Congrats, Alyssa!

Cousin Alyssa has made it thru grade school! Woohoo! We knew you could do it, Miss Smarty pants! The family is getting together to celebrate all of her accomplishments today.

Sorry, Henry....

....its taking me a few days to get back into the swing of things at Henry's house. Shoes on the wrong feet, bathroom door left open (Charlotte had a blast in the toilet), gate unlatched (again Charlotte, rocketing up the stairs), and a few more small mishaps. Oh well, the first few days back have been great. I'm getting ready to head over there this morning for a few hours. Woohoo, I get to hang out with these guys and get paid.

Happy 44th, Barty Boy!!!

A Big Thanks....

....to all those who have served our country...especially the many in my family.

Sunday @ the flea market

Big coffee, short pants, a handsome husband and flea market people.......who could ask for anything else!?!

Flea market finds

Rainbow Block Swap

Here are some blocks I got from the swap I was in.

Pals

Delaney and Gertie size each other up.

Beautiful Boy

Our flower garden.

Sunshine on my kitties.

Passion for Pinwheels

I decided I love pinwheels. Here's some pics of what I've been working on. I had planned on saving this project for South Haven when we go in June, but it just kept calling me. The flower fabric is a vintage bed sheet that I found in great condition ($2.50 from you know where...thrift store) and the blue fabric came from a bed skirt (1.25 also from you know where). The pink was from my favorite thrift store, Community Thrift, and there was about 2 yards for around 1.50. The pink fabric is a little on the cheap side but that's okay. The yellow and white came from the quilt store so that of course will bump up the cost of the whole quilt. All in all, only about $13.00 was spent to make this quilt top. Not bad! How's that for re-using and re-cycling? The 2nd pic is the first blocks I made, so my centers were a little off, but, the more I made, the more my centers came together. WooHoo! Oh, and btw, my pinwheels won't be all spinning in the same direction as you can see. I decided that would be okay.

I am grateful.....

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~ Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)

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That was exactly how I was feeling about crafting last year (first line of quote).

Then Aunt Kathleen introduced me to quilting (second line).

So thankful to Kath for rekindling my crafting fire. (third line).

Thanks, Auntie! I love you!

Henry....update

Saw Henry and we had a nice snuggle before he took his nap today. He's doing well. Poor guy looks like he got in a big fight with all the bruising from the iv sticks and chest tube. Such a relief to have him home and getting better. Doctors say it will take up to 6 months for him to fully recover. I'll be starting back to work there as his nurse on Friday...woohoo...I get to hang out with the dollies and get paid! Thanks to all that have kept our boy and his family in their prayers.

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Here's what mom had to say in an email she sent out to everyone:

We're so happy to tell you that Henry came home yesterday afternoon - - after 13 days in the hospital. He's not 100% better - - they said it will take up to 6 months to completely recover - - but he's much better than when he was admitted to the hospital. The PICC line will remain in his arm until June and will deliver the antibiotics to him.As some of you know, we had some set backs which kept him longer than expected. He was given the wrong antibiotics, and it wasn't discovered until Thursday. And on Saturday, Henry accidentally pulled out his chest tube while playing with his matchbox cars. It was very scary for me, but didn't seem to phase him. His room immediately filled with nurses, and they quickly bandaged the site.There is still fluid in a space next to his lung, but they decided not to put the chest tube back in and will monitor with x-rays. He'll have one tomorrow.But aside from all the setbacks, we're home. We both got a long night of uninterrupted sleep last night. Now we'll try to get back into the home routine. He will have lots of appointments in the coming weeks and should continue to gain strength.It was so wonderful to get so many cards and emails during his hospital stay. What an encouragement to have so many people praying for him. We know your countless prayers carried Henry through this medical whirlwind and we are very grateful for your love.Sincerely,Jennifer(and family)

WOOHOO!!!!!

Henry's coming home today! I don't have any details, but got a quick email from mom that he's coming home later today....which means he must be feeling/doing better! Yea, Henry!

Oh Henry.......Update

Henry continues to be hospitalized...poor guy. His chest tube fell out yesterday and the doctors are contemplating weather or not to put it back in as his chest xray still looks crappy. Mom thinks they probably will. Please pray that God clears Henry's chest of all the icky stuff. Also, pray for his parents as they are exhausted and missing their girls at home. Thanks. Here's an old pic of me and the twins from November, 2007. They were so tiny!(they look like little dollies!) and they both wore those funny plastic glasses. They have since graduated to contacts. I'll be going back to work with Henry as his nurse when he comes home from the hospital. I'm really looking forward to that......I miss being with those kids. They always make me smile really big! (and their mom is okay, too......actually she's a rockin' good mama bear taking care of her cub! hang in there' girl!)

Cat Mat

Hmmmm....this can't be good.....

Me & Henry

....move over, boy!

Another Henry update.

Well, Henry was acting like a real turkey today when I saw him. A little whiny, a little needy...you know, like a 3 year old! I was so happy to see him acting like his Henry self. He does have IV's and tubes sticking out of his chest ( not to mention his feeding tube that he already had in his belly) but he definitely seems like he has turned a big corner. After I had been there for a few hours, he realized I was monopolizing his mom by chatting with her so he told me, "Karen, go in your car." He's on the mend for sure! His chest xray still looks kinda crappy, so he won't be coming home til Friday at the very soonest.

