Monday morning blessings

Drinking my coffee in a new coffee mug brought for me from China:


A gift of love from my big brother & a souvenir from the town my sister (in-law) came from.

My sons

Since becoming a mother to 2 sons, I've noticed something. When you met another mother of a son, there is an understanding, a connection that does not need words. Having a son completely changes how you view the world, how you view yourself, how you view men. I now know that boys are sensitive too (but they only show it to the people they trust & their moms of course), boys need to get their energy out or they burst (it's true. I've seen it), boys can talk just as much as girls (only their stories involve cars, bad guys, karate, & often some kind of a crash), & that if you do not feed them they get incredibly grouchy (tiny tip: always carry snacks).
But the best thing about being a Mom of sons is that even after an incredibly long day, where I'm convinced I will never, ever have a quiet moment again in my life, one glance at their (finally!) peaceful, sleeping selves & my heart just melts. I remember again how much I adore being their mother & how lucky I am to have been chosen by God to raise them.

A new thing

Last year when M was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I quickly became frustrated with the limited amount of 'fun' bracelets. For something that he needs to always wear, it should be fun. Right? Anyways my first attempt at making him a bracelet last year was very sad. Apparently my skills at making those friendship bracelets had vanished. (And Elizabeth, I'm sure we had to have made a few of them together!)

Fast forward a year, add an ebay find of hemp cords & beads, mix in a niece who is very into making bracelets, & look what I made:


A bracelet for M! And because I had searched before on etsy for a diabetic bracelet & found none (although I haven't searched recently), I decided to start my own etsy shop. It needs some more work, but I'm excited. I have lots of ideas of what I can craft & add to the shop. I've sold knitted items at consignment shops in town, but this feels more like a community. A community that I already love & spend way too much time looking at. (Seriously. Have you seen the talent? I'm always awestruck.)

So I'm trying a new thing. Perhaps something to reaffirm that I'm a crafter. I think I'd forgotten.

Cousin time

We got an unexpected, but very much wanted, visit from my niece & nephew. The last couple of days have been filled with giggling, late-night runs to the grocery store for ice cream, playing, staying up way too late, & of course crafting...


Here is Dani's creations. I'm so thrilled that she taught me how to make jewlery like this. We got more auntie/niece bonding in than we have in years sitting around creating bracelets.

I also gave Dani a scarf I had crochet:


Of course now that she is gone, I see that you can't really see the scarf very well. Oh well, isn't my niece beautiful? We found many things that we have in common these last few days...we are middle children, love crafting & cooking (although she is the true chef), & we both love mystery shows. Hopefully we'll get lots more fun times like this.

The boys all had fun too. M & my nephew were a bit scared last night during the thunderstorm. Here is a picture of very rare sleep:


And to play catch-up, here are my kids & my Dad enjoying a new summer toy:

Aren't Grandpa's fun?