NOT Quilting With Kids

Well, it turns out I’m not psychic. Here is my list of reasons why I did not piece a quilt top today.

1. A warm, sunny day.
2. A new fence with no gates, which tempts Jonah to wander off ten times more than if there were no fence at all.
3. Base jumping. As in five fat couch cushions stacked seven feet high on the love seat with children flying off the top.
4. Labeled Ziplocs, full of quilt pieces, all over the living room. (I got that one right!)
5. The sudden, undeniable urge to fix the dining room chair.
6. I can’t find my ironing board! Where is my ironing board? I’m guessing storage.
7. The realization that I need to start the beans at four p.m., not five.
8. Grating two pounds of cheese by hand. (Where, oh where, is my food processor?)
9. A craving for fresh chop salsa to go with the black beans and cheese and tortillas.
10. Dinner with a friend, whose husband is far away having back surgery.

Oh, and I DID put the kids to bed at seven.

So for now, Jason and I are going upstairs to watch a scary movie. Tomorrow, I shall quilt! I hope.

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Quilting With Kids

Today I’m piecing a large crib quilt, based on Fibonacci numbers, with cowboy and bandana prints, plus some chenille.

These are my predictions for the day:

1. Jonah will dump all of the carefully labeled Ziploc bags onto the floor, scattering numbered squares and rectangles across the living room and den.
2. Anna and Sarah will ask for a snack at least twenty times between the hours of two and five p.m., even if I give them a snack at two.
3. Someone will touch the hot iron.
4. Someone will touch the rotary cutter.
5. Someone (Jonah!) will remove the presser foot and unthread my machine while I’m ironing.
6. The baby will take no naps.
7. I will forget to put the beans on the stove at 5:00 p.m., and dinner will be late.
8. I will demand that the children go to bed at seven o’clock, out of sheer frustration.
9. I will yell at my sewing machine more than once.
10. I will finish piecing at around one in the morning, with at least three mistakes that I was too tired to fix.

An older lady at a quilt shop once asked me how I manage to quilt with four kids in the house. Now you know.

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Where I’ve Been, Where I Want to Be

I found this map meme on Lisa Stryker’s blog.

These are the places I’ve visited or lived in. Some of them are too tiny to see. Hong Kong is where I met my husband, and mainland China is where I decided that kissing him might not be so bad. (He threatened to kiss me just to make me shut up, but he held off until we were engaged. I wasn’t into kissing without a ring. No, I’m serious. Don’t laugh.) We still would like to live there again. But for now, we know we’re precisely where God wants us.

Make Your Map

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The Rescue Mission

Anna, eating her potato chips. . .

Round Chip: Hi! I’m Bob.

Tall Chip: Hi! I’m Larry.

Larry and Bob sing: Larry, Larry, Larry, Larry! Bob, Bob, Bob!

Larry: Oooh, look at that dark hole. I think I’ll go inside.

Bob: No, Larry! Don’t go in there!

(crunch)

Bob: Oh, no! I better go in there and save him! I’m coming, Larry! Aaaaagh! (crunch)

Squeaky Baby Chip: They’re in trouble! I better go in and save them. Aaaaagh! (crunch)

Lonely Chip: Hey, I’m all alone. Well, I guess I could go in that dark hole with everybody else. Aaaaagh! (crunch)

Anna: Can I have some more chips, please?

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Looking Up

Aaron has had two good days in a row, and completed a round of chemo. From the last I’ve heard, he’s still on the ventilator, but they were able to lower the oxygen levels they were giving him. Keep praying, and praise God that He’s answering!

Thanks,
Rebecca

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Words I Never Thought I’d Hear

Words I Never Thought I’d Hear
On Memorial Day Weekend

“Can I wear mittens?”

“Where’s my sled?

“Eeek! There’s snow in my boot!”

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Have a Holly, Jolly–

Merry Christmas! Oh, no, wait. It’s MAY. MAAAYYY!!!! Oh, so that explains why there are two inches of snow on our new fence, which we got just in time for SUMMER. Who ordered this? Where the heck are we?

Okay, so I still love living in the mountains. But if it kills all our new grass, I’ll be miffed.

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The Popcorn Derby

Anna, eating her popcorn. . .

Announcer popcorn: It’s time for the race! Ready, set, go! Go, Sammy! Go, Sammy! Go, Sammy! Go! Go! Go! Run! Run, Sammy! You WIN the RACE! Woo-hooo!

Sammy: (panting) I won? Woo-hoo!

Announcer: Now you get to be eaten!

Sammy: Hooray! What is there to eat?

Announcer: Just you!

Sammy: What? No, I don’t want to be eaten! NO! Aaaaaaauugh! (crunch)

Mom’s Side Note: Has anyone ever read “Loteria” by Borges? Similar idea, with a lottery instead. Sick and twisted, all the same.

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The Whole Story

You can read the ongoing account of Aaron’s battle with leukemia, as well as prayer requests and praise reports at www.aaronboydston.com. The medical journal is written by his dad, Ken, and Aaron’s wife, Natalie, and friends sometimes post there as well. Keep praying!

Rebecca

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Sharp Boy

Two men have been in our yard for the last two days, building a fence. Today, Jonah (our two-year-old) looked out through the screen door, and noticed a circular saw sitting on the porch.

“Wow!” he said. “That’s no touching.”

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