Stocking swap

Each year I join in a stocking exchange. This is my sixth year. This year I have to admit was like any other year.................... I PEEKED! Before the grand opening. !~!Shoot!

There went my good intentions! So I guess Santa will be leaving me a lump of coal in my stocking?? BUT!! On the up side of things: I do have my wonderful stocking! Let me tell you about it!

The stocking is so adorable! I do not have anything like it! Wonderful colors of red, white and green.

Tucked inside was a bounty of quilting treasures! As you can see from the picture...she really out did herself! needles, book mark, fat quarters, and see tucked away in the right corner?? A breast cancer awareness pincushion WITH PINK pins! Now how cute is that??

Lotion, a tin with a tape measure!, not one but TWO Christmas ornaments! A quilting pattern and a beautifully made satchel to keep it all in! a take & go type of bag! I love it!

Then do you see the bag of skittles?? She had a label made that read "take as needed for stress" ROFL!!

Then what do my wondering eyes should see?? O my! A Mckenna Ryan pattern!!

YES!~! It is the first one I now have! Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!~

What a great gift you have sent me! The box was cute too!

Now as usual after looking at all my bounty I look for the card......LOL

This year I got my quiltchat stocking from:

Misty!~!

MISTY, Thank-you very much. I love each and everything you sent me!

I am so thankful. You sent me things that I needed and wanted.

I think it has been two years now that I have been looking looking at Mckenna Ryan patterns, but couldn't really buy one. I hope your stocking was all that you want it to be. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Coolest Desserts

My son's girl friend Devin makes the coolest desserts!~! Look what she made this year! They are CUP CAKES!!

Have you ever...........

Have you ever stood in front of a mirror and try to take your own photo?? Well, anyway 16 inches are now gone from my locks. I am donating the braid to childrens network. They make wigs only for children and they do not charge them a lot.
When I first got it done I felt like a bobble head.

In three or four years I will do it again.

Scrap booking.

I have been scrap booking. Scroll down and read my next two posts...I posted three today!~!

YAHHH!!!! JOE!~!

Joe graduated from the Police Academy yesterday. We are so proud! Last year it was the NAVY, this year The Police Academy...WOW!~! I wonder what Next year will bring?? He mentioned something about wanting to learn how to fly a plane........

MY Trip & Updates:

WARNING!~! This might get lengthy:

Today I went on the 2009 Holiday Shop hop.

I paid for the bus tour and we went all over Michigan. Johnny was our driver. I think he got a smidgey irritated when the tour went into over time. But G (insert BIG eye roll here) try getting 42 women out of a quilt store that has over 7,000 bolts of fabric! It is like taking your kid to a play place and telling them it is time to go home. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the response will be.

I bought the kit from each store to make the Holiday Quilt.I also bought extra fabrics, a few patterns, buttons and took gadzillions of photos!

In each shop they were running a special. If you brought in a can good, you would get a free ornament to make! You bet your boots I brought mine!

One lady was really funny. She had heinz gravy, icing, french onions.....she made the statement: 'If my husband asks what happened to Thanks Giving day dinner; mums the word!"

I had a really good time.

They fed us really well too! She kept coming up and down the isles yelling: "get your feed"...snicker..like we were cattle or something

Home coming 2009

Jesse Had a great time!

A picture says 1,000 words

My 4 sons.

Photo's taken Friday:

Passing of my father~in~law

Here is the link to the funeral home.
Click on obituaries, then click on Cecil Smitherman
Thank-you for all of your support! Please feel free to leave a message on the obituary page.

http://www.uhtfuneralhome.com/

HUGS!
Paulette Smitherman
mamacrafty

Running up to speed

Time to play catch up:

* My father in law is at home from his respite. Please continue to pray for the family.

* My grandmother....bless her heart! She is a cat with 9 lives and going on the 20th. She died last year and was a no code blue and they brought her back to life, oooops..............since then she wants to live.

* Jesse is in baseball. That alone takes up a lot of time.

* Joe is getting ready to graduate. (again rofl) Then enrolled in the academy to graduate again in Dec...ROFL

* I have begun a personal journey to get fit and healthy. I had put on the pounds and wasn't very happy with myself. I joined a free weight loss web site that does it all, and I mean DOES IT ALL FOR YOU! You meet so many friends and learn so much!

* Dan bought himself a new bike and his been riding daily.

* We are working on our yard. Making a new dog kennel and I think we are going to take out the pool.

* Now about quilting: I am keeping up with my BOMS, got a UFO on the frame and plan to have it done by Saturday. I will post pictures later.

So for now I will leave you with pictures of Foster. He is a crazy dog! He ALWAYS is carrying something in his mouth and if he sees something else laying around he will try to cram it in also.

2 of my boys went to West Virginia for a visit with their Aunt. Little did they know that they would be caught in a flood & mud slide. It was a state of emergency. They ended up staying down there to help out. Some people's home were totally washed away! My nieces home almost was but they all worked really hard & built a barrier to stop the land from washing out.

