Gigi and Grandy in Katy

2012-02-19T08:13:00.000-06:00

Lotsa Lotsa Lasagna

2011-07-30T11:20:00.004-05:00

All my children and husband love my lasagna. It's been a staple and/or treat for 31 years around the Stowers household. I got the recipe on a trip to Atlanta to see my brother Rusty's family in the summer of 1980.Ross and Sara were infants. Clay was one year old. I believe it was the fourth of July as I remember my sister-in-law, Stacy, and brother-in-law, Sid, running the the Peachtree Road Race. Yes, Stacy was just a few, maybe 6, weeks postpartum and I thought she was crazy and we would find her inner parts on the road somewhere, but being the medical novice that I was, I was wrong. She and Sid finished the race very well.

If you've ever been around the Ross clan around feeding time, you know that's like the feeding of the 5000. We do love to eat. Stacy served many great things that weekend. Having a personal aversion to running I spent a lot of time copying her recipes. I remember specifically her Greek Braid Bread, Praline Cheesecake, All-American Coffee Cake and Baked Lasagna. The prior two recipes were used by me only a couple of times over the years. (My husband was not a particular fan of whole wheat bread nor pecans.) However, the latter became staples in our household.

Whenever I asked my son, Ross, what he would like for dinner he would answer with two specific requests; pot roast or LASAGNA (imagine it said really fast and loud). Of course, those two things, his favorites, take quite a bit of time to prepare properly, so I would usually have to ask for something else.

Ross and his family are coming for a visit before heading back to Italy and I thought I would prepare a few things for the freezer to minimize some of my kitchen time while they are here. One being said lasagna. So, after going to the hairdresser on Wednesday of this week, I stopped in at my local HEB, my favorite grocery store, to purchase the needed ingredients. I love HEB and their store brand products are really equal to any name brand in most cases; especially if used as an ingredient in a baked item. So, amongst all the other needed products, I picked up 3 24-oz cartons of HEB Small Curd Cottage Cheese to use in the 3 lasagnas I was preparing. My plan was to make them Thursday, including a small one for Mark and my dinner, and freeze the remainder.

Thursday came and after lunch I worked about 3 hours preparing the recipe. It looked good if not perfect. Into the freezer they went. After working so, I popped the small dish in the oven, and I retired to my den to watch a little local news, something I rarely do. (I don't like the news, but that's another post.) Imagine my horror and shock when sweet Dominique Sachse announced a recall of HEB cottage cheese and sour cream. It was a purely preventative step HEB was taking, but you were to return any product to HEB for a full refund. WHAT?????

I immediately called customer service at HEB headquarters. It was after 5, so they were closed for the day. If it has been a germ or bug, or something, I would have dismissed it, being they were baked, but what if it was someone's FINGER or something? I called my local store. The manager, Mike, was very nice about it, but said he could not recommend me salvaging the lasagnas and that he would let me come to the store, reshop all the ingredients, including the ones I had used from my pantry. Wow. That was great, but still, the time and the precious LASAGNA!!!! It hurt to throw it in the garbage. I know there are people who go through garbage daily to have something to eat. Oh, my. My inner humanitarian HATED that. But throw it away, I did.

I spent my Friday afternoon as a repeat of Thursday and now there are 3 beautiful lasagnas in the freezer waiting the arrival of my family.

I also followed the advice of several, including Stacy, when I wrote a nice, but firm letter to HEB requesting compensation for my time, the electricity, gas and other resources used to remake the dishes. We'll see what they do about that.

Since the beginning of the debacle involving the tainted cottage cheese, I've had several requests for this recipe.. I've tweaked it a little over the years, but it's basically the same.

brown 1 1/2 pounds of good quality ground beef (I do this in the microwave in 6 minutes using my Pampered Chef Batter Bowl with lid. Contact Sara Foster for more info on that. I also use the PC Mix & Chop to get a perfect texture in the beef.)d

drain fat

add:

1 clove garlic minced (I use a little more)

1 1/2 Tablespoons parsley

1 Tablespoon basil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1-lb can of diced tomatoes

2 6-oz tomato paste

Mix well and let simmer for at least 30 minutes

Cottage Cheese Mixture

3 cups of cream style small curd cottage cheese

2 Tablespoons parsley flakes

2 beaten eggs

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Stir well

Prepare a 13X9 baking dish with pam or similar product

I use the no-boil or oven ready lasagna noodles. They work great.

Layer:

Pasta

1/2 cottage cheese mixture

cover this completely with slices of mozzarella cheese (It will take 3/4 to one pound for entire recipe)

1/2 of the meat mixture

Repeat: pasta, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and meat

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting.

I like this because the cheese doesn't burn or get tough on top. If I'm going to all this trouble (and for me, make the considerable mess), I always at least double or triple the recipe and put the extras in the freezer. It works great. If you allow it to thaw, you bake it the same way. If it's still frozen, reduce the heat to 350, cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil and continue baking for another 30 minutes or until the middle is hot.

Enjoy. I know we'll savor every bite of ours!

Organizational March Madness!

2011-03-20T16:45:00.007-05:00

For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to know my sister-in-law, Stacy, you are missing a treat. She has the ultimate gift of hospitality coupled with organizational skills matching no other. I have an area of my countertop I call "my useless corner" because it is tucked in the corner between the fridge and dishwasher. The designers of my kitchen thought the "drawers" that are 4.5" wide adjacent to one another on the corner would be of some use. NOT. They aren't even wide enough for a potholder or dishtowel. The fridge space is not open, but a wooden "box" so the side next to the corner is dark and difficult to maneuver around although the space is 18" wide by the depth of the bottom cabinets. (Picture will be following) On their visit during mom's birthday last month, I asked her to help me come up with an efficient use of this space. I reminded her that I was serious on the visit this past weekend. She laughed and said she had been thinking of some solutions and was waiting for me to bring it up again.The "useless" corner that started it all!

I am organizationally challenged. I can do the basics, but sometimes look at things in a jumble and cannot picture a way to make sense of it. It has gotten better since we moved and shed ourselves of some 30+ years of accumulations, but still there are myriad places I need to work on. Stacy can look at it and instantly come up with a great plan! I gave her carte blanche to go at my area. She said that really I had so much space in lots of areas in my kitchen and pantry and laundry room, but I wasn't putting it to its best use. After her girls and grandchildren left, she sent me to a nap, her energy kicked in and she started to work. (I know she worked so much easier without my sentimentality and inefficiency in her way.) She single-handedly organized the following areas of my home in one afternoon and one morning: my pantry is now sleek and so functional. That in and of itself is a marvelous feat. She totally reconfigured my laundry room and its cabinets and repurposed so many of my storage spaces that I now have what she calls "white space" waiting for more items. One of our proudest "green" solutions in the laundry room was to take a newly discovered bicycle storage hook from the garage and put it opposite the dryer for me to hang shirts or other things on hangers or to dry. She organized the area under my kitchen sink. It wasn't really that full, but she purposed it so that I have all my cleaning supplies, trash can liners, and even an area for my cutting boards to be stored vertically there. She repositioned some of my drawers for efficiency and usefulness. She took a "coat closet" which has never held a coat since we've lived here and turned it into a pantry annex for my small electric appliances (ones I don't use everyday such as crock pot, waffle maker, seal-a-meal, electric skillet, etc.) and tupperware. The great thing is it is adjacent to my kitchen and very handy. I had been using it for my vacuum and broom, etc. but so much of it was space being wasted.

Laundry shelves with "white space" picture 1.

More laundry cabinets "White space" #2.

Repurposed bicycle rack. It will fold up and away when not in use. Don't worry, it's high enough I won't hit my head on it! She thinks of everything!

Pantry all clean!

The best part of it is the servant's heart she displayed while working, tinkering and problem solving. She would giggle with delight when a plan came together. Such as getting a little help from the men in the house to demo a shelf out of one of those skinny cabinets so I would have a vertical place for my cookie sheets and baking stones or researching the internet for the perfect Rubbermaid turntable for a certain set of supplies. Her pleasure in a job well done and thought out was infectious!

I can't thank her enough for sharing this gift with me. She did mention that she did it for fun and not a business, so don't call her. We have a relationship that goes back to the earliest days of high school and included her being in my wedding where she and my brother became reacquainted after, as my daddy would say, she had "all growed up." The rest is family history.

Thank you, Sister Friend!
Under the sink. Cleaning supplies in the tub on the left. It's white so you can see what's in there. On the right, we have a repurposed pot lid holder for my cutting boards, a tray and longer aluminum foil, waxed and parchment paper.

The new place for cookie sheets and baking stones.

The drawer under the oven that used to hold the cookie sheets, etc. Now for iron skillets, etc. that used to be on top of the fridge in the laundry room.

Reflections on a Psalm

2011-03-10T08:06:00.002-06:00

This morning as the doves are calling to one another,the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and I'm on my back patio reading this Psalm, I just had to share it.

8 O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

It speaks for itself in so many ways, so I won't say much. Our majestic Lord put us on this earth to enjoy it's beauty, majesty, His fun imagination evidenced in creation, from microscopic organisms to the blue whales that roam our seas, to the infectious smile of my grandson, to the freckles on my chocolate lab's nose or the pink blossoms of the azaleas in the front yard, it was all created for us by a most imaginative God.

Thank you is not enough for all these sweet evidences of your love for me, but it is all I have. Thank you, Jesus.

Here's to Christmas!

2010-12-01T17:17:00.003-06:00

I must confess I'm using this post to make myself a list for the next couple of weeks. After traveling home after Thanksgiving in Tennessee (what a wonderful time with family and friends!) on I-10 with half of Americans, we hit the ground running.

Mark had driven 14 1/2 hours, unloaded the truck (we brought home several things), then asked me if I would like him to set the Christmas tree up. I couldn't believe how sweet that was. It was 9 p.m. and he went into the garage and retrieved the box. After quickly assembling the tree, we fell into bed for a good night's rest. The next day I did the re-entry thing; laundry, sorting, cleaning so I could put up decorations. Monday night we went to dinner with our good friends, Mike and Francine Creecy, who were here for Thanksgiving with their girls, Brad and new grandbaby, Morgan.

Tuesday I set up the nativities, did more laundry, changed sheets, cleaned some more. Mom is due on Thursday, and I want things in good shape for her. I put up the cookie tree in the kitchen and decorated the big tree. We got out the Dickens houses for the dining room. We took our photo for our Christmas card.

Today I finished a lot of previously unfinished things. I found some items I had purchased last year on sale to add to the Christmas decor. Set those out. Cleaned the kitchen. More laundry. Set up the Dickens Village and got all the lights in them appropriately. I cut some magnolia off our tree and put it in the dining room fixture. I hung some pretty ornaments from it, too. I still have to clean up, put boxes away, etc. I also organized our Life Group decorating two tables for the Christmas Cafe Sunday night and our progressive dinner Saturday, Dec 11.

Thursday morning I'm meeting good friends for coffee.
Pick up mom at 1:30 ish.
Drive to REI on Westheimer for a final small thing for Ross.
Go to grocery. Buy things for mom to eat as well as prepare two of my most famous desserts for our Christmas Cafe at church on Sunday; chocolate fantasy cake and ultimate cheesecake.
Go to Post Office where they will draw more blood for one last package for the Italian Stowers.
Friday we are going to Richmond to get some more pecans. Gotta love Texas pecans.
I'll probably bake my cheesecake that day, too.
Saturday I'll bake the cake for the chocolate fantasy and put it in the freezer. It has to be frozen in order to frost it....it's sooooo moist.
Mark will put the lights outside and clean up the yard after being gone for 2 1/2 weeks. We will probably grocery shop for Tuesday nights dinner....see below.

Sunday we have church. I'll go back around 2 to begin to decorate our tables. I'll also take some Show Hope merchandise I picked up in Nashville. We are using this season to promote interest in our new 1:17 ministry at The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch. The Christmas Cafe benefits this new ministry which will help families in our church with the cost of adoption. We will enjoy the evening filled with Christmas music and lovely desserts!

Monday we will prepare for a dinner party for 15 of Mark's staff. It is a lovely evening. I'll prepare what I can ahead of time.

Tuesday we will get everything ready for dinner so Mom and I can join the Feathered Chicks (ladies who worked at The Feathered Star Quilt Shop) at The Taste of Texas. Tuesday will be a food overload day for sure! We'll get home in time to run items in the oven. Mark will grill. We'll enjoy the evening together.

Oh, and by the way, we are giving Mom a netbook for Christmas and I will be teaching her how to navigate the internet and email everyday while she's here.

Wednesday we don't have any plans. I'm sure we'll come up with something! Mani/Pedis maybe?

