Life Happens!

Meet Brody!

During April I did finish a lot of projects, however, I didn't finish what I had anticipated to finish, especially at the Brown Bag Quilt Retreat I attended early in the month! Everyone knows how "life happens" and plans get changed.

Well, we had that kind of a month in a big way!

My daughter, Nicole and her husband, David decided to adopt quite a while ago. They completed all the necessary paperwork back in January, which took about a year, and then they waited patiently! The process, they were told, takes 18 months to 2 years from the beginning of the paperwork process until a couple is chosen by birth parents to receive a baby. After only 3 months, they were chosen by birth parents and met them, about two weeks before they got THE CALL from their social worker that the baby had been born, 10 days early!

They took their new son home 4 days later!

Meet the newest addition to our family, our new grandson: Brody Noah Nicholas Bennett

He was born on April 6^th, 2010, at 6:10 pm, weighing 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 19” long.

What a miracle blessing he truly is!!! He is a joy and loves to be held!

(Luckily he has two sets of grandparents who love holding him!!!)

He’s 4 weeks old today. He’s a good eater and has already gained a pound or more and is filling out! He is a really good baby and not very fussy. He usually can be easily consoled, except for last night!!! He’s probably going through a growth spurt!

His big sister Gigi is quite proud of her new baby “Bro Bro” as she calls him. When Brody was only a week old she came running into our house looking for me. I asked her where her baby brother Brody was and she replied, very matter of factly,

“He’s still with us!” (Just too cute!!)

So I did manage to finish a lot of baby items for baby Brody and for his soon-to-be-cousin, Micah, due to arrive in 16 days!! I made many flannel receiving blankets and flannel "ni-nites" or burp cloths, several Pack 'n Play crib sheets, and two cute tote bags from the Bunny Hill pattern "Jelly Bags", like this one modeled by my daughter-in-law, Angelina (soon-to-be-mommy of Micah!). More pictures of Brody-click here!

Showering Baby Micah

Baby Shower for Angelina

Last weekend Nicole and I hosted a Baby Shower for Angelina. Family and friends from near and far (San Jose, Paradise (north of Chico), Sacramento, Redding, Upland, Orange, and Santa Ana) came to shower Angelina and her baby boy, Micah, due May 20, with lots of clothes and baby essentials!

Nicole made some very cute decorations with dots (a favorite of Angelina), including this mobile that Angelina can hang in Micah's room.Cupcakes (another favorite and must for Angelina) were made from scratch by Nicole and decorated with brown, green and blue M & M's. A baby bottle was filled with brown, green and blue M & M's for a fun guessing game.

Here's Angelina with the baby quilt I made for Micah. Angelina found the pattern on a blog and picked the colors. No standard blue and boy theme for Micah. The colors for baby Micah's room are brown, greens and a bit of blue, with lots of dots and some animals thrown in. I also made a quilted throw out of the same fabrics, some burp cloths, receiving blanket and a pack n' play crib sheet.

Below, Angelina models the tote (Bunny Hill Pattern, Jelly Bags), which can also be used as a diaper bag, made of the leftover fabrics from the quilt!!

If you look closely you can see the baby bump under Angelina's green shirt. With just a bit more than four weeks to go, it's looking like this baby will have everything he needs and more!

Nick and I have plans to take our RV up to Orange county, to Newport Dunes RV Resort the weekend before Micah is due and the weekend after his due date--in hopes he will be born on one of those weekends while we are there. To say we are anxious is a bit of an understatement. We all love baby Micah so much and can't wait to meet him!

You can see more shower photos on my flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157623779439289/

and starting here on Nicole's flickr page.

CG&GQC and OPAM Completions & APRIL TO DOS

MARCH PROJECT FINISHES

March was another productive month!

One Dozen Pillowcases donated to the Con Kerr Cancer Pillowcase Project.
A summer blanket/quilt--lightweight, pieced top, flannel back and no batting for a new baby girl born to one of my husband's firefighters and his wife.
A machine Appliqued Pillow, for a very good friend, made from a McKenna Ryan pattern.
A vinyl covered fabric bib (an Amy Butler Fabric) for my granddaughter, Gigi

I also finished two blocks: one for a block exchange, Live Piecefully and one for a quilt for a woman I work with at the quilt shop. During March I have been knitting a cardigan sweater for Gigi-I have all the pieces done (2 fronts, back and sleeves); now I just have to sew them all together.

