Company

Sweetheart's sister Sherry is in town from Colorado. The above pic is Sherry and I in her loft sewing room in Colorado about 9 years ago. Sherry and I have been very close over the years...more like sisters than sisters in law. She has been a spiritual mentor to me and also was the person who started me quilting! You can read about that here. She changed my life in more ways than one!

Sherry lost her husband in a plane crash about 18 years ago. She was with him in the 4 seater piper plane when it crashed. Devastation is too light a word. Since then she has remarried and adopted 2 little boys and lost her husband of 17 years to cancer...instead of re writing it all, you can read Sherry's story here. She is an incredible woman.Her littlest guy is about the tiniest kid I have ever seen. There may be a rare form of dwarfism, but testing is not concluded. He is so sweet! He LOVES Kyle.It was hard to get a good pic of him...he moves A LOT!His name is Shane and he is a big part of our lives. My Rachel cared for him the first 6 months of his life. The state would not let Sherry take him to Colorado until rights were terminated. He has the same womb as Charlotte and Zachary. I was called to "come pick up your baby" almost 3 years ago. I was so freaked out I smoked 3 packs of cigarettes that day!! I have not had one since, so I can thank Shane for me being a non-smoker again! The guilt racked me. How could I NOT go get him? Yet, I had 2 VERY needy children and an adult "child" who needed me. Could I be stretched that thin? I was told the baby was very little and very crack addicted, but he could come "home" the next day. I called Sweetheart who instantly said, "NO". He was not being harsh...we could end up having 6 more kids if we took all her babies. There had to be a family who wanted a baby, right? I called Sherry. Before I could say anything, she told me how Conner (her then 5 year old) got up that morning and said, "I had a dream last night that you got on a plane and went to get my new brother...he has brown hair." Long story short....Sherry got on a plane the next day and came to get her new son. Since the state would not release him to her because she was out of state (she is a biological great aunt to the baby) they wanted to release him to me. Ok, so I KNEW if I did that he would never leave here. Rachel said, "I will take him." So she did. We thought it would be a few weeks, but it turned into 6 months. Sherry came out to Illinois every month for 1 week to bond with the baby and make court appearances. Finally she took her baby home. It was during all of this that her husband became ill with esophageal cancer. He had never smoked a cigarette in his life. He was a computer software designer and lots of this type of cancer is showing up in "computer guys". Now I have always had a twinge of guilt. I could have kept another sibling together (there are 5 and I have numbers 3 and 4). Still I know God had a plan. The first 4 kids all look alike...dark hair, dark eyes (except Charlotte has dark blue eyes). Shaney's brown baby hair turned white blonde and he has light blue eyes and looks JUST like Conner and Sherry! When I saw him the other day, my twinge of guilt lifted. He is exactly where he belongs!!

Today, Sherry, her son David, his beautiful wife Valerie, her granddaughter Tori, and the 2 boys will spend the day with us and go to the softball game to watch Sweetheart and Kyle play. We were unable to celebrate Rachel's birthday, so we will do that today.She went to a concert over the weekend and had a great time. We will have a cake and an early dinner since my son has to be at work at 4pm. It will be a fun day of family!

There will be no time to machine sew, though I did get another row on the basket quilt. The big baskets are a breeze!!!!
I will be able to hand quilt while visiting this afternoon. DeNiece's runner is taking longer than I thought, as I am putting some extra dense quilting on it. Still, I am at the end...just a border to go and it is finished! I will try to take some good pics of Sherry and her family along with Rachel's birthday pics. Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Mother's Day Banquet

Two posts in one day! I had pictures to share. Tonight was our Mother's Day Banquet. It was wonderful! Taya and her Mommy, Allena, pictured above, did the centerpieces. White baskets filled with toy musical instruments and sheet music laying out on the tables. The theme was "Worship".

Candy did a great job putting it all together and announcing our special speaker.Renee Cooper is a gifted singer and speaker from another local church. She has the MOST incredible voice.Charlotte (you can see the back of her head here) sat mesmerized through the entire service. She loved the message and really was thrilled to hear Renee sing several songs intertwined in her speech.Charlotte loves to sing and wishes to join the Praise and Worship team someday.

The dinner was delicious. Pastor Tim (our youth Pastor) and Pastor Paul cooked and served with the help of a couple of teen boys. They offer every year to serve at the Ladies Banquet. They made chicken breasts cooked on the grill, baked potato, green beans cooked with bacon, spinich salad, and for dessert 2 different kinds of cake. A couple of the ladies made the cakes ;)

My mom came, so we had 4 generations there. Mom, me, Rachel, Charlotte and Emerson. I wish I had thought to get a group picture.Taya loved playing with Emerson.Emerson got a hold of 2 spoons and looked ready to eat!!

