Critters and Creation

This is my niece Ariella. She is in first grade and she knitted these little critters in her first grade classroom. Aren't they the cutest things! She really made them herself! I especially like the pink kitty. The blue one is a bunny

On another subject entirely, having three daughters and one son in under six years can sometimes be a bit of a difficulty. For instance those toddler years seemed never to end, airfare for the six of us can be prohibitive and sometimes it is hard to give them work different enough to avoid those comparisons.
As they have grown and the eldest is now reached 11 illustious years, I have noticed the list of positive things growing. Now I always loved the way the play together, a result of their close interests and ages. I have also enjoyed schooling them together in certain subjects the last couple of years (What fun for all of us to get on the same page). Now I have found another HUGE benefit. Let me explain:

I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person. This works fairly well in several aspects of my life; cooking, gardening, schooling (yes, really) and even knitting. The only problem is that when accidents happen, they are usually terminal.
Three weeks ago, I cast on for a children's tunic for my 9 y/o girl. She was fairly enthusiastic, but as I knit a little bit, her enthusiasm grew. She noticed an aspect of the yarn she'd never noticed before it was knit up. It looked like Easter to her! She was eager for me to finish it and so I knitted on. Over the weekend, I went to a lovely Christian camp for their Firefighter's Weekend. She tried it on before we left and it was perfect. I knitted on the way to the camp and during the long meetings. I brought it back with the body completely finished. I was so happy for her. It should really be finished by this coming weekend for Easter if I can just finish the arms and the hood. She might not be dressed up for Easter in a dress, but she'd be happy.
Then she tried it on. Oh, no. It was huge. Really.
We tried thinking of several ways to combat its huge-ness. If I frog it, it won't work for Easter. If I continue...well, as my husband said, "It'll be fine. You can wear it for a least two more years." That's what did it for me. Terminal.
So, then I got thinking. I have another daughter. She is older. Come over here, honey, try this on. Ohhhhh. Perfect. It's for YOU. I just didn't know it. As my eldest grinned, my Easter-deprived daughter shrugged it off and said that maybe now she could pick the yarn for the replacement herself.

This is the camp, just a little pic of it.
God Is. That's the sign in the lower left corner. Can you see it? Well, it is there. And it is true!

It was great to be in the woods. Creation.

Lastly, my father is terminally ill. He is nearing the end. I am eager to watch him be ushed into His presence. Relief.