My Midwife Spins Wool...Isn't She Cool!

I have loved living in a small town where you really get to know the people that cross your path in life. For example, my midwife delivered my child but she also became my friend. She's a wonderful woman and I've enjoyed many meaningful conversations with her. I recently invited her to show our home preschool how she spins wool into yarn and knits socks and sweaters. Her visit was wonderful and the kids really enjoyed it.

Gail brought wool from a sheep that had just been sheared. She even brought the children a photo of the sheep the wool had come from. She let them cart (or comb) the wool. Then she showed them how to spin it. She let them each take a turn working the foot pedals. She also brought her knitting needles and showed them a sock she was making. Notice the socks she has on her feet; they are the prettiest socks I have ever seen. And she made them!

Gail took this cute photo of Collin holding three pieces of wool, each in a different stage of the process. You can see the sheared wool that is still curly and has been dyed green. You can also see the carted wool and finally the spun wool (which is hanging around his neck). Hopefully Gail and I continue to find excuses to get together. Gail, thanks again for coming and sharing your talent with us!

Earthworms for Earth Day

It isn't every day that you are awakened by an excited little boy dangling a huge worm in front of your face. That was me this morning, because Collin is now the proud owner of an Earthworm habitat. At Mom's School we've been learning about all sorts of invertebrates, and on Tuesday Angie helped the boys make a worm farm. We even painted with worms at school. We dipped the cute little guys in paint and watched them inch their way along. So fun. Since then Collin has spent hours looking at his little night crawlers.

This worm investigation was a perfect way to end the reading of Collin's first chapter book, How to Eat Fried Worms. We read a little bit every day after lunch and some more at bedtime with Dad. When we were finished, Merritt even surprised Collin with a gummy worm sandwich for lunch. You've got to love Dads. They think of stuff that Moms wouldn't.

Speaking of Merritt...he received three staples to the crown of his head on Monday night. Be sure to share your love and sympathy. Alternatively, you can help convince him to get out of the construction business. That would help too. And I guess I deserve some sympathy too, seeing that I've now had mastitis twice in the last two weeks. I pray that it stays away.

Today at school we celebrated Earth Day. Collin made this adorable garbage monster. We did a litter walk along the bike trail near our home (otherwise known as the "miracle forest"). We also made our own "landfill" and buried small pieces of plastic, paper and aluminum, as well as discarded fruit and dead leaves. We'll dig it up in a few months to see what has happened to our garbage.

Just for fun, here is a cute picture of Owen wearing his fire truck shirt that says "Mommy's Little Hero". I just took this today. He's almost eight weeks old! I swear you can literally watch him grow.

Easter Sunday

Two Approaches to Coloring Eggs

Luke keeps surprising me. He's so different than his brother. For example, on Friday night our family colored the traditional Easter eggs. Collin carefully colored every egg and gently placed them into the egg carton. Then he wouldn't let people eat them because they were too pretty.

Luke colored one egg...then decided to break it and peel it and eat it and smash it into the table so as to make the biggest mess possible. Strangely, he then tried to pick up the broken and half-eaten egg pieces and put them back into the carton. This is not just because he's two. Collin was nothing like this at two. Go figure.

The happy ending to this story is that we managed to keep forty-three eggs from breaking. This was enough for the Easter bunny to hide for a Sunday morning egg hunt before church. Happy Easter!

All Smiles

It's official. Owen is smiling! So fun!