Thursday Mom returns to Tennessee. I'm going to my friend Becky's house for a benefit for The Apparent Project, an effort to help parents in Haiti provide for their children.

Friday I get my hair done and we have Mark's office party that evening.

Saturday is our progressive dinner with our Life Group. We are hosting the main course, so I'll have to figure that out sometime! HA

As of now, we are done after that until Christmas where we are having a couple of ladies from Mark's office for Christmas dinner. Our kids are all somewhere else this year, so it will be just the two of us....for the first time in 31 years! Even then we went to our parents' houses, etc. so this is really is a first.

It's all good and part of God's plan for us....this year at least!

Thanks for letting me make my list. I hope it didn't bore you too much!

A Few Mnutes of Your Time, Please

2010-10-27T15:45:00.003-05:00

This is an explanation/introduction to the ministry Grace's young man, Charles "Chachi" Avirett. is beginning. I think it would appeal to several of you who have young men as sons. Read and enjoy. If you want to contact Chachi about a trip for your son and his friends, please do!

Take a few minutes to think back to early adulthood. You’re finally free from parental control; the world awaits your arrival; possibilities are endless. Reflect long enough and you will likely remember some of the circumstances that make teens and college-age young adults quite vulnerable to an onslaught of moral and spiritual battles. For Trail’s target audience, young men ages 16-24, familial independence, insatiable curiosity, and bold exploration beckon. Like a champion thoroughbred, we chomp at the bit, muscles trembling, waiting for the gate to fling wide. As many of us learn years too late, what we choose to do with that energy and passion, particularly in our first years of autonomy, will often dictate the life path on which we travel. Will we tread on the road of integrity, strength, and character, or take the bypass? As Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, God invites each of us to use our strength and abilities to pursue the great adventure he has planned for our lives. Trail will intercede for these young men, show them the truly thrilling life God offers, and start them on the path to achieve it.

Our unique wilderness expeditions blend a man’s life journey with the challenge of extreme outdoor adventure. Participants may choose to paddle roaring whitewater, scale sheer cliff faces, or trek along Smoky Mountain ridges. Their experience on a Trail expedition mirrors the bold and daring life God has planned for them. Living for God is not for the faint of heart. In a life with Christ, as in our wilderness adventures, challenges are inherent, and obstacles must be overcome. But, that’s what makes it exciting.

Currently, we have eight expeditions planned for 2011. They include: rock climbing in Foster Falls, Tennessee, a fly fishing/backpacking course in the Chattooga River Gorge in Georgia, and one more “to be determined” expedition in Big South Fork National Park in Kentucky. Each week long trip includes 12 students and two to three certified guides. The small group size ensures personal instruction in the applicable outdoor skill and the freedom and time to build close relationships. Time for reflection is built in to each day, and there is no better place to talk with God than from the awe-inspiring apex of a mountain.

If you believe in our cause, please join our team. We need both consistent prayer and financial support to boldly move forward. I ask, above all, for prayer. Please pray daily for Trail; God will bless our organization to impact thousands of young people in the years to come. We must also raise capital for several major expenses including: marketing materials, liability insurance, rock climbing and fly fishing gear, and employee compensation.

Our goal is to raise, or have pledged, $30,000 in 30days from October 10th through November 10th. This is the amount needed to achieve Trail’s short-term goals and to propel us, full tilt, into next year. Though one time donations are extremely helpful with start-up costs, smaller, recurring donations allow us to plan for Trail’s future and are greatly appreciated. We hope to find 100 supporters who give just $20-$50 per month. To join our effort, please refer to the “Donation Options” insert.

If you wish to donate please give us a call 1.866.494.4755 or go to our website http://www.facebook.com/l/b9e5atKJlMiFGSINugJMZjyuMdQ;www.trailministries.org

Thank you for your time and your continued support!

For the freedom of our hearts,

Chachi Avirett
Executive Director
TRAIL Ministries
chachi@trailministries.org
4785750114

Head Knowledge and Heart Acceptance

2010-10-25T09:34:00.003-05:00

So, I had this plan. I would raise my three children and they would stay right around where I was and I would get to see them and their offspring (when it happened) often, regularly, and systematically. For instance, we would have Sunday dinner every week or I would babysit on Friday night for one family and Saturday night for another. In this plan, we might even go to the same church together and get to sing and worship together and I would get to look down the pew or row of chairs and see them all sitting there. I would have LifeSavers or gum or Tic Tacs, glittery crayons or surprises in my purse each week to keep my grandbabies entertained while the preacher was speaking. I would have one in my lap and one sitting next to me, giving their mamas a break. Why shouldn't this plan work? It did for my immediate family. I mean most of us, anyway.

I should have known better. Most of my plans didn't end up the way I had originally intended. And I'm so thankful for that. My life has turned out the way it was supposed to, infinitely better than the small plans I had. Not without a lot of pain and death to the dreams and expectations I always held in my heart or thought was important. I've had to learn the lesson of release. I guess this first happened when that first child got their driver's license. Then went to college. The second child got that freedom, the driver's license, then went to college. Number three followed suit, but having realized the void that took place when each child left, I tended to hold on tighter to that one. Maybe I squeezed a little too much. Poor thing. I picture a toddler holding on to a pet around the neck, fearful of letting go or the animal just might run off. All the while choking the squirming fuzzball to near death. That was me; holding on too tightly.

My children are growing, changing, becoming the adult people they are supposed to be. And, surprise, surprise, nowhere near where I am. That is due in part to the fact that I moved and in part to them being where God called them to be. God had a plan for me that included pulling me out of a rut of complacency, the expected, the "norm" for my life. He wanted me to go on a great adventure.

The comfort he gives through all the phases of life is remarkable. Reflecting on the advent of child rearing, the addition of more children, their growing up and becoming independent, it is a gentle process. He reminds me that He has my children in His hands, He loves them more than I ever could, and that He has wonderful plans for them. Funny enough, he has great plans for me too.

It has taken two years for me to be able to let go of some of my life expectations. It doesn't make it any easier to see new and old friends with their children near and seeing their grandchildren every day or weekend or even once a month. I still have a part of that dream living in me, that expectation. But more and more often, I am reminded that my life and the lives of my children aren't called to look like that and they are no less beautiful because their lives were ordained before the foundations of the world. In fact, what makes it all the more glorious is that I have nothing to do with it, no control over it. It really is ok. In fact it is perfect. I know that in my head, but my heart is taking a while to catch on and be totally on board with it. I have my moments. So the process continues.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. or just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ." II Cor. 1:3-5

Some More Pics of Colton

2010-09-15T16:52:00.007-05:00

Thanks, Aunt Jenn, for posting these on Facebook. I'll put a few on for the blog followers.

Colton will be 2 on Sept 25. They had a party while Aunt Jenn and Uncle Nate were there to enjoy the fun! I can hardly believe he's already 2!

Believe I'll have a little taste!

Note the cars on his tray. The child LOVES anything with wheels!
This is what I call a sly look. He's sizing everything up. Love the batman shirt!
I'll post more later!

Happy Almost Birthday, Colton!

In case you didn't see this one...

2010-09-05T19:28:00.003-05:00

Colton's Aunt Jenn and Uncle Nate are visiting right now. They posted this picture of Colton in this sweet outfit they brought just for him! Good work you two! He's stylin' all over Italy now! Go Titans! Hotty Toddy!

Squaring Up

2010-07-15T09:38:00.004-05:00

Hello to the three of you who read my blog.....While I love reading other people's posts about anything and everything, I kind of feel like I need to have something to say before I sit and begin to type. So, I've not had any real inspiration until today.

One of the new adventures I'm on is to try to develop some new quilting patterns to possibly sell in shops, etc. I've begun with a few based on the incredible mosaics in the architecture of Italy which have inspired me so. I've made a few blocks and am working on what could be a book of those.

I'm also inspired by the Civil War reproduction fabrics and quilts inspired by this era. I love all the history and stories surrounding them. I've almost finished my first one, Miss Carrie's Crosses or Crosses at Carnton (not sure which name yet. Your suggestions are welcome!), is a scrap quilt made of cross-like patterns set on point. I used a tiny 1 inch border to set the center off from a flying goose border, followed by another 1 inch border, thus setting this border off, then finally a wide print border. Did you notice I added four, yes FOUR, borders? For those of you who know me, I don't like adding borders. There are technical reasons. You don't just plop the border down and start sewing.

To make sure your quilt is and remains absolutely square (not in shape, but in "plumbness" or flat!) before you add borders, you measure the quilt at the top, in the middle, and at the bottom. In a perfect world, these measurements would be the same and your first border cut for those opposite sides would be easy to cut and stitch on. However, I don't live in heaven yet, so that rarely happens. The more seams you have in the center of the quilt and the more you put things on the diagonal, thus the bias, the greater the chance of a variation in those measurements. As a result, you take an average of those three measurements, cut your borders that average and ease the sides of the quilt to match. Fortunately for me these days, my measurements rarely vary more than 1/4 inch or so, and easing this in is not too difficult. However, it HAS to be done. It is critical to do this for each side of the quilt for every time you add a border. If it starts off crooked, then you add more crooked borders, you will end up with one very crooked quilt. Not to mention that by this time the quilt has become large and unwieldy to deal with under the needle.

Now back to my design. Yes, I added FOUR borders. One of them is pieced with flying geese. Lots of seams means lots of chances for variation. Being off a mere 16th of an inch means after 16 seams you can be off an entire inch! There are 128 geese in the borders, thus LOTS of chances to be even slightly off. Not to mention in the design, I forgot to make allowance for setting the quilt on point and that adds in hypotenuse measurements.....oh my, it gets complicated for a 2" goose to fit and odd-number measurement!

So, I was squaring up; making sure the quilt was square before adding the first border. Really having to ease the geese onto the 1" border to get them to fit. Calculating how many geese for each side so they will come out even. Easing it all to fit. Measure, measure, measure. Average, average, average. Four borders, sixteen times to repeat this process. What was I thinking?

It came to me. I have the opportunity to do this with my life. I mess up, sin, am downright hateful sometimes. All I have to do to "square up" or get right, is to turn to my loving Creator, my heavenly Father, my Savior, my Rock, my Redeemer, and He will ease me back in. He squares me up not only daily, but minute by minute. He even does it gently. Stretching me when he has to, hemming me in when he needs to, gathering me up when necessary. Reminding me that in His hands, He can make me right. I can accept His gentle urgings or ignore them. It does take more work to make me into His image. When I succumb, I'm righted without too much pain or embarrassment. When I continue in my wrong ways, I really get out of "plumb," only increasing and magnifying the sin. As amazing as it is, He longs to have a right relationship with me. Even more often than daily; minute by minute, second by second, border by border. He even takes the time to do it every step of the way.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift."II Cor. 9:15

Living the Abundant Life with Friends

2010-04-26T07:42:00.009-05:00

Several years ago, I would have to think too hard to determine exactly when, but let's say 6 years ago, a group of new friends got together for dinner. I do remember that the Young girls and Fleet boys were in middle school/elementary. David and Susanne Young, Bill and Lynne Fleet, Jerry and Kathy McKinney and Mark and I ate at one of our houses. We had met/bonded in Robbie Hendrick's Sunday School class at CPC. I still can't remember who started it. We had such fun that we decided to keep having dinner together. It was decided that someone else would host the next time, and so we began. It doesn't hurt that we are all good to great cooks. Over the years we've shared fish, poultry, beef and pork. We are carnivores. We know who makes great salads....everyone except me, and who can make you cry from a great dessert; that would be all of us! Our own wine conneseur, Dr. Fleet, has educated us and shared from his collection. The men have all stood over grills in the heat and cold to put the goods on the table. We have scoured our cookbooks to come up with the best recipes. Gumbo's, stews, and chilis over Super Bowls or SEC football. You name it, we've probably shared it. Our birthdays are spread over the calendar year, so we morphed into a Birthday Supper Club.

Friday afternoon we were overjoyed when these six waved us in at the passenger pick-up at Hobby Airport. Hugs and kisses insued until the traffic control whistled us to get moving! Fifty minutes later we were seated at La Finca, our favorite Mexican eatery in Katy. Margaritas ordered, table-side guacamole, chips, salsa and fabulous entrees were delivered and consumed before we made it to the house, groaning from over-indulging.