PROJECTS TO DO DURING APRIL

1. This adorable spring dress for my granddaughter, Gigi2. I hope to finish this quilt, Twisted Star, by Sue Bouchard, a Quilt in a Day pattern, which I started last year (mine is in red, white and blue patriotic fabrics:
3. A table runner or two, including his one by McKenna Ryan
I may end up doing more if I am really productive at my next Brown Bag Quilt Retreat which is this coming weekend (April 9th-11th) !! YEAH FOR QUILT RETREATS!

Great Weekend in Arizona

SPRING TRAINING WEEKEND

We headed to Arizona last Thursday in our RV with Nicole, David and Gigi. Nick was able to drive, despite having had his 2nd rotator cuff surgery just a month ago! We met David's parents, Dan and Jeri there about 8:30 pm on Thursday night, at a very nice resort, Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort in El Mirage, Arizona. This resort is a lot nicer than the place we stayed at last year, with a fantastic clubhouse and recreation buildings with loads of activities, kid friendly, extended pool hours for kids (a big hit with Gigi), people friendly, a championship golf course (which Dan, Jeri and David played on Friday morning), and beautiful landscaping--lots of flowers, not just the usual cacti for a resort in the desert. It's about 20 minutes from both baseball parks we went to while we were there. We enjoyed hanging out during the days, riding bikes, going to the pool, etc.

Weather was nice, sunny,warm and breezy, in the low to mid 70's on Friday and Saturday, but quite a bit colder at night than we had expected, in the low 50's, when we were at the baseball games, where we sat on the grass in left fields both nights.

Friday night's game was at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, spring training home of the San Diego Padres. Padres beat LA 9-4. Met up with some old friends from San Diego at the game! Fun.Saturday night's game was at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, spring training home of the LA Dodgers. Padres beat LA again, 4-1. (woohoo!!)

Sunday morning we packed up the motorhome and headed back to Camelback Ranch for a day game between the Dodgers and the Cleveland Indians. We left the game early, for the long drive home, but the Dodgers were losing 11-1 in the 7th inning.

To see all our pictures go to our flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157623675318046/

Memory Verses

"His Word in My Heart"

Last year Nicole and I joined Beth Moore's, “1st and 15th Siesta Scripture Memory Team "
along with thousands of women across the United States. At first it seemed like memorizing 2 verses a month wouldn't be that difficult. Well, I have to admit it was. I did choose my 24 verses for the year, and memorized a few, but I didn't actually, fully memorize all of them as I would have liked!

This year I'm going to try to memorize one verse a month, with Nicole and her "His Word in My Heart" (you can click on her button on my side bar for more information). For Christmas Nicole made me my own monthly memory verse kit, and Nicole describes it on her blog best when she says, "I’m excited to keep my verses safe in a little zipper pouch because I feel like when I zip them up in there it symbolizes them being “stored up” in my heart like one version of Psalm 119:11 says."

I do want to have more of God's word "stored up in my heart!"

SO here are my verses for the first three months of 2010:

My January verse: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

My February verse: God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

My March verse: Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14 (NIV)

My Version of the "Madness"

SPRING "MADNESS"

March and April look to be busy months, a kind of "madness" (no NOT basketball !) with all that will be happening. At the quilt shop I work at we've got the upcoming San Diego Cruisin' Quilters Shop Hop starting this Saturday, and I'm working a lot of extra hours and long days!

Then there are the planned getaways or happenings: a trip planned to Peoria, Arizona for Padres' Spring Training, for a long weekend, followed by a weekend Women's Retreat with my church. The next weekend we will celebrate Easter, followed by another weekend(YES! another) Brown Bag Quilt Retreat in Buellton. The third weekend in April we will have wonderful great friends and house guests to shower Angelina and Alex's baby Micah. To cap off the month of April we will be hosting a retirement party for two retired firefighters from Nick's fire department and then the last day of April is the Annual Appreciation Dinner put on by Rotary of Rancho Santa Fe for Fire and Security personnel!! I'm exhausted already.

