Children are a blessing and a gift from above.
Gin
Gin
Monday, October 7, 2019
The October Birthday Girl
Happy Birthday on her seventh year. She’s #2 of the grands as the pawpaw calls them. Brooklyn is a live wire and always a busy little bee.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Happy Birthday in July
Another birthday to celebrate. Cohen makes 7 years old. He’s barely the oldest of the grands. With another grand following close behind.
A birthday party at his house with a tall water slide that he has every birthday celebration every year. July is a good time for a birthday.
With fun, gifts, people, and food, he had it all on a Saturday before his actual birthday day.
Th next day he had a scheduled dirt bike race and placed 3rd. A fun accomplished weekend for a 7 year old.
Happy Birthday Cohen!
A birthday party at his house with a tall water slide that he has every birthday celebration every year. July is a good time for a birthday.
With fun, gifts, people, and food, he had it all on a Saturday before his actual birthday day.
Th next day he had a scheduled dirt bike race and placed 3rd. A fun accomplished weekend for a 7 year old.
Happy Birthday Cohen!
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
We all just keep growing
Since the new baby boy’s arrival, we’ve celebrated another birthday for someone who
made 5 years old.
She celebrated the whole month of June with her birthday day falling on a day they were on vacation in the Smokies. Then a birthday celebration when they got home. Then a birthday celebration with neighbors, friends, and family.
She’s a cute happy 5 year old who will be a kindergartner in a few weeks. Happy Birthdsy Brynlee!
While she’s grown over the year since her last birthday, the new baby boy is growing, too, and he’s 6 weeks old now.
made 5 years old.
She celebrated the whole month of June with her birthday day falling on a day they were on vacation in the Smokies. Then a birthday celebration when they got home. Then a birthday celebration with neighbors, friends, and family.
She’s a cute happy 5 year old who will be a kindergartner in a few weeks. Happy Birthdsy Brynlee!
While she’s grown over the year since her last birthday, the new baby boy is growing, too, and he’s 6 weeks old now.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Baby Boy
Our new baby boy grand arrived happy and healthy and handsome and we can’t get enough of him. I want to see him and hold him and everyday.
Welcome into the world Everett Paul. He’s 2 weeks old now. He’s our 4th grand. And he’s perfect. He has his mom, dad, big brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to spoil him. He’s was born on his moms’s Father and sister’s birthday so he will get double the attention and spoiling.
Welcome into the world Everett Paul. He’s 2 weeks old now. He’s our 4th grand. And he’s perfect. He has his mom, dad, big brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to spoil him. He’s was born on his moms’s Father and sister’s birthday so he will get double the attention and spoiling.
I will surely take my days without second thoughts to spoil him, too.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
We’re Still Graduating
This week was the kindergarten graduation for Brooklyn. She’s all into school because she’s a socialite. She enjoyed every moment of her graduation.
All graduations are lovely and emotional with a few surprises here and there. The little ones songs and walk across the stage to get that diploma is certainly a milestone to treasure.
It’ll be high school graduation before you know it.
So when the new school year starts in a few months we’ll have a 2nd grader, a 1st grader, a kindergartner, and a new grandbaby due any day now.
All graduations are lovely and emotional with a few surprises here and there. The little ones songs and walk across the stage to get that diploma is certainly a milestone to treasure.
It’ll be high school graduation before you know it.
So when the new school year starts in a few months we’ll have a 2nd grader, a 1st grader, a kindergartner, and a new grandbaby due any day now.
Monday, May 6, 2019
Time to Graduate
One graduated from Pre-K this week. She was all smiles and did so great in participating in her class program and even had her on individual things to say.
It’s a small group at a Christian Academy. She can be shy at times but you wouldn’t have noticed on her special night.
Her Bible verse to quote was “I am wonderfully made.” Psalms 139:14
Her individual academic part was counting by 10’s to 100.
She led the class in one song.
And she and her friend led the finale’ special song with the motions which was “Baby Shark”.
As her teacher read her introduction as she marched into stage giving her name, etc, and that when she grows up she wants to be Princess Lollipop. I had to ask her big sister who Princess Lollipop
is. So FYI, she is the queen of Candyland and can have any and all the candy she likes.
