BakerBits

I’ll lend you for a little while
A child of mine, God said
For you to love the while she lives
And mourn for when she’s dead.

It may be six or seven years,
Or forty-two or three.
But will you, till I call her back
Take care of her for me?

She’ll bring her charms to gladden you
And – should her stay be brief -
You’ll have her lovely memories
As a solace for your grief.

I cannot promise she will stay
For all from earth returns,
But there are lessons taught below
I want this child to learn.

I’ve looked the whole world over
In my search for teachers true.
And from all beings that crowd life’s land
I have chosen you.

Now, will you give her all your love?
Nor think the labor vain.
Nor hate me when I come to take
This lent child back again.

I fancied that I heard you say
“Dear Lord, Thy will be done.
For all the joys Thy child will bring
The risk of grief we’ll run.

We will shelter her with tenderness
We’ll love her while we may -
And for the happiness we have known
Forever grateful stay.

But should the angels come for her
Much sooner than we planned.
We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes
And try – to understand.”

Author Unknown

Ohh, this has been my favorite spring season ever. I really feel like we are enjoying the weather in all sorts of ways! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Planting with Nana:

Easter was delightful. We got to do a special story with the kids called ‘Benjamin’s Box’ about a little boy in Jerusalem telling about Jesus’s death and resurrection. Peter and Todd both got into it. Then to church and family lunch, complete with egg hunt and lots of candy!

Oh, and banjos accompanied by howling Labradors. Compliments of Scott:

Todd got way, way, into the egg hunt.

Vivienne is at that lovely stage where she refuses to hold still and let mommy get a good shot of her Easter dress and hat.

Reading with Kimberly and Olivia:

Todd was so hoppy to wear this:

Peter helping Joshua play Phase 10:

And with Viv, if she’s not avoiding me, I get the ‘cheese’ face:

Out of nowhere, it snowed in April. Of course, nothing left on the ground to play with, but entertaining window watching nonetheless.

Dandelions for Mommy and Auntie:

And with spring comes time to plant trees! So we’ve been planting our new baby Thuja Green Giants, 110 of them. :-O

You know your kids are close when this is their default sitting arrangement when it comes time to watch a movie:

Yeah, Mom, just take the picture already so we can get back to Rocky and Bullwinkle:

Thanks for looking!

I have fallen to the knit addiction. I haven’t been reading or blogging in my spare time, I’ve been knitting. I had learned to knit a few times over the years, but in the fall, I actually finished a couple objects and that fueled the fire for more knitting. I am active on Ravelry as Pookamama, and am enjoying the challenges and triumphs of the art of knittery. Knitting appeals so much to my situation because it is simple materially. In order to work on a knitting project, I only need my yarn, my needles, and my pattern. That means I can knit while just hanging out with my kids. I can’t do that with my other crafts.

In the fall I got some ghetto hats and a baby doll blanket done. That taught me knit and purl, and some heinous sewing up.

Now, some finished objects, in order of completion:

Newborn hat:

This accomplished teaching me increases and decreases. I also learned how to stitch up a seam to make it look seamless on the outside. It also taught me that wool is just wonderful to work with.

Cotton Kercheif:

This taught me yarn overs, slipped stitches, and knit two together. Also my first blocking experience.

action shot:

Ruffle Hat:

This taught me a different increase, make one. It also taught me that making a lot of stitches on a short straight needle is painful.

Kerchief, this time in acrylic sock yarn:

This taught me I really like working with sock weight yarn.

Sleep sack for the baby bean:

This was my first project on circulars. Learning to join in the round was tricky. I first started the sleep sack on double pointed needles but it was too hard to do the k2, p2, join in the round, and keep all the yarn on all the needles. I will try another project later with dpns. In the meantime, knitting with circs is quick and painless!

Bunny Blankey:

This taught me that Lion Brand Homespun sucks to knit. But it does look great in garter stitch. I also learned about how to make a hollow cavity as you knit (in this case, making the bunny’s head). I also had my first experience stitching a face on, which is much harder than it sounds! I redid it many times before I could even get it straight.

So, on my blocking rack right now is a drop stitch scarf that is absolutely beautiful. I am casting on for a skirt for Vivienne. It’s fun to have a girl to knit for. I knit the boys hats for my fall projects, but the hats get ignored. Maybe my next project after the skirty will be sweaters. We’ll see.

And my sister.

Yay for new and exciting playgrounds!

Gaah, my baby girl is twenty months. I can’t believe this.

McDonald’s Apple Pies. True Love, only $.50

the Eco Globe

the carousel:

Peter at least sat through it this time. He didn’t grace us with a smile, however.

I have a post hibernating about mushy love/husband wifey/Valentines day stuff that I did not get out for Valentines day. Maybe it will come out later. But you don’t mind looking at such beautiful, active kiddos, do ya?

Those of you with little girls you like to dress up, here is a fun giveaway for $30 worth of cuteness:

http://tuckerstaketennessee.blogspot.com/2010/02/win-it-wednesday-bebebows.html

Keep calm and carry on!

