Happy Birthday Happy Pat!

You can always be counted on for a smile and a hug. Thanks for that.

Zak's Quilt

Zak has a new "big boy" bed and needs a quilt to go on it. Since the bed is really a fire truck!!! (how cool is that?!) the quilt needs to have fire trucks. This isn't what I pictured doing but there wasn't a big selection of fabric with this theme... and it's supposed to be police cars too but I couldn't find any. I'll keep looking for fabric. Maybe I'll need to make another quilt when I find just the right fabric! This one had lots of other cars on it and I might use large pieces for the border. I don't think I like the dark blue block - not enough contrast. I'm going to try light blue. Then I'll use dark blue sashing with 4 square blocks between. Can't wait to see it finished . . . I can't sew fast enough . . . and then there's all those other things that get in the way of sewing . . . eating, sleeping, working, blah, blah, blah.

All a matter of perspective

Ok, our perspective has changed... enough with the rain!!! It does seem to have stopped for the moment but, oh, there is so much water everywhere. The creek has overflowed. The road right in front of us is above water but to the west it's under water. The ditches on either side are overflowing up everyone's lawns, getting closer and closer to the houses. Our driveway is under water all the way to the back yard. Only the part that goes uphill a bit to the garage is "dry." The yard is half lake. I understand some of the homes just to the west of us are being evacuated. . . . and just a few days ago we were so happy that it was raining.

Happy 90th Mom!

We had a great party. Mom sure seemed to enjoy herself. It was wonderful that so many were able to attend in spite of the bad weather. (But we missed you Karen and Chuck!) There were guests from the west... California and Arizona. Guests from the east... Indiana and London! Mom knew about some of them and others were a surprise. I happened to see her face when one of the surprise guests arrived and she just looked so delighted. There were so many relatives and friends that we hadn't seen in so long. Many of those who attended reminded us what a remarkable person Mom is. Thanks!
Mom got to visit with her sister, Aunt Loretta and her best friend, Aunt Mary.

And Mom got to hold her newest grandchild (#26) for the first time, with #24 & #25 sitting right beside her. Jim & Tina's family is GROWING!!! up and out! They're all adorable - look at the expressions - soooo cute! (Mom too!)

Tina got Mom and all her kids together for a picture - thanks Tina! I'm can't remember what we were watching while we were supposed to be posing but it looks like it was entertaining, doesn't it? After this picture the sisters posed but I had to post that picture elsewhere.

Jay sang his traditional "opera" version of "Happy Birthday" and Mom loved it. Jay gets different reactions from different people but it never dampens his enthusiam!

We missed you, Karen, but you were with us in spirit... and your cute favors were there too!

It really was fun, the planning, the set-up, the party and the clean-up. (I confess I didn't do much cleanup - don't know what I was doing - thanks to all of you that did the bulk of it!) Some of us had more fun with the clean up than others....

Be Encouraged

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

This is one of my favorite verses.

Grandma Lu's Chocolate Chip Cookies, mmmmm

It wouldn't be a party without Grandma Lu's Chocolate Chip Cookies, so some of us are baking. While waiting for the butter to soften, I took a gander at the calories. YIKES! Here's a list...

Butter 4,800

Brown Sugar 1,400

White Sugar 1,080

Brown Sugar 1,440

Eggs 210

Chocolate Chips 3,500

Grand Total 12,430

This batch made 7 dozen cookies.

Each cookie equals 148 calories. No wonder they taste so good!

'Course we all know they are good 'cause they are Grandma Lu's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

If you are worried about the calories come party time (and you shouldn't be - it's party time!) simply break the cookie first. Everyone knows if you just eat cookie parts or cookie crumbs there are no real calories. I am currently lobbying for no calories if you are taste testing. I felt the need to taste test quite often during the cookie making process. I think since I did the work, all the calories from the cookies I had to taste test should be taken out of mine and rolled into YOUR cookies. Sorry, but now your cookies have 165 calories each. ENJOY!!

A very quilty evening

Scott went North this afternoon and evening to meet Adam. I was all alone (if you don't count the dogs and cat) and couldn't decide what to do with my time - I'm seldom alone. Clean house? I did some of that - it REALLY needed to be vacuumed. (isn't vacuum a funny word?) Did some dishes, cleaned the laundry room. Read? I did that with my dinner. Decorative work? I did a little. Sew? YES!! I started a Block of the Month called On Point that will fit a twin size bed when it's finished - I have just the spot for it. The fabric is included with the pattern. I plan to blog about it on Quilters Showcase and post progress (and other quilters' progress if they participate). The first month has two blocks and I finished the first one tonight... it went together pretty quick and easy. I really like the way it turned out.

This is a quilt I am working on that will go on our king size bed when it is finished. I think I have 14 blocks finished... I only need 85 more! There are half square triangles in every stage all over my sewing area.
I've been pulling stitches out of this red and white quilt for nearly 9 months now. I made this quilt top for John & Sarah's fifth wedding anniversary and it is now years late. I started to quilt it and realized after a few thousand stitches that it wasn't properly loaded on the frame. So off it came and it has been my evening project while I "watch" tv. I think I'm finished pulling stitches!!! In the next couple days I'm going to pull it apart and get it ready to load again on the quilt frame. I LOVE the backing fabric for this quilt - it's in the next pic. (I'm probably alone in this - I don't think Sarah is as crazy about it as I am)
It is a bit much I quess. But I love the colors and the wild way the flowers are drawn.
And, of course, there's always blocks for Marine Comfort Quilts. There's red, white, and blue fabric all over the sewing room.
Speaking of the sewing room - actually it's just a large section of the basement - it's a MESS! I really want to straighten it up and organize it. I'd like to take a before and after picture but the before is just too embarassing. It's gotten to the point that I'm not sure where to start or how to do it. I do have a clean cutting table though. I lent my table to a neighbor so I had to clean it off. Now that I have it back I only have current project stuff on it and it's clean and neat. Maybe I just need to lend out each piece in my sewing room and then when it comes back just keep it clean. Anyone need to borrow a quilt frame? or a dresser? or an ironing board? Now that I've bored all you non-quilters to tears (and probably the quilters, too!) I'm done. I missed Scott's company but I really enjoyed my sewing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JARED!!

