It begins...

A friend recently forwarded an email to me titled "The Invisible Mother," a short essay comparing the tireless and often thankless job of a mother to the builders of Europe's great cathedrals. Both give their whole lives for a work they will never see finished, both make sacrifices and expect no credit, and both are fueled in their passion by the faith that the eyes of God see every detail. The writer of the essay was inspired by the thought that our endless efforts in motherhood, invisible as they may seem, are worth it and can make an enriching life.


For many of us, the way we choose to hold our invisibility at bay is by creating something tangible. For me, my days often end with knitting - my love of fiber and the need to do something relaxing end up producing something I can hold and look at. Nobody will know how many times I swept under the high chair that day, or how many toys I picked up, or how many times I tried to coax a "please" or "more" or "sorry" out of my 5 year old. But a darling, handmade infant hat? That you can see.


I start new projects every day, and my 10 year old does the same. In this process of creating (and yes, often not finishing our projects!) we connect with each other and a bigger picture of ourselves in the process. My plan for this blog is to share the projects that excite me and bring some accessible proof of my existence in this invisible world of mothering!


So, this blog is dedicated to the mothers out there whose days are filled with the minutia of tasks that build our children and our families. I often tell people that I haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. But for now, I am the builder of a great cathedral. With every shoelace tied, lunch packed, and forehead kissed, I build.


And I can hardly wait to create something new...


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Dog Days

The summer is stretching ahead of us in a lazy way, now. Camping and travelling are done - now it's time to get some sun, kick our feet up, and enjoy the dog days of summer!


We had a great time visiting family in Iowa this week. I managed to finish 2 more Afghan sweaters (thankfully, knitting in the car doesn't make me motion sick!) The sweaters are blocked and drying and I have started a 5th. My wool stash drawer is looking pretty bare now!

While in Iowa, Mom had the big kids decorate "fireworks" cookies for fun. (And they were yummy too!)


We also had tons of fun in the wading pool and just being together.
Rowan is learning to use matches, and tried a few snakes on her own...
We're home now, and I have no idea what day it is. Totally confused! Yesterday we watched some drain digging progress in our backyard...and I noticed the first hibiscus bloom. It's huge!

And I've finally started dealing with the piles and cleanup from before we left. All the day camp stuff had to be put away. Rowan and I looked through our SWAPS and I picked a few of my favorites from this year and last year in the photo below. Love the little black frying pan and the hobo stick!
Hope you and yours had a wonderful 4th. Happy Birthday, America!

2 comments:

  1. LOVE all your pictures. One of my favs is little Rowan on my lap at Sweet Spot. Little did we know her ear was probably aching at that point, eh? Kiss, kiss.

    Your vests are just great. Love the color combos. Someday some kids are going to cherish them.

    All the photos are so fun to see. I must get mine downloaded. iPhoto keeps crashing every time I download something. Do you think 25,000 is too many on there!!!??? I need to delete some, I am sure. Just HATE to do it.

    Thanks for sharing your family and fun in this wonderful blog!

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  2. Love the picture of Brynn being snuggled!

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