morning 'til evening

{Winterwoods Sampler}

These cold winter days are some nice ones. I'm much more of a homebody this time of year than during the summertime, and so I enjoy having the excuse to stay cuddled up inside the warm house. Surprisingly I also enjoy the short 15 minutes I spend outside in the morning and then again in the evening caring for the animals. It's just enough time to inhale some fresh air, but not enough time out to numb the toes.

We're getting back into the rhythm of our days after having been down with the flu all last week and at the start of this one. Reading, flashcards, math lessons, spelling words, all that jazz. A good portion of yesterday afternoon was spent building UNO card houses and playing dominoes. It was a nice quiet afternoon. One in which the kids got along fairly well. I always enjoy those moments when my refereeing is kept to a minimum.

I recently received the Winterwoods Sampler I had ordered a couple of weeks back. I pulled everything out yesterday and can't wait to get a few minutes to organize the thread and get started. I haven't done counted cross stitch since high school, so I'm feeling a bit timid, but I'm sure once I get started and get reacquainted with the craft, I will find it very calming and relaxing. It may not make it onto our walls this winter, but it will be a nice winter project to work on this year and have ready for next winter's decor.

Did you happen to notice that most luscious alpaca yarn up above? Let me tell you about that! My husband called me from work earlier in the week and told me that he had found out that one of his coworker's family owns an alpaca farm. And they sell yarn made from the fleece of their alpacas. And then my heart skipped a beat when he told me that his coworker was going to bring me a couple of skeins of yarn to try. Those were golden words to this yarn-lovin' gal.

And so I have it, and it is sooooo lovely and soft. There is enough yardage in each to make a scarf out of each one, so that's my plan. My sweet husband was so excited for me! He knows what makes my heart pitter patter. He's excited to see how the scarves turn out. It's so encouraging that he is so interested in my yarn hobby!

Ian has been devouring a series of books that we gifted him at Christmas. If you are familiar with the Magic Treehouse series, The Imagination Station books are very similar to those. However, they are published by Focus on the Family and are written from a young earth perspective. I was so excited to find these. So far, there are nine books out in the series. He's read the first seven in the last two weeks and started book eight yesterday! He is really enjoying this series. And when I ordered these nine, I had noticed that book ten was set to be on sale sometime this spring, I think. {Voyage with the Vikings (AIO Imagination Station Books)}

I finished another commissioned infinity scarf last night. It always feels so good to complete a project. It's a very satisfying feeling. Most of my projects anymore are smaller ones since I've been busy completing orders and attempting to stock my shop. I purchased several patterns for larger projects (a couple of sweaters for Lily and a sweater vest for myself.) I hope to start on those soon. I have already purchased the yarn for this sweater. Just need to get started on it.

I pulled the melody harp out of hiding last evening. It's been stored away since last year at this time. The kids really enjoyed playing on it. It's amazing how something seems so new when it's put away for a bit. Ian and Lily attempted a duet as well, him on the melody harp and her on the recorder. Brothers and sisters don't always get along, so I always really savor those times when my kids do!

Many, many dinners this winter have been bowls of hot soup and bread of some sort. I love making soup, although I can never exactly duplicate any I make because I always just add whatever strikes my fancy. Soup making feels like an art to me. A bit of this. A bit of that. Etc. Thankfully, the kids all like soup so it's always an enjoyable dinner. Many times I make cornbread cake or cornbread muffins to go along with the soup as I found that Bob's Red Mill has a very yummy gluten free cornbread mix.

And now it's time to get ready for the day. Brad and I have been spending 45 minutes together in the Word very early each morning. It is an amazing way to start our day. I am so very thankful to have a husband who, although imperfect as we all are, desires to be the spiritual leader of our home. That is truly one of those desires of my heart that God blessed me with.

Have a very blessed day and a wonderfully creative,  joy-filled weekend!