Autumn

Time for some catching up with my blogging friends.

Let's see..One morning while I was getting ready for school the sunrise from my kitchen window was beautiful.

 

The rest of the day I was singing the Cat Stevens song: Morning Has Broken.

Morning has broken like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken like the first bird

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for them springing fresh from the Word

Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from Heaven

Like the first dewfall on the first grass

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden

Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning

Born of the one light, Eden saw play

Praise with elation, praise every morning

God's recreation of the new day

Another day this was the view from my kitchen when doing  dishes.

Once again, I made an attempt at fall decorating.  All of the

"props" are things I have found around our farm in sheds or things DH has 

brought home from farm auctions for me.

With all the beauty of fall, it is still a difficult time of year.  The week when the leaves are at their ultimate brilliance is the anniversary week that our oldest son was killed in a farm accident.  He was four years old at the time.  Yes, time does heal wounds, but it is something that stays deep in your heart always.  On the anniversary the memories are there more vividly than other days and difficult to keep emotions hidden.  I am so very thankful I took this picture a few hours before he was killed. 

My birthday was one day after the funeral.  My DH has never been able to celebrate  since the accident.  The biggest way it bothered me was the fact that my sons were never taught how to celebrate a wife's special day.  Now that I have Daughters-in-Love.  They make it so we celebrate.  We were together on Saturday night for an early birthday supper. .

 

I am so very blessed. 

A Perfect Day with a Friend

Saturday was a perfect fall day in Northern Wisconsin.  To make it even better my friend, Marla,  invited me to ride to a "Barn Event" sponsored by  Buttermilk Basin.

 

It was awesome!  It was held in at The Brickhouse Getaway where they transformed an old dairy barn  in Northern Wisconsin  for special events. 

There were patterns, projects, cotton and wool fabrics throughout the barn.  Lots of great ideas!

Each of the barns on this quilt are appliqued in wool. It is beautiful!

And yes!  I did come home with three patterns and two small bundles of wool!! We are already planning for to attend next year. 

Maybe even take one of the classes Stacy offers.

Of course, after an exhausting time browsing and the work of selecting what we absolutely couldn't live without we had to stop for lunch.  We drove a few miles to Paradise Landing where we sat in the sunshine enjoying the view!

It was a great way to relax with a great friend.  I didn't realize how very much I needed this day to unwind!

A Time For ...

It is unbelievable that summer is over and I am back in school!   I spent most of my summer working at cleaning out my Mother-In Law's house.  

In the  past four weeks we said goodbye to an aunt and two uncles.

 Aunt Helen, 91 years, was an amazingly talented woman.  She painted a chair with Rosemaling and gave it to Travis when he was a year old.  He had used the chair when it was bare wood at a picnic. She said he was the only Norwegian relative. It has been in my living room for 36 years.

 Two weeks later we said Goodbye,  to my mother's younger brother, Uncle Allard, 86 years old.  He fought a long battle with cancer.

 Today we received the call that her last brother,Uncle Leonard, 93 years old,  died this morning.  She is the sole survivor of her family which consisted of five brothers and my mom.  In one year she has said goodbye to 3 brothers and 2 sisters- in - law.

Kasey spent a day the last week of August with no brothers.  She had wanted to sew a quilt.  One day she selected her fabric from my stash, then designed the layout.

A  couple of days later she started to sew.

The students started back to school last Tuesday.  School this year is another LONG story!  That I will tell about next time. 

Still Here!

Hello Blogging World...

If you don't want to read my thoughts...Stop now!  This has been quite a summer.

First things first.
I have been very blessed by having the opportunity to spend time with my precious grandkids all summer.  I have had one family on Mondays and the other family on Fridays.  With a few more days and nights thrown in for good measure.  Plus a full week while a daycare provided was on vacation.

The kids are GROWING!  The oldest five are all great friends and enjoy spending time together.

Last week was VBS.   On Friday when all the big kids were at church I had the youngest two.  That was fun!  Colby ( 20 months) usually has had all the little kids toys to himself.  He didn't know what to think when Kylie (11 months) also wanted to play.

I have spent many many hours working at cleaning out my MIL's house.  I hauled 15 truck loads to St. Vincent's Thrift shop, plus loads to recycling, and a few loads to the dumpster.   One of the things I was able bring was this beautiful dish .  I also brought old wash tubs and the bottom of an old Hoosier cabinet. The doilies I had brought home last winter when going through things with a SIL.

There was a set of of antique dinnerware I would have loved, however I don't have a place for them. I have a small home so there is not room for many of the things found.

As my DH says, "Linda, you have to stick up for yourself."   I am a great advocate for others, but lack advocating for myself. There was a desk I would have liked to have but thought BIL and SIL had wanted it.  When I found out they didn't I had decided it would work well in my sewing room.  The next day the other SIL called and wanted to take it to her husband in home office.   So I said sure.   It would have been great in my sewing room.

