Quilted Memories

Change, albeit unstoppable, is my nemesis.  This last week of school has been a very difficult week.  For the last three years I have submerged myself in the friendships, the love, the magic that has been John Thomas Elementary.   And Friday, all of that came to an end.  I was thinking about all that has happened over the last three years, and how many wonderful friendships and memories have been made.  Some of those memories I tried to preserve in quilts.  The Lawsonland quilt and the Thomas T-Shirt quilt, both of which turned out to be wonderful treasures. 

I started thinking about how many memories there are in quilts.  Almost everyone has a special memory attached to that special quilt Great-Grandma-so-and-so made.  A quilt they received as a wedding gift.  A quilt they remember sleeping under as a child.   What is is about that warm and snuggly fabric that attaches so strongly to our memories?  Some quilts are worn and ragged from years of love and use.  Some quilts are old, yet pristine, specially preserved over the years.  But no matter the condition, they hold memories.  Hundreds of moments captured in time.

It reminded me of a quilt I made in 2007, just a few months after Hunter was born.  I wanted to capture a bit of time (a year, actually) into fabric.  12 blocks, 1 for every month of the year.

It ended up being a much larger project than I anticipated, because I ended up making 4 of these.  One for each Grandma, one for Aunt Jenn, and one for Great-Grandma.  And then I decided they had to be done in time to give all 4 of them as Christmas gifts.  Each block represents a month with hand prints or foot prints, and is embellished.  Yes, I am that crazy.  No, I will not ever do that again!!!
 

 

 I ended up not having time to have all the actual quilting done, so I gave them quilt tops, the backing and binding, and let the family quilt them or have them quilted as they desired.  One day the boys will inherit these, and when they do, I hope they will give their families the opportunity attach loving memories to their own childhood hand prints.

Mission Completion!

I remember hearing those words when the kids were in their "Little Einsteins" phase...  at the end of the episode, once the job had been finished, Leo would always shout "Mission completion!"   That was how I felt when I finished the quilt I have been working on for my son's teacher.   

Much more than a teacher, she is an encourager, a true educator, a lover of books and words, a photographer, a ruby red birthday kisser, a very passionate woman who pours countless hours of love and hard work into my child and 19 others for 8 hours a day every day.   I have spent many hours in her classroom this school year, and I have seen the hand of God in her room.  I have watched the transformation of those kids as they mature through the year.  I have seen the light of joy in their eyes as they finally "get it" after struggling with a difficult concept.  I have seen her tediously, meticulously, and lovingly go over and over and over something until they grasp that concept. I have seen the explosion of excitement as kids achieve the next level of rocket math.  (Literally, it is an explosion I tell you.  Jumping, screaming, the whole bit!)  I have witnessed her patiently listen and mediate those difficult moments between kids that often come in second grade.  I have seen her comfort a hurting child, and I have seen her be Jesus with skin on.  I have seen her call a kid's bluff, and make them own up to it.  I have watched as she draws the budding scientist  out of 20 seven and eight year olds.  I have watched her dance around the room singing silly songs at the top of her lungs, and teach spelling words like a high school cheerleader (complete with megaphone and pom-poms). When it is time to have fun, she is loud, she is crazy, and she knows how to have big time fun.  When it is time to work, she is an incredibly hard worker, and expects her kids to do the same.  But even more than all of that, she is a friend. She is my friend.  And I am blessed.

 


I wanted to do something extra special for her.  Something as special as she is.  A "teacher appreciation week" gift, "end of the year" gift, "thank you for being you" kind of gift. 






I know she loves photography and quilts, and I know she loves her students, and I know she loves her color scheme in her classroom. So I combined the things I know she loves, and made her a quilt.  This quilt:

She loved it, the kids loved it, I loved it.
I loved seeing her enjoy it, watching all
 the kids as they pointed out photos of
themselves, and yelled
"OH, I remember when we...."  


over 850 individual quilt pieces
    175 days of school
    42 photos
    20 kids
+ 1 awesome teacher
------------------------------------
Lawsonland 2011-2012...  priceless.

Oh the places we'll go....

Moving Day is almost here!  8 days. (That's how long our house was on the market too... 8 days!) That's all the time we have left to pack, clean, pack some more, use up the food in the freezer, and keep packing!  :)  We are so excited about the new home we feel God has blessed us with.  I am really looking forward to life in the new house, to hosting Bible Studies with friends and youth, hosting Disciple Now weekends, providing a safe haven where our kids and their friends can hang out and know that there will always be a warm hug, a listening ear, and a good snack.  A crafty place where we can create and make memories, and a comfortable place where we can relax and catch up.  A playful place where can be loud and crazy and dance around to our favorite music.

