This morning we got up to watch the sunrise and I shared these scriptures with my children.  Oh, how I love that Christ descended below all things that he might comprehend me and my experiences and needs.  I know he lives!

Doctrine and Covenants section 88:

6 He that ^aascended up on high, as also he ^bdescended below all things, in that he ^ccomprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the ^dlight of truth;

 7 Which truth shineth. This is the ^alight of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was ^bmade.

 8 As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;

 9 As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;

 10 And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you ^astand.

 11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your ^aunderstandings;

 12 Which ^alight proceedeth forth from the presence of God to^bfill the immensity of space—

 13 The ^alight which is in all things, which giveth ^blife to all things, which is the ^claw by which all things are governed, even the^dpower of God who ^esitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

 14 Now, verily I say unto you, that through the ^aredemptionwhich is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead.

 15 And the ^aspirit and the ^bbody are the ^csoul of man.

 16 And the ^aresurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul.

It is finally winter in Colorado!  We got over a foot of snow yesterday, stayed home from church, and today the kids had a day off from their Monday school.  They still did some work at home, and then we headed outside to enjoy the snow.  Eva felt like she NEEDED to be outside, but hated being put down in the snow.   She spent a lot of time on my hip or in the chair on the front porch.  Brenna took her on one sled ride.  If you could hear that photo up there you would know that she would have rather been doing something, anything, else.

Last night as Barry and I were praying together before we got in bed he asked for help in being consistent with something.  I just welled up with the happiest thought-feeling that when we are consistent we just keep getting better.  With consistence things can ONLY get better.  Oh, the blessings of diligence!  Just a little effort in little doses everyday yeilds huge results.  I just haven’t been able to shake that thought of the possibilities of never ending getting-better-ness and that if I create lots of little good habits the bad ones will get crowded out.  But also- just being consistent in one small area of life has lasting effects in other areas.  In my family we have been very consistent with reading the scriptures every night before we put the kids to bed.  We often spend 15 minutes or even less– but the dividends have been huge.  It has been in our family scripture reading that the boys have learned to read.  Thoughtful questions get asked and answered.  We have an anchor for our days.  That is one example I have of actually living diligence.  It is beautiful and fills me with graditude.

I wonder how I’d feel if I applied some consistency to doing house cleaning chores with the kids?

or blogging?

So, we’ll see how this works. I’m up at yoga training, so I’m posting from my iPad. I had one more knitting post I wanted to make before I came up here. We’ll see if I can get all the links to work right and stuff. I’m having a hard time getting my photos to resize how I want them to, but you may just have to see them smaller than usual.

My cute hat is a pattern called “Off Piste“. I really wanted a new cream colored hat and Barry really wanted me to have a hat with a brim, so here you have it. The bottom edge curled a bit funny due to the cables, but I ran some elastic thread through it and that perfected it.

I knit my cowl a while ago with leftover yarn from Eva’s Camilla. The pattern is the Honey Cowl. It got a bit monotonous, but I do love it and wear it often.

Now a little about the project at hand– yoga immersion.

Tonight’s meditation mantra was the natural breath mantra “ham sah”. We naturally make this mantra as we inhale “ham” and exhale “sah” with every breathe. In Sanskrit it means “I am that” (“that” being your inner self, the essential part of you that has always existed, that is connected with God) which in my Mormon mind is “I am a child of God.” So, as all of us children of God are going about breathing we are saying “I am a child of God” with every breath whether we know it or not. What a beautiful thing to tune in to– that our very breathe affirms who we are and whose we are.

It all starts back up tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM. I’ll try to pop in with photos soon.

I am an Activity Days leader in our ward (church congregation).  That means I get to do fun things with the 10 and 11 year old girls twice a month.  I also have 2 boys in Cub Scouts through church and have been a bit jealous of their shirts and patches, so I’ve been going over and over in my mind what I could do for our girls.  I want them to have something than they can be proud of and add to as they participate in Activity Days.

This is what I came up with:

Necklaces!

A few weeks ago we had a crafty Super Saturday at church and one of the projects was these super simple glass pendants.  I made one for Brenna and it really got the wheels in my mind turning.  I decided to make pendants for all of my Activity Day girls with this artwork that says “I am a Child of God.”  Then I stocked up on beads that matched the headings in their Faith in God books.  I’ve got blue for “Learning and Living the Gospel,” green for “Serving Others,” and purple for “Developing Talents.”  I need to get something for “Preparing for Young Women” still.  I also made some white beads from Sculpey clay and wrote the numbers 1-13 on them.  Once they can say one of the thirteen Articles of Faith perfectly without any help or hints, then they can add the corresponding number to their necklace.

