A last postcard from Mom...

Last week I started digging through my camp supplies, planning for what I needed to do this summer for camp in July. I found the memory verses I needed and some other notes for events I am needing to plan this year. I also found a postcard Mom sent to us while at camp which brought a smile to my face as I read it.

For years, ever since we have attended camp in July, Mom has always written us a postcard, if not more than one during the week. It wasn't really necessary, we are only gone for a week, but she always liked to write what was going on at home with her and Dad and she always enjoyed it if we would write a note to her.

With cell phones, the past several years we have talked on the phone during the week instead of using snail mail. However Mom still usually sent one postcard to us during the two weeks we were gone.

As I read this postcard, it sounds just like Mom and what she would write. She wrote this July 17th, 2006. It was one of the last things she was able to write before her health started rapidly declining in August. Little did we know at the time, that this was the last note we would get from Mom and how difficult the next few months would be.

In July she started having difficulty writing (Unknown to us at the time - the location of the tumor in her brain was affecting fine motor skills such as writing or typing.) and she even says so in this postcard. Here are a few of the things she wrote. Mom wrote in shorthand with lots of abbreviations, so you have to decipher what she is saying. :)

Hi, Am watering Sun PM & Mon AM. Sun 101 degrees, Hutch 104 degrees. Dad stepped in the house next door. He said there were still some minor things still inside. So they have to finish cleaning. I have trouble writing - sorry. Dad is separating cattle this AM. I'm watering. We'll pray that the pkg. to England will arrive. Forecast - 107 degrees here today. Big Mama gets so hot outside. I spray her with water & give her ice water to drink. So sorry it's really hot there too & humid. Everything is so dry. Dad is watering the Cedar trees here. Krissa, I will take your video/CD's back to Lib. on Wed. They're due Friday. Miss you - tell my long lost daughter - Ruth - Hello! Love, Mom

Mom was always on top of things - watering her flowers, making sure the order I sent to England arrived, taking care of the dog next door and taking Krissa's stuff back to the library before it was due. How I will miss trying to decode a postcard from Mom this summer!!

Flowers & Gravestones

Last Thursday Jena took the wreath she made for Memorial Day for Mom's gravestone out to the cemetery. Jena did a wonderful job!! She used Mom and Dad's wedding colors, pink and blue, for the flowers and ribbon to decorate the heart-shaped wreath. Their wedding picture is in the center with ribbons that I embroidered in silver thread, "Together As One Flesh" and "May 29, 1982". Mom and Dad would have been married 25 years tomorrow, May 29th.

Yesterday, Grandma and I took flowers out the cemetery here where Mom is buried and then went to the Montezuma cemetery where Grandpa and others in his family are buried.

Jena made an arrangement for Grandpa's grave also. She decorated it with some kind of plant stems (I have no idea what they are), huge sunflowers and wheat stalks. Grandpa farmed for years and it fits him perfectly. It is really, I mean really tall, so we had to dig quite a ways into the ground to plant it in the dirt so the wind wouldn't blow it away.

I spent a couple hours with Grandma after we returned from the cemetery. Grandma always loves to have us visit and stay with her!

Mom's grave

wedding wreath

Grandpa's grave

arrangement for Grandpa

A Quiet Day

Today was a quiet day at our house. Dad hauled dirt from the pasture to the neighbor's driveway. The dirt in the driveway and around the garage that is being built has been washed away with the rain we have had. Plus the dirt has been pushed around because of the people working over there. So Dad hauled several truckloads of dirt in his truck and then smoothed it out with the tractor. When he went back out after lunch, he said he was going back to playing in the dirt! :)

I have been downstairs for most of the day. I straightened up my sewing room this morning and then have been planning my fall class schedule this afternoon. I am in the process of looking for fabric for a new embroidered quilt I plan to start next September/October. So I have been on and off the computer all day (nothing unusual about that, I guess!).

