So Many Happy Things

 One of the many happy things on my list is spending time with Tater Tot. Time just flies by, he is a month old already!! Slow down little buddy we can't keep up :)

 Another happy thing was remembering the 4th of July is a week away, EEEEK The little girls need new shirts!! Happy, happy, happy that I worked up the 4th appliques while on our girls cabin vacation back in March. In a skinny minute I had their shirts and bracelets I found at the dollar store awhile back ready for the holiday.

 Happy that Rhonda inspired me to clean out the fridge and freezers. Thanks Rhonda :)

 Over the MOON happy with this cute fabric that LINDA shared with me from her stash to make more pillowcases for ConKerr charity!!

 The Happy from her box didn't end there!!! Check out these quick sew tops she was sew sweet to share :) I can't wait to have the time to stitch these up :)

See how cute the front and back are on these tops!! There are FIVE tucked in her box. Thank you, Thank you!!

Just a happy, happy day all around today. A few more should have been done a long time ago projects are complete. I even put my feet up in the afternoon to take some time off to read my "The One Year Bible for Women" book during the day (I will share more on this book later). I have been so down for so long with all that has happened the past few month's that a Happy, Happy day was just what I needed.

I have given up on a To Do list for awhile. Just flying by the seat of my pants and hoping for the best :) I really don't need a To Do list to remind me of what needs to be done. One look around our home and something is always screaming "Do Me, Do Me" :)

Today is my meals on wheels day for Elijah and his family. It will be a happy sad day in the kitchen. Happy and blessed that we have enough to share with this sweet sweet family. So sad that Elijah is in this nasty fight. There will be lots of tears going into this meal :( It still feels like a dream that Elijah has cancer...how can this be? Elijah and his family needs prays, they need laughter, they need normal. It's hard to be normal when we are around any of them. We all just want to fall to our knees and cry out why, oh why do little children have to suffer. OK, here come the tears, it's time to get this show on the road.

If you would like to join in as Prayer Warrior for Elijah just click on his name :)

Quilt Adventures

 Still eating that elephant one bite at a time :) While cleaning up and organizing the charity room (spare bedroom) I realized I don't have a single quilt ready to donate to the Linus Project for next month. Last year I made a  beach quit like this for a friends Christmas gift. As seems to happen often I had way more fabric than I needed so before stashing it away I bought just a little extra to make up a second quilt top. I had forgotten all about until I was working in the charity room. One of the things I have noticed in all of the children charity organizations is tweens, and teens are often left out. I think the beachy quilt will work for both a girl or boy teen. On to the quilting!!

I didn't get far on quilting the beach quilt before DD#1 called to see if I could watch the toddlers for a few hours. Heck ya!! We braved the heat and mosquito's for some outdoor play before a storm started coming up. It turned out to be one of those nasty storms, wind, hail, thunder, lighting. Karsyn quickly told Mason man (she boss's him around all of the time) get Nanny's quilt we gots to hide from the "Funder storm" Of course Karsyn was being Karsyn, she peeked out at one point asking for snacks under their "Funder quilt".

I can think of no better way to get off track on my To Do list than hanging out with one or more of the toddlers. While having them every day is more than I can handle for too many days the every once in a while days are sooo fun :) After they left for the day I picked up the house. I was DONE.

If I can stay on task today I think I can knock the beach quilt out pretty quick doing some meandering FMQ. That along with the back pantry is on the Goal list for today. I hope to come up with and additional Teen quilt before our Linus project meeting next month. I know I have more than enough fabric in my stash to put together a girl quilt. Time will be the only hang up. Time seems to be the hang up with everything in life :)

One of the desk areas I got under control was the charity files. I have just been shoving receipts willy nilly here and there. There might still be some receipts in the disaster area (sewing room) but for the most part I think I have a handle on things. Funny thing about fabric is it's so easy to buy but it sure takes a whole lot of time to use it up. I know because I have the receipts to show I have bought a WHOLE lot of fabric. blush

Onward to the tasks of the day!!!

Catching Up

 I have put so many things on the back burner the past two months with all that has been going on. One of the many things is this pile of filing, bills, receipts, and forms. Only two more rebate forms and I can call this job DONE!!

