30 September 2012

. . . choose the right . . .

. . . what an awesome day! . . . 
. . . five of our grandchildren 
had primary programs today . . .
. . . we first went to 
addi, halleigh, 
tate and tagg's ward . . .
. . . i would like to thank 
their music leader 
for starting the program 
with one of 
my favorite children's songs ever . . .
 . . . please understand 
that children singing 
will nearly always 
make me a little teary . . . 
. . . but . . . 
. . . BUT . . . 
. . . when all the children are singing
 and my four grandchildren 
are standing in front 
of all the other children 
singing AND perfectly signing . . . 
. . . did you get that? . . .
. . . siNGing and siGNing . . .

"love one another
as Jesus loves you.
try to show kindness
in all that you do.
be gentle and loving
in deed and in thought.
for these are 
the things Jesus taught."

. . . yeah ~ cue the ugly cry 
from grammy . . . 
. . . the poor lady sitting behind me 
was searching frantically 
through her purse 
for a tissue . . . 
. . . she handed one to me 
with all kinds of apologies 
because it was 
"wrinkled, but i promise 
it isn't used" . . . 
. . . bless her heart . . . 
. . . anyway ~ the kids 
were darling little angels . . . 
. . . and each of them 
said their part just right, too . . . 
. . . tate and tagg forgot to sign those
 for their mama . . .
. . . but you know what? . . . 
. . . that was a lot of people 
to look out at . . . 
. . . just a little intimidating . . . 
. . . i was very proud of them . . . 

. . . then we made our way to see elliott
 in his primary program debut . . . 
. . . we were all a little nervous . . . 
. . . the dress rehearsal last sunday
 featured elliott ad libbing his part . . . 
. . . which was probably hilarious . . . 
. . . but not for the real thing . . . 
. . . not to worry ~ he rocked it . . . 
. . . he said his line clearly 
and just right . . . 
. . . but his singing was adorable . . . 
. . . he knew every word . . . 
. . . and all the actions and signs . . . 
. . . he isn't even four yet . . . 


{so glad my girls take and post instagram photos for me to steal 
on a regular basis ~ 
i just wish there was one of amber's kids, too}

. . . both wards had amazing 
primary music leaders . . . 
. . . having held this calling 
numerous times myself, 
i know how important 
their job is . . . 
. . . both wards' children 
knew the songs so well . . .
. . . i could tell the children love music
 and love to sing . . .
. . . both music leaders 
had obviously spent many hours
 preparing themselves 
to teach these songs of worship 
to the children . . .
. . . primary songs, i feel, are the 
beginnings of testimonies . . .
. . . they teach and testify 
of gospel truths . . . 
. . . this year's theme 
was "choose the right" . . . 
. . . all about the remarkable gift 
of agency . . . 

. . . so thankful for the spirit i felt 
and the love i have 
for my little grandkids . . . 
. . . it was a very nice sunday . . .



29 September 2012

. . . firstborns . . .

. . . oh ~ good morning pretties . . . 


. . . i know it isn't quite october yet . . . 
. . . but there you were 
at home depot last night . . . 
. . . looking all beautiful . . .
. . . and how could i resist? . . . 


. . . please don't consider yourselves
 guinea pigs . . .
{you totally are}


. . . please don't think 
your purchase and planting 
were a desperate wish 
for the end 
of triple digit temperatures . . . 
{it totally was}


. . . one of these days . . . 
{cough when it cools off cough}
. . . i'll get you 
some tiny alyssum friends . . .
. . . but for now ~ just rest easy . . . 
. . . send down roots . . . 
. . . don't fry and wilt . . . 
. . . bloom like crazy . . . 
. . . and know that
out of all the geraniums 
i'll plant in 2012, 
i loved you first . . .


. . . and speaking of 
who i loved first . . . 
. . . well ~ childrenwise anyway . . . 
. . . thirty-two years ago today 
this beautiful girl
{the beautiful girl on the right}
made me a mama . . . 

 {halleigh anne hansen turned 9 yesterday, 
and amber leigh romney hansen turned 32 today}

. . . happy birthday to my firstborn . . . 
. . . if you know her at all, 
you'll agree with me 
that she's downright amazing . . .


28 September 2012

. . . september quilt group . . .

. . . featured lots of 
adorable show and tell . . .
. . . for example this 
framed birthday cake 
mini quilt . . . 
. . . good job, vicki! . . . 
. . . she fell in love 
with lori holt's 
cakewalk pattern . . . 
. . . but felt overwhelmed 
at the thought 
of making an entire quilt . . . 
. . . so, she had the genius idea 
to make single cakes . . . 
. . . and i think she wound up 
making just about 
a whole quilts' worth of them . . . 
. . . they are awesome . . . 
. . . love the quilting 
and the frames . . . 


. . . and the cherries on top . . . 


. . . candice inherited 
a lot of vintage fabric 
when her mom passed away . . . 
. . . she's determined to use it up . . . 
. . . i've lost count 
of how many quilts 
she's put together . . . 
. . . here's the latest one . . . 
. . . a couple more borders 
are in the works . . . 


. . . on their own, 
some of these fabrics 
might not be favorites . . .
. . . but she's done a great job 
of putting them together in a way 
that makes them sparkle . . .


. . . gina is the queen 
of speed quilters . . . 
. . . heavens! . . . 
. . . we all love 
to see her work space . . . 
. . . it looks like 
a tornado's gone through . . . 
. . . and just as quickly, 
she cleans it all up 
and she's gone . . . 

