Now that it's finally Christmas...

So, in October, Rachelle thought of an idea to do for Curt and Reita (Blake's parents) for Christmas. When they went to visit them, she noticed their comforter was getting old and thought it would be a neat idea to make them a new quilt for their California King size bed. I agreed and found a pattern that looked relatively easy to put together and Rachelle picked the fabric and started cutting the pieces.

The best part of this whole thing was I sent Rachelle the amount of pieces she needed to cut and how small and everything. Each square was 12", but she thought the pattern was just one big square so she didn't understand you had to make a lot of little squares. I thought she had never pieced a quilt before, but it turns out she just didn't read the pattern. It was definitely a good laugh.

The week after Conference (the weekend they came down, with the accompanying blogs about those weekends - it was so hard not to say why they were there), Rachelle and I spent two days piecing the quilt and putting it together so I could quilt it after they left. We were up pretty late at night and then up early the next morning just so we could get the whole thing pieced before they had to go home.

After they left, I borrowed a couple C clamps and a few pieces of a quilting frame from our friends to quilt it. I ended up using TV trays to stand it up since the stands they had went missing. It was definitely a ghetto looking quilt lol.

Since it was from all of us, I decided to embroider-quilt all of our names into the centers of six of the squares. I think it made it more personal and added that added touch to the quilt it needed. And since there were the few green squares in the middle to offset the peach, I thought it would be perfect to do the names in there. They went in this order:

Blake ---- LOVE ---- Darryl
Kayce ---------------Rachelle
Glade ---------------Teagan
The row of hearts

So, for the next month and a half I worked on the quilt (more off than on) and finally got it done and took it to Rachelle to bind and finish.

I have never realized how hard it is to do a quilt when you have a child. Everytime I would start to work on it, I swear Glade would know and think of something she needed. I should have finished it pretty fast, but she just didn't let me.

I have wanted to post this since I started, but I couldn't since it was a surprise. I am so excited I can tell everyone now!! :)

Here are some pics of how it turned out.

The finished quilt
Teagan's name

Glade's name

Kayce's name

Rachelle's name

Darryl's name

Love in the top center

Blake's name

The regular quilted pattern throughout the peachish squares

I did a heart in the bottom three green squares for added pizzaz and so it would stick out

A closer look at the heart

A little motivation for everyone

One of those terrible moments as a mother...

Blake and I decided it was time to take Glade's binkies away. She is almost a year and a half and she doesn't need them anymore except to fall asleep. But most of the time she falls asleep without them. So, we got her last two binkies, I sat her in my lap, she helped me cut the nipples off, and then she helped me throw them away.

She thought it was a cute game until we threw them away. She then gave me a look that said "You have betrayed me... You couldn't possibly be my mother." I wanted to cry with her. So Blake took her and had her look at the tree to keep her mind from her binkies in the trash. He then took the trash out to erase all memory of them.

The next few days will be the longest of my life. It's a good thing Blake isn't in school so he can stay up with Glade ;).

On a lighter note, here are some pics of Claire I took this last weekend! I know they aren't the best but I couldn't get her to cooperate. (Strange 3 week old babies ha ha).

Our "Christmas" Weekend

This past weekend we decided to go up North for our Christmas since we both have to work before, during, and after Christmas. We went up Friday afternoon when I got off work and had so much planned. (We always plan to see everyone, but we always end up doing too much ;) ).

Friday night we went to Temple Square with Darryl and Rachelle (Teagan was sick so he stayed home). I had never been before and I absolutely love going to the Temple so I thought it would be so pretty lit up. I was right! I love Christmas lights and I think they did a fantastic job at decorating the Square! It was a pretty good night to go, too, since it wasn't too cold or windy. Glade really enjoyed seeing the lights and pulling off her mittens. She eventually lost one of them around the Square somewhere. She thought it was pretty funny!

Family Picture

On Saturday we went and saw a couple of our friends in Provo, went to Barnes and Noble (should never go there... I always spend too much), then went up to Clinton to be with Nick, Mandy, Michael, and Claire. Glade had an absolutely blast with Michael. She would chase him around and he would kind of cower in corners. It was pretty funny.

I held Claire all weekend and it was awesome! My arms didn't fall asleep and I felt like I wasn't holding anything at all! It was an awesome weekend!

Below are some more pics of Temple Square, enjoy!!

SLC Temple

SLC Temple

Darryl looked at the church and turned to us and said "Everytime I see this it reminds me of the church on Resident Evil 4". Needless to say, I will never look at this building the same ever again. One day zombies will come piling out and I will be ready for them ;)

A Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light

Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,

"Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.

"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son.

"Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Oh, Christmas Time

We asked Caleb and Brenda if they would do our Christmas pictures for us. I think they turned out pretty good!

Glade being Glade
The fam

The fam 2

The fam 3

She just looks like she has something evil planned...

A really cool idea!

I got this off of the Ford's blog and thought every parent might want to know about this!

It is a tatoo with your information on it so just in case you go somewhere (the mall, Disneyland, the park) your child will have the number to call you if they get lost or someone finds them. You can also get them personlized with allergies, special instructions, and other medical problems for those birthday parties and other things.

Here is the link if you are interested!

http://www.safetytat.com/