Merry Christmas!

I must be honest, the last few days have been really emotionally trying for me.  Not for any particular reason, but I've really been in a funk.  I didn't want to be, but I couldn't seem to shake it.  It was really irritating me.  But last night I sat next to Eliza's bed as she was sleeping and spent some time praying over her.  She frequently has nightmares and I wanted her to get a good night sleep so she could enjoy her 4th Christmas.  Somehow that softened my soul a little and I went to bed feeling a bit better.

I awake this morning to my daily greeting of "Rise and shine, Mommy!" from my sweet girl.  Then she told me that she had good dreams last night.  We have a good God.  Opened presents, ate breakfast, went to church to practice for the morning and who walks in, but our good friend and shop employee, Stella.  Another Christmas gift!  We immediately invited her for dinner at my mom's house.

I sat in the pew during Pastor Josh's sermon and God kinda whalloped me one on the side of the head.  Why is it so easy to lose sight of the things that are actually important?  Well, I'd done it again and the Good Lord used Josh to fix that right up.  I was able to genuinely smile for the first time in several days...

This followed by lunch at my mom's with my sister Emily and her husband Devin, Gpa Hopeman and Peg, Jim and Docia, Stella, Joanna, Steve Noble (our youth pastor who was also an orphan for the day) and my husband and Eliza.  13 total.  It was perhaps the most meaningful gathering of people I've been a part of since my wedding.  You see, my father-in-law is dealing with some painful health issues and isn't often able to get out of bed, let alone out of the house.  We begged, well, told him really that we didn't care if we had to carry him on our backs, we wanted him there with us on Christmas.  And he was and the smile on his face was the best gift ever.  He'll prob'ly hurt like the dickins for days, but I'm pretty certain he'd say it was worth it.

The last year has shown me how important family is and what a blessing it can be, even when things are icky and complicated. 

So Merry Christmas, blogland.  Until next time....

New Quilt Progress

I guess I'll have to name it eventually, but there's time for that!  Here is the first completed block of this adventure.  The others are ready to be assembled - parts done, but I always have to put one together so I can see what its going to look like, don't you? 

Let me know what you think!  And not about the points that don't match...the math is perfect.  I am not.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl!

Today is my sweet girl's 4th birthday! Last night we had grandparents and her neighborhood friends over for food and cake. My heart has never been so full. Eliza felt so special and loved. Mission accomplished. Here are a couple photos.

The bunnies are dressed as Aunt Emmy and Uncle Devin. Uncle Devin is a police officer and they live in Alabama now, so we got her outfits for her bunnies to remind her of them.

My next quilt.....

I'll jump right in and tell you the story behind this quilt. I knew that Jo Morton had been inspired by the Infinite Variety quilt show for her most recent collection so I figured the quilt I would design should also be inspired by that show. I rummaged thru photos of the quilts on the Internet and found a spin off on a Feathered Star that really intrigued me. So here is the start of it. 4 big blocks in red, cream and black is as far as i've gotten. Will show you more when I have it!