How appropriate, then, that one of the best times we had this weekend was at 2 local grocery stores. Saturday morning after a waffle breakfast, all of us, men and women inclusive, piled in the cars and ventured out to Fiesta, a cultural experience, and My HEB at Fry and 99 to explore. We were like children at FAO Schwartz. We stopped in the produce sections to examine all the exotic melons, squash, roots, herbs, mushrooms, etc. and really wanted a tutorial on the uses of these things. We squealed with delight (really, we did!) at the fajita and charo bean seasonings and Mexican vanilla. Wonder was written on our faces. Susanne and the man who makes tortillas at HEB became fast friends. She tasted every variety as he handed them to her hot, directly out of the machine. (She went home with at least one package of each, so good marketing for him!) The girls headed to the nail salon as the men returned home to start on the ribs for dinner.
Susanne, Lynne and Bill, trying to figure out what to do with these things!
"You know, Susanne, I think you're right!" You two are so cute!

After a stop at Charming Charlie's, a jewelry/accessory store, we returned home to the guys sitting on the patio while the ribs cooked away. Somehow, the chips, guacamole and salsa had disappeared. Good thing we had a doctor on hand, although he kept saying he was on vacation...what's up with that!? Shrimp, ribs, slaw, garlic smashed potatoes, and rolls were loaded on plates and enjoyed by all of us. We had to take a walk after dinner to make room for strawberry shortcake for dessert!

Breakfast was a yummy blueberry/lemon cake and cereal before church. We had plans to get Jerry some "real Texas" barbeque (smoked beef brisket) for lunch, but with leftovers filling the fridge, decided we would go another round with the ribs and shrimp. Mark warmed the fajita marinated shrimp on the grill and we added shrimp fajitas to lunch. Homemade tiramasu completed the food fest. It was funny that the fact that the tiramasu didn't have a chance to set up and was a little runny didn't stop any of us. That stuff is so good!

All too soon, it was time to load up and head back to the airport. It means the world to us that these sweet friends would organize their busy lives, find a weekend, get their flights planned, and visit us for a few days. As Jerry said in his final prayer, these people have had a huge impact in my life. They have helped form me into who I am. I love them so much and am so grateful for the depth of friendship we share. All this food I've discussed is just a catalyst to so much more meaning. God brought them into my life to be a part of the abundant life He promises.....abundant salvation, abundant friendship, abundant love, abundant giving, abundant laughter. I'm so happy I will spend eternity with them, but between now and then, we'll keep on sharing the good stuff. "Let's eat!"

Travelogue of Italy March 2010

2010-04-06T09:20:00.008-05:00

When we left off last time, Grace had arrived, we visited a winery, toured the Academia, the museum which houses Michelangelo's David, had a family picture made at Piazza Michelango, went to dinner at Zaza's as a family, got Robert and Charissa ready to go home, Ross got food poisoning, Robert and Char missed their flight from Amsterdam to Chicago because Italy went on daylight savings and Holland didn't, they got routed through Toronto which was a nightmare, lost their bags again, got home a day late, Ross slowly recovered.
Monday, all of us except Ross who was still recuperating went shopping...a common theme of the coming week! Grace got her Italian leather purse, some things for friends, etc. Grace experienced "Glee" for the first time. Of course gelato was included in the day's activities.
Tuesday, Ross was feeling better, so we went to what R & L call "Little America" outside of town. It's a mall with large stores, movie theatres, and Burger King. We shopped at H & M for Grace and Lindsay. I just hope Grace has as many interviews as we've gotten clothes for! Of course I'm kidding. We are glad to purchase things she will be able to wear as a teacher next year. Lindsay benefitted from the trip, too! She is one stylish Euro-mama! We ate dinner at Burger King. Colton loved the chicken nuggets, fries, and ketchup! Of course, Lindsay had given him some veggies as an appetizer.
Wednesday, Lindsay, Grace and I ventured back to Pisa for more Vietri pottery. We were successful in finding some great things! Ross and Grandy had the pleasure of spending the day with Colton and their day included a trip to the local "Home Depot" type store. Fertilizer, weedeater string, and other manly purchases were on their list. They cleaned up the back yard after the winter and cut the grass. Colton enjoyed the outdoors after his nap!
Thursday was a bit rainy, so we stayed close to home with plans of a train trip to Sienna the following day. While Colton napped, Grace, Mark and Linds did more shopping including a small surprise for Chachi. Every evening we watched more espisodes of Glee. We are all hooked! It was so good just being a family together with little or no agenda.
Friday we all got up early and ready for the train trip to Sienna. Grace wasn't feeling great due to a stomach reaction to some congestion medicine, but still tried to make it. After arriving at the train station, she was feeling no better. So we decided to go home. Lindsay and Ross were given the day off and enjoyed a lunch date and some shopping. Ross is always game to visit yet another sports store. The boy loves him some shoes. He has since he was little and would take a nap with his hands in his shoes! Later in the evening we went to a cool educational toy store and picked up a swimming pool and some water toys for the long hot summer ahead.
Saturday we did a last tour through town, bought a swing, installed it and Colton loved swinging in his own backyard! I have to say putting Colton to bed on Saturday was tough. Gigi shed some tears kissing that boy while we rocked and watched a praise video. I don't know when I'll see him and his parents again. But I do cherish each memory of smiles, giggles, running, sly grins, seeing something he wants to eat and making that face he makes, tears and even little temper fits.

(Pictures are on my facebook page. I have been challenged to edit and post this one!)

I know a darling redneck who lives in Florence, Italy!

2010-04-06T09:08:00.003-05:00

More pictures and a travelogue about the rest of our trip coming soon!

A few pics

2010-03-26T06:47:00.006-05:00

For those of our friends and family without Facebook, here are some pics from our time in Italy so far.

Right now, Grandy and I have cleaned and spruced up the apt a little....6 adults and one baby can bring in a lot of dirt and dust! Grandy is napping while Colton does. Ross is at work. Linds, Robert and Char are shopping. Grace lands in one hour! So, it's pretty much a perfect afternoon.

Whee! We are really having fun!

First Few Days in Italy March 2010

2010-03-23T13:47:00.002-05:00

Oh, man, are we having fun! After having the best sky cap in the business get us to the front of a very long line (we didn't ask him to, he just did it!) and even when the seat in front of me was broken so that the lady in it lay in my lap for about 8 hours, and our flight from Amsterdam to Florence was delayed about an hour, we arrived happy and full of excitement! Ross arrived about an hour after we did. He had been at a conference in Athens.....Greece, not Georgia! We opened presents, all of which were appreciated and well received. Even the Edward shirt Mark picked out for Lindsay as a joke. Yes, she's worn it....in disguise under a cardigan, but she's worn it! HA Colton's shoes look great on him. There was enough room in the pantry for all the American goodies. The Velveeta did not send off any alerts in the TSA as being a plastic explosive. We had pizza for dinner, were able to stay awake until 9 p.m. and then went to bed.

Saturday morning we were full of anticipation waiting for Robert and Charissa's arrival. They were due at 12:05 noonish. About 11:30 we checked to see if it was on schedule...remember, the same flight was late the day before. Horrors of horrors, it had been cancelled. I went into "mama mode." Where were my babies? Who were they with? Did they have a phone to call us? When would they get here? on and on and on. I know you are thinking, "Isn't Robert 26? Don't both he and Charissa have college degrees and are intelligent and good problem solvers?" You forget, I'm a mama and I've been looking forward to this since Ross and Lindsay moved here! I wanted my babies and I wanted them NOW! Ross called the airline. We had all the flight info, including their confirmation numbers, so we found out that they had been sent to Paris to connect to Florence. Ok, they would be here at 3:00 p.m. instead of noon. I can handle that. Yay! Ross went to meet them. They arrived, but their bags didn't. That's the bad news. The good news is that they each received an allowance of 100 euros to purchase any "needed" items. They were extremely happy about that! We went shopping! Their bags arrived the next morning even before they had showered! Whoop whoop!

Sunday we went back to the center of town and spent the day exploring, shopping, having gelato, coffee, wine, good snacks, etc. We ended the day at Zaza's, a wonderful trattoria and enjoyed some of their reasonably priced pastas. Good bread, good dinner, good wine, fabulous tiramasu!

Monday Ross worked. Robert, Charissa, Mark and I went to town to see the Duomo, the Baptistry, and piddle. Lindsay kept Colton at home since he had gone without a nap the day before. He needed his rest to keep up with us the rest of the week. Mark and I came home and LIndsay went to meet up with Ross, R & C. They had a wonderful afternoon out. We had a fabulous afternoon in with our grandbaby! I just love to play with him. We got him up from his nap, had a snack, played, played, played, had dinner, gave him a bath, readied him for bed and then put him there. When the kids got home, they were welcomed to a baby sleeping and burgers and home fries cooked by Grandy. What a fun day!

Today, Ross had to work pretty much all day, so Robert, Charissa, and Lindsay hiked to the Piazza Michelangelo, about a 45 minute walk. Mark found a project, replacing the broken frame on the stroller, and I played Gigi. After naptime, it was time for Colton's music class. Lindsay invited me and Charissa to go with them. It was so sweet. Colton was the only child who showed up today, and the teacher was so kind. We played with all types of rhythm instruments. Paula, you will be happy to know Colton loves the piano. The teacher played a child-like tune and allowed Colton to bang away to his heart's content. She never stifled his creativity or activity, and there was a lot of that! Tonight's dinner was an "everyman for himself, raid the fridge" kind of night. Right now, the big kids are off getting gelato (yes, again!) Mark has gone to the ATM to get money for our trip to Pisa tomorrow! Colton is asleep. I'm catching all y'all up with our trip so for.

Sorry no pictures this time as I'm using LIndsay's computer to write and I haven't given her the pics yet!

A Little Mutton Bustin' and all things Rodeo

2010-03-17T08:53:00.002-05:00

I've had a request for information on this rodeo thing with my niece, Sara Ross Foster, and her children.

It all started at Christmas when I told all my family that rodeo time would be a great fun time to visit us in Houston! For the uneducated, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a HUGE thing. It lasts for 3 weeks every March. Each night there are rodeo events leading up to the championship on the final night. In addition, there are concerts every night by some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry; Jonas Brothers, Mary J. Blige, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, and a myriad of others. If you are that interested, go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo website. There is a barbecue cookoff, a parade, a trail ride on horseback across the state of Texas to get here, etc......really over the top and unbelievable.

Sara was all on it. She planned and waited and arrived on Thursday. Our first stop was Cavendar's Boot Country to outfit the children in their boots and cowboy hats. Emma-Claire chose a striking pair of pink leather boots with matching hat. Tee went for a classic brown leather boot with a straw hat embellished with a longhorn bearing brad on the brim. So cute. As we were leaving the store, he clung his hat to his chest and said, "I've always wanted this 'weawy badwy." I could just eat him up!

That night we had a Pampered Chef party......a good reason for Sara to come and a tax advantage for her! Double fun as lady friends of mine gathered in my kitchen and we cooked and ate the night away!

Friday dawned and we ventured to the rodeo for our first day. I was a total novice as well, so it was a learn as we go experience. Suffice it to say that this rodeo thing is a state fair on steroids. They have a HUGE area for kids in the Reliant Center called Agventure. The FFA and 4Hers were there with their animals ready for show. The hides on those cows looked like the finest velvet in shades of black, brown, red, taupe, etc. There are exhibits of all things farming. There is a birthing area where if you are lucky you can witness the birth of calves, piglets, lambs, kids, and chicks. We were lucky enough to see baby chicks hatch and a calf only hours old. The cutest, though, were the hours old piglets......I wanted to bring one home......until I looked over at mama.....a heaping sow boasting about 700 pounds! She was a BIG, BIG, REALLY BIG girl! WOW!

We (of course I mean the children) rode ponies, shopped, (Sara got some really hot boots for mama!) and ate corndogs and chicken on a stick. We went into the petting zoo and loved on sheep, pigs, goats, a llama, a donkey, and bunnies.

We went outside to the carnival area. I wanted to see the child-sized mechanical bulls and find the pig races and mutton bustin'. We found the mutton bustin' first. Emma-Claire and Tee were mesmerized. Children donning helmets and protective vests were put on the backs of sheep by sheep wranglers and told to hold on for as long as they could. The shoot was opened and away they went! And off they came! It was hilarious! About 8 or 9 children participated. They awarded prizes and ribbons to all the children and a silver belt buckle to the first place winner. Emma-Claire looked up at her mama and said, "I want to do it!" We didn't know that just anyone could until we heard the announcement: "Sign up your child for the noon session." After investigation, we discovered that indeed any child under 60 pounds with the fortitude to stand the odor of the sheep could give it a try. However, being who they are, our darling children were dressed in very cute outfits without forethought to rolling in the dust/dirt/sheep stuff or being trampled by a mutton. The rules say that the children need long pants and a shirt with sleeves. EC in a dress to match her boots and hat and Tee in shorts and shirt were not attired properly. So, we said we would come back. We left happy and full of mutton dreams.

