My Halls Are Decked!

My house is decorated for Christmas. I do not have the same "Bah-Humbug" attitude I had last year, but I am not entirely into this season! I spend much of my time pulling this little one out of the Christmas tree! Dozens of times a day she is in there!She is certain I put the tree there for her enjoyment! Finally I just left her in there this afternoon, and eventually she came out! Remember how I could not figure out WHO took those pics of the kitties? Well, um, it was me. I was reminded by one of the kids. Thank goodness I did not accuse someone of fibbing! I really thought one of them had...I am not naming names!
My mother in love is having open heart surgery tomorrow to replace a valve. She is such a sweet lady and a huge blessing to our family. Please say a prayer for a fast and full recovery and for the actual surgery (in the morning). It has been crazy-busy here this week. Charlotte got braces on her upper teeth this morning. She gets the lower ones on January 4th. She also got her hair cut a couple of weeks ago....just below the shoulders....and layers added. Her straight hair is now FULL of curls! It was the strangest thing! I need to get a pic for you all...the back is all ringlets of curls! I thought the girl had used a curling iron, but no...it is all natural. She NEVER had curls before. Weird.
I have been writing on my food/weight loss blog (in fact I wrote this entire blog post, pictures included, over there before I realized I was on the wrong blog!). If you want to read it, you can click on the fruit tree on my sidebar and it will take you there. Lots of changes in my diet and I am down 24 pounds since August 2nd when I joined WW. Anyway, I thought it best to separate these subjects....of course this blog is a hodge podge of everything in my life.

I won a giveaway at Debi's blog! What a great giveaway to win!!!! 30 fat quarters!

I plan to make a quilt for Emerson's birthday in September. TJ has his Sailboat quilt here and Em needs a special quilt for at Grandma's house too!

Debi also sent pillowcases for the kdis. She does this for them every winter, and she sent them in the Spring, Summer, and Fall one year, so they have all the seasons. They love getting their holiday pillowcases every year! Debi is so loving to my kids!

She also made me 2 Infinity Scarves! I am HOOKED!!!!I either have to learn to make these, or commission her to make more for me. My mother wants some too! They are such a classy accessory. I wear lots of solid colored long sleeved tops, so they are perfect for making something plain look more stylish! Thank you Debi!!!
Well that is about it for now. I am looking forward to a quieter weekend. No grandkids til the 19th and then I get to see them all week! I am thinking I will get some sewing done. Tomorrow is filled with housework and laundry, so I will deserve the time to play. See you soon!

The Cheek Pinchers

My mother's lady friends, known as the Freeport Girls, but renamed The Cheek Pinchers by my Zachary, came for dessert and a mini quilt show yesterday afternoon. They are such a nice group of women and such fun. I made a couple of desserts and had a pot of coffee on. One dessert was the orange dreamcicle and the other was this.....
That is all the ingredients right there. Nothing else. Just mix them together, and bake. SO good and very low in Weight Watcher points. I served it with some cool whip on top.
I got my sewing day in. I did not get the full day like planned, but I managed to get the top done minus borders. I had some help....Sassafras could not help herself. She loves it when I do any kind of sewing and has to be involved. She even took her bath while I sewed, cleaning between her toes and everything!!!I know it is gross for the cat to be on the kitchen table, but I did spray it down and even washed the runner before the Freeport Girls came. I enjoyed her company.Sassy did jump down once the quilt started to take shape! She knows a quilt when she sees one!Now as for the quilt top (minus the borders), it was almost impossible to get a good picture. Kyle and I held it, with the help of Zachary at the bottom and Charlotte snapped the photos. They all turned out badly!The wind was blowing like crazy and it was just too hard to keep it in one place. You get the idea though....I promise a great pic of it once the borders are on next week.
Tomorrow, my dear friend, Shelly, is coming from McHenry to go to church and spend the day with me. I am beyond thrilled. We attended church together for YEARS when our boys were little and I miss her so much. We have been close friends since Bud was 4....what is that? 25 years?? Wow. I didn't realize it had been that long. You all have a blessed Lord's Day!!

Set for Winter Quilting

I was going to share our day trip to Galena today, but blogger started throwing a tantrum, so I will have to save that for next time. I did get these pictures loaded before the fit began, and this is plenty long enough for a sit down! It has been a long week and it started out rough for me. If I ever doubted God's timing, it was not on Monday. Just when needed, the mailman brought a special package!SASSY!!!! Get off of there!!!!That's better! This incredible wallhanging arrived from Linda. The delicate words, stitched by hand, spoke of friendship, and touched me more than words can express. My absolute favorite quilting design, was included....double crosshatch! I LOVE IT! Thank you, Linda! Monday's cloud lifted and Tuesday and Wednesday went by like a blur...Tuesday I had my day out with Mom. It was a good one. I weighed in at WW and lost 3 pounds, plus got my 5% sticker! Big milestone....now on to 10%! Wednesday, we headed to Galena with the kids. Another excellent day. Thursday was basting day! I have a love-hate relationship with basting day! I had already marked the top. I think it will look great and the sashing stencil I chose fits well.

