Sunny and Thunder

Janel made quilts for Sunny and Skye for Christmas. Skye's was a ladybug. Sunny's was a butterfly. They are both beautiful! Yesterday Sunny brought her butterfly over and was cuddled up under it on the couch.

Thunder is sitting so good! He also flips over onto his stomach, gets up on his hands and knees and rocks a little. Won't be long before he's crawling. He loves to watch Sunny play. His face just lights up any time she comes into the room. And if she actually sits down to play with him, he just smiles and giggles and tries to talk to her. She's getting much better at playing with him.

When Dan and I were at IKEA, we spotted this cute doll bed. Sunny has an aversion to baby dolls for some reason. I put the bed in the playroom with the baby dolls in it. She promptly tossed the babies out of it and loaded it up with all of her "friends". I told her they looked "snug as bugs in rugs". She said "huh?".

Skye & Grammy - Official Eleven Month Photo

On Saturday, we ran down to Mesa to see Zach, Ashley, and Skye. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it time and time again. She is the sweetest little girl! I just love her expressions. She has the sweetest little smile. She is walking every where and wants to run. She says "uh oh" and waves and babbles words that only she can understand. Here's the latest photos...

Week 8 - Stitching Update

Wow. Eight weeks gone by in 2012. Where did they go? This week's stitching update features purchases and progress. I am once again only showing progress on one project. The other one is a gift and must remain secret.

Yesterday, we drove down to Tempe to visit IKEA, loaded up the car with a bunch of goodies and then headed to Attic Needlework in Mesa. Our youngest son and his family live in Mesa, so I get to visit the Attic more frequently than I used to. My stated reason for going there was that Jessica needed me to look for some products for her. Of course my REAL reason for going there was to add to my stash. And I got some winners! As I was leaving the store, I heard "see you next time!" I whirled around and replied that I'll be back in about three weeks when my DIL Janel comes to town. Yippee!

Thursday Thoughts

So, I found out what the problem was with posting the other day. Blogger no longer supports my browser. Really?! So now in order to edit my blogs I have to use Google Chrome. It's a pain, but there's not much I can to about it. We need to get a new computer, so hopefully Blogger will support the browser on the new computer so I don't have to use two browsers.

The weather here is gorgeous. This is why we live here. We are flirting with the 80 degree mark every day. We are to have a cold front come through later this weekend and the temps will plummet to the low 70s. The heater is off and the windows and doors are flung wide open during the day.

The appraisal business is flourishing. Dan is giving his notice at Sam's Club this weekend. It is scary, but we know it's time. We can't be turning down appraisal orders due to the few hours he puts in at Sam's Club. On the other hand, he will have to go on COBRA insurance (I'm already on it) and we'll have to find our own insurance soon. It costs so much for me that it's just ridiculous. I'm trying to not worry, but instead to pray about it whenever the worry seeps in...

I haven't posted about this yet, but... we're having a wedding in our family in March. Katie and Gabe are getting married on March 24th. We are all excited. It has been fun for me to help her with some of the details of  her wedding. They are having a casual backyard wedding at a friends' house. She invited about 80 people, but I'm not sure how many are attending. Gabe's family is making all of the food. One of  Katie's work friends is making the cake. Actually, she's having cupcakes. JD and Janel will be here, so we're very excited that the whole family will be together!

We bought an elliptical machine. Yeah. Dan and I are in deep depression over just how out-of-shape we are. It is truly pitiful. But, we are bound and determined to get into better shape. Wish us luck.

Gotta run... Enjoy your day.

TUSAL (totally useless stitch-a-long)

OK, so thank goodness I can post from Windows Live Writer. At least to my blog. I don’t know what to do about my pages. I can’t update them because they’re all in HTML view and I’m afraid I’ll totally mess them up. If this doesn’t clear up in a day or two, I guess I’ll delete all my pages and start over. Grrrr. I am really frustrated!!

 

Here’s my TUSAL update for February. If you want to join, check out Daffycat’s post here. It’s fun!

Why Can’t I Write a Post?

For some reason I can’t update my pages, write a post, or insert photos through Blogger. Is anyone else having these issues? Does anyone know how to fix it? I’m writing this post in Windows Live Writer to see if I can post from here…

Week 7 - Stitching Update

I can show you my progress on one project, but it is not the only thing I stitched on this week. I'm working on a gift for my DIL Janel. Sunny was over one day this week and was talking to Tia Janel on the phone. I heard her say, "Grammy is stitching you a...". I grabbed the phone away from her! Guess I'll have to stop telling her who I'm stitching for or she will ruin the surprise.

Jess and I ran over to Needler's Nest yesterday to shop for fabric. They are out of the count I need. The trip was not a total bust however as I bought some new patterns!