 My desk is back in order, for now :)

 Next on the To Do today was too deliver 40 Project Night Night bags. Done!! I couldn't have pulled this off without a friend who was my wing man telling me the directions from her fancy phone

Back home to bake a Texas sheet cake for DD#1. She has Elijah's family meal to deliver tonight but...her sheet cake never turns out just right. Mom to the rescue :)

I feel like a heavy load is slowly coming off my shoulders. They only things that seemed to be getting done for way too long has been keeping the family in the middle of the road and sewing for charity. It's hard to believe how far behind I have gotten. Rather than freaking out I am taking it one day at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day after all.

Once I get to set down tonight I will come up with the next plan of attack. The list is very, very long. Maybe the sewing room, OH MY or one of the spare rooms that has turned into a charity store room. So many options to pick from.

With any luck I can get back on the sewing machine by the weekend to work on two more charity projects I need to have complete by the end of the month. I can't remember ever chasing my tail as much as I have been the past tow months. Fingers crossed that we don't have any pop up surprises for a long, long while!!

Helping Hands

 The big kids surprised me Saturday with a suggestion that they come over early Sunday for dinner to help work on the PILE of wood mulch!!! Heck Ya, I have had so much going on for so long that I figured the wood mulch might turn out to be a fall project :) Unlike the other grands who worked for awhile then played, ate snacks, ran around like crazy people, Mason man stayed on task :) He worked that pile right along with everyone else for 3 long hot hours.

 2 yards of wood mulch are now spread in the grands play area. This should help keep the weeds down!

 Tyler's main job was to help out with Blake, oh how he loves babies :)

There is still plenty of wood mulch leftover for the garden. I have high hopes things will be back to normal this week so I can get some weeding done then lay a nice deep layer of mulch.

I was planning ahead on the meal front yesterday knowing we would be busy moving mulch before Sunday dinner. Yesterday was also my turn for meals on wheels for my buddy. By 9:00 AM I had Lasagna ready to throw the oven for our meal, herb chicken in the cock pot, and all of the sides cooked and tucked in the fridge for my buddy. It's just too stinkin hot to cook in the late afternoon :)

DD#1 called not long after that informing me the big boys wanted to start early to try and beat the heat of the afternoon. Works for me!! Everybody had their belly's full, covered in sweat, and out the door by 2:00. A afternoon shower and a long nap was on all of our must do list's. What a wonderful day! It would have taken me a month or longer to do what we all accomplish in just a few but very hot hours. LOVE THAT!!

Lots of running around this morning to get errands done hopefully before the heat builds up. Then...hours of organizing the desk, paying bills, filing, shredding, you know the drill. I feel like I can finally see a light at the end of this crazy 2 month tunnel of sickness and death's. We almost made it a whole week without any major emergency's before Friday when my friend got sick. This week NOBODY better have any problems enough is enough!!

Off to town I go, so much to do in one day :)

A Grand Friday

 Karsyn was the hit of the neighborhood yesterday in her new "Frozen" cape

I ran Velcro at the top of the binding for the closure and two bling buttons from my stash. I was worried Kara might be upset that I didn't have one done for her....She could have cared less. She isn't into dress up play, running around like a wild child is more her thing.

 Karsyn LOVES babies!!!! Poor little Blake was passed around like a hot potato yesterday.

No cookies, no problem. Playing with Blake was better than any cookie on the planet!!

Our girls are so funny!!! After just a few hours together yesterday they were both ready to pack up and leave as "It's just to loud and crazy over here" HAAA Try keeping them all at the same time and we will talk. They wonder why I look like something the dog drug in at the end of a day with all these blessings :)

I had planned on taking the weekend off. Even thought about maybe taking a short trip to the mountains to get away from the heat and just relax with my new book. OK so that didn't happen. Taking the weekend off to just be home...Not happening :) While the gang was all here yesterday a DEAR friend called. She had been having tummy troubles the night before, since things were getting worse in the morning she broke down and went to the Dr. An hour later she called back that the Dr was sending her to ER for some test as he didn't like what he was seeing. Her tummy troubles had nothing to do with the salsa she ate, it was her appendix!!

