Around Here

We got our first little dusting of snow yesterday and the temperatures have plummeted, seeming for good. Things around here are slowly coming back together after the one tumultuous time after another, just in time for the holidays. Here's what things look like around here. I'm

~ Knitting hats for Christmas. It seems my knitting mojo is coming back just a little bit at a time. Small, quick, mindless projects are all I can really handle right now, so hats are just the thing. I'm still working through yarn from my Yarn Fairy, which continues to be such a blessing to me! I should be able to get at least a hat for each family member from the stash she sent us. While knitting I'm

~Listening to podcasts. I'm all caught up with Serial and like This American Life as well. Podcasts are really perfect for me. I can focus on knitting and, unlike when we watch movies, not have to ask J "what just happened?" during a scene when I was working a cable. Any podcast recommendations for me?

~Planning Christmas. Every year I say "This year is going to be light!" and it is - lighter even than the last. I'm loving the feeling of being remarkably un-stressed about gifts or shopping. Small, light, simple.

~Making peace with the mess. And realizing it's not half bad. Eight of us in this little tiny house and I'm realizing that we are doing alright. I'm catching up on laundry and setting out donations on the porch and acknowledging that those messy kid bedrooms? Aren't so bad when you realize three children live in each small room. It's not picture perfect, but it's real life.

~Growing a little more quickly this time. It seems that the seventh times' the charm when it comes to physical memory. This is the first pregnancy when I can say I definitely will look pregnant for all nine months. And I'm oddly ok with that.

~Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude at these kids of mine. Sure we have tough days and there's always a tangle or two to unravel, moments that seem completely insurmountable or just too hard for this tired mom to engage in. But there is so much goodness, too. Watching my kids love each other, cheerfully serve, rejoice with one another and grow in so many ways never ceases to push me right down in gratitude. We've got riches over here of the eternal sort. And it's so thrilling to see.

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