{and look at karen in the background, just minding her own business.
putting the final border on her bliss spice cake quilt.}

. . . gina puts kits together . . . 
. . . she makes patterns . . . 
. . . she's a vender at shows . . . 
. . . and i tell you what . . . 
. . . she is always thinking . . . 
. . . i think she misses owning 
in california . . . 
. . . but we're so glad to have her 
in arizona now . . . 


. . . and finally, 
here's peg's finished 
great granny square quilt . . . 
. . . well ~ almost finished . . . 
. . . she still needs to bind it . . . 
. . . it's for her newest grandson . . . 
. . . it has the softest minkee 
on the back . . . 

. . . and special thanks to nedra 
for being official 
quilt group photographer 
that day . . .
. . . she forgot her own camera, 
so i handed her mine . . . 
. . . it was a great arrangement! . . . 


27 September 2012

. . . wheezy . . .

. . . yesterday started out great . . . 
. . . quilt group
with some 
of my favorite ladies . . .
{blog post to come} 
. . . but took a turn for the worse 
later in the afternoon . . . 
. . . when i found out 
poor little tagg . . . 
. . . was on his way
from the urgent care clinic 
to the hospital emergency room . . . 
 . . . in an ambulance . . .


. . . diagnosis: pneumonia . . . 


. . . thank heaven 
his sibling support group 
was right there with him . . . 


26 September 2012

. . . if i was married to my blog . . .

. . . stuphfromsteph would be 
giving me either 
a traditional wooden gift . . . 
. . . or a modern gift 
of silverware today . . . 
. . . because it would be 
our fifth anniversary . . . 
. . . or blogiversary 
as i've seen it referred to 
on the internets . . . 
. . . five years ago today, 
i wrote this 
thought-provoking post . . .


. . . and while i wouldn't say 
things have literarily improved
 drastically since then . . . 
. . . i will say that 
a lot has changed 
around these parts . . . 
. . . since 26 september 2007 . . .
. . . i've written 835 posts . . . 
. . . you've left 4287 comments . . . 
. . . i've been blessed 
. . . i survived 
in mexico . . . 
. . . i've gained 
i could ever imagine . . .
. . . i've said goodbye to my dad . . .
. . . my husband has undergone
 {seriously} 
hundreds of medical procedures . . . 
. . . including three 
implant surgeries . . .
. . . a bout with MRSA
that was fun . . . 
. . . and a heart attack 
resulting in the four stents 
he now sports . . . 
. . . on a much lighter note ~ 
i've made a few quilts . . . 
. . . and hundreds of oops! . . . 
. . . i've planted 
and replanted 
truckloads of geraniums . . . 
. . . i've cried and complained . . .
. . . i've laughed and learned . . . 
. . . at this point ~ what the heck? . . . 
. . . might as well keep blogging . . .
{go ahead and click on a few of those links. 
sometimes i write good stuff!}



25 September 2012

. . . blogger's block . . .

. . . some days, 
i can't really think of much
to write/post about . . .
. . . so i blatantly borrow 
an adorable photo . . . 


. . . it's probably 
a lot cuter to me 
than it is to hayden's 
sleep deprived parents . . . 

. . . and then, 
for no other reason 
than the fact that it's 
about the most darling thing 
i've ever seen, 
i'd also like to share this . . . 



. . . are you getting the impression 
that elliott was a little excited 
about his turn to share 
with his preschool class? . . . 

. . . i feel super blessed to have 
such adorable grandkids . . . 
{my children and their spouses aren't exactly chopped liver either}


24 September 2012

. . . sneak peek . . .

. . . for jess . . . 


. . . it's coming along . . .


23 September 2012

. . . i admit . . .

. . . first of all: 
i made too much food today . . . 


. . . and second of all: 
meat loaf wrapped in bacon 
is better . . . 


. . . third: i only make meatloaf 
once a year ~ 
on my oldest son-in-law, 
chris', birthday . . .

. . . lastly: i have a thirty-four-year-old
 son-in-law . . .


22 September 2012

. . . itty bitty sewing . . .

. . . pinning . . .
. . . marking . . .
. . . cutting out . . .
. . . a teeny tiny bodice . . .
. . . with a ruffly skirt . . . 
. . . and miniature sleeves . . . 
. . . which i always make poofier 
than the pattern . . . 
. . . see how i did that? . . . 


. . . loosely based 
on a pattern printed in 1979 
for which i paid 
a dollar and a half . . . 
. . . my first child wasn't even born 
until 1980 . . . 


. . . the sleeves are miniscule . . . 


. . . and kind of a pain . . . 
. . . that's why 
i always make them first . . .

{it's been a long time since i've sewn any clothes. one word: rusty}


21 September 2012

. . . replacement . . .

. . . with the recent, 
unfortunate passing 
of my serger . . . 
. . . i was kind of in a pickle . . . 
. . . it's time to make 
a teensy white dress . . . 
. . . and it sure is fancier 
when you can 
finish the seams nicely . . .
. . . husband to the rescue! . . .
. . . happy birthday to me . . . 


. . . a nice upgrade . . . 
. . . my old serger 
was a three spool model . . . 
. . . this one has four spools . . . 
. . . which means 
you can sew the seam 
and finish it 
at the same time . . . 
. . . sweet . . . 

. . . i even cleaned off the counter 
and made space 
for bernie jr today . . .
. . . while i watched 
the next to the last episode 
of master chef . . . 


. . . yes, i know i'm a little behind . . .
. . . please don't tell me who wins . . . 
. . . i'm rooting for christine . . .
. . . she's amazing ~ and blind . . . 
. . . i'm always nervous 
for her fingers . . .