I am headed up to the hospital this morning to do the morning shift. I am a morning person unlike most of our friends, we plan on tag teaming her until she is out of the hospital so she will have someone around to make sure she is getting the care she needs. It's always something :) SOOO thankful she didn't put off seeing the Dr or things could have been much worse.

Here is a really COOL site for friends and family who want to help loved ones who are recovering at home!! Take them a Meal Someone set this up for our sweet little buddy Elijah, it's WONDERFUL!!! Instead of having to coordinate meals for the family with people you may not have in common they can just log into the site, pick a day that's best for them to bring in a meal, and they can even view the calender to see what others have already taken to them. LOVE THIS!!!

Just as soon as I find out Ms. D's food restrictions and her possible release date from the hospital I will be setting one of the Take them a Meal sites up for her.

Time for a shower and get this day started

DONE!!!

 Some dresses with appliques.

 Some just plain

 Others with lace

 and a whole bunch with ribbon

 28 pillowcase dresses in small, medium, and large are DONE!! I will make that self imposed deadline of Friday as the mail date!! Yippee

Now it's on to a "Frozen" cape for Karsyn. While I was at it I went ahead and purchased fabric to make her a dress for later on. Her costume is getting a bit snug :)

I am sew glad that the pillowcase dress job is complete!! I really was worried something would come up this week which would have put me so behind to get these dresses in the mail to the sweet lady who I promised them too. YAAAA for no problems this week!

Tomorrow will be a nice slow day. Pay some bills (ugh), a few errands, clean up the desk and some files, then maybe, just maybe I can work on Karsyn's cape.

I am calling it a day early tonight as I was up at 6:00AM working on the dresses. I can't wait to crawl under those covers with my book.

The Sweat Shop

 Before I switched over to working on the dresses for Haiti I finished up the last of the pillowcases I had started. Some for Birthdays

 And a few from outer space.

 Now it's full steam ahead on the Haiti dresses. I am about half way done with them. Adding the appliques are slowing things down a lot! I divided all of the pillow cases up into 3 sizes, small, medium, and large.

 Tater Tot hung out with me for a few hours so Mommy and Kara could have a play date with some friends. It's so fun to watch these little guys as their personality begins to show. He is beginning to track now. When he sees something new he raises his right eyebrow just a bit giving him an old man look as seen in this photo.

But mostly he sleeps :) I know the rule with newborns is to sleep when they sleep but....I can't help but just laying down with him and watching his every move. He is oh so sweet :)

I am ready for these Haiti dresses to be DONE!! The printed pillowcases look so much better than the plain ones that I am trying to dress up a little. Note to self only buy printed pillowcases next year!
I set a goal of having them in the mail by Friday. Not sure if I will make that self imposed deadline or not as it's slow going now that I am adding appliques to the plain ones :( I had thought about adding a lace ruffle to the bottom of the ones for little girls but the lace isn't on sale this week. Maybe when the new sales come out today I can add some, otherwise I am going with what I have on hand :)

Next up for the sewing machine is a "Frozen" cape for Karsyn. She has the costume and shoes but MUST have a cape. Kara wanted a new bird house to paint.Woohoo they were on sale for.72 cents this week. She loves bird's!!!  She will spend hours trying to sneak up on birds so she can put them in the bird houses to live. It's so fun to watch the little girls playing together and interacting with their very different personalities.

With the temperatures in the high 90's this week I can think of nothing better to do than enjoy the AC while sewing away. Summer is here for sure.

A Special Request :)

Here is a small sample of my sash, no matter how much I sew and create it just doesn't seem to make a dent in all of the fabric I have accumulated :)

I figure I am not the only one who's stash runneth over. How would you like to share some of your lovely fabric with someone who could really use the help?

Bea over at Bea's Hive  is in the midst of a family tragedy, she needs our help.  Her Granddaughter is extremely ill, last word I have had is she is still in critical condition and in a coma. Bea is of course lost in worry over her Granddaughter's condition. She would like to make a quilt to wrap her in love and prayers during her recovery.

