Merry Christmas!

From our house, 

to yours,

we wish you a 

Merry Christmas!

18.

Eighteen years ago today I met one of my two favorite people on the planet.

G, 1 week

He used to stare at me like that, like he was puzzled by my very existence and if he looked deep enough, long enough, he might just figure this strange world out. 

I was content to just stare back.

When he was a baby, he never cried. He was mostly content to watch me watching him, and listen to my voice. I used to sing 'A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes' as I rocked him to sleep.

As a toddler, his favorite book was Green Eggs and Ham.

When he went to school, he always looked after the smallest kid on the playground, took care that no one was left out.

He's funny.  We spend a lot of time laughing around here, much of it inappropriate. 

He loves Tom Hanks.

His favorite movie is Black Hawk Down.

He would probably actually go to prom if Hayley Williams from Paramore would consent to be his date. 

My boy wants to be a soldier.  A friend of mine asked this weekend when it was he started talking about this (the military), and I said, truthfully, "When he was four."

Wherever life leads him, I have faith he's smart enough and strong enough to make a difference and find success.  I might have slightly different goals for he and Lu than most parents; I want them to be happy, and I want them to go out in the world and see what's waiting just around the corner, to not let fear hold them back.  After that, it's cake. 

We've come a long way, G and I and Lu.  I wouldn't trade a single second of it. 

Love you, baby. Happy birthday. 

That one moment

when you bug everyone with pictures to prove how handsome your kid is.

And not to be left out, the baby of the family, Lu:

I know you're all extremely happy I flapped my digital bragbook all over you.  You're welcome.

And I leave you with the one where I ended up rolling on the ground, trying not to wet myself.

Elvis Lives.

1937 Friendship Quilt

I won an ebay auction a couple of weeks ago, for a friendship quilt dated New Year's, 1937.  The date is pretty precise, because the quilt was signed with embroidered sentiments and signatures.

I love everything about this quilt.  I love the colors, the feedsack fabrics, the simple patchwork.  But it's the variety of embroidered signatures, names and places that makes me very happy.  What a sweet memento.  I'm sad that no family wanted to keep this treasure, but happy that I can spruce it up and set it out for a whole new family & generation to enjoy.

It does need some repairs, but most of that is handstitching several unsewn seams, not repairing holes.  Simple handwork while I'm watching Christmas movies on my holiday break!  It has been stored in a cedar chest and is really pretty pristine for its age.  I'm hoping a soak in the tub and careful drying (after it's repaired) and it will be ready to hang over a nice quilt rack.  Which I don't have yet.  Something to add to my flea market list!

In other news...it's the boy's birthday today.  My handsome boy is 17.  How time flies...

Happy birthday to my 'little' comedian (he's about 6'3, so not so little anymore).

You can see the unwrapping of the gift involved lots of fur help.  Last night I laughed so hard at something he did (unintentional slapstick), I honestly thought I was going to wet myself.  My side ached for a good hour.

Love you G.

home again!

We made it home safely, and had a wonderful time!  My first vacation with TWO teenagers (how did I get old enough to have 2 teens??) wasn't without it's quirks though.  Namely...teenagers can get crabby suddenly and then just as quickly be having a ball. Sheesh.

And I bring photos!  Probably too many, so forgive me.  But there was so much to see in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons!  This is a mostly photo post... Enjoy!

 

"Morman Row"

 

 We were stopped a few times by bison!

 

My favorite part was touring the geyser basins.  I could have walked around taking pictures of them the entire time!

G-man, by one of his favorite geyser pools "Sapphire Pool".  I used a little retro coloring on parts of the photo.  Although...there is no coloring effect on the pool itself!  It really is that color!

 

 

Old Faithful!

The kids enjoyed animal watching the most.  And I'll admit, it was pretty exciting to see our first bear!

I thought of Dawn when we saw this big fella!!

Grizzly!

And we have some bison in Oklahoma, but I still love them.

My pretty Lu, hiking at Jenny Lake.

