Stories & Pictures

February 2014

 

 

Wow, how did that month go by so quickly?

We had another snow/ ice event and missed a week of school.

 

Then the kids started track season, and the weather was thankfully cooperative.

Love to see them run, and Kelly is also doing the high jump this year even though her coach calls her a midget.  She is the only female high jumper, so he is proud of her in spite of her shortness.

Two track meets a week keep up busy, plus practice every day after school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to Blairsville to teach a program on scrap quilts and was lucky enough to have a sunny day for the drive into the mountains. 

 

This kids (and friend Sara) went to the Imagine Dragons concert. Bill waited outside and can testify that it was loud even from his location. They had a blast and that's all that matters!

If you need us, we will be running, watching a track meet, or driving to or from one. 

We are just so thankful for happy, healthy kids. 

 

January 2014

Where did this month go? Seriously, it's hard to believe it is almost February. Ack.

Here's the highlights of what happened around our house...

The kids went back to school after a nice long holiday break.

We baked amazing Doubletree Copycat cookies.

I released another new quilt pattern.

The kids all got sick with high fevers and a cough.

The kids all got better fairly quickly.

Bill and Danny ran a 5k. (David and Kelly still had fevers.)

I went on a fun quilt retreat with my friends.

Bill spent the night in a Kroger after being stuck in "snowmagedden" for 8 hours.

The kids got a week off school to  play in the snow.

I quilted...almost every day.

We made a few new smoothie recipes. Yum.

The boys ran almost every day. So did Bill.

Bill went to work, flying to a bunch of places, but no place particularly interesting.

We ate lots of chili, loaded potatoes and scrambled eggs.

The weather has not helped, but Kelly has gotten to ride a few times.

The kids went to their first track and field practice, there will be many more in the next few months.

We got some serious snuggle time in with the doggies.

I did a few thousand loads of laundry but I'm still not caught up.

We had plenty of sleepovers and fun with friends.

We may have gone to Leon's for ice cream a time or two.

The boys got their sports physicals updated and impressed the doctor with their growth spurts and weight loss. 

Our grocery bill exceeded our mortgage.

0 out of 3 teenagers in this house want to drive, so I'm still carpool queen.

We laughed a lot, loved a lot and remembered how truly blessed we are to be together.

It was a pretty good start to a new year.

 

Hello December!

Hello cold weather and coats, scarves and mittens.

Hello blazing fires and hot coffee!

Hello 'a mile a day' challenge throughout the month.

Hello boys birthdays, how can they be 15 already?

Hello JingleJog5k and all the fun that goes with it!

Hello final exams and horse riding and running.

Hello shopping and wrapping and giving.

Hello decorating and lighting and feeling the magic.

Hello cards and greetings and mail from friends far away.

Hello cooking and baking and sipping and tasting.

Hello family from Arizona and North Carolina, welcome for the holidays.

Hello recording it all in our 'December Daily' memory keeping.

Hello joy and laughter, time together and making good memories.

Hello December, so glad you are finally here!

 

This week...

This week I finished another quilt, and Luna seems to approve. She rolled around on it for quite a while. 

The kids had lots of tests before they begin thier one week break from school. It's going to be a busy break with two work shifts at the barn, one riding lesson, field day for all three at school on Monday, eye doctor appointments for two on Tuesday, Thanksgiving celebration on Wednesday because Bill goes "on call" Thursday. Then we are all running/walking the Turkey Trot on Thursday. At some point we want to watch the new Hunger Games movie, and since these kids won't stop growing, we need to do some shopping as well. 

I am feeling truly  thankful for all of it, even if it will crazy busy. 

