October 21, 2008 by KellyH.

One of the “classes” I teach my children is Life Skills. I used to not count it as a class… it was just ‘life.’ But lately I find that I’m doing more and talking less. So, I’ve tried to change that by including them in what I’m doing. My daughter is still a bit young to keep proper tension for crocheting, but she enjoys sitting next to me while I crochet. My two younger sons enjoy making pillows with my sewing machine.

My latest project is the task of using up extra yarn. To teach that, I made a turtle pillow from scrap yarn. The main body of the turtle was made from yarn I had leftover after making an afghan for my daughter.

I enjoy crocheting. I can sit near my husband while he watches football or a NASCAR race, have a child cuddling next to me, or sit alone and listen to music. Many years ago, while pregnant with my first son, I began making an afghan. It would be a ‘playmat’ for my new baby to lay on. Because of its size, I soon set it aside and promptly forgot about it. It remained unfinished for years. Then one year I found a pattern for a Bible afghan. It was composed of blocks, which made it easy to work on, and each block represented a Bible passage. I completed that within a few months.

The Bible afghan inspired me to dig out my baby afghan and finish it. Last year I completed the baby afghan. I presented it to my oldest since I had originally made it for him. Being 17, he politely declined. I gave it to his youngest brother. You may notice that the water has a section that is a different color–I ran out of blue yarn. Since I had bought all my yarn 17 years ago, I was unable to get an exact match. I told my son, “that’s the deep end of the pond.”

One of my other sons took such an interest in the baby afghan that I agreed to make him an afghan, too. He found a really neat pattern, and I proceeded to make him a flag afghan.

I’ve picked out a few more afghans that I really want to make, but I’m not sure who will get them. As my husband said, “make it — we’ll find a home for it.” I think I may make a few more turtle pillows, too.

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May 12, 2008 by KellyH.

Warm weather brings so many distractions: prepping the pool for summer; hikes in the nature park; parking farther away from building entrances to get more exercise; cleaning up the yard; and the list goes on. Although I’m not much of an ‘outdoor’ person, I do enjoy relaxing outside while visiting with friends and relatives. Last week I had the opportunity to do that while visiting my mom.

My two youngest were daring enough to swim in the lake at Grandma’s house. These two are fish; they had splashed around in our in-ground pool the day before as it was filling. I think the lake was slightly warmer, but not by much!

Church activities and out-of-town visitors are another big distraction. Two of my sons are helping with the Upwards football evaluations this week, keeping them busy after supper each night. My cousin called today and we hammered out plans for her to visit with a few of her children. I say “a few” because she has twelve. Yes, I said twelve, and the ten youngest are boys. She’s only bringing five boys, leaving the other five with their older sisters and father.

How can I best utilize these distractions for educational purposes? I’m hoping to keep the children informed and involved in all that’s happening and being planned. I’ll keep them focused on seeing the world through God’s eyes with guided discussions and questions when possible. I’ll also use the distractions to keep the children busy while I plan out our next unit of study!

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May 8, 2008 by KellyH.

A few years ago I made myself a new dress just in time for Mother’s Day. I also made my daughter a matching dress, and we attended a Mother/Daughter luncheon at church in our new outfits. I’d never made myself a floor-length dress before, and it was a challenge finding somewhere to hang it for pinning the hem. I decided I needed a Singer® 151 Adjustable Dressform. I’ve made three more dresses from the same pattern since then, and I simply love the way they fit!

It’s been fun teaching my daughter about using the dressform, and showing her how it helps to make dresses that fit properly. I think, as Mother’s Day approaches again, that it’s time I bring my dressform out once again and make myself another dress!

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