Let's play a game...

It's called "When is Margaret going to POP?"

Have you seen these hilarious pictures? I know it's supposed to be funny, but in the last days of pregnancy it feels very real!

Well, our dear Miss Margaret in MN is about ready to pop. Let's see who can guess the stats... if you win, I'll send you one of these three Christmas books (continental US shipping only):

All for the Newborn Baby

Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story

The Story of Christmas

So, click on the baby pool widget above and let's play!
 

A Little Dude's Quiltie

I loved this color combination and I hope the Little Dude's momma does too. It kind of reminded me of her with her dark complexion and love of things kind of funky and chic. But of course, it's blue... for a boy! Who says that baby boy stuff has to be all primary crayon colors and trucks?

The Teething Bling necklace was a little something fun recommended by Jessica. I haven't used one (yet), but her little Rose sure seemed to like hers. It was a total coincidence that the color matched the blanket since I had ordered it a few months ago. Happy coincidence, to be sure!

And since Miss Margaret was here while I was putting this Quiltie together, she now knows all the secrets of Quiltie making and my haphazard sewing skills. Although, I forgot to swear her to secrecy, darn it! Is it too late now? : )
 

Deep in this Texas Heart

Did you hear who was here?

 But now she's home and life feels a little bit...

LEGO exhibit

The Mayborn Museum Complex in Waco is hosting a LEGO Castle exhibit over the summer. A sweet friend suggested we meet there and my boys threatened to disown me if I said no.

A castle siege. I love the orange boiling oil being poured down the wall onto the attackers.

This was a scene designed and built by a thirteen year old boy. Can you see the admiration in The Professor's eyes?

LEGO Neuschwanstein Castle

LEGO Stained Glass made with translucent pieces           A LEGO portrait made with flat pieces.

There were areas to learn about real knights and castles and even a jousting arena. Cool doesn't even begin to describe it!

Friends indeed!

In an email I sent off to a friend who was checking in the other day I admitted that I really wasn't ready for this weekend.

Mother's Day.

Honestly, I would rather celebrate any other holiday this weekend than Mother's Day. Let's have a second go at St. Paddy's Day or what about National Train Day? I vote for that. Why? Because as much as I might want to be alone with the sorrow of a little one lost, I have four beautiful children here on earth who want to celebrate with me. They have already been pestering their father to make sure he doesn't forget and making secret arrangements behind closed doors.

I love them, I treasure them, I delight in them and yet... I know I'm not going to be able to keep a smile on my face all day. I know that at some point, I'm going to lose all control and giving into the weight of a heavy heart, sob in silence where I might not be heard, but knowing that the stains on my face will scream my shame. They have already endured so much of that these past few weeks, I can't bear to let them witness any more, especially on a day they want to rejoice.

So, in this email to a friend of the heart, I said that this weekend should be all about the Blessed Mother, for she alone knows all of the joys and pains of a mother's heart. I had no idea how to accomplish this at the time of writing, but then, in a moment of need, another friend comes along with an idea that acts like a balm to my aches and pains.

Kimberlee is hosting a Marian themed ATC swap for the month of May. You can read the details here. Kimberlee has generously opened it up to all ages which put a huge smile on BigBoy's face! So, this weekend we will work on ATC cards honoring the mother of Our Lord and hope and pray that the distraction of paint and pencil will keep the sorrow at bay, that every stroke and scratch I help them place will be accepted as a prayer for help and comfort. That in honoring the Blessed Mother, I can honor those sweet souls who make me a truly blessed mother.

Teacher Appreciation Week

My dear friend, Liz, who was one of my first friends the first year I naively thought I could teach innocent young minds how to project all the way to the back of the auditorium didn't want me to forget that it was Teacher Appreciation Week. She is an amazing public school teacher and a great friend who never forgets to remember those of us who do our teaching at home. She insisted I share this information with you all, so now that I have... I'm off to enjoy an apple (pie) for the teacher that our principal (Husband) brought home today! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Celebrating Present Joy

With our nutty friends! Please stop by Nutmeg's and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for their joyous news! It's always fun when someone announces their joy online, but it's doubly fun when they are an in-town friend too! It feels like spring outside... time to plan some Quiltie sewing time!

Where have I been?

Oh, here and there! You're jealous... aren't cha? ; )

We had a lovely visit with some sweet friends and I don't have one picture to show for it because I was too busy enjoying the company! Bad blogger, I know.

Regular blogging will resume shortly. Right now, I have an unexpected house guest. Yes, Sue... that's what I get for opening my big mouth!

Happy Wednesday!

It's a girl!

For Miss Robina and family! You have to take a peek at that soft, sweet pinkness! You know you want to!

And speaking of thrills...

Colleen has a little hand of God miracle to share with everyone! Bring your tissues!

URGENT Prayers!

12 dead and 31 wounded in Fort Hood Mass shooting

We have heard from reliable sources that everyone we know and love in the Fort Hood area has been accounted for. Please pray for the dead, the wounded, their families and all of those living in the area who were affected by this terrifying ordeal.

Lord Jesus, have mercy!

Tender Mercies

The Feast of All Saints: Tender Mercy for a Grieving Heart

It truly was my privilege to share those days with Colleen and her family and capture for her those images that I hoped would someday bring her comfort. She has chosen to share her thoughts with us all now and we are so blessed by her return.

On the proper care and handling of introverts...

Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands—and that you aren't caring for him properly.

(Snip)

The worst of it is that extroverts have no idea of the torment they put us through. Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books—written, no doubt, by extroverts—regard declining to banter as rude and gaps in conversation as awkward. We can only dream that someday, when our condition is more widely understood, when perhaps an Introverts' Rights movement has blossomed and borne fruit, it will not be impolite to say "I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush."