Along with all those activities I do hope to complete a few projects in March:

(1) quilt and bind the quilt I am making for my niece Amalia and her new husband, Rick;(2) a machine appliqued, McKenna Ryan pattern for a "special" pillow for a very special friend

(3) a baby quilt for a new firefighter's daughterand (4) several cheerful, colorful pillowcases (similar to this one) for children who are sick with cancer or other serious illnesses for the ConKerr Cancer pillowcase project,
known as A Case for Smiles.Many quilt shops in southern California and all across the nation are participating in ConKerr Cancer by hosting" sew-ins" for making the pillowcases, collecting the cheerful pillowcases for the children who are sick and then donating them to local hospitals.

The pillowcases are really easy to make and basically take one yard of fabric (3/4 yd for the pillowcase body and 1/4 yd or so for the top border trim. If you have a heart for helping others by way of using your talents and love of sewing, go to the ConKerr Cancer website for information about the project in your area! If you'd like a free pattern just email me and I can send one to you.

Winter Olympics Come to an End!

My Love of the Winter Olympics

One of my most favorite things is watching The Olympics- especially the Winter Olympics, and Alpine Events, and Skating, of course. I Love the Olympics! I even enjoy watching the Nordic events, also known as cross country skiing. I also enjoy watching the Summer Olympics, especially the gymnastics events, but my heart has always had a fonder spot for the Winter games.

I grew up in Southern California in a suburb of LA in the San Fernando Valley. I started snow skiing when I was about 5 years old and skied my whole life (although I haven't skied in about 10 years now). We used to go to Mammoth Mountain many times every winter. When I was about 12 my parents and good family friends bought a lot in Mammoth and we built a cabin. The builder always said ours was the most insulated cabin up there because the women (2 moms and4 girls ages 9-14)) stuffed extra insulation in every nook and cranny we could!! So many fond memories from our cabin and skiing adventures in Mammoth. I remember missing school because we had gotten "snowed in!" Very exciting for a SoCal girl!! I remember spending many "Easter Vacations" skiing in jeans and t-shirt on a sunny day at Mammoth!

My childhood dream was to move up to Mammoth, join the ski team and ski in the Olympics! (Not that I was ever that caliber of a skier-nor was I that aggressive of a skier--but it was a dream of mine.) I loved the Olympics! So every four years when the Winter Olympics occur I can live out my dream watching the Alpine skiing events. Seeing Americans doing so well this year has been the best. I'm as thrilled for them as if I were one of their moms!!

I watched a tribute to the 1980 Gold Medal Ice Hockey Team, and even now, 30 years later I got goose bumps and tears welled in my eyes to watch them win again. I vividly remember being in my living room, watching this historic sports moment, and cheering as loudly as if I had been there, "USA! USA!" when they won. These Winter Olympics it looked as though Team USA might do it again; they played so well throughout the tournament. But, alas, it was not to be. Instead, Canada won in OT and the national anthem of "Oh Canada" echoed loadly in the arena. Team USA should be proud~ They won the Silver Medal, afterall, and although the Silver isn't as revered as the Gold, they also won the hearts of all of America! Did I mention I love the Olympics?! and as ABC Sports used to say, "the Thrill of Victory and the Agony of the defeat: I love it all!

Another dream has been to attend the Winter Olympics and Nick shares this dream. The excitement of being there amidst all the energy, Olympic spirit and thrilling moments would be such a great experience! So maybe we will attend the next Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, or another future games once he retires!!

With the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics came, too, the end of February. I finished several projects, listed on my side bar.

Many of the projects (for the CGGQClub and OPAM) I finished are gifts so I can't show pictures of all of them at this time. I did finish this cute "Crazy Eight Strip Teaser Table Topper", a large baby quilt for our grandson due in May, a few other projects(shh-they're a surprise also for Micah),
a few baby burp cloths, aka "Ni-nites",and the top for my niece's quilt (also a surprise).