Birthdays are suppose to be fun, no matter what your age! Jeni has a January birthday and I wanted to do something different. I had an idea. I started a little quilt last year and had not finished it yet. It had been put aside for many other pursuits. Now was the time to strike. I fished it out of my many UFP. I still liked what I had done. So, I added a border and finished it!

A little late for the big day, but it was sent and I was happy. I call it Butterflies in the Mountains. In the quilt there are Butterflies in the Colorado mountains (triangles) in the corners. I love the flowers in the middle. Flowers always make me happy. Colorado has lots of spring flowers. Such a fun quilt to make.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENI!

Joy in the Journey

I just plain LOVE grandkids. I have hugged, kissed, squeezed, and tickled them. I have held them for that first greeting and counted each little toe. Yes--there are 10 little stubs. They are perfect!

>I have grandkids that are now teenagers. How did that happen so soon?? At times it feels like I have had grandchildren almost all my life. You can love them and hand them to their parents, when they start crying. You smile, love, and weep over them. Having given birth to seven children, I know of the pain and travail their mother's went through to bring these sweet and innocent babies to this earth. It is pure joy to see their eyes light up in recognition of grandma. They love being talked to. They have joined our eternal family. They have entered their journey of earth life.

We had two little sweethearts join our family last year. Charlotte Ann Bradley came July 2,2009 and Hattie Ce Ce Bake came October 26, 2009. I was able to be there after their births for a week or so. Each little one is so precious in their own right. And yes, I made sure, they each had 10 perfect little toes!

Charlotte is now six months old. She loves to watch her siblings and is perfecting (in her mind) how to run. I can see her saying: Run, run, as fast as you can. I'm going to catch you soon. Her brother and sister love her. Chas. has to come over to her and give her a kiss when ever he is near.

Hattie is 2 months now. She is busy being loved by her siblings, also. Her 2 sisters love to hold and feed her a bottle, especially in the mornings.

These two little girls are going to be bosom cousins forever. They loved being around each other before birth, and this feeling will only magnify as they grow. How wonderful to have cousins to grow up with so close.

Children are an heritage to the Lord. Grandchildren are an heritage and joy to their grandparents. We do love each of our grandchildren and wish we could visit them more often.

And the year is 2010

Long, long ago - maybe 44 or 45 years ago, I remember being at my grandpa (John) McLean's home in Modesto, California. This is Dan's grandpa and mine by marriage and love. I met him in his golden years. He had been married 51 years to his sweetheart Nola. They did everything together. They loved to watch TV, especially game shows. They played Yahtzee with his sister, Zora and they also loved to fish together. Fishing was the only time I saw Grandma in pants.

The day was January 1st. I was just "hanging out" with my future husband and his grandparents. I remember we were watching TV, maybe the Rose Parade or one of those game shows. As we were watching, Grandpa took a piece of paper and wrote the date of the new year. He said something like, " This is the first time I've written THIS YEAR." He made it seem very important.

This morning I wrote the date January 1, 2010, on a check and realized it was the first time I had done it and I said to Dan, "This is the first time I've written 2010." It reminded me of Grandpa McLean. It seemed important to me also. It is now Twenty Ten.

For me, it seems like a strange date to write and say. This date is suppose to be in the future, not here and now. But, change is constant, it's always around us. A new year, a new way to say the date, lots of change is in the wind. This is going to be a good year, a great year. Happy Twenty Ten.

Memories

My first memory of Calvin was when I came out to help for a few days after he was born. He was soft and cuddly. He seemed and was so perfect, especially being our first grandchild. He had 10 toes and 10 fingers and everything else he was supposed to have. At that time, I wasn't making quilts for our grandchildren yet. So, we went to Joann's Fabric and bought flannel. We made two blankets and we were very happy with them. I remember one was red on the back and white with dogs on the front. I think the red bleed to the front. My first experience with red and learning to not put red behind fabric with mostly white on the front. I know those blankets were used a lot. I remember the day he received his name and blessing. We went to the Hansen's across the street for a little celebration. I remember sitting for what seemed like hours holding and rocking him in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace. What enjoyment that was: Holding our first grandchild. It was a wonderful day. Several years later I made quilts for each of our grandchildren I hadn't made quilts for yet. Calvin's was a design of bottles with insects and bugs inside. I had so much fun making that quilt. We all have great memories of Calvin and he lives on in our hearts. We all love and miss him, just like Donna, Chris and the boys.

A few days after Calvin's passing, Cole asked me to make him a quilt about Calvin, so he would never forget him. I told him, of course I would. Then, Clayton asked if I would make him one also. Of course I would. Jeni was there and we decided I would make one quilt and she would make another quilt. We thought the quilts would help the boys heal. We had old pictures which she printed on cloth so we could include one picture of Calvin on each row of the quilts. These were really hard quilts to make for both Jeni and I. Now the boys have their quilts to remember Calvin, but I know they also have great memories in their minds that won't be forgotten ever.

Labor Day is Family Time

This weekend, which was Labor Day, we actually did some traveling. Yes, Donna, we were on the roads of America. Was it because there was no work at home to do? NO. There is always work to be done at home, because I can find lots of other things to do and so the work is always hanging around. We were at Charlotte's blessing in Idaho.

We were also enjoying the cool weather. Such a nice change from Las Vegas. During the blessing, Charlotte didn't utter a peep. She looked beautiful and so well behaved. She is such a cutie. She has plump little cheeks and is a real smiler. Look closely at the photo and you will see Charlotte and Chas have the same cheeks. She loves smiling whenever you pay attention to her. While being held by everyone at home later, she would listen for her mother's voice. I wonder if babies keep track of their families at this young age of two months. Somehow she is patient with all of us adults and older cousins who get to hold her. We all love to hold her and feed her the bottle. I know she will change and become a normal little girl, but right now she is a little angel.


Of course, we took pictures. It is hard to get all the children together. Let alone look the same direction. That seems to make the picture all the more real. A happy day.