Quilts, Egyptology, and Washing Hair

I am loving the fall weather and how it gets dark earlier. We've had a couple of days of pelting rain, and I've loved lighting the candles when the sun starts going down. We've even had a few dinners by candlelight. I'm thankful for the different seasons that we enjoy.

This week I finished up 5 quilts. Unfortunately, I can only show you one. The rest I will post pictures of in December. One night this past week I went through and organized my material and my sewing box. It's nice to feel organized, and it's amazing how you can forget material that you have. I cut two more quilts out using a new pattern. I hope they turn out the way I envision them turning out. Friday the kids and I took several quilts to the hospital. It's a wonderful feeling to have them be a part of this service. We rode the elevator up to the 8th floor. They loved looking out over part of Vancouver. Then we walked around the beautiful water feature. It was a very  nice morning and way to begin the day before we ran errands. I was reveling in the moment of having five of my little ones surround me as we did some shopping, as I know one day it will just be me or just Chris and I.

Here is the one quilt I can show you.

This week Aeva made herself a hat. The first one did not go very well. She felt pretty frustrated, but I told her she could do this, and it wasn't a failure since she learned what she should do differently and better the second time around. The second hat turned out great! She is going to make another one, which will be a Hello Kitty hat.

Myles really loves learning about ancient Egyptian history. He has made himself a little notebook with various gods and goddesses, mythological Egyptian stories, and the Egyptian alphabet. Here he is making his alphabet paper look old. We watched a documentary on animal mummies of Egypt this week, and he thought that was quite interesting.

 

The little girls love dancing with Chris. Elsa is full of instruction while dancing. She let's Chris know when to twirl her and when to dip her.

 

 Meg has become quite the ham in front of the camera. She likes to say "cheese" and then kind of cock her head to one side for a pose. Her knew phrase is "no way!", and she likes to do cheers with her glass at dinner. Only she doesn't say "cheers", she tries to say "kampai" which is cheers in Japanese. Hmmmm, I wonder where she learned that????

 

I put a very fluffy dress on Meg today. I think it's the first time she has worn a dress like that. I put it on her, and she immediately ran down the hall into the living room, held out the sides of the dress and danced around the room. It was so precious.

 

 I'll end with what has been in my thoughts of late.....
I was discussing an article that I had read with a dear friend on Saturday. My friend and I were commenting that often in the moment when our kids are reaching a level where they start doing things on their own (taking showers, making their own breakfast,etc.) it feels like one thing we get to take off of our plate. However, we often don't, at the time, recognize, or realize, or reflect on the fact that we won't be doing that for them anymore. We don't think to ourselves, or appreciate, when we do something for them that it may be the last time we do that specific act for them because they are growing up and becoming more independent.
The article    http://hannahhelpme.com/blog/when-did-i-last-wash-your-hair/

is about this mom and her trying to think back to the last time she washed her daughter's hair.
I cried through the article because I couldn't even tell you the last time I washed Rhaevyn or Aeva's hair. They are teenagers, so I know they've done it for many years on their own. I thought to myself, I did not appreciate the very last time I did that for them. It kind of took my breath away. I probably took for granted that it was part of my routine and then one day it wasn't. They grow up so fast....................it's something we all know and realize on some level. I don't think I really appreciated, until I read the article, what that really means.
Then something really wonderful happened. Aeva asked me if I could wash her hair for her. I am sure she had glanced at the article as she walked past the computer , but it meant the world that she asked. As she leaned over the bathtub I drank in the time I spent washing her hair, talking to her, putting conditioner on it, and rinsing it. It was positively heavenly! She has asked me a few times since then, and I cherish it each time. I hope I am passing on to my children that when they are moms (and Myles is a dad) to cherish their children and their time with their children no matter what! Even when they do things that drive you nuts. There will be a time when they don't do that one thing that is driving you nuts and you will miss it. For example: I've had several people from church comment that they've noticed that Meg loves my hair. They watch how she basically mauls my hair and they marvel at how I just let her do it; they wonder how it doesn't drive me nuts. Most of my littles have loved to touch my neck, but Meg loves my hair. It probably, most of the time, looks like someone took beaters to my hair. I know that one day she won't play with my hair like that, and I will miss feeling those tiny fingers flip, twirl, and caress my hair and muss up it up, and I'll long for the days when my hair looked disheveled. This time will pass, and I want to make sure I appreciate and cherish this time and stage with her because all too soon my littles go from
                                                   this                           to                  this.