Saturday dawned and we loaded up to go to a farm owned by a friend of mine in Weimer, Texas, about an hour west of us. It was a beautiful spread. About 40 head of the cattle roamed around us, 11 or 12 newly birthed calves included. They raise brangus cattle, a lovely reddish color. In fact the color of the cattle matched Tee's hair.....a lovely coppery red color. We had a picnic lunch under a huge live oak tree next to a "tank" or pond to those who don't live in Texas. EC and Tee went fishing in the tank with Uncle Mark and struck! Tee caught a bass about as long as your forearm. We did throw him back to go live with his family, but it was so fun to catch him! After fishing, we got in the back of Mr. Darrell's pick up truck and went looking for the other bull and some 7 month old heifers he keeps in the back 50. We came back up to the house. The "old folks" went to the front to sit on the lovely porch while Tee got his turn to drive the tractor. I mean a really big John Deere farm tractor. As they came to the front of the house, I said to my friend,"He is having such a fun time riding." Kay responded, "He's not just riding, he's driving....Darrell only intervenes if they are getting into trouble." Ok, Tee was driving a tractor at age 3 1/2. Emma-Claire got her turn and had a great time. Tee got another turn, which if you know him, was something he had to do. That boy loves a tractor!

Sunday we took time at my house to recuperate and chill. We did go to one of our neighborhood parks and bake cookies, but it was generally a rest day. Isn't that what the sabbath is for? :) I will say that the children decided to practice for their mutton bustin' debuts. Our chocolate lab, Bear, was a willing participant. They would have him sit. Tee would get on Bear's back. Emma-Claire would control Bear's movements by having a dog biscuit in her hand. She would throw the biscuit across the den and Bear would run after it like lightning. Tee did his best to hang on, but he was slung all over the room by day's end.......need I say hilarious!?

Monday dawned and we ventured back to the rodeo properly attired for our turn at mutton bustin'. They ask the children their favorite foods, what they want to be when they grow up and to name their sheep. As they announce each child it goes something like this. "Folks, This is Tee Foster. He's from Alabama and he likes to eat corndogs. He wants to be a cowboy when he grows up. Let's see if he can break in this sheep he's riding. Let's go, Tee, and have a good ride!" They open the gate and away he goes for about 4.5 seconds of sheer delight. He rolled off, jumped up with the help of the rodeo sheep wranglers, waves to the crowd and runs out of the arena. Emma-Claire's turn was next. "Well, folks, here is is Emma-Claire Foster. She's from Alabama, loves to eat strawberries and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Let's see if she can teach this sheep a thing or two." Well, EC's first sheep was a little lazy (or just tired of children riding her) and just stood there, so she got a second chance. She changed from Princess to Bosheepus and he gave her a thrilling 3 or 4 second ride. She too jumped up, waved to the crowd and ran off. The youngster who won our round stayed on the sheep all the way across the arena. However, our mutton busters were thrilled with the backpack filled with a real ribbon, chest number and other prizes. It was a fabulous time. The practice on Bear paid off.

Needless to say we had a terrific time with our little ones. Luke at 3 months old was the champion of the weekend. He went along with all our shenanigans with little or no fussing. He ate and slept and rode in the stroller and got out to look around and go back again. I see a completely cooperative little boy in the Foster's future. What a darling.

Can't wait for next year. We didn't even get to the mechanical bulls or pig races! Something to look forward to! y'all come!
Sorry, Sara has all the pictures on her camera. She'll be sending them to me soon! I'll post later!

So Big....He Loves his daddy's hat!

2010-03-01T15:53:00.005-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Colton wearing his daddy's Titans hat. He now has 8 front teeth and is getting all 4 molars at once! Ouchie!

He is one lean mean stretching machine! Almost 36 inches tall at 17 months! He is enjoying turning the lights on and off now!

Boys are so fun! We will see you soon!

Quilts for Adoption

2010-02-18T13:18:00.003-06:00

I have been praying a lot lately about how to help some friends of mine adopt a special needs child they have fallen in love with. They are going through the process which is quite costly; far more than their teacher salaries can supply. Therefore, to benefit them as well as Show Hope, an organization which helps other families adopt, I have listed some of my quilts for sale on etsy. If you are interested, please go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/whatsoeverquilts. I will be dividing 25% of the proceeds of these quilts to these two deserving causes. Please send this to anyone and everyone you think may be interested.

I have priced the quilts to cover the costs of fabric and quilting services only, not charging anything for the time involved to create them. I pray you will be blessed by the works of my hands.
There are more quilts (9 right now) on the etsy site.

"Whatsoever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. " Colossians 3:23

http://www.etsy.com/shop/whatsoeverquilts

WE HAVE TICKETS TO SEE HIM!

2010-01-15T08:46:00.005-06:00

Colton in his Euro/Christmas pjs.
I think he loves his new bulldog Santa brought!
Get ready, Baby Boy! Your Grandy, Gigi, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Char and Aunt Grace will be there to spoil the hound dog out of you soon! Get ready for lots of squeezes, blowing on your tummy, neck nuzzles, tickled toes, books read, balls thrown, cars revved, gelato sharing, cornetto bites, and glorious bathtimes! Of course we'll be so excited to see your mommy and daddy too! It will be hard to wait, but each day brings us closer!

Tragedy Averted!

2010-01-09T16:30:00.002-06:00

Well, if we didn't believe God was in his heaven watching over every step we take before today, we certainly do today!

Here's the story.

We woke this cold Saturday morning about 7:30 a.m. or so. I picked up the novel I've been reading and continued with the next chapter. Mark got up about 8 to make coffee and feed our "starving" dogs. Being Saturday, my day for fresh sheets on the bed, I got up, and began stripping the sheets off. As I am lazy this way, I usually just wash and dry the same sheet set and put it back on the bed. I hate folding sheets. I went to put the sheets in the washing machine and then looked for additional things to fill out the load. As I turned on the water and added the detergent, I noticed the water pressure was not nearly up to snuff. I mentioned this to Mark and asked if we could have a water pipe burst. He laughed.

Digress to this previous week. Here in Houston it is very rare for temperatures to go below 32. Heaven forbid that it go into the 20's----3 or 4 nights in a row. Note these are night-time temperatures, not day-time when it remained in the 50's and 60's. People here were freaking out! Each day Home Depot and Lowes ran out of insulating materials for pipes. Mark and I just laughed knowing it would take several days of temperatures below freezing to actually break the pipes. What we didn't know was that the water comes into the house by a single exposed pipe.

Now back to the story. I was walking across the front of the house and noticed water pouring down the street. Now I really said something to Mark (actually I yelled, "Go check our water!") He immediately looked out the bathroom window where the pipe is and started running. Did I mention we had just gotten up? He had to throw on some clothes, run outside in the 20 degree weather, find the valve, and turn off the water.

Now what? Mark is very handy, so he thought he could easily fix it. Thank goodness that it was an external break and not in the house ruining dry wall, floors, etc. He came in with good news/bad news. The good news was he thought it would be a fairly simple fix. The bad news was that it would require a part. A vacuum valve to be exact. The valve had popped off the pipe.

Mark went to his favorite place, The Home Depot, to look for the part. As he rounded the plumbing aisle with about 300 of his fellow Katy, Texas residents, he ran into a man carrying one of the valves he needed. He asked this fellow if he had gotten that valve at Home Depot. The man said, "No, they don't have any. You have to go to a specialty plumbing store." Mark asked him if he could tell him where to get one or if he would be able to install one. The man, Luis, answered, yes to both questions! When Mark asked how much he would charge to install it, he said, "$50.00." Mark then gave Luis our address and phone and Luis said that he would be in touch within the hour.

Luis and another man who spoke better English showed up with the valve and had it fixed within about 15 minutes! As they were leaving, Mark told them that he knew God had a hand in their meeting. The men answered, "Yes, Jesus is so good to all of us!!"

Now the rest of the story is that Mark went back to Home Depot for some air filters and pipe insulation. (No pipe insulation can be found in Houston right now!) However, while there for the second time, Home Depot was taking names of people who needed the vacuum valve. The shipment is not due in until TUESDAY!

The Lord had Mark get to Home Depot to meet Luis at just the perfect time. We are so thankful that even our water problems matter to our Lord and Savior!

Luis and his friend do lots of handyman things. We will certainly be calling them in the spring to help us get our yard in shape! Thank you Luis! Thank you, Jesus!

33 Years Ago

2009-12-16T17:54:00.005-06:00

I know I'm the lamest blogger out there. We've been to Italy, seen our grandbaby and his parents, had Thanksgiving, gotten Christmas ready and are ready to leave for Nashville in 3 days, but before that, we will celebrate an anniversary.

Two 19 year olds. Surely this is proof of a loving God. We were too naive and pie in the sky to realize what we were really doing. God in his magnificent sovereignty, great mercy and infinite love chose us to grow together, take us through enough deep water to cling to Him and give us enough successes and joy to keep the laughter and fun going.

Praise be to God alone. He is the source of every good thing...including our marriage!

November in Texas

2009-11-06T08:14:00.005-06:00

I'm very proud of myself....Mark is out of town and I took these photos off the camera and loaded them to the computer without even a phone call to ask "how!"

Mark took these last Sunday.
The hibiscus blooming in our backyard.

The Satsuma tree in our backyard.....loaded with fruit! We've tasted some and they aren't quite ready! A satsuma is a combination of a tangerine and orange sort of.....they are a little tart yet, but they will be ready soon! Mark had to build braces under the tree to keep the branches from breaking under the weight of the fruit. This particular citrus, I'm told, dates back to the type of orange they would have had in Biblical times.

The piece de resistance! Mark's tomatoes! This was taken the first day of November, 2009. He is so proud of them and they have persevered despite the torrential rains we've had. I'm told (you know I don't like tomatoes!) they are really very tasty.......if you like them that is. What a proud farmer I have as a hubby!

The Cutest Halloween Monkey EVER!

2009-10-31T13:24:00.004-05:00

Linday, Ross, and Colton were at a conference of all the Campus Crusade workers in Italy this weekend. Here are a couple of pictures from Halloween day!

Yes, that's a banana on his head! What a cute Monkey!

Fun Things from Quilt Festival and Market

2009-10-23T09:01:00.002-05:00

This is really for all my quilty friends, but you others might like it too! There are so many inventive/creative people out there!

I went to Quilt Market two weeks ago. The owner of The Feathered Star, Alicia Edwards, encouraged all of her employees to go. It was so fun. First of all, I got to hang out with a couple of my dear friends, Fran and Kelly from Quilter's Attic. What fun! We picked up where we left off and had a great time. Plus I learned a lot!!

We went to Schoolhouse, a day-long series of workshops/lectures about new things in the quilting industry. By far my personal favorite was Edyta Sitar from Laundry Basket Quilts. (check it out at www.laundrybasketquilts.com) She was born in Poland, raised in Germany, and came to the states in her teens. She has the most precious accent. She married a man from the Lancaster, PA, area who was blessed with quilting grandmothers. They took it on as their mission to teach Edyta to quilt. Boy, am I glad they did! Edyta's enthusiasm and creativity are fabulous and really gave me a shot in the arm. Most of the time her patterns involve little pieces which I have grown to love since completing the center of my Dear Jane. Makes things so interesting......at least to me!

That evening we went to Sample Spree where manufacturers and designers have their wares at special prices for shop owners and other "business professionals." Am I one of those? Don't know, but I enjoyed the shopping!

The next days I went to buy supplies for my longarm quilting machine and see what other fabulous things I could find. Something I did find and am working with is called Half Square Triangle Templates by Sunday's Best Quiltworks. Check it out at www.sundaybestquiltworks.com. They have created "templates" using regular template plastic for 4 sizes of half-square triangles. It is like triangle paper or triangles on a roll, but the key is.....there is no paper to tear off after you are done! You use water-washable markers, like Crayola. Check out the instructional video on their website. They are NEARLY perfect. My favorite method for perfect half/squares is to draw a line diagonally on a square and stitch 1/4" away from that line, cut apart and square down. While I still may have to do some of the squariing down, I made 32- 1 1/2" half-squares from tracing to stitching, to trimming, to pressing in just under 20 minutes......What a time saver! It was one of those "Why didn't I think of that moments!" I have since made over 300 half squares and have another 600 pinned ready to stitch.......Ocean Waves, here I come!