You are looking at a photo of a beautiful swimming pool by the bath house. Then the same photo one day later. It is filled with mud!

They all are safe, which is the most important. The live stock was moved to higher ground. The bee hives were placed on the porch.

The most embarrassing thing happened this week. I went out to breakfast with a bunch of ladies. We were having a meeting. First let me say that I was running late. My sister in law just brought me a bag of clothing for me to try on. I grabbed a really cute summery shirt and away I went. I really enjoyed myself, conversing with everyone even the waitresses, hostess and others on my way in and out. When I got home my husband said: "Did anyone buy you?" I was confused! He told me to go look in the mirror. When I did I saw a BIG $1 tag on my collar!~! Talk about having a first HOT FLASH! and the worst part was: NO one offered to buy me!

CONTEST WINNER

SINCE I HAD AN OVER WHELMING NUMBER OF ENTRIES I DEBATED USING A NUMBER GENERATOR OR JUST WRITING THE NAMES DOWN AND HAVING HUBBY PULL ONE.
I opted for hubby to pull one...rofl!!!
Here is a picture of the winner:Michele you got one week to contact me or I get to keep the 10 fat quarters. {snicker!}Now up date on my grand ma. She is still in ICU and has become REALLY confused. My mother went to the hospital today and she walked in the room and my grandmother had her IV tubing in her mouth, she had pulled it out and chewed the puppy in half! I really had to laugh. If I had a penny for every time one of MY patients did that, I would be rich! And here my own grand ma did it! She then told my mom that the doctor came in but he had to hurry back to the circus. She must really be having a good time! Bless her heart!My father in law is slowing declining according to the hospice RN. Please remember him in prayer. My sister in law is up from West Virginia to help out. I think I am going to clean my quilt room tonight. I lost my bunnyhill BOM. I had to embroider it still. The new one comes out next week! I am falling behind on my LQS BOM. I have 3 blocks to make by the 15th. Foolish goose tracks has flown south for the time being. Red delicious got a worm and I can't even see my quilting frame, it has become a glorified coat rack, except it has quilting stuff all over it. ROFL!~! Mybe I should just forget everything and go shopping???

Prayer

If you read my post please pray for our family. The hospital called and they asked my mother if she wanted my grandmother to be a DNR. I wish I could go but we have a cruddy car and I don't think it would make it. THANKS!

Creative kid

Who ever said guys don't sew?? Here is the proof:

Jesse made all new uniforms for his cousins "baseball team"

Monday Mutterings & New contest

What a busy week! My mother in law as you know was hospitalized and she is now home, but her leg looks really bad This week and she needs to go back.
My Father in law is home on hospice. Bless his heart! He is a sweet & gentle soul.
My grand mother had surgery early Sunday morning. She ended up having a twisted colon. I wonder how it gets twisted??
Dan preached this Sunday. I am glad it is a new week!

OK Here is a new contest: The last two winners have not responded so They forfeit the prizes.


To win this contest just send me a comment and answer this question:


There was a woman who sewed in the bible. She did mighty deeds and charitable sewing. When she died many came to weep. WHO WAS SHE??
The prize is 10 fat quarters! You have to respond with in ONE week!

Animals

I love animals. We have so many different kinds. Here are 2 different types of squirrels. We also have the grey ones and the tiny little red ones. They are only 5 inches long. They are very hard to get a photo of.

I got an UFO done. I had the sashings & backings cut out for a very long time. I used stuffing that I got at a yard sale. The pillow ended up bigger than what I thought it was going to but O well!Tomorrow I plan to post and start another give away. I will also post about my father in law (who came home on hospice) and my grandmother who is in the ICU at a hospital in tim buck two. I hate not being close, but I did call her yesterday out of the blue. That in itself was unusal and I got to talk with her for quite awhile. Last night she became ill and my mother took her in.

Stash report/Monday Musings

26 RULERS to date
Fabric and UFO's
essentials: 5 yards
Fabric used in 2009= 37yds
Fabric taken in 2009 = 53.5 yds
UFO COMPLETED: Simply scrappy treasures. 1/9/2009
Debra's quilt 1/19/2009
pink b-day quilt 3/1/2009
ugly Christmas tote 3/1/2009

They opened a HOBBY LOBBY!! Of course I had to buy & add to my stash!

I am still waiting to hear from ELLIE. ELLIE YOU are the winner of week #2 give away!

Easter Sunday

Today Dan preached.

It was such a lovely day.

Dinner went well.

Then we all went to the park.

Walking the dogs was a fiasco.Red is just too adventurous.

Joe ended up driving Red home,

because he wouldn't behave. Do you see the mischief written all over that dogs face?Then Daniel came over and they played wiffel ball.

I had such a lovely day with my family. I even got an Easter present from my husband. I guess I told him one day too late I was starting a diet on Monday!

LOL I got a box of chocolates!

Even Dakota was Tuckered out!