to feel/ to felt

I've discovered that I can easily become disconnected from my own life. It's like I can quickly loose feeling. I hate it! But I've been trying to stay more connected, to my life... I think it's a learning process I will always be experiencing. Today I felt more through music. Since having kids, I've cut back on how much of MY music I listen to, for various reasons, but I think my soul has actually missed some music that seems to be deeply rooted within me. Today I just let my ipod play in the kitchen... the girls and I danced and danced. At one moment this (In the bleak mid winter) song came on which we played over and over after Miss D was born, and I felt it. I could feel those early winter, Christmas days of her life, and I could feel the moment we were in, dancing in our hot Arizonan kitchen. Reality- I felt it.

Lately, every time Miss Daffodil would see something Hello Kitty at a store, she would ask why she had nothing that was Hello Kitty, and yet she loved her so much. So we finally decided that we would make her a Hello Kitty doll once-and-for-all. We drafted up a little pattern and worked on it together. She sat on my lap and helped push the fabric through the machine for every stitch. She said it doesn't look perfect, but we think it turned out pretty cute. Our motto is "If we buy everything, then we'll never know how to make anything." That helps get us through stores pretty easily and encourages us to be more creative.

We also have been trying to felt more- I guess I should say we've been trying to feel-felt more and less think-felt more. I've kind of had a love/hate relationship with felting because I tend to be a perfectionist and feel that if I am going to spend time on something, I want my end product to be worthwhile. But when it comes to felting, especially with a four year old, I'm learning that the process is so much more important. AND, if she can come up with something that she is proud of at the end, then it's all worth it. So I'm just trying not to over think our felting, and more-so let her lead the way.

She decided to make a caterpillar, since for some reason she's been relating to the Very Hungry Caterpillar story lately, and so together we made this one. She also did the yellow and blue flower all on her own. I just let her lead the way and our experience went much better than usual. See what I mean by feel-felting instead of think-felting?

Maybe there is a metamorphosis taking place within her little body... how blessed I am to be a witness... (note to self: feel it!)

Here's a cool bike-bag we made after seeing one at the store.

Our nature tree has become more of a craft tree :)