Sister

I've been thinking about favorite words lately and I think "sister" is one of them. I love when I call my sister and she answers the phone "Hello, sister." Warm feelings ensue. I love reading comments from my sister; they are like mini-letters. Warm feelings ensue.




I like the shared memories.
I like the hugs.
I like the teasing.
I like the caring.

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

All a matter of perspective...

It's raining! Finally! We sure needed it. A few days from now we may be saying "when is it ever going to stop?!" but for now, we're happy to see the rain. It's been quite a while. The grass is brown. The creeks are low. It's hard to believe these same creeks were overflowing their banks not so many months ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Niece Karen got married today. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony and she was a beautiful bride. Happy Wedding Day Karen & Chuck.

Happy Day

WELCOME HOME JUSTIN

We arrived at the Allstate Arena this morning to wait for the Marines.

We waited

... and waited
...and waited
and then finally they marched in!!!! WOW!!
They stood there as their commander gave a very short speech. As it happened Justin was almost directly in front of us. He didn't realize it at first and you could see his eyes roaming the arena looking and looking. You could tell when he finally spotted Dayna... his face just lit up! And then the command was given... DISMISSED.



First Embrace

Let me look at you.

Together again.

Zak and Caycee didn't go with us; they stayed at home with Nana. When we got there everyone went inside before Justin came in. Dayna was holding Zak, Justin opened the door and the look on Zak's face was priceless. (Sarah has an awesome picture on her blog that captures the moment perfectly.) Dayna said "who's that?" and he softly said "Dada." She set him down and he ran right to Justin. They embraced and then Zak backed up a bit and just looked.
What a day! It was soooo good to see him, to hug him, and to see his family all together again. Thank you Lord for bringing my boy home safe.

Happy Birthday Brother Jim!

I have an "errand" to run this morning :-) or I'd look for a cute kid picture of you to put up.... maybe niece Karen will do that (?) Have a great day!! Looking forward to seeing you and yours soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!!

MCQ Block Turning

I received my quilt blocks from the block exchange I took part in with fellow Marine Comfort Quilters. I can't describe the emotions I felt as I looked through the blocks. They came from all over the country. There were pieced blocks, appliqued blocks, a hand painted block, blocks with embellishments. They were from every relative imaginable of those who have served and are now serving... wives, parents, grandparents, daughters, nieces, cousins, and at least one block from a veteran. Some were simply signed. Others included sentiments.

And there were blocks from Gold Star Families.

At quilt shows they sometimes have a bed turning. They will pile up quilts on a bed and then, one at a time will hold them up and tell about the quilt or about the making of it. So I did a block turning....



As we prepare to welcome Justin home we can't help but think of all those who will not be coming home, including the two men from his Battalion, and of their families. It breaks your heart.

Old Settler's Weekend

We had another fun weekend with the kids and grandkids visiting. This time it was all the grandkids. Cooper brought both his parents and Zak & Caycee brought their mom. (We missed Adam as he had to do a training session at one of his sites. And we missed Justin, he was busy making stops all over the world on his way to California.) Caycee is really walking now and it won't be long before Cooper is walking. You see him standing and think he's going to take a step and then plop, he sits. Soon. I love that the kids love to play with each other and are so happy to see each other in the morning or when they wake up from a nap (not that there were many of those!)

After the parade, Zak enjoyed the rides. The cars were whizzing by so fast it was hard to get a good picture.

In between corndogs & hamburgers & pizza & pop and slushies, the rest of us watched...



We had to watch out for the dangerous lady you see at the left in this picture. Her T-shirt said she was from a church but she kept trying to send a bunny home with us. We had to be very vigilant not to fall prey.

Back at the house Cooper found some entertainment. This window crank fascinates both him and Caycee. We all just wish it wasn't so close to the electrical outlet and cord!


And I got to spend some alone time with Cooper while Mom & Dad slept...

On US soil

Justin has landed on US soil..... Iraq and back by the Grace of God.

One more week 'til we get to see him, but oh what a relief! He has already called several times; he's been traveling for so many hours and is still unpacking and setting up in California but sounds so up and wired and happy. Just one more week. Zak keeps saying he's going to eat cold pizza with Daddy. One more week.

Party Planning

So we got together last night to discuss and plan mom's 90th!! birthday party. Pizza first, yum, and a you-know-who "ambush" with the pizza bill. You have to do something the day before to get ahead of him on a bill. We divvied up the chores. Col brought the invites that she made - they looked great - and the printed envelopes. While the menus were being poured over, we also stuffed the envelopes. There was much discussion about licking the envelopes. Eww, licking the envelopes?! Who would do that?! In these modern times?! Terry and Jay took care of the problem. They worked together. How many O'Neills does it take to seal an envelope?