I'm proud of myself for finishing a couple of P.I.W.'s (Projects in Waiting, for you non-quilters!) lately. I made the simple but pretty "Falling Leaves" from Super Simple Strips. It had been living in a plastic bag for about 5 years just waiting for me to put it together. So, one Saturday in September I did and even quilted it, bound it and it is on the back of the sofa! FINISHED!

I also pieced the top for both "Bears Need Homes, Too" from Log Cabin Frenzy. I used fall batiks and am calling it "Smokey's Tennessee Home" as it reminds me of the beautiful Smokey Mountains in the fall. (If I knew how to upload pics by myself, I would include pictures!)

Last night I finished my version of "Wedding March" by Glad Creations. It has a blue batik background with navy, green, gold, and a little purple for the piecing. Very striking.

Well, if you've made it this far into this post, you are a quilter. I am off to work at The Feathered Star today. If you are in the area, stop in for some "fiber therapy!"

Have a quilty day!

Photos of the outside of our new home

2009-10-12T08:04:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Grace posting these on Facebook, I have a couple of pictures of the outside of our new home. Come on over for a good long visit!

Funny, we are the only ones on our street or in our neighborhood sporting this pretty orange flag instead of the ugly brownish/orange with a "T" I see so often here! The neighbor's also has these longhorns on them! I guess they don't really understand what the "T" really stands for! I've seen the maroon "T" with a small "a" and small "m" on either side and the red with two black "T's" on top of each other, but this is the only pretty orange one!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO COLTON!

2009-09-25T09:22:00.003-05:00

Today is Colton's First Birthday! He is having a blow-out party tomorrow in Florence, Italy! Have fun, sweet boy. Your GiGi will be watching via skype! You are such a blessing to our family! God did good with you! (Quote from Grandy the first!)

A Little Update

2009-09-18T08:58:00.004-05:00

I've been very busy these last days. My mom was here for a visit and left yesterday. We had a wonderful time. I miss her so much.

My other mom, Mark's mama, is coming Monday night to see us, so I'm preparing for her visit.

But, mainly I've been on my knees. I have two friends in Uganda, Africa, right now picking up their children. Both families are friends from CPA/CPC and I have the privilege of following their stories on their blogs and facebook. I check on them a lot during the day and they are almost constantly on my mind/heart. I will post links to their blogs so you can follow if you are interested. What a concrete way to show and share the love for our great God by becoming parents to the parentless.

I know God is preparing my heart as it is a passion of Robert and Charissa to adopt when the time comes. I had always wondered if I could be a good Gigi to a child not of my family or nation, but just by following these journeys and all the journeys of people I know who have adopted, I have fallen in love with children I have never touched or held. I am so excited for the time when Robert and Charissa will bring a little one from somewhere around the globe to be in our family. Meanwhile, I will love on the ones around me.

Please lift up the Kecks, Mayernicks, Doyles, Oatsvalls, Madduxes and Jacksons as they go through this process.

http://mightytosave-keckadoption.com
http://joiningthejourney.blogspot.com
http://oatsvallteam.blogspot.com
http://doyleadoption.blogspot.com
http://www.steveandlynley.blogspot.com

If Drew and Tara have a blog, I can't find it....help me out somebody!

I pray you have a blessed day!

Pictures Finally!

2009-09-08T22:35:00.016-05:00

At least some anyway. Welcome to our home. Here is the foyer.

Here is the dining room.

The family room.

The master bedroom.

A couple of the master bath......bigger than our bedroom in Nashville and yes, that is a two-person tub, wink, wink. Sometimes the empty nest is very nice.

Those are double closets. One of them is big, the other is REALLY big. Your guess whose is whose. HAHA!

The kitchen. Who is that woman? I LOVE my new cooktop!

The eat-in part of the kitchen.

The playroom or in our house, computer area. The bench is there so we can both see and skype to Colton, Ross & Lindsay at the same time. It's where we recently met a friend of Grace's.....wearing our bubba teeth and all! HA

One bedroom. Boxes are things I don't know if Grace wants to keep. When she comes next time she will go through them. That's Nanny's suitcase. She's visiting now!

Main guest room.....waiting for you! Sorry the quilt is a little crooked. I'll fix that before you come!

Nursery/future grandkids room.

There it is! I forgot to take outside pics.....those will come later! Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this, please comment! I love comments!

When Even Perfection is Not Good Enough

2009-08-30T19:56:00.002-05:00

The photos are still not uploaded to the computer, so that will have to wait.

This morning in our Love and Respect Class at church, the speaker on the tape said this: "Eve was in the Garden of Eden where everything was perfect. There was no sin, no pain, no problems, but she still was not satisfied and wanted more."

That hit me like a cold wet towel. I'm just like her. I have a wonderful husband who protects and provides for me, children who love Jesus and are committed to following him, a home more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, a loving extended family and lots of friends, all the conveniences I could ever dream of, but I still find myself wanting more. A new kitchen sink, wallpaper removed, new light fixtures, a skinnier body, less gray hair, my children closer, more money to do things I want to do. I have the same heart that Eve had. I'm realizing the depth of my depravity and the boundless love of my Savior Jesus. He can see through all the yuck of me and gives me the most priceless gift of all. A relationship with Him. And He is the one who continues to pursue me. Despite it all. All my whining and childishness. All my belly-aching and dissatisfaction.

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
"Full atonement!" can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
"It is finished!" was His cry;
Now in heav'n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Indeed, what a glorious Savior. Thank you, Jesus, for loving the Eve in me.

Its Coming!

2009-08-26T08:28:00.002-05:00

I've taken photos of the house, but the battery on the camera went down and had to be charged. As soon as it does, I'll post a tour of the house. Have a blessed everyone!

Little Updates

2009-07-23T09:12:00.002-05:00

The boxes were emptied and those not shared with a friend who's moving were placed outside for the recycle pick-up. The homeowners were nestled all snug in their bed. With visions of visitors to fill the empty rooms! Now come one, come all to our house! We would love to have you!

I don't know what all that was about except that I went from empty boxes to a very, very loose interpretation of "The Night Before Christmas" to "The Day After Moving."

We have had a small flurry of visitors with regular trips scheduled in the near future. My mom was here when we first moved in. Rusty had an overnight last night and we were delighted he stayed with us. The Imkens (Charissa's family) will be here for a day trip and an Astros game this Saturday. Grace will be here next week (can you say 7 days? We've been counting down since May!). Rusty, Stacy and mom will return for Labor Day. Mark's mom will be here the end of September, and Grace will come back accompanied by her friend, Katy, during her fall break in October!

We just love having the space for guests. It is delightful to share our home with friends and family.

Mark has completed painting the dining room. The family room will follow. How do you know the color is just right BEFORE it goes on the wall? I'm not the best at that, and Mark patiently waits while I decide. The problem is if I decide and its wrong........how do I tell him?

I'm still working one day a week at The Feathered Star, a quilt shop here in Katy, as well as beginning to quilt for the public a little more. I've got everything set up and my confidence is building. I appreciate my Hope House Quilter friends for their encouragement and support while learning this new skill. I start on my first paying Texas quilt next week. It feels good to have about 6 quilts on the shelf in line for my work! Hopefully there will be more soon!

Mark and I are participating in a great study at church. It's called "Love and Respect" and is focused on marriage and communication. We are really enjoying getting to know other couples at the church and share our lives with each other.

So this is a short update. More with pictures of freshly painted walls will be posted soon!

Where Do I Begin?

2009-07-07T08:58:00.002-05:00

We are settling into our new home. Whew! It was only 104 on the day of the big move. Mark insisted on moving us himself with the help of 2 other younger guys. I'm convinced he had a mild heat stroke as Sunday he was somewhat disoriented, couldn't think straight, and could not get cool no matter what! Several ice packs and some rest later, he returned to himself and, you know him, back to work! He needs to remember that he's not 26 anymore!

We are so blessed and humbled by what the Lord has provided for us. We have a lovely home we never dreamed possible. Already the rooms have been filled with a great visit from my mama, and parts of the Creecy family have spent the night 2 seperate times so far! Such fun.

I'll take pictures and post them soon. We've worked really hard and have the dining room, family room, kitchen, the bedrooms and sewing room box free! There are about 4 boxes in our bedroom in the "why did I keep this and what am I going to do with it" category. But out of 100+ boxes, we are doing pretty good!

We spent the Fourth of July working here at the house. There was a wonderful fireworks display in downtown Houston, and we had an invitation for rooftop viewing from Sarah Creecy's apartment building, but with the heat, the traffic, etc., and we were in the ceiling fan shuffle mode, we did the old people thing and watched it on tv. Mark put up a new ceiling fan (I know its not a designer's dream, but necessary here in HOT Houston!) in the family room then moved the one from the family room to Grace's bedroom. We have plans for a new one in our bedroom and move that one to another bedroom or the playroom upstairs.

We had built in to the budget (yes, I said budget.....Mark is a graduate of Financial Peace University) for a nice patio set for our covered patio. Last Monday I went to arrange for delivery of our new sofa at Tista's Home Furnishings, my new favorite furniture store. If you had seen Mark's face when we tested sofas and he sat in "Lazy Boy" type sofas and recliners, you would know how much that man missed his recliner. I made an executive decision that we would not use the patio set in 100+ degree weather anyway and they would be on sale later in the summer, and bought him a new recliner as a surprise. I will be honest, I'm not a fan of the look of a traditional recliner and tried to find an easy-chair-but-it-is-really-a-recliner-type chair for him, but when I saw the one I bought and then sat in it, it didn't matter. That man needs a good man-type recliner. He deserves it for all the hard work he put in to get us here, so I surprised him. When they delivered the sofa, the recliner came too. If you remember the last time I surprised him with a large purchase without his input, his truck, you will know he was not at all pleased. So, I was a little nervous although a recliner is not a truck as you well know. However, when he saw the recliner and I quickly explained that the patio set was off the table and this chair was for him, he just sat in it, rared back, closed his eyes and grinned that grin I love so much. He was a happy man.

I'll post pictures soon. Come visit! We have lots of room and love visitors! Southwest is having a sale for the next 48 hours! Book your flight now!

Detailed Post on Lindsay's Blog

2009-06-21T13:58:00.002-05:00

Check out all that Ross, Lindsay and Colton have been up to their first week in Italy. The address is www.stowersfamilyblog.blogspot.com

So great to hear from them. Then we got a phone call! Yippee! So good to hear their voices and they sounded so close. Even Colton got on the phone! I can totally relax now.

Colton's already mesmerized at the Actions of a woman!

2009-06-17T06:29:00.002-05:00

Check it out!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=753480641642&ref=nf

For the first time in 32+ years...

2009-06-15T11:41:00.003-05:00

For the First time in 32+ years, Mark and I bought a sofa at a furniture store. Before we were married, we went to Jamison in Franklin and ordered our first sofa and chair, picked the fabric, frame, etc. Then before Robert was born (26 years ago) we went back to the Jamison warehouse, (now the famous Factory in Franklin) and bought a floor sample for next to nothing thanks to my daddy's relationship with the Gorrell/Jamison families. Meanwhile we inherited the famous gold/then/blue one that had been my Grandmother Ross' and built sometime in the 70's. (It's the one that was recovered at the prison, but that's another story!) Those lasted until about 10 years ago when we purchased a nearly new sofa and love seat from Sprintz that had been used by a friend of my mom's only a few months. Going into a new home, we shopped all around Katy and Houston and found this one. I don't know why it appeals to me so much. It's nothing like I thought I wanted, but here it is!

Come visit and see for yourself! It's very comfy and fits our weird taste!

For now we've just bought the sofa. The chair and ottoman are still at the store and we are hoping it will be drastically reduced now that it will be living there without its matching sofa friend! Mark is still hoping for a recliner of some type. Maybe Santa or the birthday fairy will get him one! He deserves it!

The Sweetness of a Lime Tree

2009-06-11T16:46:00.002-05:00

I will blog about our time with Ross, Lindsay, and Colton in a few days. It's still too fresh and I don't want to ruin the keyboard with tears!

BUT, on the other hand, I will share something sweet about our new house. We have a beautiful back yard, small by Tennessee standards, but very well landscaped and cared for. Mark thought it would be fun to plant a citrus tree as we moved in and be able to harvest fruit in the next couple of years from it. We discussed what type of tree. Neither of us are too excited about oranges, so I suggested lemon or lime. If you know anything about us, you know we like our limes........margaritas and key lime pie, etc. So, we decided that a lime tree would be what we would plant in our new back yard.

