Bittersweet!

Today has been a good day for the most part.  I worked a little, did a few loads of laundry (one I still need to put in the dryer), and played games on Facebook. Just a typical day for me. But tonight when Taylor came home I started missing my dad.

Yesterday Taylor got her driver's license. It's about time, she will be 17 at the end of July.  Now the day I turned 16 my daddy took me to get my license.  I was so excited I could drive myself to school and home after band practice and I could finally drive myself to work.  I also keep going back to dad saying he couldn't wait until the girls (Jessie and Taylor) grew up so he could buy them their first cars.  I can just see dad looking down on us and being so proud of Taylor.    She has grown up until a beautiful young woman and I'm amazed everyday at her.  

Sunday was kind of hard too.  Jaycob preached the Sunday morning sermon for the first time.  He did an awesome job!  My heart swells with pride  when I see what a great young man he's turned out to be as well.  I'm sure dad would have been just as proud as the rest of us were.  Dad never could get up and say a prayer without crying.  Mom would stress until the prayer was over because we didn't know if he'd make it through it or not.  LOL

Friday we have a visit from Nathan and a friend from school.  I can't believe Nathan is almost finished with his first year of college!  He has also turned into a great young man.  When Nathan was young he knew no strangers and I knew one day he'd be president...while I don't know that he'll make it to president I see him doing great things with his life.  All those years of stressing over his grades and trying to get him to do his homework I think just might pay off!  

Dad will have been gone from this earth 13 years in November.  It still seems like yesterday and I miss him just as much today.  He might not be here physically but I know he's watching over us. 

I miss you daddy!

Love, Faith, Courage and Hope

Today I started and finished a bag that I've been wanting to make for a few weeks now.  A friend of mine is battling cervical and breast cancer.  She's going through chemo AGAIN and it sucks!  She is a strong person though and has so much courage.  Not long ago I sent her and her daughter a package for her birthday.  Inside I had made her daughter a bag and I made a fuzzy cover for her.  I wanted her to have something to keep her warm or something to curl up with.  She mentioned to me that she had taken Laura's bag and wanted me to make her one so I did.  I love the way it turned out!

You can't see the handles of course but they are there.  
Another friend of mine embroidered the butterfly and the "Faith" for me.  I loved how they turned out on the bag.  
I chose teal for the color because that's the ribbon color for cervical cancer.  We went with pink for the butterfly because of the ribbon color for breast cancer.  Inside the butterfly it says "Faith, Hope, Love and Courage".  All these things I know Abby has.  She's a fighter and inspiration for a lot of people.  I'm glad I get to call her friend and only wish I could do more for her.

Quilts for Kids

So tonight I fell asleep early (10:00) and the dogs woke me up around 1 AM and now I'm up.  That and David's alarm keeps going off.  I've decided since I'm awake I might as well do something productive.  So let's blog!

First I want to say I love Facebook and YouTube. Believe it or not both of these places are great sources of information.  There are tons of instructional videos on YouTube and I've found a few quilting groups on Facebook that are so inspirational and full of many people that are knowledgeable and great for helping out.  It was one of these groups I found an awesome place to volunteer our time and efforts. 

Quilts for Kids

What's even better is they have a local chapter.  These lovely people take the quilts that are made and distribute them to kids at Northeast Georgia Medical Center and to a few shelters there in town.  I love that we can help make a brighter day for the kids.  Taylor asked me tonight if she would get a picture of the child that gets her quilt.  I told her I didn't think it worked that way.  She was a little disappointed but understood.  

Last week while I was sick she took advantage of the sewing machine being available and started on her top.  She did a great job for her first quilt top. Then Saturday while she was at prom I took advantage of her not being around and started on my top.  By the time she got home from prom I had my top finished and was ready to start quilting.  She was mad at me but got over it...lol. 

Here is my top...

It's ready for me to start quilting here and the background is showing through but you get the idea.  I'll have to show the finished picture later.

Here's Taylor's top...

Tonight we put the batting and the back on and started the quilting process.  We're both slow at it so it takes a little while but we'll get there.  I told David the other day now I need another sewing machine so I don't have to fight with Taylor if we both want to sew at the same time, except this time I want an embroidery machine...lol.  Taylor liked that idea and told him that Mother's Day was coming up.  He told her I wasn't his mother.  So I guess I won't be getting that for Mother's day. :)