The last time I posted was following my MIL's funeral. It has been a challenging two months dealing with her estate and family dynamics. It has been even more reinforced that we are completely blessed having our sons, daughters-in-love, and precious grandchildren. Things are only things...others may argue and fight over things...we are blessed with our family.
Now the the exciting news! Colby arrived on November 30. He was delivered through emergency c-section following several hours of labor. He weighed 10 lbs, 22 inches long, his head measured 14.5 and his chest was 14.75. He became stuck in the birth canal.
Kasey decided it was ok to have another brother.
Cole still isn't sure about a baby. He was more excited about the two little John Deere tractors that came in his big brother bag at the hospital.
I had two quilts ready! The front is similar to Cole.
Cole had thought it would be ok if the baby's brothers
quilt was almost like his.
Hopefully, I will now find time to finish or begin Christmas gifts!
Yesterday after MIL's funeral the kids were at our house. I went out with my simple camera. I know this is blurry...after I saw the picture I thought of the Lee Ann Womack song, "I Hope You Dance."
A couple of days after my last post we received a call from the nursing home where my 97 year old MIL has resided for the past 5 years. Her kidneys had shut down. She was asking for her family. I sent a text to my kids..DIL-2 was able to be there in a few minutes with Tatum and Jessica. Grandma knew her and the kids. By the time our DS-2 arrived she was in considerable pain. DH and I got there she was talking, but incoherent. DS-1, DIL-1, Kasey and Cole all were able to see her.
I spent part of the night and left with the nurses telling me they would call. The next day at 1:50 I was sitting beside her holding her hand and talking to her as she took her last breath. DH's brother and his wife have been on a month long trip to New Zealand on vacation. They will be returning the end of this week. The services are scheduled for Sunday evening and Monday. We said our goodbye to her on Sept. 30 and now will have to do it again.
October 3rd was the 31st anniversary of Travis's death. This year we again were day sponsors at the Life 97.3 Christian radio station. A few weeks before Travis was killed he sang during an evening church service the Gaither song, "I Wonder How It Felt." The lyrics of the chorus go:
"I'm just a child, my life is still before me.
I just can't wait to see what God has for me.
But, I know that I will trust Him
and wait to see what life will be for me."
We didn't realized that in a few short weeks we would learn what God's plan for our precious 4 year old would be.
My school year is very busy and challenging. I try to be at school by 6:45 and usually leave about 5:30. I need to plan for the 17 students with disabilities and my three 1/2 para educators. Finally this week my SpEd director and principal have worked it out that I am able to leave my classroom for 30 minutes for lunch. (I had been eating lunch while teaching students.)
One of my new aides has been working with my four fourth grade students reading the book, "Little House in the Big Woods" This novel is read in the general ed 4th grade classrooms with many activities and projects. One of the suggestions in the study guide is for the students to draw scenes from the book to make a quilt. When she asked if I would help with it...How could I say anything but yes!
They each drew a scene from the book and a picture of them if they lived in pioneer days! It felt so good to spend some time quilting.
What started out as a Garden Flag for my front yard has turned into a wall hanging. I like it too well to let it fade outside right now. Our school district office manager has an old "cheap" picture hanging on the wall of her office. I told her this fall she needs something new in there. I think I just might take it in to her in the morning.
Does anyone know of a place online to purchase quilt hangers similar to the one in the picture? I bought two last spring in Appleton and should have picked up more. There are no shops in my area that have quilt hangers.
I must be slipping. Saturday I only canned 18 pints of applesauce. This afternoon I have been baking squash all afternoon to freeze. It is delicious this year-very dry and fluffy. Next Saturday will be applesauce Saturday for D-I-L 1.
Friday night Sew-In. It has been a LONG and CHALLENGING week. I am so very ready to set up my sewing machine. I plan to work on quilting the baby quilt flimsy.
My housecleaning, laundry, and more applesauce will have to wait until Saturday!
Kasey started 4K ( 4 year old Kindergarten) this last week. She rides the big bus to school in the morning. At noon the bus takes her to day care for the afternoon. When fall field work is complete she will be spending her afternoons with Papa.
We were blessed with rain early in the growing season even though we have been without adequate rainfall the last half of the summer. We will have ripe corn. Thankfully it is already drying down so we won't have to purchase as much gas to dry it.
I usually try to can enough applesauce for us and my two daughters-in-law. It is difficult for them to can with the the kids. I have a system that works well. Especially with the use of my 38 year old Kitchen-Aid mixer and the attachments. I only wash and quarter the apples before cooking. When they are soft they are put into the funnel. The applesauce goes through the strainer with the peelings, core, and seeds out the end. So far I have 45 pints done. (And four pies)
In the middle of processing a batch this afternoon, DS-1 called asking if I could bring Cole something to snack on and his blanket. He is combining beans with his daddy while Kasey and her mom went shopping.
