Just Breathe

I think that I move in distinct cycles of peace and craziness. At the moment, I am thoroughly ensconced in the craziness. Last week’s blog sponsorship with Soule Mama yielded over 200 orders. We are still doing our best to get everything out to everyone, and I can not tell you how much I appreciate everyone’s patience. The sponsorship was really fun, of course because it yielded so many new customers, but more so because it has introduced me to a lot of wonderful people. I have always heard that the crafting and blogging world is a supportive and close knit community, and I feel like I have experienced that first hand lately. Even today, I called to check on a package with a customer who had placed an order last week, and we ended up having a 30 minute phone conversation on absolutely nothing related to the fiber or crafting worlds. It was great.

But back to the craziness.

One of my best friends gave birth to a baby girl last week, and I was privileged to be by her side as she delivered that little angel at home, into the water. I have been lucky enough to work in the birth community for the past 6 years, and every birth still amazes me. One of the best parts of my work in the birthing is that I have been lucky enough to attend the labors of women I am very close friends with. Their stories are always so powerful for me, mainly because I know them on a daily basis, and then I am with them in this extraordinarily powerful moment. It is just beyond words.

The craziness also found me this past weekend when my 6 year old, 130,000 mile Ford Explorer decided it’s time with me was up. I have to say that when I bought that car 6 years ago, it was a base model, seriously no frills, didn’t even have climate vents in the back seat, SUV. I thought I would keep it for 2-3 years, and it turned out to be a really great vehicle. I was sad to see it go, mainly because I had hoped to drive it for a lot longer, and also because I brought both of my boys home from their births in it. It has kept us safe and happy for many years, and I am extremely grateful for that. I also hated to see it go because one of the truly unhappiest moments that I have ever spent has been in the company of car salesmen. Why does buying a car take so darn long? I just do not get why it has to be a 10 hour, are you serious, I am not haggling with you for one more minute, ordeal. Oh well, it is over, and hopefully we have found an equally safe and reliable used vehicle that will keep us safe for the next 6 years.

Today’s craziness came in the form of a camera issue. My father does all of the photographs for Shivaya (which is a lifesaver for me), and he left today for a 7 week trip, and I am apparently not bright enough to figure out how to use his camera and editing software. I was planning on doing a nice update of the store this afternoon, but it took me 7 hours to just process the 5 new pictures of yarn that I shot today (perhaps it is time to take a basic photography course). Thank goodness that Stacy lives just a short distance away, and that she is always sweet enough to rescue me when I am in a photographing crisis.

And then there was peace.

My husband’s birthday was yesterday, and the children really enjoyed spending time making gifts for him. I love the age that my kids are at, they just take such pleasure and pride in making something special for the special people in their lives. They literally worked for hours making their dad his gifts, and they just manage to pull everything out of their art closet, and then create these magic little treasures from a hodgepodge of materials. There was nothing bought (I made my husband a pair of Toast), and the boys seem to be learning the value of creating beauty, rather than buying it.

As they headed to bed last night, I was so struck by how big they are each getting. My oldest is almost 5 1/2 (I love 1/2 birthdays), and that just shocks the heck out me. Wasn’t he just a baby who spent all day in my arms? How does time move so fast. I always thought that saying was a cliché while I was “growing” up. Now that I am a parent, I realize that time does, in fact, move at a frighteningly quick pace once children come into the picture.

I was studying Jakey’s hands last night while he slept, and I was overcome with how much they have lost the baby look, and now reflect the beautiful young boy he has become. They are filled with dirt under the fingernails, glue from the art projects, paint and marker from his drawings, and just the joys of being young. I am excited to watch them grow and see what they evolve into, but so often I just want to hold time still, and just sit in the moment of where they are right now.

So the cycles of peace and craziness continue on, with many more adventures for the rest of this week. Tomorrow begins the process of putting all of the packages together for Taste of Shivaya. This is a really exciting time, and I am really excited to hear what you all think of this first selection. I also have to continue to update the store over the next several days. Let’s all pray that Stacy can get me up to speed on the camera issues ASAP .

Our winner from this week’s blog giveaway with Stacy Z was #11, Dale, Lindsay and Shannon. Congratulations. I will pass your information onto Stacy.

I wish you all joy in what ever cycles your lives bring in the coming weeks.