This week marked a milestone for me. I finally completed a project that I've been working on for 10 years. What could be so hard you may ask? Knitting a blanket for my hubby, Charles. In an effort to be a sweet wifey, I had searched high and low for a blanket that would be long enough (hubby is 6'1") and soft enough to love. I failed miserably at that endeavor. When my firstborn was 15 months old and I was prego again, I took up knitting. I decided to combine my newfound craftiness (craziness) to solve my quest for the elusive blanket. I had no idea how long it takes to knit a blanket, but I cheerfully threw myself into making a patchwork blanket. The difficulty level was "easy", but do you have any idea how long it takes to knit 4" squares for a 6' x4' blanket? No? Well clearly I don't either because I never finished it. I decided to try a different approach to the blanket, when I learned arm knitting this spring. I went to a social event with Mary at the local Michael's, and the lightbulb in my head went on while we learned to use our arms for the knitting needles. Lots of thick yarn (which has been staring at me for eternity) plus arm knitting equals sweet blanket in a matter of days, not months. I've been told that you can find lots of videos for learning to "arm knit" on YouTube; but if you want, just come over and I'll show you how. I used four balls of yarn, and knitted four strands at a time (yes, that adds up to 16 skeins of extra bulky yarn...cast on 32 stitches for a blanket width). I presented it to my hubby on his birthday this week, and he told me how nice it was. He didn't even mention my failure to stick to my original pattern...maybe because he enjoys creative problem solving (he has a degree in engineering, you know).
The week also marks when my last child made it to the 1,000 hours of school mark. Mama is singing "Hallelujah"! No more counting hours! Half-pint's love of Percy Jackson books helped her finish a couple of weeks ago. We made it to the 600 core hour mark by the end of April, so for the last month we have been doing my version of easy homeschooling: finishing up math and grammar. We threw in some chapters from History (that I don't feel HAS to be finished) and "Five Children and It" for fun. We'll continue our reading program through the summer for our youngest two (Gracie decided to start reading this year at the ripe age of three and a half.) We'll probably throw in some history projects for everyone too (do you know how close we are to some major historic sites...ever heard of Lewis and Clark or the Pony Express??). There are just five lessons of math left for each girl and Half-pint has a few pages left of grammar to finish. This last week looks like it'll be our last, which has the girls cheering for the last day of school. We usually end the school year with a fabulous excursion to somewhere educational. Legoland might be in our near future.
It's nice to feel like we are wrapping things up and tying some final strings together, but summer brings with it a whole new set of adventures (or burdens, depending on how you look at weeds). I read a blog this morning about "Why Mother's Day Is Just Really for the Birds" and I loved the reality it layed down about the never-ending imperfect job of mothering. Ann writes that all the tough things in our lives wear down our exterior shell to make us really authentic--like velveteen rabbits or velveteen mothers, in our case. For the past 6 1/2 years, I have daily prayed for God to transform me into who He wants me to be. I do believe the challenges and the struggles I've gone through have been His work into shaping me, and He is not done by a long shot. Philippians 1:6 says, "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." I'm resting on that promise. This velveteen mommy will be enjoying this Mother's Day with the five little gifts that making life interesting and exhausting...snuggled up under a new blanket with my partner in this crazy adventure we have undertaken...thankful to the one who has made this life possible and beautiful.
What are you tying up this week?
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