Well, it's been a few months and I don't have much to share. Settling into life with Charlie has been made infinitely easier having had Beka here for six weeks after he was born. Life was pretty much stress-free for me, enabling me to recover quicker than I thought possible. I was able to rest, enjoy Charlie, and Beka's company, which I'm greatly missing. I knew I couldn't have her forever though. :( The hardest part of switching to doing things on my own is getting up with the twins. I know 7 o'clock is far from early but when it's the dark of winter, it feels like it! Charlie has been such a dear and sleeping 5 or 6 hours straight atleast so I'm not really missing daytime naps. I thought the twins were good babies (and they were) but having one is a breeze! I can put him in the sling and take him wherever. Going out with him has been no problem since I don't have to carry around two car seats or worry about getting hot water to make up bottles of formula. And he is such a happy baby, not fussy or needy. All he asks is to be around us, even settling for a spot on the kitchen table while we're eating dinner. So yeah, it's back to life as normal!

I've got some pictures from stuff I've been doing the last few months. First one is a non-picture. That is, Ed finished the boys' room a looong time ago but I never got around to sharing how lovely handsome that it is. BUT every shot I got had one of the boys somewhere in it since they have a habit of following me around whenever the camera is in my hand and shouting "Cheeeeeeese!" at me. So cute. Anyways, you'll have to look under the New House folder at our Photo Album.
Moving along.

A bag (obviously).
Just in case I had a girl....sadly I have to put those away until who knows when. Apparently we don't make girls.
Is he not the cutest little model ever! I can't take credit for Tully though, just the sweater. He's going to be a big brother in May!

I love knitting. In fact, I'm pretty close to obsessed with it. If a day goes by that I can't knit, my fingers itch. I spend lots of time looking over patterns on ravelry.com. I listen to podcasts about knitting while I knit. The thing about knitting is not only is it pretty and practical but it also feels productive. I've been thinking a lot lately about how to best use my time. Amazingly, I seem to have a lot of it! Yes, I know that there is laundry in the hamper, and don't remind me of the dishes in the sink and no, I didn't see those dustbunnies just run by. OK, so maybe I should spend more time doing housework! But at some point I have to say: "Enough for today! There will always be more messes to clean up but I need to do something else!" I started some formal schooling with the twins, as well as continuing Ethan's schooling. But at their ages, I'm not expecting them to spend hours at the books. I try to send them outside everyday, as the weather permits. I also exercise myself now and then, "strengthen my loins" and that whole bit. I try cook healthy, even if it takes more time. I read quite a bit: to my kids and to myself, more so now that I'm nursing. There's always errands and sometimes we go on outings but for the most part, we're home. So what else should I be doing?
Knitting seems like a good thing to do, godly even. Four of the verses describing Mrs. Proverbs 31 are about her use of fiber arts to care for her family. The other day I made a pair of mittens for Ethan that turned out well and keep him warm when he's playing in the snow. It took me about two afternoons but I think the time was well spent. Then again, I could have gone to Wal-mart or the dollar store and gotten him a pair. But atleast I could say that I made them, and wasn't reliant on some big industry to care for my household. (Although the yarn did come from a store. I think maybe Wal-mart...)
Anyways! the point is that even though in our modern world every need is available at our fingertips, and the skill of knitting is now mostly for hobby rather than a basic life-skill, I think it is a good use of time. Mrs. Proverbs 31 was the picture of an industrious woman, but it's hard to compare doing what was necessary back then with what's a leisure activity now. It's not like I could even sell my products because who could compete with a pair of mittens for a dollar? So I mostly do it because I like it and again, it feels like I'm being useful, even if it's not always the case. And I'll just continue to look out for ways to be industrious. Like getting started on those dishes!