We brought her some balloons to honor her with. So now she is ready and on her way to Kindergarten in the next school year. Don’t they grow up quickly?
It’s a small group at a Christian Academy. She can be shy at times but you wouldn’t have noticed on her special night.
Her Bible verse to quote was “I am wonderfully made.” Psalms 139:14
Her individual academic part was counting by 10’s to 100.
She led the class in one song.
And she and her friend led the finale’ special song with the motions which was “Baby Shark”.
As her teacher read her introduction as she marched into stage giving her name, etc, and that when she grows up she wants to be Princess Lollipop. I had to ask her big sister who Princess Lollipop
is. So FYI, she is the queen of Candyland and can have any and all the candy she likes.
We brought her some balloons to honor her with. So now she is ready and on her way to Kindergarten in the next school year. Don’t they grow up quickly?
Sunday, April 28, 2019
The Champions
It was a beautiful day in Kasatchie National Forest in Louisiana for SERA dirt bike racing in the Legendary Cajun Classic National Enduro. We were there to cheer on our almost 7 year old grand in the peewee beginner division and his older cousin on his mom’s side and their two dads who were competing in the adults Sunday race.
Let me give you a little picture of this event. This is the 39th annual National for this association. There were the pro national winners from the past in attendance. There were racers from all over the US and Canada and from across the seas like England and Australia and other countries. We only stayed for Saturday’s kids racing and awards, which was a big event in itself. There were campers and motor homes parked everywhere The adults race on Sunday had over 400 competitors that had signed up by Saturday and racers would still be able to enter until 8am Sunday. The race is 60 miles long. It’s a huge event.
Back to Saturday. Cohen took 3rd place. He did awesome and was in and out of first and second place during the race. But 3rd is good and the season isn’t over yet so he has a chance to move up. The 9 races of the season will give him a final score and we’ll see where he places. So far he has a 1st place and a 3rd place in this SERA group (Southeast Endurance Racing Association).
Cousin Seth took 4th in his 12 year old group. I forget the actual group division name.
We watched six kids groups (under 16 years old) race Saturday afternoon. There was a lot of excitement, a lot wipeouts and spills in the sand and dirt and mud, girls and boys competing against each other, a lot of spectators, a lot of cheering on, and a lot of noise. It was a fun day.
So the big boys (16-70+years old) race today with more than 400 entries in a 60 mile race through the Kasatchie National Forest. I’m anxiously awaiting to hear from the 2 dads about their experience. They said they just doing it for fun. I’m hoping for them to get in the top 100th finishing. Their place in the lineup is 83c and 83b. Which means they are on row 83 and the 2nd and 3rd bikes in that row. Each row has 5 or so places and each row has a start time every 1 minute. That’s how it was explained to me. But I don’t really get how it’s going to work out.
All the competitors are champions. Having the courage and determination to do your best and experience something you like makes you a winner.
Gin
Let me give you a little picture of this event. This is the 39th annual National for this association. There were the pro national winners from the past in attendance. There were racers from all over the US and Canada and from across the seas like England and Australia and other countries. We only stayed for Saturday’s kids racing and awards, which was a big event in itself. There were campers and motor homes parked everywhere The adults race on Sunday had over 400 competitors that had signed up by Saturday and racers would still be able to enter until 8am Sunday. The race is 60 miles long. It’s a huge event.
Back to Saturday. Cohen took 3rd place. He did awesome and was in and out of first and second place during the race. But 3rd is good and the season isn’t over yet so he has a chance to move up. The 9 races of the season will give him a final score and we’ll see where he places. So far he has a 1st place and a 3rd place in this SERA group (Southeast Endurance Racing Association).
Cousin Seth took 4th in his 12 year old group. I forget the actual group division name.
We watched six kids groups (under 16 years old) race Saturday afternoon. There was a lot of excitement, a lot wipeouts and spills in the sand and dirt and mud, girls and boys competing against each other, a lot of spectators, a lot of cheering on, and a lot of noise. It was a fun day.
