My knitting hobby has resulted in the accumulation of quite the collection of knitting needles, ranging from large to small, circular and double pointed...not to mention the required embroidery needles, stitch markers, scissors, small rulers, etc. Searching for a specific needle size became a ridiculous ordeal since I'd have to dump out my bag and sift through the pile, so I decided I needed to create some order for my system!

I recently purchased a knitting book called Last Minute Knitted Gifts which contained a picture of a knitting needle holder bag, plus a bag for smaller knick-knacks. See the pictures below.

Inspired by those pictures, I searched around online, but couldn't find anything quite like the ones Joelle Hoverson portrayed in her book. So I borrowed a sewing book from Lauren that contained a project bag designed to hold crayons, colors, or even knitting needles.

So I literally just guessed at how something like that should be pieced together and went for it. I was lucky. It worked.

I had never sewed on zippers before, but it seemed to work! I have to say, I am a teensy bit proud of myself! But mostly because now, when I need a certain object, no matter how big or small, I know exactly where to look!

Shown folded over from the other side. Pretty cool, huh?

I awoke from my nap with August this afternoon to the sound of a tornado siren. Not quite the alarm I had in mind to rouse me from my deep slumber. I quickly dashed downstairs and saw Kyle pulling the 4Runner under the house for protection from potential hail. Where did this storm even come from?

No idea, but it was right on top of us according to the weather station, and while it didn't appear to be literally right on top of us, I could see a very dark wall of clouds just in the distance and the rumbling of thunder was very distinct. I dragged my very asleep children out of their beds and hauled them downstairs with me and Kyle to our very safe basement. (Lots of "verys" in there).

So, how do you spend 30 minutes in your basement while waiting for a storm to pass? With a golden retriever leaning very comfortingly against your leg. Chatting with your kids about thunder and storms and playing games on Kyle's Iphone. Realizing that, if in fact, there is a tornado and it wipes out your house, you have nothing but the clothes on your back which are not at all your favorites or even most practical (grungy shorts and a grungy tank top). Plus, you're barefoot. Fortunately, the blankie August and I share was with us, as was our trusty dog. So, I guess we had all we needed.

Needless to say, it passed us by without harm and even blessed us with a little rain for our parched ground. And the rest of our afternoon passed blissfully with the temps about 20 degrees cooler.

And the evening unfolded with a variety of comforting scenes. August peacefully playing by himself.

I usually set out every week to create a menu for my family. I started doing this because I realized I could personally BUY Kroger given the amount of piddly trips I was making because I forgot this or that or because something suddenly sounded good to me 30 minutes before my kids were starving. The menu has seriously helped. I now spend less time at Kroger, less money overall and usually end up having a greater sense of control over our meals. Plus, although it can take some time to peruse my cookbooks, there are less "fall-back" nights where I make something familiar just because I ran out of time. I hate doing that. Really hate it.

I love love love trying new recipes, experimenting and generally feeling like a real chef, not a frantic pot-slinging casserole mom. Not that those are always bad. Face it, we all have those moments. But I don't want them to be every night. Not even close! I want variety, diversity, experimentation, odd ingredients that I may have to drive across town to find. I don't mind that!

However, despite my best intentions, there occasionally rolls around a Friday evening where I just flat don't feel like cooking. I find myself writhing on the rug in my living room wrestling with my dog when I should be pulling out ingredients and pre-heating the oven. Or watching Bambi with my kids for the first time in 20 years and laughing like a 4 year old because I seriously forgot how cute those little animals are.

What do I do when it's too late to cook and well, I really didn't want to anyway? I shuffle over to my little pile of coupons and see what I have. Tonight it was $5 off a US Pizza. Done. As I write this post, my mouth watering in anticipation of what's to come, my precious husband and my two kids are off picking up our dinner and giving me a few moments of peace to write said post!

Gotta go! Food just showed up!

The Girl

As my gaze skipped over everyone, it settled on this one guy who was standing talking to a group of people. I don't know what it was about him aside from that he was obviously good-looking that grabbed me, but something sure did. I will even swear today that there was a ray of light streaming in from an overhead window that illuminated him. A sign from God? Could have been!
I nudged my dad, pointed out THE guy and said, I want to meet that guy. My dad grunted a response and carried on with his work phone call. In my head, I prayed, Ok, God, if you want me to meet that guy, then you bring him to me. I don't want to have initiated it if this does turn into something.

Hours later, this guy passed me as I was leaning against a wall waiting for my dad to get off the phone. I smiled. He smiled back. My heart jumped a little!

