Little reminders of Claire

Besides keeping family pictures around our empty nest to remind us of our family, I like to keep a few other little reminders of our children now that they are gone. These little jokes were taped to the side of Claire's dresser in her room for many years. I just left them there because they brought a smile to my face each time I saw them. I guess I'm kind of sentimenal in some ways. Yesterday Claire's childhood dresser was tranported from her old room to her house out of state, so I had to remove these little jokes. I'll keep them and post them in her closet instead. The little yellow post-it note has been on the back of her bedroom door for years. She wrote it herself. I don't know where she got the impression that she was going to a bad, bad place if she didn't say her morning prayers, but whatever motivated her is OK with me. Thinking of you dear Claire with a smile. Thanks for the memories, and congratulations on finishing one job and moving on to a new opportunity. Enjoy your week off inbetween jobs!

My Keepsake Quilts

When I got married, I was the lucky recipient of several quilts made by my mother and my grand
mothers.

This quilt was made by my mom. She created it herself and made half of the quilt to represent the things that were important to me and the other side represents things that were important to Rick. My side has an Argentine flag (representing my mission field) a girl sewing, a girl cooking and a heart full of love with my name embroidered into a quilt block. Rick's side shows his name, a blue Volkswagen bug (the car he drove) a BYU football player, two BYU graduates (we just graduated the month before our wedding) and a couple by the SLC temple. She also included the Peruvian flag, to represent the country where he served his mission. Isn't it beautiful and so creative? It is all hand quilted and it is used on the bed in Claire's room even now.















The second quilt is made from a sheet that looks like a pieced quilt. It is hand quilted with a dark brown backing and it is used on the bed in Jordan's room.














This beautiful PURPLE quilt is again all hand quilted in an interesting pattern with scalloped edges. We used it on our own bed for years and it is a treasure.




















Here's a picture of my talented mother who is standing in from of the needlepoint chair that was made by her mother. She made many quilts for her children when they got married. Isn't she beautiful?















I shared some of these quilts at my Dust Busters gathering last week. Since I had them out, I thought I'd post some pictures of my own treasures.















This darling PURPLE and yellow quilt was hand made by my Grandma Mayme (my dad's mother.) It contains hand embroidered quilt block in colors that are brought out in the trim on the quilt. It is one of my favorite quilts and represents the skill of my wonderful grandmother pictured below. Grandma made lots of afghans, quilt blocks, and baby quilts. Doesn't she look like a wonderful grandmother?




















The final quilt is this beauty made by my Grandma Fuhriman. It is made out of satin on the front and back and is intricately quilted in a beautiful pattern. Everyone who sees it comments on the fact that it would have been VERY hard to quilt on satin and to put that much work into one quilt. I love the ivory and hot pink colors and the scalloped edges. She was a sweet and caring grandmother who we all loved.















Here is a picture my Grandma Fuhriman (my mother's mother) who made a similar quilt for each of her grandchildren until her death. She did amazing hand work including tatting, crochet, needlework and embroidery. Many of her talents have become lost arts.



















Each one of these quilts holds a special place in my heart. Each quilt conjures up memories of the women who made them. When I got married, I had a trousseau display and these five quilts were prominently displayed, representing the love and shared heritage by the wonderful women in my life who meant so much to me. I'm truly blessed.

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

Claire emailed this great link to a test on msnbc.com to take to see if you know enough about our country to become a citizen. VFR got 95%, Wowclaire got 90% and I only got 65%. I'm sad/embarrased about that. I made stupid mistakes and I know better. Please post your scores whether they are good or bad!

Put a smile on your face

Take a look at this link and click on "Dancing 2008" and catch the outtakes as well. Take another journey to http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/ and read "about Matt" and look at the "maps" section to see his travel routes. It will put a smile on your face that may even last all day. I think I'll go dance a little jig right now.

My four sisters

I have four amazing sisters. Seriously, they are great women. What a blessing it is to have sisters in my life. Each is a wonderful person with so many talents and abilities. They and their husbands have raised/are raising some great children. There are 16 years between the oldest and the youngest. Can you tell the age order?
I'd like to introduce you to my sisters:

Mary Ann - she and Trace have four beautiful daughters named Jamie, Stacey, Sara and Lindsey. All four are married to wonderful men and between them they have 12 children. Those 12 children keep my sister and her husband very busy as grandparents, but they love the time spent with their grandchildren. Some of Ann's talents include: decorating, entertaining, gardening, and scrap booking. Check out her blog here and take a look at each of her daughter's blogs from there.

Janet - is married to Dave. They live on a farm and have raised four great sons named Cameron, Gareth, Dustin and Nick and one darling daughter named Sydney. Each of her sons married well and brought four new wonderful women in to our extended family. Sydney was married this July to a great young man. Janet and Dave have 9 grandchildren and they all live fairly close by their grandparents. They all love spending time together. Some of Janet's talents include: sewing, making crafts (her husband cuts wood, which is a plus) cooking, and cutting hair.

Lee (Lauralee really, but no one calls her that) - her husband is Mike. They live in the city and have four children, just like us. They have two attractive girls named Kylee and Jessica and two handsome boys named Jake and Cameron. Kylee was married last year to a great young man named Brody. They live in the same town as Lee and Mike. They spent a lot of time together as a family and have some good times. Lee has a blog as well and you can see it here and then link to Kylee's blog from there. Lee is very good at making cookies, home organization, journal writing , party planning and playing games since her degree was in recreation management.

Carol (spotlighted earlier) is married to Jon who passed away five years ago this September 22. She lives in the country/small city with their four children girl/boy/girl/boy named Madison, Matthew, Taylor and Tanner. Some of Carol's cute children are teenagers and some are still in grade school. They love to do activities as a family and especially love spending lots of time at Bear Lake during the summer months. They live in a great place with wide open spaces and lots of room to play. They love to be involved in extended family activities and they get a lot of invitations to join in. Carol talents include teaching children, making great food, playing the piano and playing games and cards.

We are all different individuals and we do things our own way. We love to share ideas and we all appreciate the skills and talents of each sister. We have been fortunate to get together for a "sisters adventure" at least once a year and the agenda it usually similar each year - talk, eat out, go to a movie, talk, shop, talk some more and make a craft. We met last week at Lee's home for our annual gathering and had a great time. We've traveled as a group to all the homes of each sister and we love to spend some time in each location being hosted by one sister each year. Our mother also participates and we've made some wonderful memories together as adult sisters over the last 20 years. My life is richer because of my sisters and I love each of them very much.