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning Dan and I exchanged Valentine's cards. He saw his before I got mine open and he started to laugh. That was definitely NOT the reaction I was expecting, so I asked him what was funny. He said look at your card and you'll see. I did and started to laugh too. We had Sunny with us when we went card shopping. I guess her presence must have influenced both of us because I bought him and Mickey Mouse card and he bought me a Mickey and Minnie Mouse card! We both admitted that Sunny figured into our choice of card for each other. Grandchildren... they permeate every aspect of our life! haha

He also got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. They came in a box from the Fed-Ex truck. He has never done that before and it was kind of fun!

Yesterday when Sunny and Thunder showed up, I went out to help Katie get them into the house. I could hear Sunny screaming "Happy Valentine's Day, Grammy! Happy Valentine's Day, Gramps!" I opened the door to get her out of her car seat and she thrust three Valentine Hearts into my hand. One was for me, one was for Gramps, and one was for Duke, Rascal, and Summer! They were from her and Thunder and she had colored on all three of them. She spent the morning waving the one for the animals in their faces and telling them Happy Valentine's Day. It was so cute.

I haven't received Valentine's so special since my own kids were little and presented me with their handmade creations!

Dan and I are going to dinner later on and then we're going to buy an elliptical machine. Nothing says love like buying exercise equipment together!

Week 6 - Stitching Update

I didn't accomplish any finishing this week. I only stitched on one project. I scored some great stash at the VNSA Used Book Sale though!

Progress on Easter Egg Patchwork

Patterns and books I purchased this week...

A Great Day at the VNSA!

The Book Sale was awesome as always. There were a lot more people this year than there have been in the past two years. We waited in line 2 1/2 hours before getting through the door. Guess we'll change our strategy and to back to getting there early next year!

Once inside we spent two hours shopping. We both filled our suitcases and found some great bargains. I scored a first edition "A Time to Kill" by John Grisham for $4.00!! I also found some cool cross-stitch patterns which I will share in tomorrow's stitching update.

Jessica and I might go back tomorrow for half-price day...

Part of the line when we arrived

Patiently waiting our turn

It's impossible for me to get a photo that shows how large this place is

Two hours later with our full suitcases - final total $71

What the line looked like as we were leaving

Through the Eyes of a Child

One of the best rewards of watching Sunny is the glimpse I get of the world through her eyes. She's been sick all week and when she was over on Wednesday she pretty much laid around. Today she is feeling much better. She brought a book of stickers with her and has been decorating my house with them.

As she was putting them on the glass door, I heard her exclaim "how beautiful!". A few minutes later she turned to me and said "that's amazing!" I laughed and told her they were amazingly beautiful. She worked for about 15 minutes on my door and then she was off to play in the playroom.

We left the sticker display up to show Mommy when she comes to pick her up tonight. I need to remember that there are many amazingly beautiful things in this world. I need to slow down and take the time to see them, not just let my gaze fly past them as I hurry through my life.

I tell you one thing. I sure love and appreciate the amazingly beautiful little girl God brought into my life!

VNSA Book Sale This Weekend

I have my bags ready. I have my list. I looked at the map online and I have my plan of attack laid out. Yes, it's that time of year again. Time for the VNSA Book Sale! I look forward to this event literally 365 days a year. When we leave the sale on Saturday, I will already be anticipating the next year's event.

The purpose of the VNSA Used Book Sale is to raise funds for nonprofit human service agencies. This year the funds go to Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation and Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County. Since the first book sale in 1957, VNSA has returned more than $6,000,000 to local nonprofit humans service agencies locally.

The sale is held each year on the second weekend in February at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in the Exhibit Building. There are more than 600,000 books available at this sale. That is not a typo. 600,000 books. It is a book lover's dream. You can check out a partial list of rare and unusual books being offered this year here.

If you live in the Phoenix area and are interested in attending, the hours are 8am-6pm on Saturday, 8am-4pm on Sunday. Most books are half price on Sunday. I have literally walked into this sale some years and seen copies of books that are newly published for $5. Prices begin at 60 cents and go up from there. Most newly published books cost $5-$9. The older books range from $1-$3.

For more info, watch the video. I hope to see you there!

Week 5 - Stitching Update

I should have posted this yesterday, but time got away from me. I completed stitching a stocking this weekend! One down, five to go (in 2012). I still have to get out the fabric and finish the piece, but I'm thrilled to have the stitching done. This stocking is for my grandson, Thunder, to have at my house. I made the stocking for him to have at his house last year in time for his first Christmas.

And no, I'm not going to work on another stocking for a couple of weeks...

Christmas Procession by Linda Bird