arachnophobia

yesterday morning i had an arachnid encounter of the dead kind.

i do not like spiders.
i don't hate them...most spiders eat insects and that's a good thing.
but i really don't like having them in my house. they're just a tad too creepy for me.

i had just thrown out the filter of used grounds from my husband's coffee pot and i decided to give the filter holder a quick rinse. as the water washed the inside of any leftover grounds, i noticed what appeared to be a brown lump also come out and land in the sink.

eyes to brain: "that was something other than coffee grounds."
brain to eyes: "look closer and focus!"
eyes to brain after looking closer: "ewwww! that's a dead spider!"

i was thoroughly disgusted.

evidently the arachnid was hiding out in the coffee pot. little did it realize that in the morning my dear hubby would come and cover it up with a piece of paper and then dump coffee grounds on top of that! can you imagine how it would feel to then be slowly cooked to death in boiling hot water? i almost feel sorry for it.

death by coffee. i suppose it was a romantic sort of death...for a spider.

the deceased:

a Parson's spider. not poisonous. tasty?

and just to give you an idea of the spider's actual size, here it is in an old baby food container.

don't worry, dear. the cup or two that you drank shouldn't make you sick. just don't start shooting webs, okay? {needless to say, i'm just glad i don't drink coffee!}

summer swim lessons

bubba just finished his 2 weeks of swimming lessons at the local {school} pool. he had a great time and evidently learned lots! the most exciting part is that he passed level 3!! [they don't usually pass kids the first time through a level.]

we are so proud of you, son!

bubba's "report card"--see in the bottom right where it says "Advance to 4"? there's an X on the line there. woohoo!

Happy Adoption Day, Baby!

Two years ago today was the day that little CJ became "officially" our son. He was a part of our family pretty much ever since his birth, but it wasn't until we went to court on July 17, 2007 that we were legally bound together as his forever family. It is a day I'll never forget. I'm so thankful to celebrate this second anniversary of that special day. Happy Adoption Day, Baby! We love you and are so thankful that God chose us to be your family through adoption.

07.17.2007 It's official! We are CJ's family now and forever.

"I prayed for this child, and GOD gave me what I asked for."
1 Samuel 1:27 (MSG)

what's happening

i've been knitting and crocheting like crazy lately. i finished my husband's socks that were supposed to be his father's day present. they weren't done until july 7. {sheepish grin}

T's new socks

i've also been working on a cotton baby sweater--just for fun--but it's been giving me fits, so i'm ignoring it for the moment. hopefully by the time i come back around to working on it, it will behave so i can finish it without any more trouble.

my husband's rather large, extended family is having a reunion in a couple of weeks. we always have a silent auction to help defray the costs incurred. many items are homemade. last reunion i took a baby blanket i had crocheted. this year i've decided to donate a kimono-style baby sweater that i knitted up last fall. i also just finished a set of two crocheted washcloths and hope to have at least one more set made for the auction as well.

crocheted washcloths

then there are the other projects i intend to make. like a few dishcloths for myself since my old (store-bought) ones are getting really holey.

there just isn't enough time to blog when you're making so much stuff! {smile} and since i haven't blogged in a while, here's just a quick update on what's happening around here.

our Fourth of July was wonderful hanging with family and friends. i didn't take many pics, but a good time was had by all.

parade anticipation

bubba is taking swimming lessons (it's a two week course and this is the second week already). he's learning to tread water and do the front crawl. we'll have to see if he passes or if he'll have to re-do level 3 again next year. next week is our county fair, then the family reunion on the weekend. bubba says he can't wait for all the fair rides. it's funny--i used to just love going on the rides. i'm not sure what happened, but ever since i gave birth to bubba, i've gotten sick from fair rides. so now i just like to look around at the animals and exhibits. and every year i tell myself "next year i'll enter some of my yarn projects." then the next year comes and i still don't have anything i want to enter (or rather, that i've set aside and am not already using!) anyways, we get a week off after the fair week, and the next week is VBS already! {Lifeway's Boomerang Express VBS!} i'm helping with VBS again this year, but i haven't been told yet what i'll be doing. bubba has already started learning the new VBS songs since we've got our t-shirts and cd already. so he's pretty excited and can't wait for VBS either!

heavenly henna part 2

here's my second attempt at henna body art.
this time my feet have a tropical hibiscus flower theme!

all i can say is i'm definitely not a good candidate for "real" or "permanent" tattoos because it wouldn't be long before i'd be wishing i'd have done something different. or didn't have it at all. so i'm glad i never succumbed to the temptation when i considered getting a tat back in my crazy college days. but on the other hand, i wish i HAD learned about henna art a lot sooner! i could have been a professional henna artist, i just didn't know it! well, maybe there's still hope for that...like when i move to hawaii! {yeah, right.} ah well!


and before i sign off, here's a picture of my hair after the color settled. it's a lovely shade of auburn most of the time. sunlight shows the red off even more, of course. but that's what henna does.

see T. see me.
see me with red hair.
me likes T.
me likes red hair!
{and yes, me is silly!}