Right Now I Am

Reading "We took to the Woods", a piece of non-fiction by Louise Dickinson Rich, where she chronicles tidbits of her life living deep in the woods of Maine. I can't get enough of the rich, descriptive writing where she describes what they eat, how they survive, the visitors that come through, and how they make a living.

Eating less calories than usual, trying to use My Fitness Pal to count, and having good days & bad days in doing so. Weekends are always the most difficult to stay focused on the goal.

Loving early morning workouts. I never thought I would be someone to enjoy the 5:30 a.m. step class, but I love having it done and over with by the time I drop the kids off at school. Jeff's sister Amber was the first to promote early morning workouts, and I have always admired her ability to get up early and do it.

Behind on laundry, as usual.

Looking forward to spring break and a possible fun vacation to the Redwoods our little family is considering.

Enjoying our new furnace and the quiet, efficient way it heats our house without us even being aware. Life is good and comfortable and I feel so blessed.

A little nervous about the prospect of finding a new car to replace our old 1995 Honda Accord that has given us so many good years, but just isn't worth repairing anymore.

Handmade Christmas Gifts 2013

I always want to remember the fun the boys have in making Christmas gifts for each other. This is a tradition that makes special memories for weeks during the planning, making, wrapping and opening of each gift.

Henry made all the brothers a "medicine bottle" full of candy. "When you are sick, use these". When they opened up each bottle, he couldn't wait for them to read the funny joke.

Owen made James a  mod podge bowl for his dresser to hold all the random small items that always seem to be piled on dressers. He was originally going to make the whole thing out of newspaper and paint it, but when it was dry, he used his creative license to leave the newspaper showing. He even cut out the date from one newspaper and mod podged it to the bottom for a memory of when it was made.

For the little brothers, Owen and I found many pictures of them over the few years of their lives, had them printed and he made each a special photo book that they love to look through.

 James and I found this idea for clipboard chalkboards. He made one for each brother, including a little fabric chalk holder that he hot-glued to the back and a felt eraser mitt in three different sizes for three different hands.