L is for letting go...

Letting go. Such a hard thing for a mother to do. How does one go from having our kids be dependent for everything to realizing they are closer to leaving every day?

My first instinct is always to protect them. As they get older I really want to keep them from the hurts life can bring. But weren't my greatest lessons learned from the mistakes I made? Mistakes that formed who I am, how I think, & made me both stronger & more compassionate. Is there a way to pass on what I learned & save my kids from going through their own mistakes? I think that thing called the teen years kinda erases that hope, huh?

Perhaps the hardest part of letting go right now is allowing them to venture out & do those things that boys do. Like today, Opa (grandpa in German) took them out kayaking. He let Q go in his own kayak. Upon hearing this I just about fainted, only to be reassured by a nearby college-age boy that this was what boys do & he was safe. Yes, letting go. Thank goodness I've still got a few years to practice letting go.

K is for knowledge

K is for knowledge & the never-ending desire I have to learn new things & sharpen my skills. Currently the 2 big learning areas are cooking & lace-knitting. I am currently working on 2 shawls, one of which is the Icarus from Interweave Knits:


This is knit with the yarn Z gave me (Skacel Merino Lace) on size 2 needles. I've done 5 pattern repeats so far & will make it bigger than the original. (You can see Jill, our cat in the picture too)

While my kids are not eating all the new dishes I'm creating, they both loved the egg roles I made from scratch tonight:

I was surprised how yummy they turned out (it being my first time making them). We will definitely be making these alot from now on. Hopefully the new cookies we are going to try making tomorrow will be just as yummy!

Vacation times

We started our vacation with a great view:


Then spent the week having fun:


Added a few crazy times:


And found ourselves being driven home by someone else:


That is my niece driving us. I managed to remain calm, although I did wonder how I managed to 'suddenly' be the responsible adult driver. We had a fun vacation week & I was able to start a shawl with that yummy yarn in the first picture (thanks again Z!). I'll post a picture as soon as I get us readjusted to homelife.

Simple pleasures

We are busy enjoying the simple pleasures of summer. There is lots of swimming, giggling, reading, lounging, & more going on. The boys are even discovering new adventures:


The picture is from a fabulous day at a friends lake house (hi Susan). Much to their delight the boys actually caught fish.

There is knitting happening here. Lots of knitting. I may have a complete addiction to lace now. My sister-in-law also surprised me with the perfect yarn this past weekend, which just further proves that my brother did indeed marry the perfect girl. I'll post pictures soon. For now we are off to spoil my nephew for a week.