She Spends Saturday Sewing Sea Shells

I am working on the brown border of the Pink & Brown quilt and loving it! It is such a cool design. Very classy.Here is a peek at the back. It will be a nice finished edge.I only have 3 sides to go and then on to the binding. Sorry if you are all getting tired of looking at this quilt. I am just so excited about the progress I am making. I plan to spend the rest of today working toward getting a second side done.

Yesterday, my grand children came for an overnight. It was such a blessing to have them two weeks in a row. TJ had his first "piano lesson". He learned middle C and is learning to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb".Emerson has forgotten how to walk and RUNS everywhere, which is why I have no pictures of her that are not a blur! She also says "poo" when it is appropriate! She wrinkles her nose and says "icky" while you are fixing her problem. I think she will potty train early. So cute, that little one. TJ pulled a toe nail and was quite freaked out, yelling, "Hurry, Grandma, it's almost gonna bleed!" Grandma hurried and a bandaide took care of everything!He wore his pj's backwards last night, on purpose. Don't ask why, cause when I did, he had no answer except that he wanted to. My type A- personality let him do it and I was not too disturbed! LOL

Tomorrow I am having dinner for 15. It is Kyle's 24th birthday and Sherry is in town with 3 of her kids and 2 of her grandkids and will bring along her "special" friend. It has been a year and a half since Scott passed away. I am so glad she is finding happiness again. I will try to get lots of pictures.

If you get a chance, check out Pam's web page. It is a fun place to visit!!! I want one of the shirts!!!!

Grand Blessings!!!

Can you believe how incredibly handsome my grandson is??? After doing his sister's hair, he asked if I could style his. He was very proud of his new do! I had a wonderful time with the kids this weekend. I had them Friday overnight. TJ and Zach went sledding with the next door neighbors. They had built a hill and had a blast. Emerson watched and waved from the window. A few days later and all that snow is gone!!! My time with the kids went by much too quickly. They left Saturday morning, but returned on Sunday late afternoon for Sunday dinner. TJ helped me prepare fried chicken tenders. He cracked all the eggs...........but when it came time to touch the tenders into the egg mixture, he decided he would rather do the flouring!!! Sorry for the blur.
We had a nice dinner. While dinner was cooking, TJ got hungry so he decided to make a sandwich. (he did eat dinner too) He told me he needs a chef's hat. I will have to look for one!! Emerson played hard and was very tired, but not too tired for some "twinkie" time with Paw Paw. She loves her sweets!!!He did not give her a whole twinkie.....just a bit, and she loved it. He was her new best friend!! She says PawPaw quite well. She also says "Grandma" but it sounds a bit like "SpongeBob"!!!! I will answer to anything from that sweetie pie!
My friend, Linda, made a beautiful gift for Emerson. 4 GORGEOUS hair clips. Her hair is too thin for them now, but we can clip them to a headband and make her a movie star!!! Aren't they beautiful??? Thank you, Linda!

My son had them until Monday morning and I would not normally see them for another 2 weeks, but since my sister in love, Sherry, will be visiting, their parents worked it out for them to return again next weekend. I am happy for them that their mom and dad are thinking of them first. Even though it had always been that way, you never know what divorce will do. I am so happy that my grandkids are not a weapon and that they have parents who put their own emotions aside to do what is best for the kids. In such a horrible scenario, it is the best anyone can hope for. Can you tell I am not over this yet??? LOL I am working on it!!! I know it is for the best where the adults are concerned, but for the kids, I still mourn.

On to another subject....I spent yesterday morning in a dentist chair. I do love my dentist, but not going through the procedures. Just a filling, and not the dreaded root canal we thought would happen, yet I am quite sore today. It took 3 shots and I still felt some pain. I have been grinding and clenching again to the point of jaw pain and so I need to learn some relaxation techniques for before I fall asleep.....also I grind while I am awake without knowing it until it is too late.

In the last 3 weeks of dealing with the jaw pain, I have gotten some quilting done. I am on the 3rd side of the pink border and plan to finish it all up today, then, on to the brown border and binding. So close I can "see" it done!!!! I better get my day going here. Lots to do!!!!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!!!!

Setting things Straight and Kid Pics

Isn't that sweet? TJ made that for me in Sunday School yesterday! He was very proud of it.

My weekend was full, but I made sure my Saturday was a nice "down" day. Lots of hand quilting and movie watching. I did spend some of Saturday setting things straight.Yeah, I could not take that wonky looking border, so I ripped it all out and put in a nice, miniature, paisley print. That right side looks a little off in the picture, but don't fret....I just did not smooth it out before I took the photo. It is all perfectly straight looking.
TJ and Zach spent a good part of Friday afternoon making a snow fort. TJ was not willing to pose in it, but he would sit on the porch for a photo op..... Zach was more than willing to show you their creation.....it was complete with swords (baseball bats), cannon balls (basketballs), and shields (pop tents and a wagon).When they were all done, after a good 2 hours, they came in for some warmth. Zach gave a big sigh and said, "Ahhhhh, it's great to be back in my natural habitat." I agreed!!! heehee
Emerson and TJ both loved the doll house and accessories that "Old Grandma" (my mom) brought them.Their Daddy took it all home for them on Saturday, and they played for hours and hours.....Daddy included. They had such fun!!
Sunday we met them for church and then they headed home for the afternoon with their Dad. They came over for homemade Lasagna, and a couple of hours of play, before heading back to their other Grandmother's house. These next pictures are not the best....blurry and out of focus, but you get the idea. I loved this cute little dress Emerson wore to church. (that blur behind her is Zach running)She looks so grown up! Not too grown up to be Paw Paw's "baby girl".We sure did enjoy them. Divorce is not a fun thing. It feels almost evil in how it is played out and my most earnest prayer is that my grandchildren are not affected. I know that is extremely foolish to think, but I pray that God, Himself, would guard their hearts and minds. I know that they are loved deeply by both sides of their family and I know that God loves everyone involved. It is my only thing to hang onto in the midst of all of this loss.
Gosh, I didn't mean to end this on a down note.
Monday is a favorite day of the week for me....everything seems fresh. Now, I am off to begin my week. Be blessed!!!