I moved my papers and computer to the couch to do my sketching and planning and Skittles has been here in my lap or right next to me all afternoon. She is very insistent on sleeping in my lap; she pushes her way in no matter what. I made room for her to sit on the couch, but oh no, that wouldn't work - it's got to be my lap! Spoiled kitten and she's not even two months old yet. She really is a sweet kitten; just wants attention a little too much. :)

Jena called this morning and was so excited and thrilled with the conferences that she has attended so far. She and Katrina have been enjoying the time spent with other girls, hiking on the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains and listening to the speakers. She told me that she just may not come home! I'm truly glad she is enjoying the time.

Traveling sisters...

Dad and I will be home by ourselves for the next week. Both my sisters are out of the house in different places.

Jena left yesterday morning with Katrina (a friend from Topeka) for Estes Park, CO for the Authentic Girl Conference. After 8 1/2 hours of driving without getting lost, they made it to where they needed to be. The location up in the mountains should be beautiful! Both Jena and Katrina were excited for the week of Bible conferences to begin. They won't be home until next Friday.

Krissa left this morning for Salina. She is planning to visit a friend and stay the night there and then travel to Newton on Sunday for 2 weeks of CYIA (Christian Youth in Action). I think she called Dad three different times to make sure she was on the right road. She hasn't been to Salina before and she has been known to be driving along and end up in another location because she took the wrong turn! :) And she's planning to drive back to BJU in South Carolina next year???!!!

Me??? I'm planning to be home for the Memorial Day holiday, keeping Dad company and taking care of this little furball (Skittles) sleeping in my lap. She seems to know when it's computer time and my lap is empty!

Camp Memory Quilt

I know this is a quilt related post, but I thought some of you might be interested in the camp memory quilt I made in 2005. Jena, Krissa and I have gone to CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) camp for over 10 years and I made a quilt with machine embroidery and printed photos. I've used the quilt several times for several quilting and embroidery classes I taught. I also was very surprised when it won Grand Prize at the Kansas State Fair!

I actually made three quilts (all the same with minor differences) in a little over a month. I plan never to do that again! I enjoyed sketching the blocks, planning the photos and stitching the designs, but running my machine constantly for over 18 hours a day is not something I want to do every month! I would be stitching by 6:00 in the morning before going to work in Dodge, then coming home at 7:30 that evening and stitching until 12:00 or 1:00. Way too many hours spent in my sewing room, but I was determined to get it done! :)

I've been trying off and on over the last several months to get the images posted the way I wanted it. I took photos months ago, but when I went to edit them in Fireworks and add hotspots so I could insert an url web address, it wouldn't upload correctly to the Internet. Just for your info - creating hotspots on the quilt image allows parts of the quilt to be click-able and open to another image!

I tackled it again today and figured out that I was exporting the image incorrectly before uploading. So I was able to get all the images and details online! One more thing I can cross off my website to do list!

You can see the full quilt and each block by clicking here...

Here I Am to Worship

Jena posted this last night. The pictures are beautiful and the song is one of my favorites!

God's Way, Not Mine

God's Way

Exactly the opposite of my natural inclinations!

Proverbs 14: 12 - There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death."

How comforting to know that God's way is best, He is in control and we can rely on Him for guidance in everything we do! It's not always the easiest thing to say, "no" to my own desires and wants, but I know that He has the best laid plans for me.

Afternoon Adventure

I know this is another post about my kitten, Skittles, but I have to share what happened this afternoon.

I had to take Skittles into the vet this afternoon to get her shots. I hopped in the car, thinking I could take care of it by myself, just by holding her on my lap with one hand, leaving the other hand for driving. Afterall, she is just a little kitten, not that hard to control! Before I had gone two miles, she was out of my lap, crawling all over me and I began to regret not taking Jena with me. Not only was she crawling up my shirt onto my shoulder, she was meowing the whole time!

I kept pulling her down from my shoulder, while trying to drive, but she would just crawl right back up. So there she sat on my shoulder, screaming the whole time in my ear. And this was not a soft, happy meow; it was a loud, high pitched whine! I dreaded what she would be like once we got to the vet, but I had nothing to fear. From the moment I took her out of the car to the time I got back in the car, even through her shots and medication, she didn't make a sound. I could hardly believe it!