Around 3:00 that afternoon as the orientation events wrapped up, I was yet again waiting for my dad to get off the phone and to ease my boredom, I wandered outside to sit on this fountain outside the Student Union. (This fountain no longer exists!) I closed my eyes, tilted my head up to soak up the sunshine and next thing I know, I open them to find THE guy standing within 2 feet of me. He looked sort of sheepish but determined at the same time. Turns out he'd been pacing inside the SU working up the courage to come introduce himself to me. We started talking and within minutes it was obvious there was a serious connection between the two of us. I will venture so far as to say that I knew right then that this guy would be in my life for a long time. I hesitate to say I knew I'd marry him, but it was something very close to that.

Before the weekend was over, we'd spent every available second trying to get to know each other. He took me to lunch with a friend of his. He even took me back to his house to meet some of his family...in hindsight, it seems absurd that all that happened in that first weekend, but again, whatever connection there was between us, it was powerful and undeniable to both of us.

After exchanging addresses (this was pretty much pre-email or in fledgling AOL period), I went back home to will the next month of summer to fly by so I could get back up there for school and KYLE!

Before I knew it, I was there and immediately whisked into this huge group of friends that came with Kyle (from his high school days) and aside from attending school, all of us threw ourselves into being freshman the way only 18 year old kids can. No, we did not drink or party. We were actually really good kids! We went cliff-diving, had all night movie nights, late nights at the local coffee shops and just generally relished our new-found independence. I can't imaging how I even survived on as little sleep as I was getting those days.

All the while, Kyle and I stuck close, not dating really, but clearly marked for each other. We became really really good friends while also falling completely head over heels in love with each other. By the time I brought him home to meet my family that fall, there was no doubt in my mind that I could see us getting married. The problem was...we were freshman! There was no way I was sabotaging my college years by getting married! Not to mention that neither of us had any intention of falling in love so quickly upon going to college! That was not the plan at all! And yet, here we were.

Needless to say, the next several years had some drama built in, lots of pent-up frustration due to our incredibly strong feelings for each other and yet...it wasn't the right time. We dated, broke up, dated and broke up. But neither of us could really venture out too far from each other. We were inexplicably bound together and undeniably soul-mates. My junior year, Kyle transferred to another school a few hours away - he needed to get some distance between himself and his home town.
This was a good thing, although it was also terrifying. I know his parents were hoping he'd meet and fall in love with a girl from this school, but nope. He and I kept things going long-distance while I plowed my way through nursing school and focused on my clinicals, good grades and my wonderful girlfriends up there. By the time I graduated from UofA in 1999, it was as good as done. There was no doubt in our minds that we would get married. It just couldn't happen any other way. At the time I would say we could not have been more in love, but now, I would say I was wrong!

Kyle graduated in spring of 2000 and on October 21, 2000, we were married. Such begins the saga of our relationship. And what a sweet journey it has been. Not without some trials and tribulations along the way, but those are FAR diminished by the overwhelming delights we've had being married. He is still, more than ever, the love of my life, the love of my soul and heart. We now have two beautiful, delightful children with another growing inside me. We have clung together through everything and even more tightly, clung to our Lord. I seriously could not begin to quantify the blessings God has heaped on us and it humbles me to no end. I have seen so many marriages around me wither and die, and I feel so humbled to have this incredible, incredible man who gets me on every single level, who challenges me and thrills me, who makes me laugh almost constantly. I look forward to each new day we share together, no matter what it brings. I love you, Kyle. More today than any day previous. You have been worth everything and then some.

How is it possible that I'm already halfway through this pregnancy?

Several things have happened that bear mentioning - last Thursday, God took Kyle's grandmother, Alice, home to heaven. She had celebrated her 90th birthday on September 18 and lived a very full, blessed life. She had recently had to move into a nursing home and seeing her anywhere other than her own living room was very difficult. That the Lord took her when He did was a blessing, although she will be greatly missed here on this earth. She was one of the sweetest women I know - with a fiesty streak that makes me grin even now. I loved peppering her for details of her life, her family history, her marriage to her beloved Chris who died shortly after Kyle and I met 15 years ago. She has missed that man every single day and the first thing I thought of when Kyle told me she had died was that she was gonna be so thrilled to be with her husband and her Lord.

That same day, my dear friend, Carrie gave birth to a daughter, Ellie Charlotte! The little one took her sweet time getting here and was almost a week overdue, but well worth the wait, from what I can see. I can't wait to get my arms around her!

Those are just a few of the things that have impacted our life lately. More to follow.