World Adoption Day

I had no idea that today was World Adoption Day! My world was totally changed for the better when we adopted first my son, then my daughter. They are God's greatest gifts to me, after His Son.

How did I know that today is World Adoption Day? Because I received the text below from my sweet, sweet, girl:

Love, love, love!

Yarn Along

This will be my first Yarn Along with Ginny of the blog, Small Things. I've often thought about participating, but have not blogged enough in the past to do so. The Princess thinks this would be a good idea, however, so here we go!

Currently, I'm reading the book "Threadbare" by Monica Ferris. It is a cozy mystery, which are my favorite type of fiction. Especially if they involve knitting or needlework of any type, and are a series. "Threadbare" is book 15, in a (so far) 16 book series. Since my days are busy and stressful many times, what little down time I have, I like to read and knit, and this book involves two of my favorite activities! 

My daughter loves scarves, and so I am making her a new infinity scarf. It is a simple pattern - K1, *P1, K1 each row for 24 stitches across. While I didn't remember to look at the yarn, I know that it is from Hobby Lobby, and I'm using US size 11 needles. Since she loved the first one I made her earlier this winter, and wears it all the time, she wanted another choice to wear. Maybe I'll finish it by next winter! (The first one I made was with Spud & Chloë outer yarn in Rhino.) This is what the first scarf looked like:

Hopefully, by next week I'll be on a new book. I know I'll still be knitting the same scarf!

Don't Mess Up

Last night, the princess opened up to me about some situations that are going on at school with which she is struggling. It was when she was laying in bed, right before going to sleep. (Isn't that when our children always tell us the important things?) I gave her my view on how to handle the situation, what I thought might be going on in the other person's head. She listened, added a few things, and we said our usual nighttime routine talk. I went to bed feeling good that she had opened up to me.

But then, around 3:00 a.m., I woke up with a start. I begin thinking, I hope I am not messing this up. At her age, it is not often she opens her heart about how she is feeling with school issues. I am an old mom, what do I know? This time, she took a chance with me, talking to me about something important to her. I don't want to mess up these opportunities. I want her to feel like her mom will listen, giving advice only when asked, listening always when needed. Did I overshare, go on too long? Did I really hear the undercurrent of what she was saying/asking? All I can do is keep praying that God keeps her heart open to her mom and Him. And that I don't mess up this motherhood of teens.

My Girl and Her Daddy

My princess is turning 13 years old in a couple of weeks. My baby is going to be a teenager?! It seems like just a few years ago we were bringing her home. So tiny, the size of a newborn at six months old, she has been the source of great joy and great angst. Joy, because when she loves, she LOVES. Angst, because when she hurts, I hurt to my very core.

Tonight, I held my girl in my arms as she sobbed about her upcoming birthday. Becoming a teenager is a milestone in every child's life, one she had been looking forward to since she turned twelve. Recently, however, her birthday has become a source of sadness for her. She is facing this birthday without her daddy.

You have to understand, this girl of mine is a true-to-the-bone daddy's girl. This child would run to the window when I picked her up from daycare looking for her daddy. Now by the time I got to the car, she was loving me, but for a few minutes, all she wanted, EVERY DAY, was her daddy. When she was upset, I would find her curled up at her daddy's side. If she was in trouble with me, she would go straight to her daddy for comfort. (To his credit, Mark always supported my decisions in front of her.) There was never any doubt in her mind that her daddy thought she was the star of his world.

Now, she faces the teenage years without the man who was everything to her. Yes, she has her memories, but she'd rather have her daddy. And this is something her mom can't fix.

Mistakes

Have you ever meddled in something that you thought was the right thing to do, but in retrospect, was the totally WRONG thing to do? I did that today, and I am all conflicted inside. On the one hand, I felt a matter needed to be addressed, as it involved having my child not telling me something. On the other hand, when parents get in the middle of a dispute among your child and other friends, matters never end well.

It is never fun to be yelled at, told you are lying, have your child labelled the cause of all major disputes. How does one react in a positive way? I tried being calm, and to some extent succeeded, but I don't know that I represented Christ well today. And while I would like to make the situation better, it is quite possible that trying to fix things would just make it worse.

Sigh....it is hard to find the blessings today.

Yes, It's About the Children, Again

In the short time I've been blogging, most of these posts have been about my children. Well, you lucky two readers, so is this one! It is just that being a mom is the best job EVER, and even though they do try my patience, my children just fill my heart.

Last night, the princess asked me, "Mom, remember you told me to tell you when someone tells me something and says don't tell anybody?" (We've always told the children this to protect them, that if someone should tell them something and say don't tell your parents, many times they DO need to tell their parents.) Well, it turns out a friend of hers now has a boyfriend, and her parents don't know. But it just warmed my heart that my daughter trusted me enough to tell me, that I haven't totally messed up as a mom. I just pray that she always feels that way, although I am prepared for the worst!

To top it off, my big guy came home after orientation/mobility, and his vision teacher told me that he had invited her to dinner. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but he has fought his teacher tooth and nail this year, as he does not want to be blind, doesn't want to use the tools designed for the blind, and thinks she is unfair when she insists that he use those tools. But he has matured enough to get past that, and is realizing that his teacher only wants the best for him. This is a big deal for him, and I am so proud. And his teacher was touched beyond belief that he made that step.

A picture to make you smile - can you guess how many grapes are inside her mouth?!



I may survive motherhood yet!

I Am the Mother of a Virtuoso

Think the title of this post is a bit much?! Perhaps, but I am just so proud of my girl.


Tonight was her last orchestra concert that I will be able to attend - the Fine Arts Festival happens when I am out of town. But I was just so proud to see how much she has improved her bowing and playing since the beginning of the year.

What I am most proud of is that she has stuck to violin playing for two years now. She practices with a minimum of fuss, and even gets up super early two days a week to play in the Fiddlers group - just for fun. She definitely didn't inherit her joy in playing from her mother - who gave up the violin after just a few months!

What is so funny about all this is that I have never liked classical music. Growing up, my parents would play it in the car and I would constantly complain about it. Even now, I ask my mom to turn it off! But there is something about hearing a sixth grade orchestra playing, especially a sixth grade orchestra that has the most precious 11-yr old girl playing violin, and it is the sweetest music ever heard.

So this is my blessing for today - the joy of hearing music, even classical music, from the violin of my precious girl.