New Year's Word

I am, as usual, a bit slow to catch on - but I love this idea  which appears to have originated somewhere back here.

Choose a word for the year.

My word is LISTEN.

To my husband, to my kids, to my friends & colleagues...  most of all to God.

John 10:2-4 (New International Version)

²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Sock on Safari

My souvenir from last week's trip to Austin:

the famed Opal Harry Potter sock yarn (now discontinued and hard to find) ... there was one skein left, in the "Harry und Ron" colorway, in the sock yarn room (ROOM!) at Hill Country Weavers.

It's really awesome yarn - bright, varied colors, and soft as anything.


The sock did some major tourist activity.

Above is the sock on a duck tour (including "splashdown" into Lake Austin).  It didn't dare peek over the edge.

Below is the sock at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch ("safari, Texas style!")

It didn't dare look out the window very long...

Wildlife, up close and personal.


The sock is done now... just need to finish #2.

Family New Year's Resolution

What better time than now to start going through the Heidelberg Catechism with our offspring?

It's divided by weeks (Lord's Days) -- so this week we got to start with the best Q&A ever, #1:

LORD'S DAY 1

1   Q.  What is your only comfort
in life and in death?

A.  That I am not my own,^1
but belong,
  body and soul,
  in life and in death—^2
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.^3

  He has fully paid for all my sins with his
precious blood,^4
  and has set me free from the tyranny
of the devil.^5
  He also watches over me in such a way^6
  that not a hair can fall from my head
  without the will of my Father in heaven:^7
  in fact, all things must work together
for my salvation.^8

Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life^9
and makes me wholeheartedly willing
and ready
from now on to live for him.^10

^1  1 Cor. 6:19-20
^2  Rom. 14:7-9
^3  1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14
^4  1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2
^5  John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11
^6  John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5
^7  Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18
^8  Rom. 8:28
^9  Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14
^10   Rom. 8:1-17

The 9 year old has abbreviated this answer to "GOD!!!" (which is always a safe answer) but i hope she'll someday remember the whole thing. It's the one I remember best from my own childhood... and the one that shows up framed on people's wall, laminated on wallet cards, printed in funeral programs, etc.

Q&A #2 is less exciting, but shorter (condenses down to "sin, salvation and service"):

2   Q.  What must you know
    to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

A.  Three things:
   first, how great my sin and misery are;^1
   second, how I am set free from all my
sins and misery;^2
   third, how I am to thank God for such
deliverance.^3

^1  Rom. 3:9-10; 1 John 1:10
^2  John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 10:43
^3  Matt. 5:16; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 5:8-10; 2 Tim. 2:15;
1 Pet. 2:9-10

The challenge is going to be keeping them engaged - so far this comprises reading the references. ( I want them to be able to find them in the actual Bible; dh is advocating for online lookup.)

Happy New Year!!

Is it OK to knit for a patient?

I don't usually knit for patients. I can't even keep up with my family & friends the way they deserve. (I don't really keep up with the blog, either, but it doesn't deserve the attention anyway.)

Anyway, I think this poor little guy is an exception to the rule. He was finally all ready to go home ... but now his mom has not only been re-admitted, she ended up in the adult ICU.

The only things I could think of to do were (1) pray, and (2) knit him an earflap hat.

The pattern is at http://heyjulie.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/babykids-earflap-hat/

from Horn Notes Blog: Quote of the week--Farkas on "stagefright"

Philip Farkas reflects on predestination and the CSO

I just happened to find this while randomly surfing horn-related sites. The title caught my interest because performance anxiety has always been an issue with me (much less lately, until an actual professional principal horn player happened to sit 4th in our community orchestra's little concert yesterday!)


Hm, wonder if Farkas was a Calvinist...

Outer space

Daylight savings time is a painful thing! I think this shot of the Bear sums up the feeling. He has been very interested in outer space and planets lately (thanks to the Magic School Bus space DVD). One of the 4K classes at school made this mural -- he was thrilled to find it and name all the planets! Unfortunately he couldn't figure out where Pluto was ... it's hard to explain that since that DVD was made, Pluto has been demoted from "planet" status.

Yes, he is wearing his sister's old dress -- we are still choosing not to fight that battle!

In knitting news I have finished one of the toe-up Ambrosia socks!! ... but now I can't find the other ball of Ambrosia. Not a problem since there are so many other unfinished projects in my house...

Valentine Fever!

Such excitement! Eleanor (The Weast) awakened us with "Happy Valentine's Day!" and I realized i hadn't gotten their valentines & gifts ready yet. It didn't bother them to wait & play with the guinea pigs. Eleanor likes to lie down on her back with a "guinea" on her chest/belly to snuggle.



Their gifts spoke to the desires of their little hearts ... the Weast got a fairy book and the Bear got 2 Matchbox cars (a Corvette and a Jaguar).

Eleanor proclaimed that "there are 4 great things about today: Half day of school, Dress-down Day, Valentine's party... " oh dear, now I have forgotten the 4th.

Henry insisted on dressing all in red (see above with his new cars.) At school he kept announcing to everyone he ran into that "I got cars for Valentine's Day!" He also informed me that "I will always love you, Mommy!"