We had the boys make up lists of what they wanted in a new house when we were house hunting.  It was very helpful because it gave us a window into what they valued as important, and what kind of spaces they would need.   It also gave us a pretty good laugh on a couple of things, especially on Hunter's list.

AJ's List:                                                          Hunter's List:            
Separate Bedrooms                                           Playroom
Shed or Workshop for Dad & AJ                     Craft Room (this was on Momma's list too!)
Flat Driveway                                                   New Refrigerator
Basketball Goal                                                New TV
Place to Ride Bikes                                          Swingset
Place for Archery Practice
Climbing Tree

We did not get the new TV on Hunter's List, and we are pretty sure we won't be able to do the swing set either.  The Archery Range on AJ's list is pretty much a big fat NO, and there is not a tree big enough to climb... yet.   But other than that, we did pretty good!   The Lord has really blessed us, and we are so very grateful.  

If you'd like to see the "Before" photos of the new house, they are pinned on my Pinterest Board. I will try to post "After" photos after we actually get moved in.  :)

Quotes to live by...

I have been thinking about quotes a lot lately.   I have pinned several on my pinterest boards recently, and I love finding the quotes on photos, or quotes with interesting fonts.  Albert Einstein is one of my favorites.  He has SO many good quotes on a variety of topics.  While searching for something totally unrelated, I ran across a quote attributed to him that I had not heard before, and really liked it. 

So I made this...

AJ and his Daddy have always shared story time at bedtime.  It is their very special time of the day.  This photo was taken back in 2007, when AJ was 4. Now, both boys enjoy story time with Daddy right before bed.  Anyway, when I found this quote earlier today, I immediately thought of this photo.  

The true wisdom here is not in the reading of fairy tales, which I do think is important, but it is in the time spent together.   Did you know that the average working father spends less than one hour a day with his children?  One hour.  That makes my heart break.  But it also reminds me of another great quote I read this week...  "Don't marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him."  I am blessed beyond measure to have a husband who considers his family, his marriage, his sons a priority.  He takes the time to read bedtime stories, have tickle fights, and wrestling matches.  He recognizes the teachable moments and takes advantage of them.  He makes learning fun.  He does so much for our boys, and I am grateful. 

Recipes Revisted

Life has gone completely wacko around here, (which is actually not all that uncommon)...  I am in a show at Stained Glass Theatre that opens on Thursday (I am not completely confident in my lines yet), Book Fair starts on Friday (I am the book fair chair), and we are listing our house for sale on Saturday (so I am deep cleaning, organizing, purging, boxing up "extra stuff", etc).  Plus work, kids, and all the normal stuff makes for a crazy hectic week this week!!

Looking for a few good recipes, but due to the stress & schedule of the week,
I have 2 strict guidelines they  must follow:
1.   stuff I already have in the cabinet so I don't have to go grocery shopping 
2.   quick prep or crock-pot, long cooking time is ok,  but nothing I have to babysit on the stove

Hubby & I have been dieting, so I have been making a LOT of chicken dishes lately.  He doesn't complain, but I know he is getting chickened-out.  He really is a red meat kind of guy, so I would like to make some things I know he likes & will give him a break from the chicken rut.  While looking through my 4 remaining cookbooks (I had take my cookbook shelf out of the kitchen, so had to box up all of my cookbooks & store them except for my 4 favorites...) I stumbled on a few recipes I used to make all the time that I have not made in a while.  These are all recipes that I know the kids like, so no fuss at dinner time, which is also important during an already stressful week.
I decided it was a perfect time to revisit these old favorites!


Grandpa Del's Meatballs:
2 lbs ground hamburger
2 lbs ground sausage
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dry grated onion
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together & let sit overnight.  Roll into walnut sized balls & brown in  skillet.
(This time I am going to make larger meatballs and bake them in the oven instead of browning.)



French Dip Sandwiches:
Beef Roast
water
onion soup mix
hoagie buns or home made rolls

About the same time you plan to eat the next evening, place a beef roast in the crock pot with enough water to cover.  Cook on low overnight.  The next morning, add 1 package dry onion soup mix.  Cook all day on low.  Shred cooked meat and serve on hoagie buns or homemade rolls, along with meat juices for dipping.


Glazed Pork Chops:
6 pork chops
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sage
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp water

Place chops in a 9x13 pan.  Make a paste of remaining ingredients.  Spread paste over chops.  Bake at 250° for 1 hour.  Turn & spoon drippings over, then bake another 15 minutes at 350°.

for the love of a good book...

It was a cold, gray, wintery day.  

But he was there, in that tree, reading a book. 

 Wanting to be outside, wanting to read.  