We had a talent recognition night where I gave them each their necklaces.  They were so excited!  And bombarded me with Articles of Faith as fast as they could.

What do you think?  If you’re a Mormon, do the Activity Day girls in your ward get anything to commemorate their accomplishments?

We’ve been having our homeschool group book club at our house this year.  I love having activities at my house.  That way I don’t have to be anywhere on time and I don’t have to worry about my littlest person emptying someone else’s drawers and cupboards or missing her nap.  It’s definitely a win-win.

Last month Brenna picked The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  We had a really good discussion about omens in our lives and what their source is, about if there is really just one Personal Legend each person is called to fulfill, about the role of service in our lives, and lots of other things.  A few of the kids loved it and found it life changing, a few hated it.  There were strong feelings all around.

This month we talked about The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine.  My kids weren’t big fans, and because the person who had it checked out from the library didn’t return it when they were supposed to I didn’t get a chance to read it before our meeting.  That was a good thing, though, because the discussion was totally the kids.  They decided it was hard to follow where everything was located in the story, so they ended their discussion with some map drawing.

The rest of the book club schedule includes Pride and Prejudice, all three My Side of the Mountain books, and I think The Hobbit is in the mix too.  The kids pick the books and lead the discussions (with just a bit of guidance from the moms).  They range in age from 10 to 17.  Even 8 year old Logan is going to join in on the My Side of the Mountain meetings.

While the big kids were discussing, Eva was trapped in her high chair with a granola bar (among other things, but this is the photo I have).

Hunter and Ian were stationed at the drawing table.  Ian was making designs with the geometric insets I made while Hunter looked on.  Hunter did draw a bit too, but really enjoyed watching Ian work.

And showing me his Lego creations.

I am feeling so grateful for the beautifully relaxed pace of my life.  It isn’t perfect by any means.  It isn’t quiet unless it is about 11:00 at night (which it is right now as I write this).  It is peaceful in that each day flows.  My children learn and create.  We have so much time to be together and focus on those relationships.  I’m thankful to be a facilitator in the process of their growth and to witness it all unfold.

And I’m thankful that once in a while we can have other kids come into our home to passionately discuss books and collaborate on map drawing.

I think it’s been a while since I’ve talked about yoga here, but you know I love yoga, right?  I do.  Whether I do a rigorous practice with lots of sun salutations, standing poses and balancing, or just relax deep into some floor stretches I ALWAYS feel better when I’m done than I did when I started.  I love the exhilaration of progressing and noticing that I’m getting stronger when I can get into a new arm balance or hold downward facing dog for a long time without fatigue.  I love connecting with my breathing in difficult positions and riding the wave of my breath through those moments my legs are shaking and just want to give out– but I hold on through it just one more breath, and then one more.

That connection with my breath has never served me better than when I was immersed in the labor of those final hours before I met a new baby.  When I was expecting Eva I had really strong, overwhelming impressions that I should become a prenatal yoga teacher.  I started asking questions of every yoga teacher I took a class from, researched teaching certification and talked it over with Barry and we decided the best way for me to to yoga teacher training is do go to an immersion program.  So– that means I’m going to be spending 10 days in January up in the Colorado mountains, then 11 more in April.

It will be cold in the mountains in January.  Hence the need for leg warmers.

Spiral Rib Legwarmers to be exact.

They’re warm and wooly and were a pretty mindless knit after finishing my Pintuck Tee.  They came with me on the road during our trip in September.  Once I had one done it was a little boring to make another, but I persevered.

Ravelry notes here if you want to know what yarn I used and stuff.

It is General Conference time for our church– which means getting to stay home in our jammies tomorrow, but most importantly it means listening to wise and good leaders share their words and testimonies with all the world.  I love our prophet Thomas S. Monson and his counselors Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf more than I can say.  They are each in their own way the embodiment of goodness.  Their lives are a reflection of all they believe and say.  I know I can trust their words, that they “get it” in so many ways that I don’t, but need to.  I LOVE the spiritual nourishment of General Conference.

Join us!

Today I bring you some non-phone photos of our trip.  If you read my previous post you might remember that our plans got a bit rearranged.  Originally we were going to drive to Boise for Labor Day weekend, but the night before we were going to head out Hunter was up with a cough.  ALL NIGHT LONG.  Normally that wouldn’t have been a big deal, but just days before a friend called to let me know that her daughter had been diagnosed with whooping cough, so my kids had been exposed.  We decided that a trip to the doctor was in order, just in case, and then we decided to wait on test results before we left.  It gave us a wonderful long weekend where we had nothing that we had to do.  We bought a fire pit for the back yard, roasted marshmallows, camped out, played guitars and sang silly songs.  Sometimes things not going according to plan is exactly what is needed, and it was.

