::inspiring::

I just can't stop thinking about this girl and her family.
Don't follow the links unless you're prepared to be touched and have your heart broken.
They just lost a beautiful little baby. Unexpectedly and suddenly.
She was writing all about what happened on her blog--keeping everyone posted and expressing faith that he would survive.
Then after she lost him she's written more--about faith, about prayer. She's taken the time to communicate her feelings to all of us though she's been in such pain. At a time when it would be so easy to think of nothing but herself she's been careful to communicate and explain important things.
I am amazed and strengthened by this story and by her faith. And my heart is broken.
The story starts here. The post that touches me the most is here.
What a great example she is. My heart goes out to her and her family. I'm sure yours will too.

::::

Kindergarten 1984 (?)

Kindergarten 2009/2010

See any resemblance?
That sideway smile is one that Max always does when he's trying to be cool, or when he's self conscious. He's totally aware of it too, because he's drawn pictures of himself with that smile before.

What a couple of cuties.

::charts::

Max gets a chore chart every week. OK, so it's not every single week, but it's supposed to be. Sometimes I forget. And though he gets paid for the completed chart he doesn't seem to remember to remind me.....Anyway, he gets a chart. His chores are as follows:
Feed Sultan
Wash Hands (a result of the swine flu scare)
Brush Teeth
Clean Room
Let Sultan in and out
Dishwasher Help (putting away the silverware)
Practice Guitar
Clean up outside/inside toys
Pretty good list, right? He's the kind of guy that needs things to do, and although he doesn't like it when I make him do it, he does like marking the chart and does like earning a little cash.

Last week after I made his chart he sat down and made me a chart. I was very interested to see what my chart would say.

The tasks are in code. I had to write them down so I could remember what it was I was supposed to be doing. So here they are:
CR = Clean Room
D = Dishwasher (specifically everything Max doesn't do--he mentioned that specially)
W = Wash Hands
Fe Us = Feed Us (I like this one--so clear and concise)
B = ?? (he couldn't remember what that one was--very mysterious)
ST = Give Sultan Treats (lucky Sul)
WD = Wash Dishes (woo hoo, lucky me)
W CL = Wash Clothes

Sounds about right, doesn't it? Not much is left off there. I did a pretty good job with my chart this week. He reminded me to check my tasks off quite a few times.

He has a new chart along with his chores this week. It's a special anti-finger-chewing tactic. He gets two mess ups every day until friday. If he can make it until friday he gets some new legos. I hope it works because I'm tired of seeing him gnaw his little nails down to the quick.

::lessons::

Guitar lessons have begun.

We found a nice old guy at a local music store that enjoys teaching little kids. And Max has loved him so far. Max has delighted the teacher with his enthusiasm and interest. It's only been two weeks though, so we'll see if it all continues. As of now it's darling to see him with the little guitar. And it's really fun to have him in the house practicing, though if you have a headache stay away--far away.

He'll be playing the Ewok theme from Star Wars before we know it. (That's what he wanted Kris to teach him tonight, much to Kris's chagrin.)

::more little projects::

I had a couple of things I was working on for christmas that I had to keep secret, but now I can show them to you!
First is the project that got me crocheting in the first place.
My younger sister Charlotte loves cuttlefish.
Have you ever seen a cuttlefish?

image from here

I'm not sure if I had or not before we went to Disney World this year. Anyway, we ran across a whole tank of cuttlefish and Charlotte declared her undying love. So I knew I needed to give her one for Christmas. Then I found a really cool crochet pattern for a cuttlefish on etsy. And I knew I had to try it. So after a lot of practicing and a lot of messes I finally created a cuttlefish!!



I think he turned out really cute. I'm guessing I could make an even better one now with all my practice, but I think he turned out wonderful.
Maybe I'll try my hand at creating a sibling cuttlefish for him one of these days, maybe.
Thanks for inspiring me to start making stuff Char!

I made a little alligator for a friend's one year old a couple of weeks ago. He turned out pretty cute too.


It's fun to be able to make gifts that kids actually seem to like. And it's a good thing I have people to give these little guys to, or the house would be overrun.

Lastly here's a bird that I made in december. My mom has a traditional ornament exchange party every year, and I was thinking it would be fun to participate from afar this year. So I made this bird and sent him across the country.


Now I just need to make one for myself! At least I have the picture in case my own version never gets made.

So there are a few fun projects for you. It feels good to make stuff right now. It's so nice to have something to do with my hands that feels so productive so quickly.

::::

The last couple of years I've made a photo calendar for us through iphoto. I love these calendars. It's so fun to change the month and see what old pictures show up. Max loves it too. (He should since it's basically all about him--of course.)
Anyway, the nicest thing I've done for myself lately was to make the calendar last year go from Jan to Jan, instead of Dec to Dec. So in the midst of all the crazy things there are to do in December, I don't have to remember to make our new calendar! But of course I still haven't gotten the new one done. It's more work than it should be because I don't use iphoto much anymore, so I have to import everything I want to use. But still it's no good excuse. Maybe this time I should make the calender good through Feb...

::finished::

Check it out:

This is what I did with those cute snowflakes.
My original idea was to hang them from the ceiling of the kitchen. But I needed tons and tons to do that, because I would've wanted them thick. And the ceiling in our house is a bit low, so I was afraid Kris would be banging his head on them all the time.
And there was this perfect overhang at the window that was just begging for some fun.

So there they hang. Those two you see that look yellow aren't really that yellow. They're just kind of off white. When I realized how they looked compared to the other yarns I didn't make any more of those.

I think they're really fun. They make the winter seem just a little more festive. And you can't really tell, but most of them are made with yarn that has a little bit of a sparkle to it.
I like their silhouettes:

I got the pattern from here. They look really hard and complicated, but they're really very simple. And they're fast too, once you make one or two. I cranked out like 8 the other night when we were watching a (dumb) movie. And it's easy to improvise with them too. I came up with two other patterns based on the original that I really liked.
So try them. It's fun!!

In other news Kris has been tying a lot of fly fishing flies. He's getting good at it. He's working on flies for salt water fishies.
They're a lot bigger than the freshwater ones I'm used to seeing.
ALSO, Kris fixed my stained glass lamp. You can see it in a couple of the pictures in the beginning of this post. We got it for our wedding from some wonderful friends and I love it. One of our last moves did it in though. The post was totally broken. It wasn't of the highest quality to begin with, and four moves in four years was just too much. Anyway, Kris attempted to fix it a while back and it turned out badly--gorilla glue + fingers = bad news. But the other day he had an epiphany and fixed the dang thing with a dowel. I'm so happy to have it back! We need it out here in the winter. It's so dark and gloomy almost all of the time.
Anyway, I know my husband loves me when he solves a nearly unsolvable problem for me and doesn't give up on it.
That could light up anybody's january.

::work in progress::

::he's vintage::

We've been experimenting with different hairdos for Max. He loves it when I use the hairspray because it's the "max hold" kind.
Doesn't he look like a cute little boy from the 50s or the 60s today?

He reminds me a ton of a picture of my dad from when he was 10 or so. I wish I had it so that I could post it here.
Cuteness.

****update!
My mom just sent me a photo of my dad in kindergarten, so the same age as my Mazzles. He's so cute. See any resemblance between the two men?