***UPDATE:  The desk is to large for my BIL's room and needs more repair than he wants to do.  It will be coming to my sewing room.  My DIL's mother refinishes furniture! 


 I worked at it all summer to finally clean out the house to put it on the market.  It  will be so nice not to be paying a third of the heat, electric, and taxes on an empty house.

Two trips to the ER for DH in July.  Another change of meds.  I didn't realize that our lives would have changed so much five years ago when DH was first diagnosed with his heart issues.  

A few days were spent at a conference on co-teaching with gen ed teachers for students with disabilities in the gen. ed classroom.  Then a couple of days at school planning with other teachers for RTI (Response To Intervention) for this school year.

Last week we were hit with a hail storm.  550 acres of our corn and soybeans were damaged or destroyed.   There were still drifts of hail 24 hours later. 

No quilting has been accomplished at all! Too tired!!!! It seems unreal that meetings at school start next week!

Memories

My heart is heavy this morning. Today was my oldest sons birthday. He was with us for four birthdays before the Lord took him home as the result of an accident on our farm. The Lord has blessed me with a ministry of meeting and sharing with young moms who tragically lose a child. One of the things I share with them is that they will reach a point when the realize the pain is never going to go away. At that point it becomes a special spot in our hearts where it lives forever. On special days, like a birthday, it overflows and the tears return for at time. The memories return to the special spot to be held close and life goes on.

 If you have a chance, would you hold me in prayer today. Asking the Lord to hold me in His arms as I hold my husband as he grieves. If I could have one wish,  it would be for my two sons to know the man their dad was before Travis was killed.  Todd was 18 months old and Chad was born 10 months after the accident. 

 Thank you. God Bless, and please...Give your kids and grand kids an extra hug today.

Badger Gift Given and Loved

The Badger quilt for our retiring secretary was finally finished for her last day!  I went to her office this morning before she arrived and had it lying across the back of her chair.   She thought she had cried all her tears until then!  She wrapped it around herself and walked throughout the elementary halls.

I think her smile says she like it!

I have to go back in tomorrow morning to finish an IEP and finish cleaning my classroom. 

Then time to be grandma and time for me!! 

Several things on the to do list!!

Friday Night Sew-in!

I held my own Friday Night Sew-in!  Our elementary secretary is retiring after 31 years of taking care of kids, staff, principals, and keeping the school going.  She is an avid Wisconsin Badger fan.
I hope to finish this weekend.  I finished the top.

 I had to piece the back...I hope it is going to work.  I will let you know when I finish quilting it.

       Oh!  I couldn't leave this post without sharing a picture of Granddaughter #3.

Quilt Top Treasure Found

DH's sister and brother-in-law are here for two works to spend more time to work on cleaning out my MIL's house.  I have gone over for about 3+  hours every night after school to pack and sort.

We found another treasure.  Last fall we found several quilt squares hand stitched and pieced.  In a dresser drawer we found this quilt top!  My sister in law was not interested in it.  However, the Wedding Ring design is awesome!!  I will have to research how to finish it.  Facebook quilting friends think the colors of the quilt indicate it was probably pieced in the '30s.

DS-1 and DH finished planting corn today!!!  It has been a very wet and late spring.  Last weekend DS-1 planted cor 28 hours straight without going home.   They have 945 acres for us. Now, to start the beans.   Saturday the call came, "Mom could you bring me..."  So I find what he needs in the shop and head to the field. 

Today is Memorial Day, yet  DIL-1 had to work and with DS-1 and DH in the fields it was a grandma day. 

Mother's Day Tradition

When the sun shines on Mother's Day my family is in the field.  This year was no exception.  We are very far behind getting the crops in due to late spring with extra snowstorms and now rain.  It will mean long hours and some extremely late nights.  It is now DS-1 that pulls the all-nighters.

After church I pick up Broasted chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, buns, and chocolate milk to take to the field for a picnic!  This year it was DH, DS-1 and GS-2. 
Cole was excited to spend the day with his dad and papa.  He was also excited to find a deer shed!

After lunch he was ready to get back to work.   No going home with Grandma.  He had to farm with Daddy and Papa.

This afternoon I worked on a Christmas Tree skirt for a bridal shower next Sunday afternoon.  I should be able to finish  during the week. All that is left is cutting the center and to sew on the binding.  It was relaxing to spend the time quilting.

A Request For Mother's Day

I read this Erma Bombeck column for the first time the year it was published. I have the clipped newspaper column in my jewelry box. There are three days which are more difficult than other days for moms who have experienced the loss of their child. 1. Their birthday 2. The anniversary of their death and 3. Mother's Day. We learn to smile, laugh, and enjoy life. However, there is always that hollow spot in our hearts that hurts some days more than others. So, if you see a tear on our cheek on Mothers Day, it is alright. We are just having a day of special memories remembering when our precious child was with us. 