 

Hidden Falls at Jenny Lake in the Tetons

Isn't that a lovely photo?  I was standing at the top of a "butte", taking this picture when unbeknownst to me...my flight was taking off at the Jackson airport.  All flights out of Denver were cancelled on what was to be our last day in Wyoming (due to bad weather), so we were *rescheduled* on a much earlier flight.  Too bad nobody told us!!  We were stranded for a day & night in a downtown Jackson hotel, and then spent most of the next day (more than 12 hours!) in an airport or on a plane.  I have never been so glad to be home in my life!

Home again now though...and just about recuperated enough to get back to normal.  Now I have lots of blog catching up to do!

fifteen.

Seems crazy to think that this tiny boy is now in high school.

Where did the time go?? Fifteen years ago tonight I met you for the first time, and life as I knew it would never be the same.

Probably the only person on the planet who loves you as much as me, is this one.


I would normally consider this picture of me (no makeup, hot, tired, long day hiking in the Arizona desert) unfit for blog viewing. But since you're right there beside me, I think its rather perfect.

Happy Birthday, boy of mine!

boomer

Sooner!!!

Yes, we lost. But this kid is cooooollll as a cucumber. Being an Oklahoma girl, I grew up loving football (& the Sooners).
The first Sooner national championship I remember being fully vested in was in 1985, and I had just turned 14.

The G-man worships all things Crimson and Cream, and he just turned 14. I really wanted the boys to win last night. It would have been a nice symmetry.

We watched together, and had trouble falling asleep after the finish. But we're still Sooner fans.

And there's always next year!

Happy Birthday!

to the G-Man!

On a cold winter night 14 years ago, at 9:13 p.m., I first met the most amazing person. His serious little face, all calm and content, looked up at me... and my heart was never my own again.


People stood outside the nursery window to stare at this most handsome baby, exclaiming at his angel face.

At 12 hours old, those big, beautiful eyes turned a rich, chocolatey brown.

At 4 weeks old, a woman in Wal-Mart offered me $10,000 cash for him.

Lady, you weren't even in the ballpark.

Happy Birthday, boy of mine!

Stop! FBI!

Or a reasonable 10 & 12 y/o facsimile thereof...


Oh, those lazy, crazy days of summer. We downloaded the blank FBI badge off an X-Files fansite, LOL!! I added the kids picture, printed, cut out & laminated them...

and they've been out of my hair ever since.

Now maybe I can get something done around here. :o)

Edit: Wow, this post gets a LOT of traffic from Google Images. I've updated the pic to remove faces.

Must be softball season...

Bright, sunshiny day. Check.

Lopsided, left-side-of-my-body-only sunburn. Check.

Pinging sound of a softball hitting my side fence at 35 mph. Check.

Practicing after a day long, I just played 3 games tournament ... Check.


The strike zone ...


and a hindcatcher....


Because our usual hindcatcher was busy doing this...


Ump for a Day...

Whaaa??

Summer's comin!!

Easter Morning!

Whew the dress got finished :D


But the jacket did not. Sigh. I only need to set in the sleeves...but we spent 30 minutes this morning looking for the brand new pair of tights I bought last week! I had put them in my FABRIC CABINET. That's what I get for "cleaning house". hehe. So she wore a cute little bolero sweater and it worked out fine!

The pattern is Butterick 4385. Fairly straightforward princess construction.

I'll review over at PR, but here are the highlights: It ran a bit big through the "bust". Lu measures a perfect size 12, but she has no "bust" to speak of. Soo... I had to decrease the curve in that area twice for it to fit her nicely. It was also big around the chest and after attaching the lining, I had to alter the side seams (enclosing that band at the top). That wasn't especially easy, but I think it actually worked out better in the long run, because it will hold the band in place.

Last thing I wasn't thrilled about with the pattern was the strap attachment. The back straps are sandwiched between the band and lining, then stitched. The front straps are just tucked in place and "slip stitched" to the lining in front. Um, that's not incredibly sturdy, especially not for the front! And, it causes the band to pull away from the dress. See below.


Now, I'll probably go back and fix this with a closer, tighter slipstitch later. But of course being as I was on a deadline (and she's wearing a sweater over it) I left it. There's got to be a way to sandwich both front and back straps between band and lining. Right?

And here's a great shot of both of them in their Easter finery (note the G-man's awful shoes, which I did NOT notice until picture time right before he got into my dad's truck to go to church.)

Oh, and they love each other. Really.