AGAIN with that cat! She loves a quilt of any kind!One of the things I DREAD about basting day, especially with a huge quilt like this, is the pain I know my back will suffer because of all the bending. Because of that, I usually take a couple of days to baste a quilt of this size. This time I spent 8 bucks and purchased these risers to lift my table up to counter level.BEST 8 bucks I ever spent! I did this entire quilt in one day with ZERO back pain. Granted, it took me 12 hours and about 200 yds of thread, and though my legs ached some the next day, that was nothing in comparison of days of back pain! I am now set for winter quilting!
Today, I plan to add some major quilting in that quilt and have a nice relaxing day. Tomorrow, the grandkids, my son, my sister and her family, and my parents, come for the day and after church, we will take them all to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Em's birthday. Next week will be busy too. My Mother in Love is having a valve replaced in her heart on Wednesday, so I plan to be there all day, and then running up to see her as often as I can as she recovers. I have perfect peace everything will be fine, but if you think about, say a prayer for her. ♥

Off to have that perfect quilting day!

Summer Days

Summer is in full swing here. Sweetheart sent me those beautiful flowers on our Anniversary. Yes, Sassy is on the table, and NO, that is not allowed. Those flowers were drawing her like a magnet. She loves them. The spray bottle had to come out to remind her of the boundaries set for her.

We had a massive storm come through here on Monday morning. 80+mph winds and rain for a long period of time. We were blessed to have no real damage. We did lose a section of fence, but Sweetheart fixed it good as new! Many neighbors were not so blessed.
We never lose power in a storm, as our lines are all underground, but, even, we had no electricity for a few hours. Once it came back on, the phone, internet, and cable were still out for another 3 days. We survived fine! ;)
I wanted to share the beautiful wallhanging/runner that Debi sent me. It arrived just in time for the 4th! I was so thrilled with it. It is WONDERFUL! Sassafras has been busy keeping watch over us all.
Flies, or bugs of any kind do not stand a chance in our home! She is Queen of the Fly Catchers! Her only issue is that after she kills them, she can not figure out why they stop fighting back! She swats them around with her paw, and seems quite miffed at the fact that they just lay there lifeless!Can we talk deep for a minute?

I have been thinking on "joy" a lot lately. It is something that has been missing in my life. Not happiness....I am happy. But J-O-Y....you know the ♫I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart♫ kinda joy. Life comes in and the cares of the world suck the life out of you. What does it take? Your joy. I had been praying for a long time about joy, asking God to GIVE me some joy. Guess what I learned?Sometimes, how God gives us something He promises, is by giving us the KEY to that thing. Like joy. How do we get joy? By REJOICING!!!!! Rejoicing is the KEY to joy. Rejoicing in song (lots of high powered praise and worship music playing all day) and reading scripture concerning joy and rejoicing! It gets in you, and after time, you start to feel it! I am in the process, but I am certainly getting joy!

Speaking of joy, are you ready for me to share a little bit of my SPECIAL joy??
Oh yeah....grandkids!!!! (and a couple of my own children) Sit back cause there are a few pics here to scroll through!!! We had some water fun today, along with Popsicles, swings, and the sandbox!
TJ has his summer mohawk. I will get use to it about the time Mom shaves it off ;) That face is angelic! Zach has a bit of mischief in his eyes! Then they both get goofy! Boys! LOVE them!
Em enjoyed a couple of Popsicles! That little girl steals my heart!
The sprinkler was a hit!!!!Hmmmmmm....a brother with a squirt gun.....a sister in his sights.....It was a one sided war so you know who won!

The girlies love to swing! So that is a big dose of joy, eh? Hope you smiled a little bit, and I'll update again soon!

Michigan Quilt Ladies

Still stepping away from the computer for a bit. I am realizing what a time stealer it is. I am coming to the realization that facebook is something that is a problem for me. It has taken over all my computer time and then some. I am not blogging near as much since I got on facebook and to be honest, I miss my blog. More on all that when I return (soon, hopefully).

The reason for my visit today, is to give a wave and hello to 3 beautiful quilt ladies I met at our local Denny's last week. My mom and I walked in at the same time and were captivated by their smiles and warmth. I thought in my head, "They remind me of quilter's, they are so sweet."...we all know quilter's are the NICEST women you could come across. It was just after that thought, that they mentioned they were on a quilting retreat and traveling from Michigan up into Wisconsin. They were stopping at local quilt shops along the way. WHAT A FUN THING!!!! Someday......

Anyway, I gave them my blog address, and I wanted to share a list of some other quilting blogs for them to visit. There is NO way I can list them all, so if you have a favorite that you want to share with these wonderful ladies...or even better, your own quilting blog, leave it in the comments for them to find.

Here are some names of a few of the quilting blogs I read....not the complete list, but enough to get you started. Just click on the names and off you will go.....

A Simple Girl

ChookyBlue

Quilting Daze

Quilts....etc.

Quilting With Debi

.....with thread in hand.....