We took our dear friends, Patti and Andy Watson, to see our house last weekend. They seemed to really like it and we ventured out into the back yard. There was a beautiful white crepe myrtle blossoming in the middle of the yard. We looked and there was another mature tree right next to it.....would you believe a lime tree covered with small limes? I jumped for joy! We take it that the Lord had this house picked out for us and was confirming it with this sweet reminder that He thinks of everything. He knows the desires of our hearts and reminds us that he cares for the smallest details of our lives.

Pie anyone!?!

Got Gator?

2009-05-28T13:54:00.013-05:00

Do you think the little Italian girls will like it?

The other night, I (Gigi) told Grandy about a riding toy I had seen at Target that I thought would be good for Colton's first birthday, and since they were filling a crate, the time to buy it would be while we were in Orlando. He simply said, "I'm buying him a Gator." I said, "WHAT!?" For those of you uneducated in the world of battery operated riding toys, a Gator is probably the biggest. It is a scaled down replica of a John Deere Gator used by many farmers, ranchers, hunters, etc. for all kinds of chores on their properties. It has a 12 volt battery and will support up to 180 pounds. It has a dumpable back end so you can dump whatever you want to put in it. It even has cupholders for the driver and passenger. They are great, but are made for 2 1/2-3 year olds up! There is no way Colton would be able to drive it by himself for at least 1 1/2 years. However, Grandy had thought it through and said the same argument I had used....."since they are getting a moving crate, now it the time to do it. Ross and Lindsay will have to figure out how to store it!"

Me and my Dad chillin' with my Gator!

Being the considerate Mother-in-Law I try to be, I told Lindsay about it. She could Veto it if she wanted to and I would understand. This thing is huge. However, she said that if we wanted to do it, she would support it. Ross was totally on board as I think he still thinks like a 5-6 year old when it comes to toys and could envision Colton on it.

So, we borrowed a truck to pick it up and the rest as they say is history. What I really want to see is the reaction of the Italians when they see Colton tooling around Florence on his way to the park (about 200 yards from their house Ross says) So funny. I'm sure they will think it is one more way Americans are excessive, but I wouldn't give anything for the look on Grandy's face when he brought it in and helped Ross put it together. So much fun!

Grandy and Gigi and me with my Gator.

Gigi LOVES babies after baths.....I'm not so sure.

I think she has gone a little far.......does she have to squeeze so hard? UGH!

This Grandy fellow is a great guy!

We ate, played, and Gigi got to feed me my veggies, fruit and cereal all weekend! Grandy and Daddy worked on the bathroom(s) and put in new toilets, whatever they are.

ARE........YOU.........READY????? You Ole Miss fans know what comes next!!!! Hotty Toddy!

I know I'm very cute!

All I need is a cup and a washrag for a good time!

Mommy is putting me in the trees......I guess she really does think I'm a monkey!

I'm laughing at my mommy jump!

We really had a wonderful time with Lindsay, Ross and Colton over this Memorial Day weekend. We shopped, buying lots of great things for Colton to wear over the next year.....predicting his size can be tricky, but many bargains and cute things for him later, it was so fun to help choose some of his wardrobe!

This Could Be "Dallas," not Katy!

2009-05-28T09:03:00.004-05:00

Oh, the drama. Mark and I went looking at houses right as our house in Nashville was closing, so April 15th or so. We saw two we liked, but one had a tiny, tiny yard with no room for tomatoes, so we nixed that one. The other was a great house, but we didn't have to hurry, so we decided to wait to see if anything else better came along, etc. While I was in Nashville for Anna-Ruth's wedding, so April 25, I received an email from the automatic system I'm signed up for, saying that the price of the house we really liked had been reduced. We called our agent and he said we needed to move on it. (Don't they all say that?) So we negotiated a deal with owners with the contingency that we could get out of our lease without too much expense. Our realtor assured us that with the time of year the house would be available, it should cost us our deposit and not much more. We were agreeable to that since the interest rates are fabulous right now and a loss of a deposit is much less than the cost of a mortgage in the long run.

The landlord is an employee of the State Dept and is located overseas (I think in Brazil.) Needless to say, timely communications with him have been difficult. At first he seemed agreeable to letting us out of our lease. Then he turned around and said that we would have to guarantee the full lease even if we moved out. Well, that would be a cost that could have taken all of us (Mark, Connie, Grace, Robert, and Charissa) to Italy, so we decided to let the house go and stay here until the lease expired. There would be other houses.

After telling the owners of the house on Lodge Meadows "thanks, but we can't right now" Mark planted some tomatoes in the back yard. We had a real peace throughout the entire process. Mark even asked me if I really wanted to do this because I didn't seem excited enough. I told him I was guarding my heart as it has been broken so many times by real estate transactions or the lack thereof for the past 2 1/2 years. I confirmed that I really liked the house, but if we didn't get it, it was ok, that God has something else for us.

Well, the Monday after letting the house go, we received an email from our landlord agreeing to the first provisions we proposed to him two weeks prior. Believe me, we had been around the bend several times and back and forth and it is kind of incredible, ok, God, that he came back with this.

We reissued the offer on the house and will be moving around June 20. I've attached the link if you would like to see it. It is 2923 sq which is exactly TWICE the size of our house on Sedberry. It cost less than what we sold the house on Sedberry for. It is in a great neighborhood and close to all the things we've come accustomed to here in the great state of Texas. Crazy isn't it?

Lesson learned.....hopefully for a lifetime. Let Go and Let God. I remember my daddy saying that to me over and over. God has great plans and will accomplish them no matter the attempts of man to thwart Him.

Now to get packing!
http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=62928403&backButton=Y&Address=23111%20Lodge%20Meadows%20Dr

EVERYTHING is BIGGER in TEXAS!

2009-04-21T08:34:00.004-05:00

After waiting patiently, Mark finally got his big, big, really big, tv. He has been wanting one for so long, but would not let himself buy one until our house closed. He got a bonus in the fall and one at Christmas that would have covered it, but he was very disciplined. Well, here he is standing beside his new baby. It is 52 inches of viewing fun and lots of other features. The only thing I know how to do is turn the thing on which is a techno feat in itself!

I'll be absent for a little while as we are leaving for Nashville tomorrow. I have no computer there, so I won't be able to update or check in with you! Anna-Ruth, my niece, gets married this Saturday and I am staying in town until time for Grace's graduation from UT on May 8. Did I mention that she is graduating Magna Cum Laude? That she missed Summa Cum Laude by .02 of one point? So proud of her. She is such a smart girl, but works diligently at everything she does.

Ross and Lindsay got their apartment in Italy. It is the original one that Ross saw in March, and he was persistent enough that the landlord finally agreed to rent to them. (He had not wanted to rent to someone he didn't know!) God had other plans and well, as bittersweet as it is, they will be moving in about 5 or 6 weeks. Go to Lindsay or Ross' facebook page to see pictures or Lindsay will probably blog about it soon at www.stowersfamilyblog@blogspot.com

Robert is finishing up his first year at seminary and doing very well. He is mastering Greek and all kinds of theological and deep thinking. In other words, he is becoming more and more learned. (pronounced learn-ned) Who'd a thunk it?
I guess he gets it from me.....hahaha.

Check out Lindsay's latest blog!

2009-04-16T14:20:00.001-05:00

Check out Lindsay's latest installment at www.stowersfamily@blogspot.com. Apparently life has changed in a new and challenging way!

It is finished so it can begin!

2009-04-15T07:40:00.006-05:00

After a long road, our house in Nashville closed yesterday. We have waited for this for so long (2 years total) that it doesn't seem totally real. It was not without drama, including having to empty the garbage before closing even though the garbage collection is today, but none the less, it's done!

The Lord God has been so very real through this process of ups and downs and taught us so much about how to learn to trust him even when we think all hope is lost. We were going into the second month of paying two housenotes/rent and saw that it was going to be such a struggle if not impossible to make those payments. God was on time with the buyer for our house. We saw his hand of provision when we thought all was for naught. We saw why our house didn't sell in 2007 because we would be moving here in 2008. We learned he wanted us to come here before the house sold so we could trust him with every breath we took to provide for us. We have both grown in so many ways. It has been a total joy to watch my sweet husband continue to give it all up, which is totally against his accountant nature, and trust God. He is totally sold out to our loving God and Savior is a fresh and new way. He is leading me as a godly husband should. He is such a testimony of walking in faith. Yes, we still were antsy yesterday until it all happened and emotionally exhausted before it was all done, but we were held up, loved on, reassured of His faithfulness and knew no matter what we were right in the middle of God's hand. He orchestrated it all for our good and growth. Whatever financial losses we took, we were more than compensated by the closeness gained to God and each other. No price can be placed on what we've learned and where we've been led. God is in charge of all that too and is fully capable of restoring what he feels we need.

This could go on and on, but I am reminded of when Moses was taking the Israelites out of Egypt and their backs were up against the Red Sea with Pharoah pursuing them. They thought there was no way out. It was either return to bondage or die in the sea. Just then, God opened a new way, a most creative way, a perfect way to safety, peace and growth to the promised land. He promised to take care of them. He promises to take care of us. Not just physically, but more importantly our souls, hearts, futures are in the hands of a God who loves us with an undying, everlasting love we can't begin to fathom.

Soli Deo Gloria. God alone is to be praised for the great works he has done.

Now for a couple of precious pictures!

Colton in his Easter outfit!

What a pretty family!

I couldn't get the pictures of Grace and her friend, Anna, to download from facebook, and don't have a recent picture of Robert and Charissa. We'll get great ones at Anna-Ruth's wedding in a couple of weeks!

Clean that yucky microwave!

2009-03-14T10:24:00.002-05:00

How sad is it when you can get so excited for an easy way to clean the microwave. Has everyone known about this and failed to tell me? I had heard of a Mr. Clean product several years ago that supposedly worked wonders. I've been looking at all the local stores for one, couldn't find it, so resorted to the internet for research. I tried one that looked simple enough and would you believe it worked!?

Here goes:
Put about 2 cups of water in a pyrex measuring cup or something similar. Add about 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice. Put in the microwave and nuke for 2 -3 minutes. Wipe clean with paper towels. The steam created makes the ick come off the top, sides and bottom of the microwave a cinch. The juice makes it smell so clean! I did have to take the tray out and wash in the sink, but the other was clean in literally 2 minutes! Whew! It was so easy. Maybe now I won't have butter/margarine stalagtites on the ceiling of my microwave anymore! Plus for all you "greenies" out there, no chemicals were used or harmed in the cleaning of this microwave!

I can't remember who asked.....

2009-03-02T16:04:00.002-06:00

Someone asked me if there was a picture of the vampire snowmen Grace and Lindsay made at Christmas.....

I'll divert for a second. You spend their whole childhoods protecting them from Satanic things like He-Man, The Halloween movies, Freddie Kruger and the like...then they grow up and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE books about vampires. Go figure. At least they are adults who love Jesus and can put scripture before these novels. I guess that counts for something.

Now I digress. Here are the cookies.....yes we made pictures of them. I didn't post them earlier out of shame and horror that my sweet babies would do such a thing! Apparently someone is interested.

Visit to Nashville

2009-02-27T07:47:00.015-06:00

Aren't my babies pretty? Inside and out!

We went to Nashville over Valentine's weekend. It was a whirlwind of activity starting with going to CPA to show off Colton, a shower for Anna-Ruth with all my girls along, picture appointment for Colton at Calverts (keeping the tradition alive!), lunch at Carl's Perfect Pig where a waist is a terrible thing to mind (The Catfish Kitchen was closed.), the Fabulous Five Valentine's Party, a lunch for 34 at Nanny's, babysitting Colton while Ross and Lindsay went to dinner, and in the meantime just hanging out with Robert, Charissa, Grace, Ross, Lindsay, Colton. It was such a blessing for all of us to be together. It was really the first time since we went to Orlando last January, 2008, and did Universal. We didn't have Colton then! Well, I guess we did but we didn't know it!

Eating my cereal with a little help from a puppet distraction. This is so familiar! Ross was the same way! His puppet was Fozzie Bear!

Robert and Charissa waiting patiently in the "Party Room" of the Pig!

The sweetest face in the world!

Jennifer watches in horror as Lindsay misbehaves at the Pig.

All of us after lunch at Carl's Perfect Pig full of barbecue, ribs, catfish and hushpuppies!

Uncle Bobby's arm tastes good!

Aunt Grace and I are happy to be together!

I love peek-a-boo!

Hanging with my cool cousin Isaac. Somehow he likes to play ball!

With Nanny in the den...probably for the last time since Nanny's moving!

Grandy is so fun to play with!

Maybe I'll do the longer 25 things sometime, but for now...

2009-02-10T22:36:00.004-06:00

A couple of pictures here and one at the end! No pun intended!

Happy Colton about to embark on a diet of rice cereal!

