Ups and Downs

I've been meaning to post some stuff, just fun things we've been doing in the last week or so, but by the time I find the free time I'm so moody (grouchy?) that I don't want to talk to people. So, anyway...

Joseph got to go shoe shopping. His boots were getting a bit small and I wanted to see how his feet were growing so we went to Payless, got his feet measured, and looked around at shoes. It' no wonder his shoes are a bit difficult to get on--they're a 4, and Joseph's feet are somewhere between a 4 1/2 and a 5. After trying on bigger shoes, he refused to put his old shoes back on. Payless didn't have any shoes that were quite cute enough even for the $12-15 price tag, so we headed on to Target. They had a bunch of shoes on sale for half off, including a great pair of two-strap velcro sneakers in tan suede with black canvas panels. They look great.

I knit my very first piece of clothing, a bolero style sweater for a friend's baby shower, and it inspired me to make a leap of faith in the knitting world--a sweater for me. I found a pattern I like that suggests recycling yarn from a thrift store sweater (I really wanted wool for a warm sweater, so the other option was to spend $40 for new yarn) so I made a trip to Goodwill. Two trips, actually. The first yielded a moss-green-with-a-turn-toward-yellow chunky yarn that was actually 80% silk (20% nylon), and the second found me a black-with-a-single-strand-of-silver worsted in 100% lambswool (minus the sliver thread, I'm assuming). Both are shapeless, XL turtlenecks. I hate turtlenecks, so I don't feel bad about taking them apart. The green has been unraveled already, but needs to be balled; the black is still in sweater form, until I can find a new pattern for it--I think I like the green better with the cables. Silk won't be as warm, but that's OK.

Elena spent all day, Saturday playing Primary in the living room. I'm not sure if she did any Sharing time lessons, but there were a lot of opening and closing prayers, with singing time in between.

I've visited half of the ladies on my Visiting Teaching route, and we're only half way through the month. I've seen Jeanie and her family at church the last 4 Sundays (her husband's not a member, and they usually only do Easter and Christmas) and Tiffany and I are working on getting rides to church for her kids once Jeanie's soccer league starts in February. We're trying really hard to get the other two before it gets to the last week of the month. I usually give the message, since I'm really lazy and Tiffany make the appointments, and I really like this month's. The first few times I read it, the last bit about motherhood seemed a bit jarring, since the lesson is a bout our purpose on Earth (fall, redemption, Plan of Salvation, all that), but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. As a mom, my job is to see that my kids grow up to be competent, responsible adults. My Heavenly Father's job is exactly the same. Motherhood (or, as Sister Beck put it, "a mothering heart") is about helping people grow and learn and become the best people they can be, and anyone can do it. Everyone should do it, in whatever capacity they can. Anyway, that's my deep thought of the week.

And, very best of all, I got to go shopping with my friend Jess, today. She just started nursing school (one class, but it's 40 hours) and has been so busy it's amazing I caught her at all. Joseph got a Carter's gift card for Christmas, there's a Carter's store up by her, and I hadn't seen her since September, when our buddy Jon got married. Perfect chance to get together for an hour or so. It was so fun!

Well, enjoy!