Still on Texas time!

Not sure why traveling does such a number on me but ...it always does. Then you add on the 2 hour time difference and ...you have one tired Nana!
Saying goodbye to this little guy was hard, and I just wanted to sneak him in my suitcase, so I won't have to miss watching him grow!
I decided to do a couple of things for him before I left, in hopes that when he sees them...he will remember how much his Nana loves him.

First is I made him an afghan (it started out for the baby but I got carried away on the size ), he might still need it, since when I left it was freezing there. I laughed and teased my son at the airport when I said " I guess I am going to have to go back home to Seattle to get some warm weather and sunshine!"  And that is exactly what I got, it has been beautiful since I got home!

Then I gave him his Birthday present early ( he turns 3 at the end of this month ).


It's a Picnic Quilt, with 2 matching plates, cups and napkins. I was hoping to use it with him outside while I was there... but it was way too cold! We had fun playing on it upstairs, and he got really excited when he realized that the Outer Space fabric was GLOW IN THE DARK fabric!
I have tried to make one of these Picnic Quilts for all the grandchildren when they turn 3 or 4. Just when they are really starting to enjoy Picnics.

We are home now and I have spent most of my time trying to unpack, put things away, do laundry and get ready for work this week. Still tired, so I guess it will take a bit of adjusting to get back to my regular routine. Of course then on Saturday Night we need to change our clocks to Daylight Savings Time! :)

I realized when I was at the airport waiting for my flight, that sometimes I get Homesick. I remember feeling that way off and on throughout my life. Not Home Sick for my actual home, but Homesick for something bigger, deeper. I have wondered what it would be like to go back Home with God, for just a few minutes? I would love to sit and ask Him how I am doing, and ask him to remind me again ...how strong I am.

 This aching in my heart has always been filled when I do two things...read my scriptures and pray more fervently. I took time out at the airport to do that and it worked. I knew I was loved and being watched over. Then when I stopped worrying about being so lonely, I looked around for a new friend, someone to help. When I did that, I also immediately felt better. 

I found a sweet young Mom with 2 little kids who seemed to need a friend. I tried to talk to her little girl and then I sat with them on our last flight. The Mother and I got to talk, then I shared with her that I had a couple of strong willed kids and also told her that some day ...they would grow up, and she would survive ( something I think she was doubting by her 2nd flight ). I proudly showed her a picture of my 4 kids ( all grown up ) and told her that I lived through it and so would she. I shared with her how quickly they grow up. She seemed like a wonderful Mother, I have know doubts she will be fine. 

Fun to make a new friend, forget about my feeling so lonely... and excited that I got to come home and see my Best Friend! Yes, life is hard at times, but still I have much to be Very Grateful for!

Good Night dear friends!

What I should have said!

I was talking to a co worker the other day and I said ( after seeing yet another beautiful quilt that she had just designed and made ) that I really envied her. Now, on more than one occasion, I have said something in the wrong context. After looking up the word and reading the synonyms, I realized that is not what I meant at all. I am not jealous, and I do not want to take away something that she has. I don't begrudge her, because I know she has worked a long time to get where she is. And I am not unhappy or resentful because of her talents.
I thought more about this conversation I had with my friend after reading an article about the parable in the scripture Matthew chapter 20. The article pointed out some neat observations and so I am going to share them with you. Now many of you know the story, it is where the householder "went out early in the morning to hire labourers." After employing the first group at 6:00 in the morning, he returned at 9:00 a. m., at 12:00 noon, and at 3:00 in the afternoon, hiring more workers as the urgency of the harvest increased. The scripture says he came back a final time, "about the eleventh hour" (approximately 5:00 p.m.), and hired a concluding number. Then just an hour later, all the workers gathered to received their day's wage. Surprisingly, all received the same wage in spite of the different hours of labor. Immediately, those hired first were angry, saying, "These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day." When reading this parable, perhaps you, as well as those workers have felt there was an injustice being done here.
Then the author goes on to, go over some of the things we might not have seen when we first read the parable, such as...
1st... It is important to understand that no one has been treated unfairly here. The first workers agreed to the full wage of the day, and they received it. As for the last workers to be hired, probably were the most discouraged, for not being able to be picked to work except for an hour. Still they accepted it without even knowing the wage, probably knowing that anything is better than nothing. How blessed they must have felt when they got a full day's wages. What compassion the householder had on them.
Then he goes on to talk about ..that there will be times when someone else will get an unexpected blessing  and it is important for us not to be upset or hurt and certainly not to feel envious---"So lesson number one from the Lord's vineyard: coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing, nor does demeaning someone else improve your self-image. So be kind, and be grateful that God is kind. It is a happy way to live."
Last he reminds us that" this parable ---like all parables--- is not really about laborers or wages any more than the others are about sheep and goats. This is a story about God's goodness, His patience and forgiveness, and the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Savior's concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there."
To read the whole article you can go HERE:




So, what I should have said to my talented friend was ..."I really admire your talent and could only hope to learn how to do that some day, you do an amazing job! " Why is it, I always think too late... of what I SHOULD HAVE SAID? Oh well, it was a great lesson learned! Good night dear friends!


“Use those talents you have. You will make it. You will give joy to the world. Take this tip from nature: The woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except those who sang best.” ~Bernard Meltzer

Made with Love!

I love the fact that when you put a quilt around you, that it can bring you not only warmth and comfort... but remind you how loved you are. This is what we tried to put into this quilt that we made for a dear friend of mine. She has had to go through some really big challenges in her life. I know from my own big battles in my life with Cancer, that it was important to let my kids feel like they were helping and doing something for me. I know that it helped them feel empowered to some degree.
That is exactly what we all felt for this dear friend of ours. We wanted to do something, and yet give her the space and privacy that she needed. Still we needed to do something and that is when the idea of this quilt was thought of.
It is our way of saying... "we love  you", "we are so sorry you are hurting", "we are here for you in any way", and last but not least "here's a hug from all of us, so that you can feel surrounded with love and know that you are not alone". Yes, a quilt can say and do all that, and more... and that is why I am a quilter!

"Our lives are like quilts - bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love"

" Sometimes love is for a moment.
Sometimes love is for a lifetime.
Sometimes a moment is a lifetime."

"What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us." Helen Keller

 "Blankets wrap you in warmth, quilts wrap you in love."