I think I like it!

Now, here's what you're supposed to do...and please do not spoil the fun. Create a new note, copy and paste this message, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then tag a few good friends and family INCLUDING the person who tagged you. The theory is that you will learn new things about your friends. Have fun!

THREE NAMES I GO BY

1. Mama
2. Connie
3. Gigi

THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE

1. Sgt. at Arms in Tennessee State Senate
2. Administrative Assistant (secretary)
3. Quilt shop co-owner

THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED

1. Nashville, TN
2. Russellville, KY
3. Katy, TX

THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH

1. The Bachelor
2. Project Runway
3. America's Next Top Model
(Thanks to Lindsay I am a reality show junky.....pitiful I know.)

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN
1. Paris, France
2. Vaxjo, Sweden
3. Lick Skillet, KY

THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO

1. Italy when my kids get there
2. Austrailia
3. Savannah, GA

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS

1. Lobster
2. any beef, pork or chicken (can you say carnivore?)
3. ice cream

THREE THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO

1. Seeing all my children together this weekend
2. Grace's graduation
3. A week on the beach sometime this year

THREE PETS THAT YOU HAVE OWNED

1. Bubba (Heath Sensation)
2. Daisy
3. Chiggers

THREE THINGS I AM REALLY SCARED OF

1. Heights
2. flying bugs
3. Snakes/reptiles

THREE FAVORITE BANDS

1. Casting Crowns
2. Brooks & Dunn
3. Sawyer Brown

THREE FAVORITE TEAMS TO WATCH

1. Tennessee Titans
2. Tennessee Vols/Ole Miss Rebels, or any SEC football team
3. CPA Lions

THREE FAVORITE DRINKS

1. Coke Zero
2. Coffee loaded with cream and sugar
3. Margaritas

THREE FAVORITE ANIMALS

1. Dogs
2. Horses
3. Elephants

Don't you just want to pinch that behind?

NEW Videos on Lindsay's Blog, stowersfamilyblog@blogspot.com

2009-01-25T23:14:00.001-06:00

See? Today I'm doing a better job!

2009-01-23T08:51:00.007-06:00

Kisses for a sleepy boy.

I'm posting after only 2 days, so I'm doing better. at least for today.

Some things I'm trying in the new year:

I'm drinking at least a gallon of water a day. I fill this giant gallon-sized sippy thing I bought at Walmart for $2.50, red. really pretty, with filtered water from my fridge and try to consume it in one day. I've eliminated a drink at lunch and keep it with me at all times. So far I've been successful more than not, but this is my concession to trying to lose weight.

I'm not buying cookies. If I need a cookie, I bake one from a pre-packaged Nestle bag. I only allow myself one and no more often than every other day. I always have something to look forward to! By the way, the white chocolate macedamia and turtle varieties are quite tasty and you can only bake one at a time if you want.

I'm walking some. I'm trying to keep track of how far I've walked and so far this year, I've walked 8 miles on purpose. This is in addition to walking from the couch to the kitchen, etc. I'm hoping to walk 100 miles by May. I guess I need to quit blogging and get out there!

I'm going places where I know no one. I'm trying quilt guilds, quilt shops, women's community groups, Bible studies, etc. So far so good. No one has been mean or unkind and I've actually made a few friends!

Speaking of Bible studies, I'm taking "Wrestling with God" by Kay Arthur. It is a four week study with pretty intense homework every day. That's new for me, too. Incidentally, the title of the study is pretty relevant don't you think? Do you even know me? How did I get here in Katy, anyway. I guess God won that match! HAHA

Well, if I'm going to be posting more often, they won't be as long. Have a great day! God is on His throne and has us all in His hands! How comforting!

Some random pictures:
Our Christmas Cookies in production

Lindsay, inspired by the Twilight series, makes a vampire snowman. That's just wrong.

Our great-nephew (Boy does that make me sound OLD!), Tee Foster
Would you buy a used car from this boy?

Grace and Emma-Claire Foster doing an excellent job coloring!

I've Turned into a Lazy Blogger!

2009-01-20T15:30:00.005-06:00

Cute Face! Our sweet Colton! Yes, his eyes are BLUE!

Robert and Charissa Opening our Christmas presents.

While I love reading the blogs I've tagged at the bottom of my page, I'm afraid I've become lazy when it comes to updating mine! How did I get so busy all of a sudden?

In the past month, we've been to Nashville for Christmas for 9 days, drove to St. Louis to see Robert and Charissa for a little over 24 hours, my mom fell and seperated her shoulder which meant she couldn't come back to Houston with us as planned for Christmas with Ross, Lindsay, Colton and Grace. We spent a week enjoying R, L, Colton and Grace along with Mark's mom, Nana. Then after New Year's another Creecy daughter, almost one of ours through a lifelong friendship, moved to Houston. We got to see Mike and Francine Creecy and help a little with Sarah's move. We've been to church at The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch (check it out online!) and been to their membership class. We've not joined yet as I just can't yet, but really like it and the people. Tonight we will begin Bible studies. Mine is about some Old Testament "Losers", who really weren't and Mark is taking Financial Peace. Is that a contradiction in terms? HAHA We are really looking forward to it. Plus, we have been going to a small group, called Life Groups here. It has been fun to get to know 6 other couples in our age range. Funny, we are all imperfect! Go figure!

I've been a regular at the Wednesday Sit and Sew at The Feathered Star where I'll teach my first class in Texas this Thursday. (Please pray for me!) It's an introduction to Paper Piecing. I've also been practicing, practicing, practicing on my long arm machine who I've affectionately named "Jane." Long story, but it's a family name......sort of. I have another class starting next week and a third which will begin when the next one ends.

So, we've been busy. I wish we were going to be watching the Titans in the Superbowl, but I guess we'll all have to wait for next year.

Keep praying for our house to sell. We're nearing the deadline, but it is all in God's hands. He knows our every need and will fill them!

I'll post more pictures soon. I promise not to wait a month for the next update!
The following is Aunt Grace reading to Colton!

Defining Joy

2008-12-15T12:03:00.003-06:00

To be totally honest, I've had mostly good days here in Texas, but last week during the night on Saturday night, I woke up from a dream and cried like I haven't in years. I think it was my very soul going through separation and loss. It was the worst grief I've experienced since my sweet daddy went to be with Jesus. Poor Mark was at his wits end. It lasted for several hours and even bled over into the morning. There were no words to explain it. My soul was literally groaning in agony. I put it aside as I tend to do and probably fed it over the week with some M & M's and other various chocolates....chocolate covered pretzels, in fact.

When I got to church yesterday the sermon was the beginning of a series on the gifts of Christmas. The first was "Joy." The pastor used several examples of real joy including what Job felt after losing his home, family, land, and as he was scratching boils over his entire body.....he felt the love of God and counted it all joy. True joy comes only after intense sorrow and suffering. Joy is not related to more temporal "happiness." Joy involves the soul. It has nothing to do with our circumstances. It has to do with the condition of our souls. Mine is secure, covered by the blood of Jesus. He will not leave me or forsake me. I've heard all this before, but now it really has penetrated my heart. He has called us to this place. I am leaning on Him as I never have before. And I know that I am exactly where he wants me. Broken and at his feet, trusting him for every breath I take. It is so much easier to hear him when I'm totally broken. His sweet promises whisper in my heart and mind. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thess 5:16-18

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalms 16:11

Why he would do this for me, the worst of sinners, I can't fully comprehend. The fact that he did is testimony of his goodness and grace.

Amidst the sorrow, the joy shines through. I love my husband and the time we are having to act like honeymooners and the freedom of no expectations placed on us. We are enjoying making this house our home and exploring our new town together. We are waiting for clear direction as to what comes next, where he would have us serve, but we know our God is our future. He will direct our paths and has a wonderful plan for us. It is all good.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:10-12

To God alone be the Glory. Great things He has done.

Christmas Decorations Pictures and requested Sewing Room Pics

2008-12-12T07:52:00.007-06:00

Here is the mantle in the family room! There are 11 stockings hanging here! The stripey ones are the additions to our family, Lindsay, Charissa, and the reddest/greenest is COLTON'S waiting for Santa to fill!
This is taken from the family room looking into the kitchen. This is my cookie tree. All the ornaments are for cooking or made of things that are supposed to be edible. It was a lot of fun. Under it is my "It's a Wonderful Life Village." My Dickens is still in Nashville! It will be here Dec. 18, so it won't see the light of day this year!
This is our Christmas tree. The first year to use a pre-lit tree. It sits in the art niche as they call it in Texas (common in houses here). Just off the entry.

This is my sewing room from the doorway. Jane is positioned at an angle (she is sooo long!). That cabinet was made by my daddy for mama, but he signed the back that it was to go to me. Mama let me go ahead and have it. I love having it there to hold all my supplies. You will also notice my "T For Texas, T For Tennessee" quilt hanging on the wall. The center of that top was made by my precious Hope House Quilters for me. Then they gave me fabrics to complete it as I chose. I used Terry Atkinson's Monterrey Medallion for the setting. My sewing hutch is to the right. On the opposite wall is a bookshelf with all my books, patterns, and assorted kits, etc.

The Sewing Hutch ready to go!

New pics on Lindsay's blog

2008-12-10T22:57:00.001-06:00

Go to stowersfamilyblog.blogspot.com to see some Christmas pics of Colton. They will get you in the Christmas spirit for sure!

NOW FOR SOME SERIOUSNESS

2008-12-08T08:42:00.002-06:00

It's funny, (not really, just a part of God's hand in my life and definitely NOTby accident) but I've been re-reading some novels by Francine Rivers, the Mark of the Lion series beginning with A Voice in the Wind. They chronicle the fictitious life of the daughter of Jairus' son, the boy Jesus raised from the dead. This girl, Hadassah, was the only one of her family to survive the Roman invasion of Jerusalem and was sold into slavery in Rome. She served her owners with love and dignity. She was continually thankful for her life and where God had put her to serve despite her very difficult circumstances and hardships and persecution. I know it's fiction, but it reminds me of how I need to look past myself and see the greater purposes God has for me and my life. I highly recommend this series of 3 novels. It helps me to put my circumstances in perspective. Surely there were those like this fictional girl who were bold enough to share their faith, love their captors, and give themselves to the truth of the gospel no matter the cost. Something to ponder. and I have a lot of time for pondering these days. (copied from a letter I wrote to a friend.....So, Friend, if you are reading this, I wrote it to YOU first! Thanks Sweet Friend!) Go to the library or bookstore and CHECK IT OUT!

THE CUTEST ELF EVER!

2008-12-08T08:01:00.005-06:00

A couple of holiday pictures for your enjoyment!

gigiandgrandyinkaty

2008-12-07T13:24:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2008-12-03T07:46:00.000-06:00

I know I've been slacking in my blogging duties, but life has been busy with Thanksgiving and all.

We've had visitors from the East! Mike and Francine Creecy, some of our best friends dating back to our days in Russellville, KY, were here for Thanksgiving. Their oldest daughter, Rebecca, and her hubby, Brad, live here in Houston, so we spent Thanksgiving together. The Creecy's younger daughter, Sarah, was with us, as was Grace and we had a great time eating, watching football (GO TITANS!) putting together a puzzle, playing Wii and finally singing karioke! Yes, even Mark participated! So fun. It was a different Thanksgiving from any we've ever had, but it was great fun. We missed our families so much, but having the Creecy clan here was certainly a sweet gift. To add to that, Sarah will be moving here in January, so there will be more reasons for Mike and Francine to visit!

I picked up Grace from the airport on Wednesday and we made a beeline for the Galleria, a huge 3 story mall in Houston. We had fun looking at all the stores we couldn't afford to even go in and shopping the sales at Neiman Marcus. Grace found a purse she loved on SALE for $1400.00 and I looked at bargain shoes for my niece, Lucy. I saw lots she would have loved on sale from $900 or so to the $600 range. What a great buy:) If you believe we purchased anything, you don't really know me! It was fun to shop, but really crazy to think people really spend that much on purses and shoes! I feel extravagant to spend $50 on a knockoff purse! Give me Target anyday!

Grace and I hit the sales at Kohls and Target on Friday. We did really find some great things. Ho, Ho, Ho! Then we adjourned home where Grace spent the rest of the entire day on a project for school. She spent most of Saturday on it, too. It paid off, though, as she earned a 169 out of a possible 170 on this huge project. Yea for Grace! It was wonderful just having her in the house.

We took Bear and Dixie to the very large and nice "Millie Bush Bark Park" in the George Bush (the first one) park near our house. It has two very large cement ponds for the dogs to swim and both had a great time. They were worn out by the time we got home and Dixie needed aspirin the next day for her aching muscles!