Here is how we can all help :)  If each of us made a small donation from our fabric stash of  bright happy fabric Bea will be on her way to making that quilt for her Granddaughter. Bea has requested we pre-cut the fabric as she herself is confined to a wheelchair most of the time making cutting very difficult.

I can't think of a better way to spend a few minutes this Sunday than helping this young girl and her grandmother. If you could spare some happy bright fabric please e-mail her at .
Bea Gibson tinkert53@yahoo.com for her address.

I thank all of you for your help in playing a small part of this young girls healing.

Making a Plan

 I made room in the schedule this morning for some ME TIME to enjoy the beautiful morning sitting on the deck surrounded by flowers.

 Then it was on to finishing up pillow cases I had started yesterday. I am trying to keep a step ahead of the game by getting 4th of July cases done today. Hope this is boyish enough for Elijah :)

 The other set are cute dogs all decked out for the 4th. I was so excited to have found both fabrics on the 70% off table at one of the big box stores. With as many cases I am making the sales are a great help on the budget :)

 Lots more pillow case fabric's are waiting to be worked up but they will have to wait...

 I HAVE too get the pillow cases dresses for Haiti started and finished this week so I can get them in the mail for the Missionaries. Feeling a bit like a sweat shop around here lately!! 24 dresses at the cost of $2.00 each. I hope to use scraps to fancy them up a little, maybe even use fabric instead of ribbon for the ties so they will be more durable.

Break time!! Need to come up with a plan to get the pillowcase dresses done lickety split. I am thinking an applique to the bottom of the dresses might do the trick, possibly a ruffle on the bottom as well? With all that is going on around here there is not time to waste :)

This afternoon I will be taking Tyler and possibly Elijah to see "How to Train a Dragon 2" Elijah is still having a lot of pain from his feeding tube surgery this past week, along with the pain from the cancer in his neck...he is just not up to moving around too much right now :( If he can't join us today we are going to give tomorrow a try. Hopefully an additional day of rest will get him back on his feet :).

Off to shop from home for a few appliques that will add a touch of cuteness to these dresses

Friday

How can it be that this little guy is already two weeks old!!!

 

I am meeting DD#3 this morning to help out with the kiddo's while Tater Tot has his 2 week check up. After that it's any ones guess as to how the day will go :) Kara may or may not spend the day. She has been all over the place as to what she wants to do since her little brother has joined the family. DD#3 may or may not want to spend the day hanging out at our house as she too seems to be trying to adjust with two little ones. I had her kiddo's yesterday morning while Mommy had a follow up EKG, her appointment with the cardiologist was scheduled for July. We were so hoping that the whole heart event was a thing of the past but after getting the results back the Dr wants to see her again before then :( She looks great, she feels great, but her heart is just not getting back to where it should be. Prayers for a FULL healing, inside and out

 

I have finished all I can do with DD#1 and getting her classroom in shape for the fall other than a few sewing projects she wants done for next school year. She and hubby will be out of town for a short 10th Anniversary getaway over the weekend. Since hubby's folks are down for the week I will be the backup if they need an extra pair of hands.

 

 DD#2 is at Liberty University this weekend working on her Masters. I can be of NO HELP to her! Ha

 

There might be a chance I will have a weekend alone....What to do, what to do?

 

I was going to post photo's of the options I have to choose from to work on over the weekend but.... my camera battery is dead. THANKFULLY!!

 

The past month has been so crazy. Each and every room in our home needs some serious TLC. Our banking and budget if you can even call it a budget any more needs some major work. The sewing room, kitchen, and laundry room have been taken over by fabric. The TON of wood mulch is sitting in the driveway waiting for me. The garden, oh my.

 

It's hard to decide where to put my energy for the next three days as there is just so much to catch up on. What I really want to do is wave a magic wand at it all then pack a bag for the mountains. :)

 

On a brighter note Elijah is home from the hospital after his surgery for his feeding tube. He has also finished his first week of radiation and is doing well. If anyone would like to follow along with his battle to beat this nasty stuff please join in on his FB page at  Prayers for Elijah.