Family and House Work

We are getting hit hard with snow AGAIN! We had about 4 inches when I woke up at 6:30 this morning, and it is still coming down hard at 3 in the afternoon. They say it will stop tomorrow morning leaving us with a good foot!

My weekend was good. I had the grandkids on Friday night. They were both sick with colds, so we just took it easy and enjoyed each other.

On Sunday, My mother in love came and we all had KFC, along with cake and cupcakes for dessert. We played a game of Phase 10..........NEVER "skip" your mother in law! Yeesh! I got a look that would kill! She is serious about her cards, but it did not help her, as she lost COMPLETELY! Her and Sweetheart both! OK, so I lost too, even though I had an incredible partner in TJ. Our son beat us all!Emerson enjoyed watching us for most of the game. She led Charlotte around the house the rest of the time. She did color Grandma a picture for the frig....They LOVED Sassy. TJ thought she was a toy at first and was shocked to see she was real. Emerson said, "niiiiice" and stroked her gently. Sassy was fine with them too! She has continued to be a joy to everyone here. She has her spot where she naps during the day....on the kitchen chair.But her favorite place is still on my lap. Here she is waiting for me to sit down....she looks like she wants to say, "I'm waiting.....you can sit down now."Once I do, she works her claws in my lap (softly, so it does not hurt), gets her motor going and curls up against me.Our school days are moving along. Anya, the neighbor girl I home school, is doing phenomenal! Charlotte is also doing exceptionally well this quarter. Zach has had some frustration, but I think moving his schedule around to make math his last subject instead of his first has helped greatly. He did a beautiful job today. I have to remind him to "sit on your butt" during handwriting, or he is very sloppy. Today after several reminders to sit on his butt, his workbook asked him to write a word that starts with "b". What did he write???I have felt the need to get my own schedules back in order. Since Sweetheart has been home they have all fell to the wayside. It makes me feel "out of control". I pulled out my Home Management Binder.....I love that thing. An extended family member once said that only an idiot would need to have a book to tell you when and what to clean. Well. I am that idiot. I am not a cleanie by nature....I need order, but have no natural skills to get it. The binder does it for me. However, the binder is a 2 inch think, very heavy, tool that is awkward to cart around....I decided to pull all my housekeeping pages out and make a smaller binder. I had a 1/2 inch binder and made a new cover. Now this is much easier than the heavy, bulky, binder, that I still keep handy, as it hold some valuable pages that I use often. This is my DAILY binder. It holds daily/weekly/and monthly chores.
I put a zipper pocket in it to hold pens and paper.

The first page is my "theme" verse...... And my schedules are in order after that.
I am happy to have these schedules back in place. Now I can quilt without guilt!!! And hey!!! ALL this laundry got done today!

Phase 5 and Some Kids

Phase 5, and the final phase, of the big project was to create a space for the kids. They had the Man Room, which you know Sweetheart and I took over. This was not accidental, as my children are very hard on things. I would assume all kids are. The Man Room was, at less than a year old, showing signs of "wear and tear". Sweetheart repaired all these things before we "moved in". Now we have Kyle's old room empty and it is a perfect spot for the kids.Their chairs and bookcases of DVDs and videos (yes, we still have VCR here) make it a room they can enjoy.The closet in the corner is a great place for games and puzzles. This table is already holding a jigsaw puzzle they are all working on.Kyle also gets use out of this room. I have a strict rule....NO FOOD UPSTAIRS! Kyle brings his morning cereal and his afternoon snack down here to watch TV and eat. There is really nothing they can do to this room. The carpet is industrial strength, so even the most apt picker can do no real damage, and the walls are cheap paneling. Zach calls this "The Little Man Room". So now our project is complete!

I had some grandma time this weekend. TJ spent the night. He and Zach had matching pj's.Emerson played the piano, ever so gently at first then she built to her finale of pounding on the keys!!She is finally walking and was very proud of herself. Every time she made it across the room she clapped!!! We had a nice dinner. TJ ate non-stop all weekend. He must be going through a growth spurt, cause it is impossible to get him to eat!Here is a rare photo....all 4 of my children sitting at the table together....just my kids. What a sight that was. Sweetheart and I both noticed at the same time. It was a nice sight.They are a raggedy bunch, but they are ours!

Charlotte learned several new things at crochet class....a granny square, a shell stitch, and how to sew in her tails.She sure loves to crochet. I am so glad she has that. I spent the time hand quilting. In the afternoon I spent more time at my machine piecing the Hidden Star. Today I plan more of the same. Right now I need to get off of here and jump on Ugly Betty! I really dislike walking a treadmill, but I am motivated, so off I go!