Winds of Change

There are lots of wonderful things about living up in the mountains. There are also a lot of challenges. Cold. Lots and lots of snow. Wind like you've never felt before. Mama was about to lose her mind being so isolated...so we prayed a lot and waited. And after finding a subleaser within just 1 day of listing it, we headed back to the low lands...with a new understanding that we can LOVE the mountains and enjoy them without actually living IN them. (A side note for those who are new here...we moved to Nederland for a "mountain trial run" with the intent to re-evaluate in July when our temporary lease was up...we just came back down a few months early!).

All packed up...a familiar feeling for us! It was a pretty easy move because we didn't own any furniture except our bed.

Longmont welcomed us with open arms and a big 'ol sunshiney day to move into our new house. Can you believe this temperature is just one day after the first photo up in Nederland?! Crazy.

Lucy (and Bella) are pretty smitten with our new place...and so are we. It's a quirky little house built in the early 1900's...but it was completely gutted and remodeled about 4 years ago. It's got everything on our "list" and we are LOVING being closer to city life again. Oh, and see that little mailbox there? I love having a mailbox ON my house again! Send me a direct email if you would like my new address. (janssenfamily (at) gmail (dot) com)

An empty trailer. Yay! We are getting settled...although with me being 34 weeks pregnant and Matt working full-time, it seems slower than our normal pace. We moved in about 5 days ago and we have have found all the furniture we've needed on Craigslist, so we're super happy about that! I'm in full nesting mode...creating a cozy space for my family and for a new little one. I'm very ready to embrace the final weeks of my pregnancy...enjoying the warmer weather and being closer to my community of friends and family.

Santa Cruz Getaway

It's been a week since I jetted away from Colorado on my first "mama trip" in 8 years...all the way to one of my favorite places, Santa Cruz, California!

I flew right into the open arms of dear friends. Monica flew in from Texas, and Sarah joined us from the redwoods.

This was taken just 2 blocks from our perfect ocean cottage.

Staring at the ocean and soaking up the sound of the crashing waves.

31 weeks pregnant...by the sea. Pure happy.

So much time was spent together in the little living room. Listening to music. Soothing our souls. Talking for hours and hours about life, family, passions, and trials.

One of the most very sacred moments we had together was walking through the redwoods at dusk...

...touching the soft, damp moss. Oh how I've missed it!

And finally arriving...in the dark...at the opening of an enormous redwood. Sarah had gone ahead and prepared a space for us INSIDE of the hollow Felton mother tree. Twinkling white lights everywhere. Hot candy cane tea and dark chocolate. Sarah and Monica prayed for me, the baby, the birth, our friendship.  Sarah knit me a beautiful and oh-so-soft "prayer shawl" that will be treasured forever. We laughed and talked and sat for a long while in the silence of the woods. When we finally emerged and stepped out in the expanse of redwoods, a screech owl let out a loud screeeeeeeech above our heads and then continued to fly along with us as we walked out. So symbolic :: wisdom shared among mothers. Mere words could never convey the magic that happened that night at Henry Cowell, but we all felt it, and will remember forever.

We walked down Pacific Ave...stopping in little shops and touching all the pretty things.

We indulged in the magic at Verve Coffee 4 times over the weekend. Mmmmm....

Love.

My dreads have new beads and wraps to remember our sweet time together.

And this...the last moment at the ocean that we spent together. Sitting close. Praying together. What a blessing these women are in my life. The gratitude I have surrounding this weekend is immeasurable. So thankful.

And then I flew home to my babies and my sweetie. Life is good.

Knitting it Up

I've been having a blast knitting knitting knitting! Here is a cowl that Bella started and I finished. Super chunky and yummy.

Of course, Lucy had to get in on the action. So I whipped one up for her too! She would check in with me every 10 minutes to feel it and say "....oooooh squishy!!". The chunky wool is so fun because it only takes a few hours to finish something like that.

Here is my first coffee cozy...knit up for a mama friend. I love how it turned out!

AND THEN...I went to my very first knitting gathering! Although I had to drive all the way to Iowa for it! :) This last week, we took a last minute trip to Iowa for 8 days while Matt was working on a remodel in North Dakota, so I took full advantage and gladly spent a lovely evening with the "Natural Parenting Fiber Artists".

Lisa graciously hosted. Lisa has lots of yarn. LOTS. And she's a great knitter. You should check out her very funny blog, Meanest Mommy.

It was a VERY serious night.

I am putting all of my projects up on my Ravelry page...and will have a few more to add soon. Thanks to all of you who added me as a friend! I've been having fun checking out all of your yarn goodies.

I've been knitting on straight needles and in the round,  using some yummy yarns, trying new things and learning along the way. It's good exercise for my mama brain.