Christmas Snow - 25 inches of it!

These pictures show Christmas morning and the snow came down and down here on the west side. We accumulated 25 inches in 2 days. With wind drifts we had 2 feet in front of our garage door and we were homebound all day! It was great. Hans and the boys had to shovel and snow blow 3 times Christmas Day and 3 times the next day. Good thing Hans has a great hat! It was dripping wet when he came in the first time that morning. This was one wet heavy snowfall.

Christmas Fun and Games

We enjoyed the games, the great food, the family gathered around and most of all we enjoyed being home and loving all who could join us for a short time or a long time. For me, Christmas really is about love and we had so much in our home Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was wonderful to see everyone together again. By the way, that is Korin, Scott's girlfriend. Uncle Ron thought it was our Emily at first and wondered why Scott was so cozy with his big sister! Thank you all for the potluck meal and the giggles~

Newlyweds

Our Carrie was so happy to say she and Kevin were not the most recent newlyweds in the family any longer and she was happy to pass the "newlywed crown" to Glen and Diana. Don't they look happy??? What's up with you two????? Funny huh!?

Christmas Celebrations & Borrowed Grandchildren

Christmas is for families and we enjoyed all who could be with us this year. Here are some photos from our fun Christmas Eve gathering at our house with brothers and families. There are some old newlyweds and newer newlyweds and of course Christmas is not complete without the little ones. Since none of our grandchildren could be with us this year, we borrowed Glen's. We had so much fun watching them and loving them. Thank you Tyler, Sheena, Scott and Val for the little ones.

Pack the iron, fabric, cutting mats, rotary cutters and we will quilt

Many have asked, "what do you do on those quilting retreats you go to?" When Marye and Marianne and I need a get away, we run to the mountains and take our projects and sewing machines and this is what we do! We cook, sew, cut, plan, iron, sew, take trips to the fabric store and every retreat we have an adventure at Walmart fabric section. We love their $2 fabric tables. It is always an adventure and we always come away with finished projects and great ideas for new projects.

Signature Quilt

For Carrie's shower I made this little quilt top. I plan to use it for a lap quilt for Kev and Carrie. Everyone who came to the shower and other loved ones have signed it for them giving them advice and best wishes. When it is finished, I will post the final photo. There are engagement ring candies all around it- yummy!

Wedding Day

Kevin and Carrie had a beautiful day for their wedding. The weather was wonderful and they were glowing.

Families & Weddings

Troy and Michael could not be with us and we missed having them in our family photos. Here are our two little bridesmaids doing their duty for the bride. Check out "Secret Agent Hunter", he provided security for the "bridesmaids".

Weddings bring out the best in people. With all 6 of our children and 5 grandchildren we had a wonderful week! We are very blessed with the new union of Kevin and his bride Carrie. She is a great addition to our family and I am lucky to have her as my very first daugther.........in-law. Welcome to the new Mrs.

Mother's Are Special People

In the past month I had the opportunity to travel to Arizona to visit my little mother. Recently she fell and broke her foot in two places. She has struggled the past few months to keep herself occupied while she recuperates. Mom has an active mind and she loves to be free and independent. This broken foot business has cramped her style!

Mom is now in her mid 80's and as age overtakes her she becomes smaller and I become bigger. It is a difficult journey to become the advisor and potential caretaker of someone who has always been a strong steady influence in my life. She has overcome many obstacles and defeated the odds with her enduring stamina, independence and stubborness. I salute you mom, you are my hero, you are my friend and most of all you are the reason why I am here. You are one of my special people.

I have mentioned on this blog before my great-grandmother, Wah-Wah. She nicknamed my mom "little old lady" when she was stilll very young. The name has stuck with us all these years. I often call mom by that dear name much as someone else would call their mother dear or sweetie. There are two photos of this "little old lady," one when she was 17 and a more recent photo taken while I was visiting. I have many roles in my own life, wife, mother, sister, aunt, but I love being a daughter.

Isn't she sweet? A friend told me in February, "cherish your moments together Penny, someday she won't be here anymore and you will miss her more than you can imagine." Sounds like good advice to me. I love you mom.

The story of the wooden bowl

This was my great- grandmother's wooden bowl. My mother gave it to me some time ago. As a little girl I remember my great-grandma making homemade coleslaw in the bowl. She would take the cabbage cut into 4 pieces and chop it up in the bowl. I even have the chopper which looks like a mini hatchet. I remember it was very sharp and I was fascinated watching her strength for an 80 year old woman swinging and chopping the cabbage. The coleslaw tasted good too! It has crack in the wood and can't hold much more now than warm memories and quilted pillows.

This little old lady also sharpened her chopping blades on a wet stone in the back yard! We called her Wah-Wah and she was an amazing women. Truly an inspiration for me in my life.