I decided that I would do the drive by myself the next week.  It was exhausting and empowering all at once.  We stopped in Utah to visit dear friends, then headed up to eastern Idaho to visit my brother and his family.  Can you believe these are the only photos I have of that part of the visit?

Those little cousins were so super cute– opposites in every way.  Savanna is bald– Eva has out of control fluff. Eva weighs 22 lbs. and Savanna is something like 15 lbs.  Savanna eats a ton of whatever you offer her– Eva just gave her food to Savanna.

While we were in eastern Idaho we also had a quick visit with my dear friends Jessica and Tracy.  I have no photographic evidence.  Our kids loved each other and played like they had just seen each other yesterday.  Poor Tracy laid on the couch with her hurt hip.  Jessica, in all her skinniness, ate roasted veggies from her garden and shared with me the finer points of Sparrow Girls.  One wonderful part of this trip is that I got to spend time with friends that I wish I could just pack up in my pocket and take with me everywhere I go.  Jessica and Tracy are two of those friends.  My friend Erin in Utah is another one.

On the way to Boise from Blackfoot we went to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  Every time we’ve done this drive I’ve wanted to go, but put it off for want of just getting there (either Boise or home).  This time I did it.  I took 6 kids to the crazy, other worldly landscape out in the middle of no where.  I, the lone adult, took 6 kids through lava caves.  It did take me 3 times as long to feed them lunch, clean up from lunch, get shoes on those 12 feet, and get on the trail than it would have had Barry been with me– but I did it!  It was worth the memories.

Hi.  It’s been awhile.  We got back Wednesday from an epic road trip through Utah and Idaho.  I did have every intention of blogging through my trip, but obviously I didn’t.  It is much trickier to blog from my iPad than I thought it would be.  This post has been in my draft box since the beginning of our trip in early September, but never got finished because I’m such a creature of habit I couldn’t get my photos to be the size I wanted until I got home to my own computer.  So, here’s my post about the sweater I finished BEFORE we even left– and the words I wrote then too.  I promise I’ll fill you all in on my trip as the week goes on because naturally you are dying to know all about my exotic adventures driving through lots and lots of sagebrush.

I’ve had my summer sweater on my needles all summer, and now that summer is coming to a close it’s finally done! We had planned on driving to Boise over the Labor Day weekend, but we had sick littles and a whooping cough scare, so we decided to lay low and stay home (*edited* Our departure just got a bit postponed and rearranged). The thing I was really bummed about was missing the dedicated knitting time that long road trips are for me, but Barry gave me ample time to knit anyway. After a trip to the Fancy Tiger for buttons and learning to crochet from you tube I put the finishing touches on Monday. I’ve worn it a lot this week.

Details:

The pattern is the pintuck tee by Lien Ngo.

The yarn is Elsbeth Lovold Hempathy in pale silver.

This is the trickiest thing I’ve ever knit on the smallest needles (size 4 ) with the most shaping.  That actually made it really fun and not too monotonous.  I wish I had made it an inch or 2 longer and I’m not crazy about the sleeves, but other than that it fits great.  I’m too lazy to do anything about the sleeves now so it just is what it is.  The yarn washes great in the washing machine, and I’ve read that it is machine dryable too, but I’m too chicken to put it in the dryer.  It definitely got softer when I put it through the washer and then laid it flat to block it.

My next project is something simple.  Legwarmers!

My parents came to visit and we packed as much into the short time they were here as we could.  Right after we picked them up from the airport we packed lunch and headed to Castlewood Canyon for a hike to the “rock forts” as my kids call them.

The next day our sweet Logan got baptized.  He planned the service himself, picked the songs, made phone calls to his Primary teacher and our Home Teacher for talks, asked his sister and piano teacher to give prayers.  Barry baptized him and he asked my dad to confirm him.  It was so sweet and beautiful and a wonderful reflection of Logan and who he is and who he loves at this time in his life.

I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture and Logan and Papa together.

On the last day their flight didn’t leave until 9:00 pm, so we had some adventures that day too.  The weather was perfect for visits to Dinosaur Ridge and Red Rocks.

Our tour guide Dan-o-saurus took us back 150 million years to touch some stegosaurus bones.  You can then the bones from the rest of the rock because of their color, texture, and taste (so Jonah licked the rock).

Here are some dinosaur foot prints from underneath.

Logan is being stepped on by an apatosaurus.

Back in the 1930s when they were building Alameda Highway they uncovered this field of iguanadon foot prints.  The footprints are colored in with charcoal to make them more visible.  Pretty amazing, huh?

We made a quick stop at Red Rocks to see it, then wandered around Ikea for lunch on the way home.

We love you Granny and Papa!  It was so fun to have you here.  See you again soon!