I packed a snack for DH, DS=1 and Cole. Cole was happy to see Papa caring his John Deere blankie. (I couldn't find his "Farming With Daddy" hat. There is a small passenger seat with a seat belt for Cole.
Cole was happy just to have his blankie!
The beans are dumped into the grain cart, then emptied into the truck that DH drives to the grain bins where the soybeans are stored until hauled by semi truck/trailer to the plant.
My school year is as challenging as I expected it to be. I am still working on my daily schedule. If I don't need to stop to eat or use the bathroom I should be able to make it. However, that also means there is no prep time in the day either. They have sent a fourth aide into my room for an hour a day.
I hung my motto above the bulletin board where I keep the daily schedules of the ten classrooms that my students leave to receive pullout instruction in my room.
Also, put up a shelf with blocks to help me remember why I do what I do.
When I learned that September is National Sewing Month a blogging friend encourage me to find even 5 minutes a day to sew or quilt. So some nights-no matter how tired I have taken time to clear my mind with sewing/quilting.
Here is the result, the flimsy is finished and needs to be sandwiched and quilted. I need to finish it soon. Cora Elizabeth is the granddaughter of a friend and is due in October!
There are three events that have occurred in our country that I will always remember where I was when they happened. The first was the assassination of President Kennedy and the events.
Remember when John John stood to salute his father's casket as it left the church, the riderless horse during the procession?
The second was the Challenger Explosion.
And...what we will never forget, and changed our lives forever.
9/11/2001
If you have a family member who has ever served in our country's military, please thank them.
Eleven of my blogging friends wrote about their activities during the Blue Moon.
It was more fun to draw one name rather than the computerized number generator!
AND...The winner is Pokey!
She wrote: "Hi, Linda! Let's see, we stood and looked up at the bright moon in the
sky, said, hmmm, and went to bed! Long days around here, isn't that
romantic of us?!? We did talk about Neil Armstrong passing though, how
sad .... School starts for us on Wednesday, so I'm glad to get to enjoy the holiday with my Larry. Hope you enjoy the Labor Day, too ~ :-}pokey"
I am almost finished putting your gift together.
If you would please email your address I will send your gift box.
So far...a Fall mug rug that I have almost finished, a Christmas Notepad cube, and
a package of Chai Chocolate.
I had Kasey & Cole for the last Friday of the summer. Then Jessica came on Saturday morning to spend the night. DS2 and DIL-2 went camping for the weekend with their bus. This was her second time away from mom over night. The two of us spent most of the night rocking in the recliner. She wasn't crying hard..just wanted to be held and reassured. They picked her up this afternoon. She ran to her daddy and held on.
Where were you when you heard these words,"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."? How very unique that this time it appears on the day of Neil Armstrong's funeral.
In honor of the Blue Moon how about a giveaway?
A Surprise BLUE Moon gift package will be selected by the random generator on Sunday night for a special blogging friend.
Just write about something you will be doing or did during the Blue Moon!
I think I will pull out
some projects that were stuck away waiting for that "Blue Moon.
While you are blog reading be sure to check out Lily Pad Quilting. She is having an awesome Give Away of Christmas Fabric. She is a talented quilter and blogger!
My dining room table is missing my cutting mat, sewing machine, and the current one or two projects I have been working on. I sew at this table at night while DH is watching baseball or whatever sport maybe happening at the time in the adjoining living room. When I first started quilting I was going to work upstairs in an empty bedroom. He said, "You will be up there and I will be watching TV down here, we won't even see each other." So, I set my machine up in the dining room.
I have one baby quilt that needs to be finished in September, three in November, and one in January. Three quilts are started and packed away for now. At least this time I packed the pattern with the partial sewn projects.
I spent part of everyday last week at school working on setting up my room, working on scheduling, and curriculum for students. This week we have "official" inservice and open house one evening.
Last week I still was needed for Grandma duty. Friday after I had a telephone conference at school, Kasey and Cole had one more day of the Slip 'n Slide. Grandpa had them helping him while I was at school.
Saturday morning Conner, Tatum and Jessica were with me.
Uncle Todd left a Gator here for a few hours. Jessica thought she should take it for a spin!
Last week I still was needed for Grandma duty. Friday after I had a telephone conference at school, Kasey and Cole had one more day of the Slip 'n Slide. Grandpa had them helping him while I was at school.