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you,

Diane

Spring Break 2013

Started out very quietly here at home. The kids had friends sleep over, we did lots of staying up late and sleeping in late. Took relaxing to a whole new level. Went to the barn. Did some of the usual. Then Kelly got invited to go to San Diego with friends. They flew out on Wednesday and will be tonight. I miss that girl, but according to the photos and texts she is having a blast. Luna has kept me company. The boys were invited to a sleepover party and Bill and I had a rare weekend alone. The boys are now at Six Flags for the day with their dad. Me, I'm home all alone (plus pets) enjoying a lovely quiet day of quilting and sunshine. I plan to sit on the patio and do some hand stitching later. I might need to take a nap too. Hope your spring break has been as perfect as ours!

Hello March,

Hello warmer weather, longer days, and more sunshine!

Hello daffodils and green grass.

Hello track season and afternoons at the barn.

Hello no more "post surgery restrictions"  for Kelly!!

Hello cleaning up the garden for spring planting.

Hello quilt show and shop hop.

Hello good books on the porch.

And even better...

Goodbye nasty cold rainy gray days!

Goodbye being couped up inside for months!

Goodbye extra layers of clothes, and (hello less laundry!)

Dear March, I am SO VERY GLAD you are finally here.

Gratefully and hopefully,

Diane

Valentine's Day Review

We had a lovely week around here. The kids only had a four day week at school, and on Thursday the boys had Georgia Day and dressed up like Jimmy Carter and a Coke delivery man. Bill had a two day trip with a stay at a Doubletree, so I got a tin of cookies along with roses on Valentine's Day. Yum. Kelly continued to feel better and is really ready to be back at full speed. It won't be long now! Then there were the typical sleepovers, birthday parties, and usual adventures to be had. It was a good week, but too cold and rainy for my taste. I'm still anxiously awaiting spring.

Blog your heart February Edition

A lovely lady over here puts out a challenge every so often to blog what is truly on your heart and mind. I haven't done this in quite a while and feel it's time to...so here goes:

* Feeling so super thankful that my Kelly girl is healing so rapidly from her surgery and hoping she will be running like the wind soon!

* Feeling sad that my mom-in-law fell and broke a vertebrae and is in lots of pain. I hope she is able to heal quickly and get comfortable soon.

* Feeling so blessed that my husband is able to take good care of his mom.

*Feeling thankful that I saw the first blooms of spring this morning!

*Feeling frustrated with the switch to windows 8 and all the technical issues this blog is having with it, thus the infrequent blogging and lack of photos!

*Feeling worried about the huge blizzard heading to the northeast and hoping all are safe in it's path.

*Feeling like no matter how early I get up or how late I stay up, there are never enough hours in the day to be the mom, the wife, the designer, the house keeper, and the business woman that I would so love to be.

*Feeling overwhelmingly blessed to be surrounded by opportunities and people who encourage me.

* Feeling like I have the best friends in the world.

*Feeling like I can and should do more, but even if I did, I would find something new to feel guilty about (really need to stop that!)

*Feeling so proud of my kids, and the way they love and treat each other (mostly) and how lucky I am to watch them grow up into amazing people. 

*Feeling like I want to quilt something, but I have an eye doctor appointment instead, sigh.

Thanks for letting me share what's on my heart today.

Diane

January was...

Cold, rainy and wet.

Filled with school, homework and carpool routines.

Weekends with sleepovers, friends, movies and football.

A fun trip to Brussels for Bill and Diane.

A visit with Mimi for the kids while mom and dad were gone.

Lots of time to quilt, including a retreat!

Diane's first magazine publication!!!

Snuggling by the fire.

Watching Luna's crazy antics for hours on end.

Good books, scary movies and pizza.

Visits to the barn, even though Kelly still can't ride.

Making smoothies and eating home made pancakes.

Listening to the kids laugh.

January was good to us, but I'm looking forward to more sunshine and warmer weather.

Why is it?

That the cat gets worms,

the kitchen sink creates a waterfall in the basement,

the toilet gets stopped up,

the computer turns into an evil alien,

the outside light burns out,

and the vacuum explodes...

ONLY AFTER BILL HAS LEFT THE COUNTRY?

Why don't these things ever happen when he is home?

Really.

Just wondering.