So the big boys (16-70+years old) race today with more than 400 entries in a 60 mile race through the Kasatchie National Forest. I’m anxiously awaiting to hear from the 2 dads about their experience. They said they just doing it for fun. I’m hoping for them to get in the top 100th finishing. Their place in the lineup is 83c and 83b. Which means they are on row 83 and the 2nd and 3rd bikes in that row. Each row has 5 or so places and each row has a start time every 1 minute. That’s how it was explained to me. But I don’t really get how it’s going to work out.
All the competitors are champions. Having the courage and determination to do your best and experience something you like makes you a winner.
Gin
Monday, April 22, 2019
Be A Diamond Bloghop
Thank you Carol at Just Let Me Quilt for hosting Be A Diamond.
I was thinking maybe a baseball diamond ball field/ball game themed quilt. And wondered how I could make a diamond ring quilt. Either would have been a good idea. But I did neither. I went with big huge diamond shapes sewn in rows. They’re just big triangles sewn together to create a huge diamond.
The best thing about this, including the Be A Diamond Bloghop, is the batik fabrics used for the diamonds. I’ve had a small set of batiks sitting around waiting for their debut. And I think they show off pretty well in these big diamonds. There was just enough to squeeze in these 13 huge diamonds.
It's made from a triangle template and side triangles to make it into a rectangle block. Then put a matching block end to end to make the diamond look. I just cut and placed in order as I went along. My template size was determined by the batik fabric sizes, which I think were just a little bigger than a fat quarter. Each finished huge diamond is 9” at its center and 26” long from point to point. Here’s a basic rundown of the idea of the huge diamond look.
I did say they were huge diamonds. A blue minky back and just straight line quilting to finish it.
I made the huge diamond quilt especially for the Be A Diamond Bloghop. And since it was a quick sew with the huge blocks, it was not easy but it was quick, I had time to make another quilt. So here’s an Easter treat for you to see. It’s a hopping bunny row quilt just finished and was ready for the Easter holiday.
This was made with fabric I already had. For the hopping bunnies, I drew a template then appliquéd them on the white. And cut squares from a lot of bright prints and solids to make the other rows. No actual pattern was used, it just went together row by row.
Diamonds and bunnies have been my projects the last few weeks. They are definitely bright and different.
Thank you for visiting from the Be A Diamond Bloghop. Visit the other participants at Just Let Me Quilt Be A Diamond Bloghop this week to see all the other diamonds.
Gin
I was thinking maybe a baseball diamond ball field/ball game themed quilt. And wondered how I could make a diamond ring quilt. Either would have been a good idea. But I did neither. I went with big huge diamond shapes sewn in rows. They’re just big triangles sewn together to create a huge diamond.
The best thing about this, including the Be A Diamond Bloghop, is the batik fabrics used for the diamonds. I’ve had a small set of batiks sitting around waiting for their debut. And I think they show off pretty well in these big diamonds. There was just enough to squeeze in these 13 huge diamonds.
It's made from a triangle template and side triangles to make it into a rectangle block. Then put a matching block end to end to make the diamond look. I just cut and placed in order as I went along. My template size was determined by the batik fabric sizes, which I think were just a little bigger than a fat quarter. Each finished huge diamond is 9” at its center and 26” long from point to point. Here’s a basic rundown of the idea of the huge diamond look.
I did say they were huge diamonds. A blue minky back and just straight line quilting to finish it.
I made the huge diamond quilt especially for the Be A Diamond Bloghop. And since it was a quick sew with the huge blocks, it was not easy but it was quick, I had time to make another quilt. So here’s an Easter treat for you to see. It’s a hopping bunny row quilt just finished and was ready for the Easter holiday.
This was made with fabric I already had. For the hopping bunnies, I drew a template then appliquéd them on the white. And cut squares from a lot of bright prints and solids to make the other rows. No actual pattern was used, it just went together row by row.
Thank you for visiting from the Be A Diamond Bloghop. Visit the other participants at Just Let Me Quilt Be A Diamond Bloghop this week to see all the other diamonds.
Gin
Monday, March 25, 2019
All about strings
There's a blog hop going on with hostess Carla from Creatin’ In The Sticks . All About Strings is what its about and should be easy to do. I thought.
