. . . this little turkey . . .

. . . turns one today . . .

. . . and even though elliott's mommy

doesn't want him to get any bigger . . .

. . . i bet she's happy

to be eating her mashed potatoes

with the family this year . . .

. . . instead of in a hospital room . . .

. . . happy birthday edrew . . .

. . . counting my blessings . . .

. . . naming them one by one . . .

. . . i'm grateful every day . . .

. . . but, at this beautiful time of year,

i'm glad for this formal opportunity

to thank my heavenly father

for all he has given me . . .

. . . i am truly blessed . . .

. . . my parents have chickens . . .

. . . that's all . . .

. . . but, wait! . . .

. . . question: "o holy night" . . .

. . . michael crawford or josh groban? . . .

. . . discuss . . .

{more thoughts [and my choice] on christmas music coming soon}

. . . an evening of rest . . .

. . . earlier today, this room was the gathering place

for a couple dozen youth and their leaders

where husband taught {as always}

a wonderful lesson . . .

. . . but, here's a glimpse into the goings on

at our house this sunday night . . .

. . . first, we have addi and halleigh

impersonating grammy . . .

. . . elliott ~ mesmerized by the hairy&scary purple ball . . .

. . . with halleigh keeping him entertained . . .

{i call this combo halliott}

. . . chris and addi enjoying quality{?} iPhone time . . .

. . . tate snuggling with his treasures . . .

{please note: two babies, one teddy bear and a truck ~

it's all about balance}

. . . and here's a look at the big picture . . .

. . . let's see . . .

. . . that would be all the dads and all the kids . . .

{except tagg ~ already in bed ~ he's the smartest one of all}

. . . and where are all the moms? . . .

. . . doing the dishes, of course! . . .

{this photo makes me realize i really need to finish this room}

. . . reunited . . .

. . . "♪♫ and it feels SO good ♫♪" . . .

. . . all bernie really needed was a good cleaning . . .

. . . a little lube, oil, and filter . . .

{not really on the filter part}

. . . and a new light bulb . . .

. . . she's good to go for another few thousand miles . . .

. . . phew . . .

. . . we watched the project runway finale together . . .

{hello, heidi}

. . . and now we'd like to introduce . . .

. . . available in a limited edition . . .

. . . oops! kitchen towels . . .

. . . by popular request . . .

{which means at least four people asked for them}

. . . you get the oops! treatment

on a 100% prewashed cotton

waffle weave towel . . .

. . . great for all your gift-giving needs . . .

. . . bubbles . . .

. . . by far . . .

. . . the cutest thing i saw today . . .

. . . was this video . . .

. . . go ahead ~ click . . .

. . . and try not to giggle . . .

. . . please notice at the :15 mark when he is trying to blow . . .

. . . it never gets old . . .

{medical update: just one stent today ~ home tomorrow morning}

. . . i'm a {w}rapper . . .

. . . today, i got to do a lil' presentation . . .

. . . for some cute girls . . .

. . . all about gift wrapping . . .

. . . and it {might have} looked

like a candy cane factory exploded . . .

. . . yes ~ i'm steph and i'm a wrapaholic . . .

. . . we learned how to measure

{and not waste}

paper and ribbon . . .

. . . we learned "it's the thought that counts" . . .

. . . so ~ why not think CUTE thoughts? . . .

. . . then i had them help me

by wrapping up some mexico-bound

brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts . . .

. . . looks like candace

{in the background}

was wrapping at warp speed! . . .

{p.s. y'all are so, so nice.

i've had no less than

six offers from great friends

willing to loan

their sewing machines to me.

i'm not worthy.}

. . . poor, poor bernie . . .

. . . can we please have a moment of silence? . . .

. . . bernie is very, very sick . . .

. . . she literally quit last night . . .

. . . stopped dead in her tracks . . .

. . . a definite "no go" . . .

. . . as soon as merry&bright/red&white was finished . . .

. . . she gave up the ghost . . .

. . . hopefully {fingers crossed} she's revivable . . .

. . . but, we won't know for 10-14 days . . .

. . . which, in sewing terms, might as well be forever! . . .

{i'm cutting her some slack, what with her being 31 1/2 years old, and all}

. . . if i'm working on a special order for you,

please forgive me . . .

{only amelia and her in-laws will understand this post title}

. . . merry&bright . . .

. . . * crickets chirping * . . .

. . . um ~ who's in charge of this blog, anyway? . . .

. . . i wish i had a note

from my mother

explaining this prolonged absence . . .

. . . truth is . . .

. . . nothing blogworthy's going on around here . . .

. . . so {once again employing *diversionary tactics} . . .

. . . i've been working on a little project . . .

. . . because i figure you can

never have too many red&white quilts . . .

{see sidebar -->}

. . . doing the math . . .

. . . 40 blocks like this one . . .

. . . + 45 blocks like this one . . .

. . . + a couple of borders . . .

. . . + pinwheel cornerstones . . .

. . . = a non-christmas print . . .

{who doesn't love paisley?}

. . . yet, decidedly christmas-ish quilt . . .

. . . her name is

"may your days be merry&bright

and may all your christmases

be {red &}white" . . .

. . . but i'm calling her

merry&bright/red&white

for short . . .

*additional stent{s} coming soon to a husband near me

. . . baby's first christmas . . .

. . . expecting? . . .

. . . before christmas? . . .

. . . did you get one of these

from great aunt bertha

at your baby shower? . . .

. . . sorry . . .

{go ahead and ask me sometime

what i got from great aunt-in-law, bertha,

for our wedding}

. . . i can help, though . . .

. . . but, not if it's blue . . .

{whose bright idea was it to make blue a christmas color anyway?}

. . . accessories solve everything . . .

. . . especially if they're red . . .

. . . or white . . .

. . . or red AND white! . . .

. . . with jumbo or mini . . .

. . . jingle balls! . . .

. . . hey, aunt bertha! . . .

. . . get 'em while supplies last . . .

. . . nineteen/five . . .

. . . you know . . .

. . . every week i read the letters

that elder romney writes . . .

. . . and i marvel

at the growth

and maturity

and spirituality

he displays . . .

. . . and then . . .

. . . THEN . . .

. . . amber sends me a couple of old photos . . .

. . . and i bet you anything . . .

{and i really hope}

. . . that he's the same old drewski . . .

. . . just wearing

a missionary nametag right now . . .

. . . he possesses the "special" ability

to cross one eye at a time . . .

. . . what skillz! . . .

. . . and i'm pretty sure

i know what it says

on the other side

of that easter egg . . .

{but this is a family friendly/equal opportunity blog}

. . . in drew's latest email, he said:

"I can´t wait to be sippin' on a Mt. Dew,

eating a Double-Double from In-n-Out

and/or a giant Chipotle burrito,

watching the Suns game

after a sweet day on the golf course" . . .

. . . probably so he can pose for photos like this . . .

. . . and live up to the fact that

his senior class voted him

"most likely to be america's next top model" . . .

. . . what a goofball! . . .