We put up the Christmas tree on Saturday and I must admit there were a few tears. It was a new tree (we bought it on sale last year), in a new house, in a new city. Sometimes homesickness creeps in which is only natural I suppose. Rest assured, though, God is here and comforts me all the time! I'm reminded of those who went to far places all throughout history and God was with them as He is by my side constantly. We are a continuing line of people following where God would have us be. And if He is with us, it doesn't matter where we are. I am complete with Him. My Jesus Calling for today tells me that "those who have drawn near Him trustingly uttering His Name will be filled with inexpressble and glorious joy. (I Peter 1:8-9). " (By the way, if you need a great devotional book, try Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. It's wonderful!)

I'm continuing to practice on my quilting machine. The mechanics of it are improving, but I have a way to go before I put my needle in anyone else's work!

There is a new update about Colton from Lindsay on her blog. There are cute pictures of him as well. He is so long! Totally off the charts. www.stowersfamilyblog.blogspot.com

I've made a new friend at church. Her name is Joy and we went to lunch and on a tour of Sugarland, TX, yesterday. She has been an answer to prayer for a sweet friendship. We share a love of being creative. She makes beautiful jewelry, paper art with handmade cards and things and is also an accomplished potter. I'm sure she will appear in pictures soon. We were invited to dinner with their small group (called Life Groups here) before an event at church next Sunday evening. It's called Christmas Cafe and a couple from the church makes all these great desserts and there is a coffeehouse type show of Christmas music performed. We are really looking forward to that!

By the way, we have a new email provider, thus a new address. I wasn't able to save my address book, so email me with your address! My new address is stowerscr@sbcglobal.net. I look forward to hearing from you!

Well, I'll stop for now. The trouble with waiting to post is that the post becomes soo long!

Up and Going!

2008-11-12T07:25:00.000-06:00

Whacha looking at?

Life in Texas is becoming a little more normal. It is still so different as most days I stay at home and act like a new bride, tinkering with the set up of different rooms, actually cooking dinner for my hubby, ready when he walks in the door, and kind of feeling like I'm playing house. But now I will begin to have a little life outside of this nice house. Tomorrow I start at the quilt shop, The Feathered Star. I will be working one or two days a week there and beginning in January will be teaching there a lot. I'm looking forward to some more interaction with actual people, not just the personalities of my dogs!

We continue to search for the church home God has for us. We've visited three so far. Two are keepers. One of those is a great church (PCA), but is 25 miles from here. While I wouldn't mind the commute on Sundays, driving in to the community activities during the week (VERY important to me) might be too hard. This past week we went to a Fellowship church here in Katy. (No relationship to Fellowship Bible in Nashville.) It was great. The pastor was so real and the message challenged us both. (It dealt with listening to the true Spirit and finding the Truth, I John 4) We were warmly welcomed and invited to join Bible studies, etc. Here is my sin. I think either I'm too cynical or non-trusting or wounded by past experiences to go to a church with no governing body except that which is in itself. I guess you could call it denominationalism. We have belonged to 3 denominations which have a system of checks and balances in them to keep the pastors, the leaders of the flocks, accountable as to what they are teaching and preaching. Some of you with experience here help me. We are continuing to pray and I'm doing my best to keep my mouth shut and let Mark lead us. (Really pray about that!) We will be visiting 2nd Baptist, Ed Young pastor, soon. It has over 45,000 members and 5 campuses across Houston. The Katy church has over 12,000 members. I went to a Christmas Village type thing there this past week and was amazed at all the work done in the name of outreach. I'll keep you posted. Please pray for us as this is our most important decision since moving to Katy.

One of the most fun things of the past week is that my quilting machine is up and running. And even better, I'm becoming more comfortable with using it. Just the size and set up of the thing can be a bit intimidating. I've set my mind with a schedule for work, training myself with the help of videos and other longarmers (Pam and Carol, thank you!) So far I've completed 3 Christmas panels. Today my goal is to do 3 more panels. I've been asked by some of my quilting friends for pictures, but I'm not educated enough to post those yet so they will be coming later.

By the way, did you know I'm a proud grandmother? The most precious baby in the whole world is living in Orlando with his sweet mama and daddy. I'll include a picture in his trick or treat outfit. I'm sure he won the prize for the cutest pumpkin. and contrary to popular opinion, HE WAS NOT SCARY. HE WAS CUTE! We don't do scary costumes at Halloween! (By the way, he is off the charts on height while in the 75th percentile everywhere else! Look out! Who would have ever thought a Stowers would be sooooo tall?)

Colton is cooing and smiling. Grace got to go visit this past weekend and says she knows just what to do to make him smile. She got to spend lots of quality time with him but at a price. Lindsay had another migraine and was in bed for a couple of days. Grace was available to help out her brother and love on Colton a lot. While it might not have been planned that way, it was still good she was there to lend a hand and bond.
Just look at that sweet face! I see both Lindsay and Ross in that precious countenance. I love you so much, Colton!

Never Fear! Texas has not killed us!

2008-11-01T10:45:00.001-05:00

Well, it feels great to be connected to the world again. We just got our internet service late yesterday! Ike has taken a toll on the area's ability to provide service quickly. We will get satellite tv service Monday! Yea! I'll get football again!

There is a lot to catch up on! Our move went extremely well. Our mover, Ward DeWitt (Charles' brother) was the best. We only had one small accident and it occurred to my new (new to me) quilt machine table. It fell from its place in the truck and has a small crack in the table part. It does not impede me from proper use and may be replaced, but we will see. (Here is where the Farm Bureau insurance gets tested Roy!) Everything else arrived safely.....at least what arrived. Ward underestimated the mass quantities of our stuff and will have to bring some attic contents at a later time. Oh well, for those of you who know, most of our junk has been in storage for approximately 2 years so I'm used to not having it. Only parts of it are valuable to us anyway. Mark's yard tools, etc. They will get here eventually then I will have to find a place for it!

Speaking of finding places. It is amazing how my furniture that was stuffed into a 1500 sf house fits nicely into a 2800 sf home. I love having the space to move and store stuff. Our master closet is amazing and holds all our clothes without them being in various parts of the house or stored in tubs for out of season, etc.

I will say the amount of sewing/fabric/kits/creative stuff is beyond ridiculous. I really don't need to purchase another thing for as long as I live and will have stuff left over. Get ready. I will be sharing with those of you so inclined. I will add to that the original plan to move to Kingston Springs would have included a party to share the excess with my beloved Hope House Quilters after settling. Now I will bring home an extra suitcase filled with goodies each time we venture to Nashville.

Speaking of venturing to Nashville, Mark has business with Star Physical Therapy in November, so we will be there Nov 16-21! I will get to go to Christmas Village! Yea! Call me and we will connect while we're there!

Be sure to check stowersfamilyblog to see the latest developments with our darling Colton! They post pics and stories regularly for us long distance grandparents/aunts/uncles.

This has rambled on too long and boxes of creative stuff are calling to be unpacked/discovered.

HAPPINESS IS A NEW BABY!

2008-10-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

It's true. I've had so many people tell me there is nothing like being a new grandmother. They are right! The precious Colton has taken a piece of my heart just for being who he is. I thought parenting gave me a wonderful picture of God's love for us, but grandparenting is even better. That baby has done nothing to deserve my love except be a part of our family and our lives. Period. That's the way God loves too. He loves us just because he created us. Period. Nothing we do makes him love us more or less. It is truly wonderful.

Now, being the proud Gigi I am, I've attached a few of my favorite pictures from the week we had in Orlando.

What Dingbats!

2008-10-10T17:40:00.000-05:00

So, we have been loving this week in Orlando with Lindsay, Ross and our new grandbaby, Colton. We have some GREAT pictures of him including one of the 3 living Levingstons! (there are/were 7 in all), but we left the thingy that takes the pictures from our camera to the computer at home. Stay posted! New pictures will come soon!

I'll add more stories, but mostly other than cooking favorite foods, running the vacuum occasionally, and trying to keep up with laundry, we've just been loving on a sweet baby! He is the best! Now weighing in at 8 lbs 8 oz and 22 inches long already!

CONTINUING STOWERS NEWS

2008-09-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

Colton and his parents are at home now, learning and adjusting to life as a new little family. Colton had his first appointment at the peditrician's office and passed with flying colors. We are so looking forward to spending next week in Orlando getting to know him! Watch out, Colton-baby. Your Gigi is out to get all your sweet neck sugar!

There is so much going on in our lives. After a mere 19 years Mark and I spent Saturday cleaning out our attic. It was a scarry thing. We now have 3 piles; a move to Houston pile, a garage sale pile and the biggest, the trash pile. The only things in our attic now are our tubs of out of season clothes, our Christmas tree/decorations, a few pieces of furniture we are keeping and the old blue sofabed. We are still full of amazement that somehow Ross and Mark got that sofa in the attic in the first place. It is so heavy. Mark has plans to dismantle the metal parts then use the sawsall to cut apart the rest of the bohemeth. Then he will take is down the stairs in pieces.

Another fun thing aside from all the packing and such is that we are being invited to dinner. I'm worried that we might have a few crying jags as many feel these are "the last meals" but it will be fun! We are booked until we go to Orlando and only have a few more nights before we move! Yipes!

In addition to all this, I am embarking on another new adventure. A friend of mine is upgrading her long arm quilting machine to one of those great computer-driven models and is selling her trusty friend. I have decided to buy it and will begin to quilt for the public once I've practiced, practiced, practiced. She has been so gracious to train me in the use of the machine and had me to her home and studio to stitch and practice. My first outing was better than today, but I will say I may have bitten off more than I could chew today. It was a much more difficult pattern with supposedly perfect circles and little swirley points. Ugh. Mine were anything but perfect, but whoever receives this little baby quilt will love it just the same. I'll be sure to give it to a non-quilter! To those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you can go to http://www.gammill.com/ and look at the Premier machine. I'm so excited. I've always dreamed of having one and this is a great opportunity to own such a wonderful piece of sewing equipment. I'll be naming my machine, so any suggestions you may want to give me will be accepted!

What a fun day!

2008-09-26T17:47:00.000-05:00

I woke up today realizing I was a grandmother! What a great blessing! Since we are moving soon and the boxes had been bought and assembled, I can no longer procrastinate. I started with cleaning out the remainder of Grace's closet. I started a "yard sale" box for sure! Then I went to the hall linen closet. I store all kinds of things there...things I didn't want in the heat of the attic. So, after the sheets, beach towels, and surprise surprise, quilts, there were quite a few Christmas ornaments bought on sale for this next year, all our Christmas stockings, etc. Then I proceeded to the coat closet in the hallway. In the top of that closet were all sorts of old pictures that used to hang on the wall when they were new. Ross, Robert, and Grace in all ages. I also ran across a picture frame that had been "creweled" (a form of needlework) for Ross when he was born. In that little frame was this picture. Ross was about 2 weeks old here.

Now compare this to Colton's first pics. Now I may be a prejudiced Gigi, but this apple did not fall far from the tree!

Introducing the most beautiful baby in the world

2008-09-25T20:48:00.000-05:00

Here he is! Note the darling eyes, Stowers nose and chin! Ross thinks he will have dimples.

One of the x-rated photos does indicate he might have a cleft, too!

He is all boy, that's for sure!

Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!

COLTON LEVINGSTON STOWERS IS HERE!

2008-09-25T19:16:00.001-05:00

Born at 7:44 eastern time, Colton made his entry into this world! At 8 lbs even and 21 1/2 inches, he is very healthy and doing great. Mom is doing well, a little sore from all the pushing, but otherwise glowing with happiness. Ross sounded like he was on top of the world!

No pics yet, but he does have a little dark hair! I'm sure he is the most beautiful baby ever born!

Halfway there

2008-09-25T16:34:00.000-05:00

It is 4:15 p.m. and Lindsay has progressed to 5 cm. Just to keep you posted!

Beginner's Luck

2008-09-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

Here I am on the day of our first grandson's birth. I can't go to Orlando to be there, so I chose to use my nervous energy to start a blog. I really don't know what I'm doing or what I will really say, but this helps to focus on something here rather than be pacing about what is going on there.

With this blog, I hope to keep you up to date on the changes in our lives. We call it "Mark and Connie's Great Adventure," moving to Katy, Texas after 51 years in Nashville, TN and its environs. The last 19 of which have been spent next door to my childhood home, thus my mom. Crazy.

Mark just walked over with an order for boxes for my approval. What do I know about how much stuff you can get in one box? At least he will make the call for the order and I will pick them up later.