I googled high and low for something different I could do. I choose stars and strings found on Mary Quilts Blog . She gave no pattern, just basic quick instructions on cutting and assembling. Thank you Mary Quilts.
There are 12 huge blocks measuring 20”x20” inch.
Each big block consists of four 10” squares.
I needed 24 fat quarters in 12 different solid colors.
The entire quilt needed 288 strings, which was 24 strings per each huge 20” block, or 6 strings per 10” square. I kept running out of strings and had to go back
to my stash many times to scrounge for more. Look close to see all the strings that qualify for the All About Strings Bloghop.
You can see four designs in the quilt if you look at it in different ways. First you can see the big stars for sure.
Here you see a design the diamonds make as they come together at a point.
Look away and glance back you can see the diamond design.
One more look and there’s a hexagon effect around the star.
Plus the 12 solid color stars are bright and spring like and even reminds me of Easter egg colors. It was not the fastest quilt to make because of all the strings involved. It was foundation pieced. This is my first strings project and first foundation piecing project so I learned alot. It measures 58”x78”.
I like the end result. Thank you MaryQuilts.com for the tutorial.
And Thank You for stopping by and seeing my string quilt. Visit these other All About Strings participants this week to see more inspiring projects.
Gin
I googled high and low for something different I could do. I choose stars and strings found on Mary Quilts Blog . She gave no pattern, just basic quick instructions on cutting and assembling. Thank you Mary Quilts.
There are 12 huge blocks measuring 20”x20” inch.
Each big block consists of four 10” squares.
I needed 24 fat quarters in 12 different solid colors.
The entire quilt needed 288 strings, which was 24 strings per each huge 20” block, or 6 strings per 10” square. I kept running out of strings and had to go back
to my stash many times to scrounge for more. Look close to see all the strings that qualify for the All About Strings Bloghop.
You can see four designs in the quilt if you look at it in different ways. First you can see the big stars for sure.
Here you see a design the diamonds make as they come together at a point.
Look away and glance back you can see the diamond design.
One more look and there’s a hexagon effect around the star.
Plus the 12 solid color stars are bright and spring like and even reminds me of Easter egg colors. It was not the fastest quilt to make because of all the strings involved. It was foundation pieced. This is my first strings project and first foundation piecing project so I learned alot. It measures 58”x78”.
I like the end result. Thank you MaryQuilts.com for the tutorial.
And Thank You for stopping by and seeing my string quilt. Visit these other All About Strings participants this week to see more inspiring projects.
Monday, March 25th
Den syende himmel
Patchwork Breeze
Domestic Felicity
The Quilted Snail
Thursday, March 28th
Cynthia's Creating Ark
The Joyful Quilter
Color Creating and Quilting
PamelaQuilts
Beaquilter
Two Maker Chicks
Days Filled With Joy
Quilting & Learning - What a Combo!
Patchwork Breeze
Domestic Felicity
The Quilted Snail
Thursday, March 28th
Cynthia's Creating Ark
The Joyful Quilter
Color Creating and Quilting
PamelaQuilts
Beaquilter
Two Maker Chicks
Days Filled With Joy
Quilting & Learning - What a Combo!
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
A weekend of soccer and racing competition for Cohen and I didn’t make it to either one. What kind of mawmaw am I? It wasn’t my doing to miss the activities but things happen. The mom kept me in the loop both Saturday and Sunday with snapshots she sent me.
So soccer up first on Saturday morning. He’s all over the ball so it’s safe to say he enjoys soccer.
Then ASAP after the soccer game they loaded up to travel over an hour to the 2nd race of the competition season for one dirtbike league. This will be his 3rd race of his entire life at age six
and a half. They joined 2 leagues. One league they’ve had one race and he placed first. This league they’re racing today has had 2 races of the season. He placed 8th the first one and fifth this one.
His mom said it was a race of hills, something none of the little ones were experienced with. Cohen wiped out once on the practice course and a bad wipe out on the competition race. He got a few scrapes and bruises to show. Thankful for the right safety gear to protect all the little racers.
I would have loved to been there in person to cheer him on. The mom said even though he had a tough spill and turn over he got back in the race and placed 5th out of 9 in his group.