Being a boy, as every boy should be.

The photography is not great, but the story is.  

He is.  

She is, for encouraging him and fostering a love of books. 

I love books, I love him. 

I love her, and what she does for him.  

And I love these photos.

I feel a celebration coming on...

The little man turned 5 yesterday.   Wow...  it is hard to believe he is 5 already, and will go to Kindergarten next year!!!  I have been busy getting ready for his birthday party in a couple of weeks.  He wanted to have a Team Umizoomi birthday.   Great little show on Nick Jr. for kids focusing on early math skills, but there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING out there party-wise.  In fact, the only thing I have ever seen in the retail market with Team Umizoomi on it are some Pre-K math kits with workbooks and a DVD.

Super-Mom to the rescue!   Thanks to several google searches, pinterest, and some personal creativity, we have a pretty rockin' party coming together!!

Party Favors:
I printed labels with images from Team Umizoomi, and stuck the labels around bottles of bubbles, cans of play-doh, and wrapped them around a small chocolate for all the kids.  I also made a bottle cap necklace for each of the kids with a Team Umizoomi photo in it.

To make the necklaces, I used printed images, a package of bottle caps, a 1" circle punch, and Glossy Accents.  (Diamond Glaze & Crystal Lacquer are the same thing.) 

Punch out the images and glue them inside the bottle cap with a bit of Glossy Accents.  Then cover the entire image with a good layer of Glossy Accents.   They will take about an hour or so to dry completely, depending on the humidity where you are.  Punch a hole in the top of the bottle cap.  Make the necklace by putting a jump ring in the hole and attaching the bottle cap to a string, ribbon, or metal necklace.   Cute & easy!  Mine are not quite dry yet in the photo, so they still look a little "foggy".  Once it is really dry the Glossy Accents is completely clear. 




Games:
I used more printables from the Nick Jr website for the games.   We are going to have different stations for each of the characters.  Milli's Measurements, where the kids will get to measure themselves on a height chart & compare.  Who is tallest?  Who is smallest?  Geo's Shapes, where the kids will get to make pictures with shapes (think Tangrams or Playful Patterns).  Bot's Bellyscreen, where the kids will take their photos on a green screen.  I will put their faces in Bot's bellyscreen and mail the photos to them after the party as their thank you notes.  We are also going to have a scavenger hunt for various shapes & numbers.    At the snack table, kids will find shaped snacks and part of a pattern, where they can finish out the pattern with their snack shapes.




Cupcake Toppers:

Hunter wanted cupcakes for his birthday, so I found some cupcake papers with polka dots that match the color scheme, and made these adorable cupcake toppers using some scrapbook paper & printables from the Nick Jr website.

First, I cut scrapbook paper into 2 inch strips.  (You will need 2 strips for each rosette.)  Using a scoring plate, I scored every inch, then flipped them over & scored on the 1/2 inch.

After the strips are all scored, I attached the ends of 2 strips together.  Put adhesive on the "valley" end of one strip, and attach it to the "mountain" end of another strip.

After you get all of the strips glued together, accordion fold them along your score lines.  (Remember making those little fans & stuff as a kid?  Same technique.)

Here is my pretty rainbow of folded strips.  :)

If you are making cupcake toppers like me, glue a toothpick to one end of the strips at this point. If you are making medallions to use on cards or a scrapbook page or other project, skip this step.

Now, you need to glue the ends together, just like you did when making the long strips.  Glue a "valley" end to a "mountain" end. You will end up with a circle like this.  (For you cupcake people -- one of your ends will have a toothpick sticking out of it, which is not shown in this photo.)   





Now, take your circle and flatten it on the table.   I filled the center hole with hot glue.  If you do this, it really strengthens the medallion.  (Remember, I am making cupcake decorations for a bunch of 5 year olds!  I wanted them to be super sturdy!!)  If your medallion is going to be attached to a card or something, filling the center is not necessary.  If you DO fill it, I would suggesting using a non-stick craft mat under your work area.  

Cut out whatever you are using to decorate the center of your medallion.  I am using printables from Nick Jr. that fit my Team Umizoomi theme.
Decide if you only need an image for the front or if you want an image for front and back, based on what your project is for.  For my cupcake decorations, I wanted an image front and back.
I also suggest gluing your decorations to the flattened medallion with hot glue if they will be handled a lot. If not, most any adhesive will work fine. 

Here are my finished cupcake decorations!
Umifriends on the front, and the number 5 on the back.  The finished product is about 4" across, which is pretty big for a cupcake, but the little man said he wanted them big, so that's what he got!  :)

The big party day is still a couple of weeks away, but I will be sure to post some photos afterwards!