Henry....update

Above: Henry and his twin, Sydney, looking into a fountain.

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I spoke with Henry's mom, Jennifer, yesterday and he seems to be doing a little better. He's sitting up in bed for a few minutes and running his cars across the bed table. He had a chest xray yesterday....haven't heard the results but they have to be better as he has a tube sticking out of the side of his chest draining all that icky fluid off his lungs. I'm going down to Children's this afternoon to hang out with him and his mom. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. I'll post another update after I see the little stinker for myself.

Oh Danny Boy!

Happy 25th Birthday!! I love you!

Sunbonnet Sue block

When I'm in the car (and Chuck is driving) I usually work on an embroidery project. I finished this one recently and then sewed on some borders. I don't know what its going to be but I have so much of the 1930's fabric and I heart it so much I figured I'd use it.

Little peek.....

....of my latest Wip. I haven't started anything new in the last month. I'm continuing to work on projects I started months ago. I'm thinking I'll continue to work on Wips until I go to Michigan the first week in June. I have a few things picked out that I want to get started on while I'm there. I put aside the Florida quilt to work on this little project. I'm going to try and finish it today....maybe. As you can see from the above pic, I sewed the little mouse to close to the edge so I'll have to add on another border before I add the binding. I continue to think that I'm a master quilter (lol and rotfl) and don't need patterns.....hence I continue to make a lot of errors. Oh well, I'm learning as I go.

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Last week I went to the Prarie Shop Quilts store in Batavia to join a few ladies who get together every Wednesday to quilt and fellowship. Oh boy, was I out of my league! These gals sure can quilt! Looking forward to joing them again this week.

Hmmmmm....where'd we leave the kids....

Happy Mother's day!

Here's a pretty flower for all the mom's I know.....and to my mom...love you bunches and looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

Really Big Jesus

This is just a little something my mother-in-law, Sylvia, made.....she's amazing. Here's what she said about making this huge sculpture:
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I just had to let you know that today they completed the installation of the Ross Memorial we have been working on for months. While this is not yet the "official" photo, it gives you a good idea of what I've been working on (in pieces) in the garage. To give you a better idea of the size, the halo is 6 ft. across. All the color was applied with powder coating and a heat gun. (I wore out 1 new heat gun, and have many hours on the 2nd one.) Each piece was then baked in a huge industrial oven with a clear coating for an even greater durability.

A point of information, I did the original design, and then an 8 1/2" x 11" outline of the figure, which with computer magic, sent a message to plasma cut the steel in the large pieces! The pieces were then powder coated white. The pieces were individually hauled to me where I did the color powder coating application. Our garage has been my workshop. Behind the figure is an ingenious bracket system that attaches to the wall. A lot of engineering by Warren Janke of Pace Iron Works was done to accomplish this. Much of his time was volunteered, and the project could not have happened without his efforts.

Oh Henry.......Update

Nothing really new to report on Henry today. Mom sent out an email around midnight last night saying that he was going to have a chest tube placed today for drainage...poor guy. I looked after his sisters, Sydney and Charlotte this morning. They kept me quite entertained. Syd is talking up a storm these days and Lottie has learned the word 'No'.

Sweet Henry

The little guy I used to be a nurse for is pretty sick with bacterial pneumonia. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

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Henry's the one looking up at the fire truck. I have my arm around his twin, Sydney. Mom and dad don't want any face pics of the kids on the blog....sorry. He's being transferred from a suburban hospital to Children's this afternoon by ambulance. When his mom told him about taking that trip, he perked up a bit. The idea of an ambulance ride really floats his boat! Hang in there, Hen-man.

MFA and her baby.....

....dog that is.

When quilting goes bad......

Well I made a few rather large mistakes on the Florida quilt. 1) I cut the blue border too thin. This is what happens when one does not follow a pattern and one thinks she is so clever but really is a quilting newbie (not that there is anything wrong with that). The border for the inner part of the quilt should have been 3.5 inches wide but instead I cut it 3.0 inches wide.....duh. Then 2) I sewed it on and ironed the seams so very nicely. I then laid it out to admire my handy work and.................oh crap.

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RRRRIIIIIPPPPP!!!!!

Week 3 WIPs

Well, since I decided to make the Florida quilt queen size instead of lap size, its going to take me a lot longer to finish. Aunt Kathleen had a great suggestion. Since I'm going to expand it by using only 4 patch blocks, she suggested to border the other blocks first before I started adding the new 4 patches....brilliant, auntie! Thanks for the idea!

Craftapolooza....family style.

My Aunt Kathleen, Aunt Kathy, Aunt Colleen and cousin Sarah and me and Amy got together to craft yesterday. Sarah and Kath sewed, Aunt Kathy made jewelry, Amy scrapbooked and I worked on my quilt idea book. Mary came for a short time, too....she did a flower arrangement for Aunt Kathy which turned out really nice.....see Mare, you're a crafty gal! Of course we had a feast for lunch....it wouldn't be a family gathering without a ton of food. A lovely time was had by all. Thanks to Aunt Kathy for letting us trash your house!

Where do old tomato cages go to die....?

....behind the shed, of course.

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Chuck and I worked in the yard this afternoon.....I found these behind the shed.......I was wondering where he put them.

Let's all do the kitty spring dance!! Woo Hoo!!