All Stitched Up

Applique 'n Patch Quilting

Cat Lover and Quilt Maker

Crispy Quilts

Hand Wash Only

Hillbilly Handiworks

JulieK Quilts

Quilting Chatter

Sewing Junkie

I have so many more in my blog reader, but I think this will get you all started! Welcome to the wonderful world of quilting blogs!!! You will forever be hooked!

Be Blessed, Bren

Around Here

Poor Sassafras. We have had some company this past week. My sister-in-law, Sherry, and her boys are in from Colorado. We LOVE having them visit. This time, they brought their new puppy, Tobias. Oh. My. Sassy was NOT amused! She survived, and is none the worse for wear.

It has been a hectic week. Where to start? Let's start with Zach, shown here with the Lego 3D glasses he built. Zachary keeps a pig pen of a bedroom. Well, Charlotte does too. I think I was the same as a girl. Anyway, I have given Charlotte all kinds of incentives to keep her room clean. She would prefer to have it messy. Whatever...her choice. I decided to give Zach a shot. I remember it worked with Kyle, who now keeps an immaculate bedroom. I offered a television and DVD player. No cable..or ANY television channels....JUST DVD's and those would be handed out by me. There is no keeping DVD's in your room. You may watch them only if your school work is done, and your room is clean. I did a complete deep clean of his room, and moved furniture, to give him a fresh start.
This happened last Wednesday. Almost one week later and his room is still just as clean. He makes his bed everyday (to the BEST of his ability, and that is fine with me) and there are no dirty (or clean) clothes laying all over the floor. WOO HOO!! Maybe....just maybe, this will pay off.
I also finished my 2nd PIF (Pay It Forward) gift last week. It has been mailed and received.It went to my Girl Scout leader. Mrs. Hancock lived across the street from us and was (and still is) a gifted seamstress and quilter. I enjoyed my time in her living room during the scout meetings. She taught me how to make Porcupine Meatballs (which I make for my family to this day), she took us to sleep in a cave full of bats...that was creepy, but quite fun, taught us to cook an entire meal over a campfire in just tin foil, and she helped me attain MANY badges. Goal setting was birthed in me through Mrs. Hancock. I truly love her influence in my life.
I had the grandkids Friday afternoon til Saturday morning. It was SO good to see them. They are so missed for those 2 weeks. Emerson is talking like crazy and she made a microphone out of Legos and stood on the fireplace singing LA LA LA LA over and over again LOUDLY....she is going to be an American Idol contestant someday!! LOL After the kids left, I watched this....

It took me 7 hours to get through the 5 hour movie, but I LOVED it. It is my all time favorite movie EVER. (I got it used on Amazon for 4 bucks! It was in perfect condition)

Sunday was the "big day." Zach and I picked up Bud and the kids (in a hail storm, mind you) and took TJ to Walmart to go birthday shopping. He is an easy shopper and knew exactly what he wanted in less than 10 minutes. Then we took Emerson to Paw Paw for a nap, met up with Aunt Sherry and her boys, and headed to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday lunch!

I must have heard, "This is the best day of my life." 20 times!! SO worth the horrid weather. Thunder, lightening, hail and torrential rains. UGH! We came home for a family celebration of cake and ice cream Hey...if you see those EXPENSIVE candles that have the colored flames and your son says, "But mom, you have to get them for TJ...you are a grandma that loves." DON'T fall for it!!!!

Though I am a grandma that loves, that was a real rip off!!Emerson attached herself to my mom very quickly....she always does.She LOVES "Old-Grandma". They colored together much of the time.That is Sherry back there holding that mop of a puppy. Sass spent the day in the basement!! LOL It was a good day for TJ, and that was the goal!

The kids went home last night, but I will get them next week for much of their Spring Break. Saturday night til Monday and again Tuesday til Wednesday. Sad to say, my son is moving next weekend. He finds it impossible to maintain a 3 bedroom home for just himself, so he is moving to the town where his job is. This will save him MUCH gas money and his rent will be half of what it is now. He is able to create a home for his kids too....this was the most important thing to him. He has a friend who just bought a house and he was blessed enough to be asked to share it with full reign to make the kids a part of it. It is just 5 minutes from his job...but a good 35 minutes from his mother. He has lived within a few miles of me for the last 7 years. It will be a tough adjustment for me. Even though I will see him just as much, I will know he is not just down the road anymore. Still I am happy for him to be relieved of the added financial burden. :)

That brings us to today. My friend Alesha (visit her blog...her Sunday post was SO GOOD)asked me recently if I would want to trade soap for jewelry....ya think??!! Of course I would! She makes the MOST gorgeous jewelry! I picked these turquoise/copper earrings in trade for 3 bars of soap.Poor picture quality, but they are beautiful! I LOVE them!

Alesha also sent a bracelet for Charlotte.
SO cute!! Charlotte loved it!! The sizing was perfect! Thank you, Alesha!You can find Alesha's creations at Alesha Kay's Shop. She also makes custom pieces. She made the jewelry for my 30th Anniversary Open House and it was the highlight of my "look".
I could share more, but goodness...if you made it this far, God bless you!!