Go read the whole article here. I'll be quiet now.

HT: Andrea (who sure had me fooled! : )

Praying...

... for Melanie and Dom. Won't you join us?

UPDATE: Baby Benedict born at 11:44 AM EST at 7lb. 9oz. Melanie is fine and in recovery now.

More thoughts

If there is only one other thing that you read today, make sure it is this breathtakingly beautiful post from Ann:

Attend to Your Life and You Make it Art

Left Behind

I know that what I say here isn't going to be popular but I am hoping that it might help someone else who is feeling the same way, which was one of the reasons I started blogging. And, thanks to high school, I'm pretty used to feeling unpopular. So, here goes:

I feel left behind in this whole social networking craze. I once defended the internet because it was a way to build community where there was none but now, I see many friends I have communicated with in thought and word via blogs turning to social networking and in turn, neglecting their blogs. So I tried popping onto Facebook via my husband's page (which he doesn't ever use) and just couldn't get into it. It was all jumbled up and not very orderly which made me feel like I needed to tidy up and declutter. If I want to feel like that, I just have to walk into my kids' bedrooms! Then, I opened up a Twitter account, tried to pop around and see what people were talking about... and promptly had a panic attack. Seriously. All the chatter, all the conversation, all the virtual noise and I felt my chest tighten up, my heart race and my breathing get shallower and shallower. I felt like Professor X in a New York subway. Thankfully, it was not telepathy induced so I could turn it off before I started hyperventilating.

I don't want to offend anyone who enjoys these communication mediums, but I love blogs! A blog is a beautiful place filled with the character and spirit of the person who owns it. It offers pieces of them and their world. It opens your eyes to places, customs, family situations that you might not get to experience in your own world. Even if a blog is not visually beautiful, it can be intellectually beautiful and carry your mind to the pinnacles of thoughts you never could have imagined yourself. You can follow the conversations of the blog hostess and other readers and you can even choose to engage in those conversations as well. It is a notebook where you can quickly share a small silliness that you will just as quickly forget or a scrapbook to hold those precious things that you want to remember forever. And it can be a lovely place to share yourself with the world and a comfortable parlor to invite guests to come in and sit a spell with you. If blogging is like a home cooked meal, then social networking is fast food. And while fast food can work in a pinch, I'd rather enjoy a succulent pot roast with roasted sweet potatoes on the side.

Writing a blog post requires you to engage your thoughts and feelings and put them into words and phrases that will evoke a response from your audience. To those of us who aren't natural writers, there is literally a little bit of our blood, sweat and tears in every post. To read a blog is to occupy that place, that time, those tears, those feelings of the writer and to share them with her. You can let her know that they have inspired you or that you sympathize. Other people reading your comments can join in the conversation in a gentle but active way or in a passive, thoughtful way. It is a conversation that is open to everyone on their own comfort level whereas social networking feels like a thousand private conversations between everyone else, but not you, unless you join. The friendships that develop in the blog world are real friendships, but they are friendships that are almost completely based on communication. While some people are excited by this new means of communication and its potential, it is the equivalent of an exclusive club to those of us who can't keep up.

Sadly, I feel like some of those friendships that I thought I was developing have been cut off by social networking. In order to participate in those conversations, I now have to tweet or peep or read a wall. A wall... seriously? I feel left behind. I feel out of the loop. I feel dejected and a little rejected. I don't think those friendships were false. But now, I see some of those friends climbing onto the bandwagon and heading down a road that I can't go. So I'll just hang out here and work on making this place a truly beautiful space. And I'll keep popping over to see those friends with beautiful places that inspire me and hope I'll see them soon.

I just want to see you smile...

You have to watch this movie. It will only take 16:23 out of your day but will give you so much more. I found it on Michelle's blog who found it over at June's and even though I am not extremely happy with her for making me cry so early in the morning, I know I will forgive her. In fact, I thank her for passing this along. She is such a generous person. She has taken the time to help me with sewing questions and fencing questions. Military wives have to be tough as nails and soft as silk all at the same time. Michelle is one of the classiest! She's amazing!

Welcome little one!

Introducing the latest Rutherford... go say "hello" to Thomas Edmund Paul. Husband and I were engaged at the same time this sweet couple was. I even remember a double date or two. I can still picture them on their wedding day. You can too! See those smiles and all that love? Just imagine them in fancier duds and you've got it!

Hi there!

How was your weekend? It was pretty exciting around our parts and elsewhere.

My fiery SIL Red had a scare that sent all of us to our knees and into action. On the plus side, I got to spend some time with my sweet nieces which included going to Church and getting to meet a friend I hadn't ever met before. Andrea and her husband were in town visiting family, raising funds and bringing awareness to the FOCUS ministry.

Dawn's husband planned the most wonderful surprise to celebrate her 40th birthday. He says that he is so lucky to have her in his life and I think we are lucky that he isn't a selfish man! Thanks for sharing your family with us, Mr. Sun-and-Candlelight! What a beautiful gift it is to the blogosphere.

Michelle apparently thinks that they have no sinks, or dishes, or laundry baskets, or peanut butter in Australia. Yeah. I can't think of anything a spirited little lass like Mary could get into on an island surrounded by sand and water. Maybe she thinks it would be easier to just dunk her in the ocean for a rinse off instead of her preferred splashing in the potty?

And Jennifer created a pattern for the perfect hat. And knowing how cute her little guy is, I can just imagine how cute he looks in that gorgeous hat! Now, If I could just learn to translate from knit to crochet. I'm not bilingual.

And now I am off to convince myself for the twelve thousandth time today that it really is Tuesday and not Friday like my brain wants to believe. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Go say "hello"...

...and congratulations to Nikki's newest little girl. She is beautiful!!! Let's pray her through a safe homecoming this Christmas!