Tune in TONIGHT

Watch live streaming video from bethanysouth at livestream.com

Thought I'd embed this wonderful live stream of Reinhard Bonnke preaching tonight at the Bethany South campus in Baton Rouge. John and I were planning on attending this conference but unfortunately a few things didn't line up for us. Thankfully they have been live streaming every speaker thus far, what a blessing! As I said Reinhard Bonnke will be speaking tonight; he has led over 28 million souls to Christ! Yes, 28 MILLION! I'm curious to see what he has to say :) This man is amazing, tune in.

Wisconsin Union Protest Rally

Check out this amazing video my husband put together. 
If you haven't already heard about the Union protests here in Wisconsin, many have gathered already at the capitol and will continue to gather in defense of the future of education in Wisconsin as well as in defense of the right to bargain and negotiate within their unions. The rallys, thus far, have been peaceful. We have enjoyed documenting this as a family, you will even see a small cameo of Gatlyn and I at the capitol. Though I cannot say that I'm fully in agreement with either "side," I do appreciate that people are able to gather and peacefully make their opinion known. It's important that we respect and love each other, even if we don't agree on this political issue. A good quote to think about: "Truth is often held in the tension of two opposing ideas. "

Baby shoes, the cutest things.

John, myself and Gatlyn spent the evening shopping for a few things. While G and I were waiting for John to try on some pants, I ran across these tiny shoes. They were SO adorable, I simply could not pass them up!!!! Can't go wrong with baby converse.

The cowl, it's back.

I just finished this amazing rolling leaves pattern cowl.  I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Coral, about 1.5 skeins. I love it! The color isn't super versatile but it is gorgeous!  The pattern looks very complicated but it's not, it just requires ample attention. Link to the free ravelry pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/growing-leaves-cowl

Oh yeah! GO PACK GO! Great game, the last time they won the super bowl I was 11, it was fantastic to watch....and knit :)

It's growing...

So, my hair is finally long enough to put up...despite having to clip it back with millions of pins and wear a head band! I took a pic just for fun, ignore my blobbiness....we're in the middle of a snow blizzard here and I've been baking cookies & watching movies for the past 36 hours. Enough said.

On a monday

He is all done! Turned out really cute and only took around a week. I worked on a limb here and there. The hardest part of Elijah were his ears, short rows are confusing but I managed! Overall, really happy with the results...would definitely make another and would recommend the pattern for purchase to anyone.

My theory on skinny jeans

I'm going to premise this with: mom, I love you in acid wash and I just purchased a pair of skinny jeans.

Let's face it people, skinny jeans are NOT attractive. They do a wonderful job at making 99.9% of the population look like fat sausages. That is my honest opinion, now comes the theory. As a little girl my mom would dress me in acid wash jeans (similar to the ones below, add bows to the ankles) a trend birthed in the 80's.

When I was old enough to begin choosing my own clothes, the later 90's, a perfect candidate was the flare jean. I wore these for years.

When skinnys came out I began to ponder. If I didn't embrace the new, I would soon be dressing my children in flare jeans like my mother dressed me in acid wash..which would be OK but would mean that I was getting OLD. Come on people, I want to be FRESH! So, needless to say I've embraced the new skinny trend, though you won't catch me in them with flats. I'll wear them with my UGG style boots, that's as far as I'm willing to go.

Sorry if this post made you feel like a fat sausage.

Progress on Eli...

I officially started Eli. I finished the head last night and have decided to enjoy knitting him piece by piece rather than obsessively working for hours on end until I finish - a tendency of mine. The instructions have been FABULOUS, which is why he is turning out so well...they make a difference! So far, I've learned the difference between m1l and m1r (thanks to youtube) and have gotten to practice ssk. All of this learning, so exciting!

Crazy 4 yarn

Today I purchased six skeins of Sublime Cashmere Aran in Mulberry, Granite, Smokey Blue (2), and Aqua (2). I also picked up two more skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in coral, gorgeous!! I cannot wait to get them, eBay is definitely the way to go for specialty yarn. One Sublime 50g bundle would cost $11 at The Knitting Tree, I picked it up for $6.50, shipping included, from eBay. Woot woot! They've arrived!

Elijah

I've already purchased a pattern for Elijah the elephant, isn't he ADORABLE! I'm really excited to start knitting him, he will end up being around three times bigger than Lamb. I'm up for the challenge. I've also picked out a 100% cotton light aqua yarn to knit him in. 

I love this Cotton, Aqua

Little lamb, not so little

Finished Gatlyn's little lamb, for my first knit toy it turned out really well. Didn't run into any major problems and learned a lot about shaping. The body ended up being HUGE compared to the picture, I would imagine that my knit was too loose or the gauge was off. No biggie. Would recommend it for any new knitter, plus, this pattern is offered on ravelry for free :)

On the move

So John went to the scratch & dent sale at REI over the weekend with the guys. I think he left around 6am, which is EARLY around our house but ended up being well worth it! He bought a six-man tent, it's really nice, and also purchased a baby carrier backpack we can take hiking this summer. We both had to give it a try...with Gatlyn of course. 

Show me the goods

Today my mom and I visited The Knitting Tree on Monroe Street which was super cute but not SO convenient of a drive. I've been getting REALLY bored with the color/fiber selection at Michaels. The Knitting Tree had a great selection, lots of fiber blends and really anything a knitter would need. 

The Knitting Tree

Their prices, however, were around $2 more on average than Lakeside Fibers; which is much closer to my house. Either way, it's been a lot of fun to check out some local knitting shops; it's really the way to go if you want your work to reach it's full potential. 

Lakeside Fibers

Mitts mitts mitts

I'm now working on two pairs of Endpaper mitts. I finished the first glove for my gray and white version and it was a bit too loose for my liking. I visited Lakeside Fibers yesterday (yarn heaven) and pick up some amazing 8 ply Sublime Fine Merino Wool in charcoal and violet. So, I've decided to give the Endpaper Mitts another try, in the correct size of course. In order to do this, I've had to make some heavy modifications to the original design but so far they fit perfectly. One down, one to go :)

Approaching the 1 year mark

Below are just a few of the pictures we've taken of Gatlyn during his first year. I've tried to include many of my favorites; it's fun to see how much he's changed :) I threw one in on the bottom of myself a week before he came.