So Very Thankful!

  

This picture is typical Luke. He loves us and loves to play!

I am so VERY thankful for Luke! He tries to be the best he can at all times. (and he succeeds so often!) His poor health has been a challenge in so many ways- makes it difficult to get out, stay up late, do many things- but Luke still has his amazing sense of fun and wonderful sense of humor!

I am so thankful for my home, our great abundance of food, clothing, basic necessities, and I am so thankful for a wonderful job with amazing co-worker/friends!

And I am so very thankful for my children and grandchildren! They really are the icing on a delicious cake!

An Abundance of Leaves...

My backyard yesterday morning... Beautiful and horrible all at the same time!

I love my backyard, the trees, the shade in the summer, the birds that flock there, the room to play with my little girls! But this amount of leaves = a lot of work!!!

This is my yard yesterday afternoon- after way too many hours of work...yes, I was exhausted.

But it is worth it!!! All of the work to take care of this yard is well worth the work that goes with it.

Just like life. Luke's illness creates work for us both. Sometimes quite a lot of work, actually. But it is so very worth it to have such a great marriage with such an incredible man!

Teaching is a lot of hard work sometimes- but again, so worth it in all of the great relationships and learning for both my students and myself!

Life is full of that abundance of leaves most days- but it just means that life is also full of the beautiful, tall trees that give shade and attract birds, and give me a place to enjoy my family.

I am so blessed.

My Ash!

From this...

a 'bigger on the inside' kind of spirit...

a giant personality... 

whether sad...

or happy...

always learning...

always exploring...

having so much fun...

a great blessing to me!

Grandma Dee loves you!!!

Making Something Out of the 'Discarded'...

Only 4 more rows- then the edges! I am so excited that the end is in sight. This quilt will be for Charly. As with my other jeans quilts, pillows, pillowcases and backpacks throughout the years, this top is made from other people's discarded jeans. They were full of holes or stains or simply falling apart; no longer useful as jeans, ready for the trash. And yet, they can make something spectacular! 

Just like this beautiful quilt that I was honored to make for a good friend.

I started making jean quilts way back when I had 3 very young children and little (or no) money. I wanted to make them a quilt for their beds but had very little money to make them. I saw a jean quilt made by a neighbor and decided that since I had an abundance of soon to be discarded jeans (as I had 3 children including 2 growing and active boys!) I would also make jean quilts. 

Many years later, I still derive great satisfaction from using things others would discard...

This weekend was The General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As I was privileged to watch and listen. I started thinking about my Savior and how he takes those who may be discarded by others and makes something beautiful and wonderful out of each and every one of us!

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ in my life and hope to always follow His example.

Officially Fall!

Yesterday: Great General Women's Conference!

16 quarts of grape juice, 3 batches of salsa, and 2 more pints of tomatoes...

plus potatoes, carrots, green beans and zucchini...

not bad for one so-so garden! Hoping to do even better next year, but this will do!

And ready to get Char's quilt on the frame.

Yes, it is fall.

Plus the 5 year anniversary of bringing Adrienne her dog run- and accepting Luke's proposal on the way!

So glad I said 'yes'!!!

I am so blessed to be married to this man!

Summer of Family:Summer Projects Part 2

I decided to finally update the kids' pictures... but without grands. I added parents too. I love it!

Found a trouble spot in my bathroom. So it went from this:

to this:

 Hoping the cultured marble comes in soon!

 Worked on the yard....

 And garden....

And my spaghetti squash turned into a zucchini/spaghetti squash!

But still have yummy things from the garden!

stuffed zucchini!

And my project just for me! My grands!!!

Summer of Stitching- Summer Projects Part 1

My grandfather died at a fairly young age in a tragic accident. This sweet lady, my Grandmother, was left to find a way to make ends meet for her family. She made and sold handmade items- quilts, stuffed animals, dolls, etc. For me, as a young girl, there was nothing better at Christmas than to receive a doll or blanket made by my grandmother. 

As I got a little older, my grandmother began to teach me how to quilt. As I didn't live nearby (I was in Minnesota, she in Utah), I only remember 2 occasions when I worked on a quilt with my grandmother. She was so patient in her teaching as I couldn't seem to be able to make the same size stitches twice in a row, I continually pricked my finger, and I needed help with every single knot!

