I am having so much fun updating our house. Lately, I've been a little
mentally stressed. Not because of all of the work. Work doesn't scare
me. It's the lack of a proper kitchen since our current remodel is the
kitchen. Everything is kind of scattered about, so when I need a mixing
spoon or a knife or a bowl or this or that, I have to search for it.
Thankfully our home is small and I've just kind of shifted everything
into the living room and onto the kitchen table. But still. I guess I didn't
realize how much my life revolves around my kitchen until it was in a
state of disarray. I've heard others speak of this when they've done a
kitchen remodel.
However, it will be fabulous when it's
finished. It will be a kitchen that is still tiny, but so very much me.
Butcher block. White cabinets. Open shelving. I'm going for cozy and
quaint, which is what I pretty much go for in all of my decorating.
But
mixed in with all of that remodeling goodness, we've had quite a busy
summer. We visited our best friends in Charleston, SC. We had one of my
oldest friends from childhood and her daughter (who also happens to be
Lily's age) come stay with us for a while. We have had cake decorating
class and electronics class. And then there is the gardening and animal
care that is part of our everyday life. Oh, and we became the owner of
kittens. Two of them.
What a full summer we've had so far.
My heart has felt so full recently. I think it's the spring weather that is warming my soul. Spring always does that to me. I always feel like a bird set free from a cage. I just love the feeling that I get down into the depths of my marrow when the days get longer, the light hangs around longer each day, and the blooms and buds appear.
We had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday service yesterday. I could just feel the soul-shaking excitement as we remembered and reflected on the resurrection of our Savior Jesus. I want to feel like that every day. I don't want that excitement to be confined to just that one day, I want it to linger and linger throughout each day of the year.
We had a fellowship breakfast before the morning service. I always enjoy spending time with my fellow brothers and sisters and Christ. There was a lot of wonderful, yummy food and hot coffee and lots of good conversation.
This Easter was also a bit bittersweet for us as well. Our pastor and his family are being called to South Carolina to serve as a marriage pastor in a church there. We've known now for two weeks, and I have shed many, many tears and have had some sleepless nights. Geoff is more than just our pastor. He and his wife are also our very close friends, so Brad and I feeling like we're losing not only our pastor but also our very dear friends. Geoff's wife, Liz, is my best friend so this will be a big adjustment for me. And they live just down the road from us, so it will be very different when they move 10.5 hours from here and their house is empty. And, of course, I realize that we're not losing friends, but the dynamics will be different with them living so far away.
I guess this just means that we'll be making more frequent trips down South. :)
I have been spending so much time spinning. It's hard not to neglect the house cleaning and such that needs done. It's a fine balance for sure. And I think that the only reason I don't sit at the wheel all day is because I homeschool the kids and have a family to feed and care for. If it wasn't for that, I'm afraid I would be permanently attached to my wheel.
Yesterday after church, I set the twist on four skeins that I had recently spun. It was such a warm, sunny day that Brad fashioned some hangers on our birch tree that I could hang the skeins off of, and they hung out all day, drying in the sunny breeze. They looked so pretty hanging there with the green and blue of nature.
I am really enjoying spinning. Right now, I'm working on a merino top that I had purchased already dyed in multiple colors. I'm really loving how pretty it is looking as I ply it. I'm also planning on digging into the two pounds of undyed white merino roving that I have. I have plans to dye most of that using natural dyes. Right now, we don't have anything really growing in the woods that I could use, but I know that there will be plenty of things in the coming months. I'm also going to plant some things that I can use for dyeing. I'm really excited about learning more about dyeing. I bought a book last year about natural dyeing, so I'm going to carve out some time to read through that again before I plant anything.
The kids have been working on building a cabin in the woods behind our house. They started it last fall, worked on it a bit over the winter, and are attacking it again now that the weather has been enjoyable. We all went out into the woods yesterday afternoon. Brad cut down some old, smaller trees so that they would have more wood to build up the walls. I sat right nearby and knitted on my sweater while taking in their cheerful laughter and the warm spring air. Oh gosh, it was so heavenly.
Sergei also stopped by. I know that there may have been some questions regarding Sergei and his presence in our family. Adoption is a challenging, hard path to take. But it's also full of fruit and reward as God works His way in the hard things. I have chosen not to document about the tough things in our adoption journey because they feel too private and tender. That's just been my personal conviction. There are some things that are just too dear to the heart to air out in a public space. Some things are just too sensitive.
But I can say that we have seen God's mighty hand on Sergei's life. We have seen family and friends and even people that we do not know (but so very much appreciate) step up and help Sergei. It's been wonderful to see how God is so much bigger than we could have even imagined.
And God is restoring some tender things in our relationship with Sergei. And we have been spending more time together growing this relationship again with our son. And my heart has been so full and so incredibly thankful for this. So, so full.
Well, ladies, I do pray that you have a very full, blessed week. We have some appointments this week, and I would really love to tackle some spring cleaning as well. We shall see what the week brings us!
~Amber