Tomorrow, we will attend church and then have a cookout here. BBQ'd ribs, corn and baked potatoes. I plan to make chocolate cream and banana cream pies for dessert. I hope to make TJ feel special. Tonight when Rachel was getting ready to go, he wanted to come with. Rachel told him, "Church is only for girls tonight." He said, "Where is the phone?? I'm calling Grandma!!" He called me and told me in a shocked voice what his mother had said. OMGoodness!! What could I say. I told him it was not church, but a special dinner for Mommies and that tomorrow would be church. He sobbed. My heart broke. I guess he did ok and was playing a ball game with his Daddy outside when Rachel and Emerson left. Whew!

Have a blessed Mother's Day!

A Full Day

Yesterday was very busy, but a fun kind of busy. The morning was routine. School, housework, and I even machine stitched a few seams on the Peter Rabbit Challenge. The afternoon brought my older kids and grandkids. Bud came to help his dad move the large solid oak (weighs a ton) entertainment center from the master bedroom down to the Man Room. I am told by Sweetheart that the kids are allowed to use the Man Room to watch movies and play games. He is more generous than I am! While they did that, Rachel, Emerson and I ran to Joann's for a quick fabric/yarn fix. I needed some border/background fabrics for the Peter Rabbit quilt and Rachel wanted to get some yarn for a baby afghan for her new niece. I ended up with this...and a few extra pastels to add into the mix....I have so much dark facric and hardly any pastels, so I really could not work specifically from my stash. You can never have enough fabric, right?

I never go to the yarn section, so it was kind of fun to see someone look at yarn the way I look at fabric. Rachel ended up getting this gorgeous purple for her new niece.

She is still working on the lap blanket to donate to the retirement home through my church. I love the colors....they match my family room!!!! Just kidding, I am so proud of her.

We also picked up some dishcloth yarn and a book of patterns. The pink is for Rachel and the varigated is for Charlotte. I love knitted/crocheted dishcloths!!!

From there we headed across the way to the Christian bookstore. Little TJ needed a Bible. He had the one I got him as a baby....just a 10 page baby Bible with a cloth cover. Yesterday he got his first big boy Bible. He was not at all interested until he realized it was the same as the Bible we read here at Grandma's, which he LOVES!!!!!
It came with a carrying case too!!!! That he did not care for at all!!!
It is such an unbelieveable honor to purchase a Bible for someone!! I always feel so good doing it, whether it is for a Toddler or an Old Timer!
So while we were off having fun, Charlotte stayed here to watch the little boys (Zach and TJ) and the BIG boys moved that entertainment center, TV, and furniture. The Man Room now has pink chairs, though Sweetheart thinks they look good in there (I agree).

This morning the kids were carrying clothes baskets filled with video tapes down to organize in the door of the entertainment center. I overheard this conversation:

Zach: What does psychotic mean?

Charlotte: I am not sure, maybe you should ask Mom.

Z: I think it might mean "crazy".

C: I think you are right.

Z: In that case, doesn't it seem psychotic to you to carry all these tapes down stairs?

The kid is always looking to expand his vocabulary!! He told me the other night, "Could you please alert me when you are going to turn the light on?"

So what is next for Sweetheart? He wants to finish the furnace room also. It is a large room down stairs and he wants to wall off the furnace, sink, water softener and water heater. This would still give us a nice size L shaped area for workout equiptment. LOOK AT THIS>>>>

That is my TREADMILL, Ugly Betty, under that mess!!!! I gasped out loud when I saw it. Sweetheart assures me it is just fine!!! If not, I better get a new one! The finish of the furnace room will not be complete...no finished ceiling at this point and a cheap indoor/outdoor carpet, but that is fine with me. I also found his very next project. I have had this old antique chair for years. It is broken at the base...it is actually a glider/rocker.

Now that the entertainment center is out of my bedroom, I have room for the chair. Hopefully it will be in there before the end of the day!

Right now the kids and I are going to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. It is part of literature and we will read the book together starting next week.
No school tomorrow as my sister and I are going with my Mom to the doctor...your prayers are appreciated. Nothing too serious I do not think, but we need to hear that from the doctor. After the appointment, my mom, sister, and I are going to a special luncheon....I will share later. It is a "God thing"....you will see.

