Can this really be my first post for 2014 and it is already February? Well the last month was a crazy one and I do hope the rest of the year slows down a bit......

Brian's Dad went into the hospital on Christmas Day and never really recovered and on January 20 he passed away. While he had been very sick for a long time it was still upsetting and the kids all took it pretty hard. We will miss him so much but we are praying that he found his way into the arms of Jesus and is now resting in peace.

My poor Claire celebrated her 17th Birthday on the 21st.......we were all so worried that Pop would pass on her Birthday but even the day before is bad enough. We did take her out for breakfast and of course made her favorite cupcakes.....the confetti ones. It's hard for me to believe my "Claire Bear" is really 17.....all of these kids are just growing up too fast for me!

And here we are in the coldest winter we have had ....ever! Negative temps and highs only in the single digits......brrrrrr! Very thankful for the woodstove and our big pile of wood that the boys worked so hard at putting up. We are plodding along through our studies and cuddling on the couch to read a lot. Also shoveling lots of snow.......just yesterday we got about 14 inches dumped on us with some ice on top. It looked beautiful but was not so fun to shovel!

I have a few finished projects and a couple new ones going on the needles. I finished up my first trindle spin and made a 3 ply on the wheel with it.......very squishy and soft!


 and this skein made me happy because of all the bright colors!


I organized my shelves and I now have one with just homespun on it......it's in my bedroom and makes me smile whenever I walk by......


I also started up my PL again. For 2014 I have decide to do a monthly PL and not worry about weeks. It took me a few hours but I had all of January done pretty quickly and I think this process will be better then weekly for me. I've also given myself permission to go back and finish last year monthly as well....that means 4 months and I will have 2013 complete! Here are my January Layouts......very simple and easy! I have not done a title page yet....I'm waiting for inspiration to hit!!








I will leave you with one more photo that I took this past Tuesday when we went sledding over at Pop's place.....it was a great time!