They Grow Up So Fast. . .

When my children were young people used to tell me all the time to watch out because they would grow up too fast . . . . 

Nicholas -December 1982

                                                                 Brothers-Spring 1986

                                                                Benjamin-October 1988

And they were right. . .our days of teething, crawling and getting into everything, soon morphed into days of homework, friends, and social gatherings where they no longer wanted Mom hanging out with them.

The shoes get bigger, the pants get longer and before I knew it I was looking up at them instead of the other way around.  And seriously, when looking back, it seems to have happened in the blink of an eye! You watch them go on their first date, get their drivers' licenses and their first jobs and before you know it they are all grown up and that season of life you thought was going to last forever has changed into something new. . .

My prayer of "keep them safe in Kindergarten and help them find a friend" became "protect them from the big world out there and help them find true love". 

You want for your children the very best in life. . .someone to love who truly loves them back. . . someone that loves them for who they really are and doesn't try to change them. . . . someone that holds onto your child's heart as if it's the most precious, fragile, treasured item they've ever owned.  And when you know they've found that, you are filled with joy for them!

                                                               Nicholas and Rebecca

Benjamin and Carly

I look at these "babies" of mine and I'm so proud of the men they've become.  My heart is happy that they are happy and that their lives are blessed by two amazing young women who have also blessed my life!  It is true, they do grow up so fast. . too fast!  Hold onto every precious moment you have with your children.  But remember, no matter how old they are, they will always be "your baby!"

A work in progress

A few months ago I posted some pictures of a shawl I saw on the blog "attic 24" one of my all time favorite blogs!  I think it's beautiful and began trying to make one of my own.  The picture below is the shawl Lucy, (author of Attic 24), made:

And so my journey began as I learned to make the flowers. . .

and then began making the flowers using different color combinations. . . .

I have completed 12 flowers, and though I still have many, many flowers to make before I can complete the shawl, today I decided to begin sewing them together.  There is excitement in seeing a project begin to come together.

It's interesting how bold the colors look in this picture, when in fact they are really much softer.  The shawl, when completed, will need to be "blocked" so that the shawl will lay nice and flowers will

not look as if they are all different sizes as they do in the picture!!  I need 52 flowers to make the shawl the size I would like it to be- - -that means I need to make 40 more!! Whew!!  But it will be fun to watch the project grow and develop into something beautiful!!