Have a blessed day and bless someone else!!!

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."

Psalm 27:13 (NAS)

What Day Is It??

Ever have one of those days where you are not sure what day it is? It feels like Friday, and I have felt that all day. Not sure why, but it does.

Guess who is here today??? Need a couple of hints? There is a fort on the back deck...

A puzzle and magnetics all over the living room....
...and Boggle Jr. in the entryway.
Yep, it is TJ! I could not get a picture of him because he said, "No pictures, please." I did get one of my newest Grandchild....
In just a month or so we will meet her. I am very excited. Rachel is "nesting". She is putting Emerson's nursery together. It is PINK! Here are all the new clothes and sleepers, along with new bedding, that got washed up and ready to use today.
Look at all that pink! That ultrasound better be right!

Here is the newest Sunbonnet Sue.

This one is pretty special to me. It represents friendship. The blue dress has yellow stars. It was fabric sent to me by Debi, just because. The yellow hat, sleeve, and shoe are a fabric sent to me by Amy, again, just because. The next block will be done today and tomorrow's block will be cut out and ready to stitch before I go to bed. They are going fast, if I just keep working on them.

Zach found a "red" tomato in the garden. I think it is more in the orange range, but he was so excited, we picked it anyway. 4 more peppers (1 went to a neighbor) and a nice salad is in my near future.So remind me again...what day is it????

Hump Day

My phone rang this morning at 6 AM. Not a biggie, as I get phone calls that early sometimes. I looked at the caller ID and it was Rachel. My heart skipped a beat. She NEVER calls that early. In the couple of seconds before I connected with her, my mind had played out early contractions, or illness/injury on her or TJ's part. It was none of those. It seems Rachel had a bird in her house! She was "creeped out" as she noted many times in our conversation. She ended up with TJ's bug net and the bird who started out in the window, ended up on her bed! She, in her hysterics, mentioned "It's BIG, It's BIG!" I controlled my laughter into a small giggle as I woke Sweetheart to go help our daughter in law rid herself of the BIG bird. "Tell her to open the door", he said, with eyes still closed. I told her. She did. Nothing happened. I told her maybe you need to shoo it with the net toward the door. Another episode of non-words and lots of shrieking and the BIG bird was outside once again. She is still "creeped out"!! I am still giggling!
The kids have Backyard Bible Club today. It is a small world. The lady hosting the event, is a sweet woman, who has her brother in law living with them. He has Downs Syndrome and works at the same place Kyle works. Come to find out they even ride the same bus! I thought that was a bit of a coincidence. Then she invited me to her ladies Bible Study. Well I knew it probably would not work out, because there is only one night a week that would work for me. Guess what??? It was on that night! She even gave me a copy of the Beth Moore book they are doing. I have been praying about a women's study and am looking forward to it! A night out....with other women....studying God's Word...what could be better???

Sweetheart is home today. I think it is lawn day, so that will keep him busy.
He tends to want to help me with the housework. Nothing deep, but he empties the dishwasher, dusts and even runs Hazel. If I can get to it first, then he leaves it. He says he is bored when he does it, but I feel like he is invading my space. My routines are then messed up. I better get going if I want to get to those things before he does!
I love this graphic...look at that waist! Also, I promise a quilty post soon. Well it has to be. The 4 Season Swap needs to be in the mail by the 30th...that is ONE week from today! Hey, I wonder if Rachel would like this block? It is called "Birds In The Air"!!! Still giggling!

Happy Birthday Rachel

Today my beautiful daughter in law turns 24 years old. She has been such a blessing to this family. Her character is strong and she has the passion to be the best mother she can be. I know people who worry about their grandkids, especially if the mother is an in law, but I never worry about TJ. He is always taken care of, his every need met.She is a loving wife. She has a strong connection with my son. A real love, that she has had for him since she was 16 years old. The family they are creating, is God ordained and blessed. She is the heart of that family.She shows interest in those things that nurture her family and home, and spends her time building those cornerstones.Her desire is to stay at home and raise her children. My son lovingly supports that and she has grown into a wonderful homemaker.
And she fits. She fits right into our family. There was a place carved out for her from the beginning. I prayed for this girl before I knew her, when she was just a toddler, all the way up until she married my son, and then I have continued to pray for her. She has been a true gift to our entire family. My parents adore her!!! and she loves them. We are so honored to have her as one of our own.
Happy Birthday Rachel. We love you, Sweetie!!!

Love, Mom and Dad