But once I sat back in the car with Skittles on my lap, she immediately started howling and crawled up onto my shoulder. She moved back and forth from shoulder to shoulder as I drove. When I was almost home, she had found a place to sleep on my shoulder and stopped screaming. She settled down and was content for the last two miles of our journey. She looked rather cute from where I could see her perched on my shoulder. But I was so glad to get home. And just think...in 6 weeks, I get to do it again for her second round of shots. Maybe I should do a Google search for kitten seat belts??

finally, not screaming

just adorable!

Miss Kitty Costume

Here is the Miss Kitty costume I finished a couple weeks ago. I have another one to make for the same person in June. It will be in different colors with a complete different style. I haven't figured out all the details for it yet.

Just a few notes...

Let's see...what's been happening around our house the last few days?!

Thursday I went to Dodge early in the morning to drop off some clothes I had altered plus did some grocery shopping. I came home, unloaded the car and the went to visit Grandma for the rest of the day.

We played Scrabble and Going to Jerusalem and guess what? She won both games. Winning Scrabble is no big surprise; I have yet to beat her at that game. But I had a big head start in Going to Jerusalem, but she still beat me! Oh, well, I am determined, one of these days, even if it takes forever, I'll beat her at Scrabble! :)

Jena and Krissa worked all day Friday. Dad's brother and sister from Oklahoma were here for a while on Friday. We had hamburgers for lunch, went out to see Mom's grave and visited most of the afternoon.

Saturday every single one of us were home! That doesn't happen too often anymore! Krissa worked on CYIA devotions, Jena I'm not sure what she did and I was able to get my Beyond the Color Purple quilt pinned and ready to quilt. Dad was in and out of the house all day, working on his drill so he can plant milo next week.

Lady's pink cast

Lady had been pretty content in her cage until Monday. I checked on her right before I left for class on Monday and found her water soaked in her blanket, her food scattered and the stuffing in the pillow all over her cage!

We have been letting her stay on the porch; she is too restless in the cage. We took the bandage off yesterday and so far, she isn't walking on it yet. It must still hurt her some. Hopefully she won't put too much weight on it until it is healed. She has been sleeping on her de-stuffed pillow on the porch. Although, when we take her outside on a leash, she is more than ready to go!

Lady and her pink cast

Lady on her de-stuffed pillow

Lady & Dad

Perfect little birthday gift...

Since Sissie died last week, Jena and Krissa surprised me with a little Siamese kitten last Friday evening - an early birthday gift! Skittles is perfect; I couldn't ask for a better birthday present! :)

Unknown to me, Jena was planning to pick up the kitten Friday morning. Jena told me she had a meeting at the hospital in Meade Friday morning; she frequently has meetings she attends, so it was nothing unusual. She said she would be home around noon. I was surprised when she came home early at 11:00. She told me this big story about the meeting being canceled because the person who was teaching, his dad had a heart attack and they had to fly him to Wichita, so on and so forth.

Knowing this can happen, I believed her. Why would I not?? Dad came in the house a few minutes later and asked if Jena was home (he was in on the scheme also!). I told him she was, her meeting had been canceled and why. He knew the person who supposedly had had the heart attack, so I told him, knowing that he would be interested. The funny thing was that I almost had convinced Dad that the story was true. He really thought that could be true, even to the point that he went downstairs to ask Jena! :0


When Krissa got home from work, they came downstairs with a screaming little kitten and explained the whole story! It was pretty funny and I had no clue what they were doing. I will have to be more suspicious when Jena has meetings in Meade from now on! ;)

sleeping on the bed

her favorite place - my lap!

Skittles

trying to play with the leaves

Flip Your Mattress Day

Did you know that today, May 15th is Flip Your Mattress Day? I didn't until I logged in my American Greetings account and viewed today's holidays. The card says to flip your mattress when spring cleaning. Opps...I forgot that when spring cleaning! I'll have to remember to do it the next time I change sheets on the bed! :)

Sissie

Last Monday night I came home to find that my cat, Sissie had died sometime during the day. She had been acting strangely and her breathing had become labored over the past couple of weeks. I knew she wasn't acting like herself, but I never expected her to not live much longer.