I had two friends have babies this week. So in honor of all that is new, perfect, newborn squishyface love, here is a post with all three of my babies as newborns.

Todd:

Peter:

Vivienne:

We’ve had a surprising amount of sunny days lately, and we’ve been celebrating by being outside. And I’ve been taking lots of pictures. I love living here.

My brown eyed boy…

Little Miss Cranky Pigtails. She’s been transitioning to two year old mode. Lots of ‘no!” and throwing little tantrums. Good thing I know this is a phase.

Kyle helped the boys sit in a tree.

Boys and sticks were just meant to be together!

What happens to pigtails after a nap. (Todd helped me make rice crispie treats during said nap and everybody enjoyed them very much!)

And the rest are just shots from around the property. I’m a sucker for pine trees and fluffy clouds!

Visiting family!

Mollie and Mom:

Mom, Carol, and Beefooni:

Grandpa Bill talking with Todd

Mom and kiddos watching Stewie, Mollie’s bird

Grandma and Vivienne

Playing with My Little Ponies, the very same ones my sisters and I played with when we were little:

On MLKJ day, it was an interesting experience to explain to Todd why we had today as a holiday. Later we went to a playground:

Todd is *almost* to the top of the mountain!

Peter has his game face on.

Vivienne is almost always happy.

Todd is changing Vivienne’s oil.

Do you ever have a church sermon that makes you think so hard your head hurts? Anyway, something I have frequently pondered is the search for meaning in my own life, and in the lives of other people. I have even heard Christians expressing dissatisfaction with their life directions and wondering what they are supposed to be doing at any given moment in their lives, and I have done this myself as a Christian.

Our sermon was on Matthew 22:23-30 where Jesus is asked how marriage will be after the resurrection. The conclusion is that the marriages that we have on earth will not be in heaven. The pastor also noted 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, where Paul commands those who are married to live as if they are not. So as a church we looked at the purpose of being on earth as a Christian. What are we supposed to be doing, anyway? Marriage is clearly not a key element.

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So there we go. Be you married or unmarried, you are supposed to be making disciples. God has given  us a job to do. Whether you do that with your children that you got as a result of being married (or however you got your children) or you are doing that  with other people in any way shape or form, you are doing what will bring God glory and you the satisfaction of having done good work.  In heaven, Kyle won’t be my husband. Todd, Peter, and Vivienne, won’t be my children. Granting that Todd, Peter, and Vivienne come to love and follow Christ, we will all be children of God, and our earthly physical relationships won’t have the same impact they do here.

So that all made my head hurt because I realized why I was on earth, and why I was a mother. God gave me these children to make them disciples of him. I really don’t have anything greater to aim for than helping other people love and follow Jesus. Nothing is really harder, but it has the awesome power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish it.

I remember being a sophomore in college, and seriously confused about how I was going to serve God. I was a disciple, now what? I went to a missions conference and didn’t feel like anything there gripped me and called me by the power of God, but I felt so ready. I really wondered why I hadn’t been called to go to Africa or Canada or even the slums of LA for long-term mission work. I didn’t even feel like finishing college was important, because I couldn’t even decide what I wanted to major in.

Short story, I discovered Kyle liked me, I liked him, and we got married. I guess at the time I didn’t see anything particularly mission-like in all that. But then we had children. And at first I was just trying to survive. However, now I have seen that my searching back in my sophomore year had yielded me a very solid answer indeed in a very roundabout way. Having children is not just something you do to occupy yourself for 20-30 years until they move out. It’s a long term commitment to raise your child in the fear of the Lord, to do all you can to love on them and tell them about Jesus, to pray every moment that they would come to love and follow Christ, to give them godly council for the troubles they will face, to help them acquire a set of life skills that will help them in their walk with God in this awful scary place called earth. And, the ultimate hope, that they will desire to make disciples of other people, and forward the wonderful love of God whatever they do.

That’s why I am not concerned if my children ever go to college, or get married or not, or move to Zimbabwe or California or orbit the moon. I just want them to love Jesus, and be His disciples. Same goes with other people I know and love. You don’t have to get married, you don’t have to have children, you don’t have to have a job, or be successful in whatever field, and it’s ok if you didn’t become the astronaut/fireman/overseas missionary you wanted to be when you were younger. God has you in a place right now and your job is to make disciples. He will equip you, all you gotta do is love, serve, and share. Invest in the lives of other people in ways that will matter in an eternal sense. God will place things like college, jobs, marriage,children, etc, in your life to help put you where he wants you to make disciples.

And now, as a mother, I am ready to heartily embrace my calling. I no longer am waiting until they are all in school so I can go back to college and make something of myself. I am not waiting for them to graduate and move out to make my life easier. Here I am now, and my hands are full with the good work that God has given me. I aim to make disciples of my children, and anyone else who God places in my path. Jesus is with me, I can do it.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
	Mat 28:20	teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Kyle got me a camera for Christmas.

The firstfruits:

Toddaloony!

Peter Poo

Vivi Boo Boo

All together now: