture, but the tech didn't offer to give me any.)

I'm due September 8, which puts me at 12 weeks now. Actually, I have known for about seven weeks already, but we waited a while to tell family and wanted to make sure everything looked good on the ultrasound yesterday. Everything did look good, and since I am 12 weeks, the baby definitely looked like a baby! There was a lot of curling up, leg stretching and flipping over, which is to be expected since there's still room to move around in there.

As for me, I am doing well. My first two pregnancies were very uneventful, with only tiredness and mild nausea at the start, and it looks like this one is following the same path so far. I am very excited to get to do some baby knitting this time! I wasn't knitting yet when I had Natalie and Ethan.

So that's the big news. Hopefully I'll work up the energy to start posting more often.

This Alone Was Worth $89.99

My kids pooled their Christmas and birthday money to buy Wii Fit last week. It is SO fun, but when I came around the corner yesterday to see Ethan doing the ski slalom like this I had to run for the camera:

Seven Years

Today is Natalie's 7th birthday. I can NOT believe it has been seven years already!! She arrived looking like this:
And has grown into a lovely, extremely creative and artistic girl:
The only trouble is, now she says, "I can't wait to be 10."

Fashion Plates

I am not a fashion plate. I am not fashion forward. I would like to be, but honestly I just don't care that much. I try not to look like a frumpy slob when I'm out in public, but sometimes it can't be helped.

As a kid, though, I would spend hours drawing dresses and dreaming up designs. Then, one Christmas, these came along and I was in love:
Did anyone else have Fashion Plates?? They were THE BEST. EVER. I don't know what became of mine, but I miss them.

It Continues

Wow. I didn't mean to be gone that long! We had a great Christmas and New Year with our families, although I was very disappointed by the total lack of snow in the Midwest. Now that the holidays are over, I can show you a few projects that I finished:
The Danica scarf, for Chelsea.
This is a sort of cowl, big neckwarmer, accessory sort of thing...technically, it's a mobius.

Now that I am home, the knitting obligations do not end. I am working on a scarf that will be a thank-you gift for a friend who helped us immensely on Christmas Eve:
This is Anne Hanson's lovely La Novia pattern.

I am also working on one last for-hire scarf for a child who wanted stripes:
There will be lavender in it, too - just haven't gotten there yet. No pattern, just making it up as I go.

Since we were gone for over a week, we had our mail held. When I picked it up, I was thrilled to find a package containing yarn! Some time ago, I had purchased some roving and later had the brilliant idea to ask my friend Erin to spin it for me since she has a spinning wheel and I am very slow with my drop spindle. She obliged and now I have this lovely yarn waiting to be knit up:
Thanks for hanging in there during the hiatus. I promise to be back again soon.

An Unintended Hiatus

Hm. I didn't mean to keep the blog silent for so long. It was those darn scarves! Since my last post, I have knit 6 scarves (all different patterns), 35 felted fortune cookies and 3 hats. Oh, and a mobius/neckwarmer thingie (twice - first time it was huuuuge).

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and holiday season. Greg and I will be participating in the Christmas Eve services at Cross Point, so if you by some strange chance are just looking for somewhere to go in Nashville, come! 2:00, 3:30 and 5:00. Then our family will be leaving after the last service and heading into the night to Missouri. We'll spend a few days there, then head to Illinois to visit my family before coming back home.

I may post from the road...we'll see!

Finally, I can share

I've had this wee outfit finished for weeks now, but wanted to postpone sharing it until I had given it to our friends, Matt and Holly. They are expecting their first baby in a few weeks (or so) and I knew I wanted to knit something for her. I figured they would be inundated with cute little pink goodies, so I wanted to make it both cute AND cool. Matt is the creative director at our church and happens to be a self-admitted Mac geek.

It didn't take me long to figure out what I wanted to do:
I got a lot of hugs.

Step Into the Wayback Machine...

Wow. I haven't seen this video in years!! The hair...the shades...the jackets...and a great song. Enjoy!

The Power of Words

Whoever came up with the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," was clearly in denial.

Our tongues are one of our most powerful weapons. I notice it with my children all the time. Even our tone can pack a punch. I am trying to catch myself in the act and make note of how I am coming across to my kids. I'm also realizing more and more that it's the little things that make a big impact...for instance, saying "I'm proud of you," or paying a compliment. Sometimes I think those things, but I get distracted and never actually say them to the person I'm with. But I know from my own experience that receiving those words can make a huge difference in my outlook.