She wasn't in her usual sleeping place when I got home and Krissa hadn't seen her all day, so I started searching. I figured she was hiding under the bed, sleeping until I got home (she's very attached to me). It didn't take long and I found her all curled up in a storage area. I took one look and I knew she was gone. By this time it was after 11pm and I'm sure Dad was not thrilled to be awakened to come downstairs and take her outside, but he did.

Sissie was definitely my cat and followed me around wherever I was working in the house. She was with me almost 24 hours a day. She was very timid and scared, but was content sleeping in my room or in my sewing room. Of the three cats we have, she was the one we least expected to die first.

Mother's Day!

Click here to see the full ecard from DaySpring for the image above...

Mother's Day was always a day that Mom enjoyed! My sisters and I would start several weeks ahead of time, deciding what "something special" to do for Mom. We always had a card for her plus other little things. More than anything, she always enjoyed it when all of us were home at the same time.

Mom was a wonderful example to us in everything she did. She taught us from kindergarten through high school, enduring through the tough chemistry, incomprehensible geometry and totally foreign French language. She was always ready to listen and offer advice after a hard day at work. She was constantly praying for us throughout the day.

There is no way I would want her back here on earth compared to where she is now, free from suffering and pain, but I'd love to hear her say one more time, "I'll be praying for you today!"

A Mother's Love

There is no love, like a mother's love,no stronger bond on earth...
like the precious bond that comes from God,to a mother, when she gives birth.

A mother's love is forever strong,never changing for all time...
and when her children need her most,a mother's love will shine.

God bless these special mothers,God bless them every one...
for all the tears and heartache,and for the special work they've done.

When her days on earth are over,a mother's love lives on...
through many generations,with God's blessings on each one.

Be thankful for our mothers,for they love with a higher love...
from the power God has given,and the strength from up above.

image courtesy of www.dayspring.com

poem courtesy of www.theholidayspot.com

Lady...

Lady had surgery Wednesday morning to repair her torn ACL ligament in her back leg. She was content to jump in the car with me Wednesday morning to go to Dodge, but when we were ready to go into the vet, she wasn't too thrilled. She remembered being there last week and wasn't too happy about it.



They kept her overnight and I picked her up Thursday morning. She was a little scared around all the strange people, but perked up a little when I walked back to take her out of her cage. She is supposed to be confined to a cage for 7-10 days to let her leg completely heal. Then she can be in a a little bigger area for another 30 days. I'm not looking forward to the days of confining her to the porch; she will not be very happy.

Dad created a small area on the porch with plywood to keep her in with a door so we could get her in and out to take her outside to the bathroom. She wasn't too perky when we brought her home, so we thought she would be content to lay around for a couple days. Wrong. Yesterday afternoon I was downstairs and heard a loud bang upstairs. No one else was home and Dad was outside, so the first thing I though was Lady!



Yep, I was right! She figured out how open the wooden door and the screen door and was sitting in the sun outside on the steps. I stuck her back inside and told Dad we needed something different. At least she isn't putting weight on that leg when she walks, probably because it still hurts from the surgery. That's fine; she's not supposed to be walking on that leg.

Dad found this cage out in the shed and that is where she is now. She hasn't minded it so far, but it won't take long and she will be itching to be out. She was more than ready to get out this morning when I took her outside.



At least she's on the road to recovery with her leg, although the next few weeks may not be too much fun...:)

Krissa is home!

Krissa has moved back in! We returned home about 11:00 Sunday evening from picking Krissa up in Wichita. She's glad to be home and we are too, I think! :) She has started working in a daycare in Dodge; she's not sure if she will continue there for the entire summer or not.

Saturday...

Saturday Jena went to Copeland to babysit little ones with Grandma while our cousins and aunt were having a garage sale. She got home about 2pm and promptly took a nap after being gone night and day about all week. She was gone Wednesday, worked Thursday & Friday and then babysat in the evening and during the night for several nights. She was pretty exhausted.