But I am forever grateful for the love and example she gave to me!

I was able to make 4 of these, one for each granddaughter, this summer thanks to my grandmother's lessons. 

I was even able to use the rose patterns my grandmother used so many years ago!

I hope my granddaughters (or at least one) will want to learn to quilt with me!

Now I need to finish a jean quilt for Char...

Just need to put it on the frame!

And of course, finish stitching my neighborhood Christmas gifts!

I am so blessed to be able to create things for the people I love!

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My Girls Just Know How to Have Fun!!!

Love these girls!

And they are getting so grown up! A day like this one makes me wish for time to slow down already!

Hours spent just listening to all of their news while enjoying treats...

watching them think of fun things to do like hide and seek in a backyard without real hiding places...

pinwheel blowing competitions...

And just time being together. I hope to make the time for more days like this! I am so blessed!

One of the Best Perks of Marrying my Husband?

His Parents!

I met them after Luke and my 2nd date... he didn't have transport and needed a ride 'home' (his parents' home at the time.) They came in as we pulled up. They were both just wonderful to me from the start!

In fact, they both hoped Luke would marry me before he had made up his mind! Luke's dad was kind enough to refer to me as 'gold' and others Luke was talking with as 'silver'. - very sweet, I thought!

Anson and Dee are the perfect in laws for me! They are kind, loving, and always there to support both Luke and I in whatever way needed.

I am so very blessed to have great in-laws!

A Father for Our Children

I came across this note today. What an appropriate note for Luke to receive from one of his young children!

Luke never does ask for an object... he always sincerely wants the gift of his kids living right, being happy and doing good for others! That is what truly makes him happy.

This Father's Day, one of our daughters expressed her love and appreciation for the father that Luke has been and will always be in a particularly touching way. 

She was telling Luke what a good father he is and Luke, in his usual humble way told her he would always try (which, of course, he will.) Well, she told him that he can certainly keep trying. However, she knows he is a GREAT dad now!!!

Luke was very touched!

And I agree! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful father for our children! 

The Mirror of Others

(Please excuse the picture quality...) So which is me, and which is the 'mirror'? 

There was once a study that concluded that people prefer the way they look in a reversed image better than a normal (non-reversed) image... the theory is that we see ourselves in the mirror so often that a reversed image is 'normal' for ourselves. This is true for me in these images. Even though I know which is normal and which is reversed, and I know they are the SAME picture, I prefer the reversed image of myself! Strange!

Makes me think about how we 'see' ourselves as people.

The past few years, someone close to me has seemed to view me in a very negative fashion. Although I know their view is completely skewed, I still stop and question myself quite often, especially these last few months- and it is NOT a good thing at all!

Then I remembered an experience I had a few months back. I was attending a writing conference as part of my school assignments (I know, right?! What a great school to 'require' me to attend a writer's conference! But, I digress.) I happened to sit by a former high school classmate who was also attending the conference. I remember this classmate as being a nice young man but that was about all I remembered...

 He told me that he wanted to thank me! He went on to say that he had just been talking to an acquaintance about me the week before, about what a wonderful example of honesty I am... (wow! and what?) He told me that back in high school, when I overheard him talking about his intentions to cheat on a test, I had told him that he was better than that! I had told him not to cheat. (yeah, I would say that.)

What amazed me was that he had not only remembered that conversation, but he had then continued to 'reflect' such a positive 'picture' of me as a person to the world so MANY years later!

It makes me a little more aware of how I wish others to reflect me. More importantly, though, how do I reflect others? Do I pick out the good qualities and reflect those by how I treat them and how I talk about them to others? Or do I merely reflect the negative?

And how do I want my children and grandchildren to be viewed in the mirror of others, especially my own?

Magnificent Mothers For Our Grands!

Love you Cassie and Charly (and of course, all of the rest too)!!!

Luke and I are so blessed to be grandparents to your children!

We hope you had a fabulous day! (and we really need to take more pictures of all of the kids...)

Grands are, well, GRAND!!!

Last month we welcomed our 4th Grand...

And she is so beautiful! Just like all the rest!

Then the playing began...

I miss them already!!! I am so blessed!