 

It's time to drag my depressed, tired old body out of this bed and do something! Hope everyone has a great weekend

 

 

 

Spreading the Love

Yesterday was delivery day for so many different things! First off a project Linus meeting in the afternoon to drop off these 7 quilts along with many crochet blankets that had been dropped off to me. I hate, hate, hate driving in the city!! It took 2 and 1/2 hours to get to the meeting :( Once there I was so stressed out I bought a bag of chocolate covered peanuts for the drive home :) I had already let the coordinator know I wouldn't be staying for the meeting/sewing evening as I needed to be home before dark. Left the house at 3:00pm arrived back home at 8:00pm. grrrr

 The morning was spent finishing up pillowcases.

 Lots of pillow cases with yet more to do :)

 Next on the delivery list was a no sew Batman blanket with matching pillowcase for Sam, Elijah's little Brother. I wanted to make sure Sam had something to cuddle with while being at the hospital with big brother.

 A little something for GiGi, Elijah's Grandmother who is in from Alabama to support her Grandson and DD in any way she can. I found this cute hinged box at Tuesday Morning for a great price then filled it with blank Thank You cards and a few books of stamps. While I don't think anyone expects a thank you card for their outpouring of support for sweet Elijah it might come in handy on down the road. We old farts still like a written note rather than a FB post :)

Also made a batch of Angry Birds pillowcases for one of the boys Elijah's family meet during his last stay at the hospital. "Chris" is on his third battle with cancer :( He has been in the hospital for 7 weeks now after receiving a bone marrow transplant.

Last but not least DD#2 gave one of the teachers at her school a "Quilt of Valor" for his service after 9/11 in the Iraq war. He served two deployments after being called up by the National Guard. Her Seniors were pretty impressed two weeks ago when our congressman came to school to award him a medal for his service. It was fun to play a small part in helping these young adults thank one of the many men who are giving so much to keep us safe and free!!

Almost forgot the last of the deliveries. Elijah's Aunt Julie is always the go to Aunt for all things snack related at ballparks or any outings where kids are involved. She has been right by her sisters side from the second Elijah was diagnosed with cancer, going so far as to take and extended emergency leave of absence from her teaching job. I was surprised when Elijah was in the hospital the first time with his diagnosis of cancer that he didn't receive a hand made pillowcase. I quickly whipped one up for him then got busy working on more when I have found the time. I gave Aunt Julie a nice stock of handmade pillow cases for her Aunt Julie snack bag to pass out at the hospital to any of the boys or girls they meet on the cancer ward.  I sent a note to our local ConKerr coordinator this morning asking why the children's hospital didn't have any pillowcases as it seems I have donated a whole HECK of a lot of them this past year :)

So that was my day, the morning with my nose at the sewing machine the afternoon stuck in the car and the evening....siting on the sofa with AJ the beagle as thunderstorms rolled through. I thought the day might just end with NO new problems but....we were hit with a hail storm!! I haven't been out to see if there was any damage yet this morning. Oh please let the new roof be OK!!!

Off to DD#1 school today to help her move and set up her classroom for next year. We will be doing the grunt work today, organizing her supplies, books and all for the next school year. Decorating and fluffing the classroom nest will be done before school starts back in August. As long as I don't have to spend hours in the durn car it should be an OK day :)

Will It Ever End?

 This morning I ventured out for a little more pillow case fabric. My plan for the day was to finish up the pile of girl pillow cases I had sat aside yesterday so we could enjoy Sunday dinner then move on for the next two "Free" days to sew, sew, sew.

 All plans went out the window when I returned to my car and checked my cell phone. Humm, 5 calls from DD#3, that's odd. Holy Moly, she was hysterical. :) Mommy had left Blake strapped in his swing while she ran to the bathroom. Seconds later she hears him cry out. She found him laying on the floor at his swing, Kara bending over him saying "Baby you fall down?" BE CALM!!!!!!! Load the kids up and head to the ER I will meet you there. He seemed fine to me once I got to them but you just never know. ER was pretty quick to triage him, the nurse agreed he looked good. After 2 hours wait the pediatrician on call agreed, Blake would be just fine. His advice was for Mommy to calm down, these things do happen, Mommy's do have to use the bathroom sometimes. Kara must not be left alone with the little guy as toddlers are thinking they are helping Mommy take care of the baby when she is out of sight. This morning I aged an additional 10 years. I felt sure God would protect our little guy as I flew down the highway to meet DD#3....and he did :) THANK YOU GOD!!!!