I did take a nap Saturday afternoon, but needed to get caught up on the sewing and computer work that I normally do during the week. I was able to work some on the Miss Kitty costume I am making that is due on Tuesday. I had kept up with most of my email and shipped orders during the week, so that was done, but I needed to do some updating and answer a few more emails.

Krissa's room...???

Friday evening I tackled Krissa's room! I had empty boxes, packing supplies, excess inventory, clothes and sewing projects everywhere that needed to be completely gone. Where I was going to put all the stuff, I didn't have a clue.

the before!

But I found places here and there for everything. The boxes and packing supplies went to the trash, my extra sewing inventory went with my other inventory and the clothes and sewing projects are stored back in my room. You can actually get into the closet, see the bed and find her dresser in her room now!

the after!

Our clean house...

Here is our wonderful, clean house!!

Dad's room

Jena's scrapbooking room

schoolroom & put-together desk!! :)

family room



dining room

organized bookcase

living room/kitchen

Spring Cleaning

Last week was a really busy week for everyone at our house. Although this week will be busy catching up on things I put aside the past week, it won't be near as hectic.

Dad was busy spraying his fields and a neighbors, putting in the electrical work at the garage at the rental house and mowing the lawn to keep it from growing into a weed patch! He also helped me shampoo all the carpets upstairs on Friday and move furniture back into place!

Jena and I took out all the windows upstairs in the house and washed the glass, screens and window sills. It took us all day, but we got an early start and finished just before supper. Perfect timing because it just started to rain about the time we finished. In between washing windows, I was able to get all the curtains washed. That evening I pressed and hung them all back up. At least that huge job was done!

me cleaning the outside windows

Jena cleaning storm windows

me spraying the windows with water

Jena with the hose

Sissie found the clean pile of curtains ready to be pressed & hung up

Wednesday I dusted, polished woodwork, vacuumed and cleaned Dad's room & bathroom, the main bathroom, the schoolroom and Jena's scrapbooking room. I was making pretty good time until about 3pm, when I moved the computer desk in the schoolroom and the whole thing collapsed. I had to put things on hold in that room until Dad came home for supper and was able to put it back together.

the toppled over desk

That desk isn't very sturdy and when I moved it with a few things still on top, the legs just wobbled and the screws holding the particle board tabletop pulled out. It was a mess getting all the computer cords tangled and put back in order, but it's all back in place. And Dad reinforced the desk, so it should hold up better when it is moved the next time.

Thursday I cleaned in the family room, hall and dining room. Taking all the books out of the bookcase so I could move it, moving the piano and rearranging the furniture so I could clean was a huge chore! At least we have these little furniture sliders that I can stick under heavy furniture and it slides on the carpet. It I didn't have those, there is no way I could have moved everything I did by myself.

the family room in disarray

the family room in disarray

Early Friday morning, I moved most of the family room furniture into the kitchen, on the porch and by the front door where there is vinyl floor covering so that we could shampoo the carpets. Dad went to Dodge and rented the shampooer (Is shampooer actually a word?? Yes, according to dictionary.com!) so we could use it for the day. Dad shampooed all the carpets upstairs while I moved furniture back and forth as the carpets dried. We were finished by noon. With fans blowing on the damp carpet, we were able to get most of the furniture moved back into place after lunch. Everything was back in place upstairs by supper time.

Hooray - my week of cleaning is over!!! I am so glad and the house feels so nice and clean!! I still have the kitchen and utility room to do. I want to clean out all the cabinets and really clean the counter top and the areas behind the fridge and stove, but that will have to wait until another week. I'm sore, exhausted and my fingers hurt from taking windows in and out, but I am sooo thankful I'm done!

Krissa's Last Day

Krissa has her last final today! I'm not sure what class it is, but she sure is excited that today is the last one! She will be busy, busy packing everything into the rental car she and a friend are driving home. I'm sure there will not be any extra space in the car! They will start for home Saturday afternoon and we will pick Krissa up in Wichita sometime on Sunday. :)