He likes the competition and is gaining a lot of experience in so many avenues. Like sportsmanship, like not giving up, like knowing you did your best, like honoring the winner, like learning more about your dirtbike each race, like being grateful and a good attitude, and like a great life experience at an early age.
So soccer up first on Saturday morning. He’s all over the ball so it’s safe to say he enjoys soccer.
Then ASAP after the soccer game they loaded up to travel over an hour to the 2nd race of the competition season for one dirtbike league. This will be his 3rd race of his entire life at age six
and a half. They joined 2 leagues. One league they’ve had one race and he placed first. This league they’re racing today has had 2 races of the season. He placed 8th the first one and fifth this one.
His mom said it was a race of hills, something none of the little ones were experienced with. Cohen wiped out once on the practice course and a bad wipe out on the competition race. He got a few scrapes and bruises to show. Thankful for the right safety gear to protect all the little racers.
I would have loved to been there in person to cheer him on. The mom said even though he had a tough spill and turn over he got back in the race and placed 5th out of 9 in his group.
He likes the competition and is gaining a lot of experience in so many avenues. Like sportsmanship, like not giving up, like knowing you did your best, like honoring the winner, like learning more about your dirtbike each race, like being grateful and a good attitude, and like a great life experience at an early age.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Time
Time changed forward. Which means time for all things spring. Like pollen everywhere over everything. And daylight till way late in the evening, which I like.
And there’s soccer and ball time. We made it to the first soccer game of this year. My part goalie/part kicker did not disappoint. Here’s the almost 7 year old at the goalie position with the yellow over-best defending his team to tie game of 1-1.
He gets a lot of kicks in. Here he is the blue on the left.
Also spring time brings fresh local strawberries, chicks and bunnies, and longer days. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.
Gin
And there’s soccer and ball time. We made it to the first soccer game of this year. My part goalie/part kicker did not disappoint. Here’s the almost 7 year old at the goalie position with the yellow over-best defending his team to tie game of 1-1.
He gets a lot of kicks in. Here he is the blue on the left.
Also spring time brings fresh local strawberries, chicks and bunnies, and longer days. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.
Gin
Sunday, March 10, 2019
E is for . . .
News is that there’s a new baby boy arriving soon joining the other three grands. I’m excited for his arrival in about 11 weeks or so. While waiting for his mom to choose fabric to match his nursery so we can make a baby quilt for him, I made this one for him this week and using it for my entrance into Project Quilting 10.5 which the theme is abecedarius. The word “abecedarius” means “an alphabet primer.” Literally, the word itself is made up of a+b+c+d! It can refer to a form of poetry where the first letter of each line or verse is the next letter of the alphabet, or it can be a book where each letter is defined (A is for … B is for …).
This is from a kit I’ve had from my favorite FB quilt shop who has live party sales at least twice a week and last for three hours with everything you can think of that you could want. Find her at SewTrendyMN. This included a panel of the pictures/words and five fabric designs to make the other squares and borders. Instructions are to cut the panel apart into squares, cut the supplied fabrics into small squares to make the matching blocks to the animal blocks. And then cut the borders from the remaining fabrics. The animal blocks have words on the front which of course incorporates the letters of the alphabet. So it meets the quidelines for Project Quilting 10.5.
There was a teensy-tiny bit of fabric left to make the letters for his name on
the back. The measurements are 48”x57”. E . . . is sure be a cutie playing on and dragging his wild animal quilt around as he grows.
This is from a kit I’ve had from my favorite FB quilt shop who has live party sales at least twice a week and last for three hours with everything you can think of that you could want. Find her at SewTrendyMN. This included a panel of the pictures/words and five fabric designs to make the other squares and borders. Instructions are to cut the panel apart into squares, cut the supplied fabrics into small squares to make the matching blocks to the animal blocks. And then cut the borders from the remaining fabrics. The animal blocks have words on the front which of course incorporates the letters of the alphabet. So it meets the quidelines for Project Quilting 10.5.
There was a teensy-tiny bit of fabric left to make the letters for his name on
the back. The measurements are 48”x57”. E . . . is sure be a cutie playing on and dragging his wild animal quilt around as he grows.