Yesterday I received a card from my sister and I asked her if I could share what she wrote. I was feeling extremely frustrated about something and was having a hard time seeing how the situation could ever improve. Reading her words completely changed my attitude. They had nothing to do with my frustration and offered no solution...but the encouragement made all the difference. Here's what she wrote:

"Have I told you how proud I am of you? You have grown into a delightful adult and a great mom. I think I would like you if I just happened to meet you on the street (but really, how often do we meet people on the street?) I love you dearly - Karen."

In this week of Thanksgiving, I challenge you to use your words for good and not for evil. Say those little words of encouragement that often go unspoken. You never know, you may just have the exact words someone needs to hear.

A Full Life

Thanks to the wonders of technology, I recently reconnected with a few old friends on Facebook. These are people with whom I went to elementary school. Reality smacked me upside the head when I realized that I probably have not seen these folks for 25 years. Twenty five!! Good gracious.

We gave each other a brief synopsis of what we are all doing now and commented on all of our cute children. What really made me stop and think, though, was that two of these old friends made the exact same comment to me:

"It looks like you have a very full life."

Wow.

Of course, then I had to stop and ask myself, do I really? Do I lead a full life?

I have been pondering that question for several days now. I want to live a full life - very much, in fact. I can't say that I have always succeeded. We all have seasons that are challenging and those that are smooth sailing, but I am learning (ever so slowly) to choose peace and contentment even during the challenging seasons.

When I step back and evaluate my life right now, yes, there are some things I would like to change. I would love for finances to never be an issue. I would love a slightly bigger house, I would love to be able to travel. But I have the basics. I have a husband who loves me. I have two very healthy and fantastic children. We have great relationships with our parents and families. I have the privilege of staying home and educating my children. We laugh a lot. We love our church and are very involved there. I have made some wonderful new friends this year.

My old friends were right. I do have a very full life. And I am very thankful.

Just Because

I was looking through my files and found this video, taken when Ethan was almost 3. He was pretending to take my order in a restaurant.

Ethan at 23 months, taking my order from Julie Persinger on Vimeo.

Dreary Weather Leads to Movie Watching

I don't know about you, but cold and gloomy weather makes me want to hunker down and watch movies. Well, and knit...but that's a given.

Here's a clip from the beginning of one of my favorite movies - Charade (1963):

What are some of your favorites?

Sometimes I Have to Wonder

Out

Today is a sad day. I ran out of two of my favorite products.

All summer I used Philosphy's Purity facial cleanser. Now I am out and my face will no longer be pure.
For several months now, I have been shampoo-free. Yes, I still wash my hair, but I have been using WEN Cleansing Conditioner (which I LOVE...I just don't love the price). Now I am out and I'll probably be going back to shampoo for a while (see aforementioned cost issue). Sigh.
I shall console myself with my new green hat (knit earlier this week).

Wee Li'l Knits

I've been doing a lot of baby knitting lately. I didn't know how to knit when my own children were babies, so it has been fun making little things for a change.

One friend's baby received booties from me when she was born, but has now outgrown them. Apparently she won't keep regular socks on, so my friend asked me to knit some larger booties. The mary janes are knit out of Schaefer Anne, double-stranded (sorry, no links today - don't have time right now!):
These are knit out of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport, double-stranded:
This same friend asked if I would also be willing to knit a baby sweater, so I obliged. This is knit with KnitPicks Swish:
There's one more that I'm dying to share, but don't want to post it here until I give it to its intended recipient!

Now I'm not quite sure what to knit. Suggestions?

Happy Election Day

There has been so much unpleasantness surrounding this election, but rather than get into any of that on this important day, I thought I would give you some edu-tainment instead.

Enjoy a few minutes of Schoolhouse Rock...and go vote, if you haven't already!

I Have to Know.

OK, I have to know. How do you apply your mascara?

I was getting ready for Mom's Group this morning and began to wonder how other people do their makeup. I'd love to say I was thinking deep, spiritual thoughts, but I wasn't. I have to be honest...I can multi-task with the best of 'em, but when I'm applying mascara, I can really only think about applying mascara. It's tricky that way.

Here's my routine: I always start with my right eye, top lashes, and I work from the inside corner outward. Then bottom lashes the same way. Repeat on left eye. Oh, but I do my left eye mascara with my left hand. I don't do my left eye's eye shadow with my left hand...just the mascara. Let's not be too crazy.

So how about you? Tell me about your mascara application routine. I need to know.

I'm Curious

Sometimes I feel guilty that I am not using my college degree. Then again, sometimes I am relieved that I decided not to pursue my original plan of grad school. I do use my years of violin training when I play at church, but on a daily basis my (expensive) degree (Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance) is not utilized.

I don't think I am alone in this, though - so I'm curious...are you actively using your degree or training? If so, in what way? If not, do you think you will at some point?