 So, my request to you is to give your child an extra hug on Mother's Day and tell them you love them.   Thank you.

May 9, 2010

Mothers who have lost a child - May 14, 1995
Erma Bombeck
If you're looking for an answer this Mother's Day on why God reclaimed your child, I don't now.  I only know that thousands of mothers out there today desperately need an answer as to why they were permitted to go through the elation of carrying child and then lose it to miscarriage, accident , violence disease or drugs
Motherhood isn't just a series of contractions.  It's a state of mind.  From the moment we know life is inside us, we feel a responsibility to protect and defend that human being.  It's a promise we can't keep.  We beat ourselves to death over that pledge.  "If I hadn't worked through the eighth month."  "If I had taken him to the doctor when he had a fever."  "If I hadn't let him use the car that night."  "If I hadn't been so naive, I'd have noticed he was on drugs."
The longer I live, the more convinced I become that surviving changes us.  After the bitterness, the anger, the guilt, and the despair are tempered by time, we look at life differently.
While I was writing  my book, I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow Up, I Want to Go to Boise, I talked with mothers who had lost a child to cancer.  Every single one said death gave their lives new meaning and purpose.  And who do you think prepared them for the rough, lonely road they had to travel?  Their dying child.  They pointed their mothers toward the future and told them to keep going.  The children had already accepted what their mothers were fighting to reject.
The children in the bombed-out nursery in Oklahoma City have touched more lives than they will ever know.  Workers who had probably given their kids a mechanical pat on the head without thinking that morning are making phone calls home during the day to their children to say "I love you."
This may seem like a strange Mother's Day column on a day when joy and life abound for the millions of mothers throughout the country.  But it's also a day of appreciation and respect.  I can think of no mothers who deserve it more than those who had to give a child back.
In the face of adversity, we are not permitted to ask, "Why me?"  You can ask, but you wont get an answer.  Maybe you are the instrument who is left behind to perpetuate the life that was lost and appreciate the time you had with it.
The late Gilda Radner summed it up well:  "I wanted a perfect ending.  Now I've learned the hard way that some poems don't rhyme and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what is going to happen next.  Delicious ambiguity. 

What a difference a week makes!

The view from my kitchen window tonight, May 5.

Last week we had 3-5 inches of snow/ slush.  Or as Kasey said, "It was slushing again today."
Sunday was a beautiful day and later this afternoon the sun again came out.  We will take it as the rest of the week is to be raining.
                Tonight there were 14 deer in the field grazing on the fresh growth of alfalfa.

Yesterday afternoon I made a birthday cake for the granddaughter of a very good friend. When Sue saw the Barbie Princess cake I made for one of the girls she asked if I would make one for Emma. She was named for her great-grandma who is like another mom to both DH and myself.   Emma was thrilled.  It took some convincing for her to understand it was a cake to eat.

I had another IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting  after school today.  It was my 19th this school year.   I need to complete the paperwork for several that have been held the past month.  The average IEP is about 12-14 pages.  There is a an annual IEP meeting for each student through the school year.  The IEP team consists of the parent/ parents, general education teacher,  any related service provider ( Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy,  Adaptive Phy. Ed, Speech/Language Therapy),  principal and/ or director of special education, and myself.

I became very good friends with my seam ripper on Sunday night.  For some reason I couldn't put the right pieces together for the Christmas Tree Skirt.  I am sure I ripped about the same block several times.  

A few Tidbits...

  This past week we had another snowstorm.  This is a picture of recess on Tuesday.

We did decide we would rather have 3-4 inches of slushy snow than tornadoes!

       The elementary secretary at school is retiring.  She is a very good friend.   However, our friendship is based at school and I know it will not be near as close once she is no longer at school.   She is a major Wisconsin  Badger fan.  I am making her a lap quilt from Badger fabric.    The fabric on the right is the backing.  I have a few more strips to sew and the borders.

    A Special Ed. teacher, who is a close coworker and friend, is moving to western Minnesota  in June.  I have taught with her for 14 years.   I know she has received awesome quilts from another friend, so I am making a Christmas Tree Skirt to give to her.  

     The son of a close friend is getting married in June.  The shower is in two weeks.  I am working on a Christmas Tree skirt for them also.  I have started the strips for the skirt.

     Perhaps, I am just feeling the overload of the end of the school year.  Several IEPs to complete and parent meetings in the next five weeks.   It will definitely be a marathon day and night. 

    My quilting is my way of letting everything go on my mind.  Maybe I just need to listen to "Let it Go" from Frozen!  
  The kids love this movie!


   When all is said, this is the best part of life.  The girls have been here the last two Friday nights while their mom had hair appointment clients.   They are all Papa's girls!