I arrived home to this in the driveway. Oh My. The pile is so close to the garage door that until I spread all this mulch we won't be able to open the door. The pile is so wide the Jeep can't be moved until I spread all of this mulch. I wonder how long it will take for this "small" load of mulch to be relocated to the garden and grands play area?

Do you ever have days that you just want to throw up your hands and say I give up? I am there.....I came in the door and called it a day. I am feeling a little energy coming back by late this afternoon but I am still not up to tackling much of anything.

Piles of fabric, piles of wood mulch...it can all wait :)

I had a little talk with God on the way home from the hospital. I couldn't help but smile as we had our chat. Buddy I know you don't give us more than we can handle. I know you will give me the strength to do what must be done. I know you are right beside me in case I stumble but.....If you testing my faith forget it!! I am with you all the way just as you are with me :)

Simple Sunday

 This is a really, really bad picture of Elijah and his Mommy (I need to learn the night settings on my camara) Friday night after his little brother Sam's baseball game, the team surprised the family with GC's for the family to use at various restaurants as well as a check to help with the costs of his upcoming medical treatments.

 Our Tyler, Sam, and big brother Elijah doing silly boy stuff after receiving their trophy's. We are praying hard that this time next year these boys will still be just little boys doing crazy faces for us.

 Last night DD#3 snuck out to bring Blake aka Tater Tot over for some Nanny time. I can think of nothing better to sooth a breaking heart than some cuddle time with a baby. The world seems to be just a little bit sweeter with a baby in my arms.

 At just 8 days old Tater Tot loves to be talked too :) He focuses on whoever has him never moving his eyes to hear the sound of voices. All we need around here is another little one jabbering away :)

Hubby felt good enough yesterday morning to hit the road back to TX. We keep telling ourselves it won't be long now before the project is complete and he will be back home where he belongs :) After getting him on his way I went on a shopping spree for fabric to make pillow cases for little girls. With the help of the every friendly clerks I was able to find more Boy fabric on the 80% off sale table :)

Yesterday I hit the end of my emotional rope :( For far to long I have been running on overdrive trying to keep up with all the life, death, birth, and illness situations that have come into our lives the past few months.

After doing some morning shopping for Elijah and his family my motor began to slow down finally to shut down all together. Everything seemed to be just silly and dumb. I logged on to FB to see what was up in our little world and began to get angry. Elijah has cancer.......I don't want to see posts of stupid stuff. Off the PC went, I will check out the news. Elijah has cancer....I don't give a rats ...who wins a dumb horse race. I just couldn't lift myself up from the funk.

After a long talk with our Lord I fell asleep. Three hour naps is not something I do!! But the energy just wouldn't come back, the tears won't stop. Having some cuddle time with just Tater Tot,  DD#3 and I couldn't even lift my spirits.

Before heading to bed I received a message from a fiend I haven't seen in what seems like forever. We use to visit often at scrapbook crops and our local store, exchanging ideas, supplies, and plans for the next albums on our gotta do list.

She wanted to thank me for sharing Elijah's story, his FB page, and his donation page. Her ladies prayer group and her entire church had all joined in on Elijah's prayer page. They were on fire for a little boy they have never meet, they were taking in every kind word from strangers sharing their love and prayers for this little boy. They were excited to see what Gods healing hand and the blessings little Elijah would be sharing with so many strangers. They were inspired by the out pouring of love and support Elijah and his family were receiving.

Elijah is just a little boy, he is a little boy with cancer. The kind words of a friend I haven't seen in too long woke me up.

Today I will use the gifts God gave to to do what I can. I will be cutting that pillow fabric like a wild woman. I will be sewing my brains out. When Elijah and his family enters the hospital Wednesday to have his feeding tube and chest port surgically place he will be going with a pile of pillowcases to share with others in the children's cancer ward. He will be waking up wrapped in the comfort of a new quilt signed by his 3rd grade class. He will be strengthened with the love and prayers of thousands of people who have never even meet him :)