Quilts & table runner

Some of these quilts/table runners are pre-Hailey, some are post-Hailey! Awwww!! I truly LOVE to quilt!

This was a fun table runner to make for Kirsten. She's the inspiration behind my Witches Party, so it was easy to know who to make this table runner for when I saw it. I loved figuring out how to do the hats (they stick out) and I love how Jen quilted the spider webs on the ends.

Baby quilt for Katelyn Kunz (daughter of Laurie & Corey. I visit teach Laurie and Jon works with Corey in the Young Men's. She was born just a month after Hailey)

Quilt for Jefferson Christensen (son of Camilla & Taylor). Becky and I made this in Worland when we went in March. I LOVE this line of fabric and this pattern went really well with it.

Quilt for Leah Proctor (daugther of Spencer & Jeana). I LOVE this line too - I have a purse made out of it.

Quilt for Scarlet Hatch (daughter of Burke & Heidi). She was their 5th girl, so I figured something non-pink would be fun.

Quilt for Alice Jeppesen (daughter of Kelly & Andrea). She's their first girl, so I knew they needed some pink at their house!

I originally made this as Hailey's baby quilt, but I changed my mind. I'll do something else for Hailey and this one is going to a gal in my ward who just went through breast cancer. I admire her so much and thought the pink in this quilt would help remind her that she is a survivor!

Swimming Lessons

In July, my 4 oldest kids took swimming lessons from our preschool teacher, Ms. Lorie. We'd go every day for 2 hours and Kate, especially, loved it! She would get so excited and loved the fact that she was learning to swim. Of course, I only had my camera for 1 of the lessons, so enjoy these pictures of Kate:

I think it's fun that Ms. Lorie would tap her on the head and then she'd know to take a breath

Going off the diving board

An Unexpected Tender Mercy!

We've had a wonderful, fun summer and I hate to see it winding down! It's also been an eventful summer, with an unexpected blessing. Several weeks ago, I was at McDonald's Playland with the kids and I got a call from my mom. She had just gotten home from being at the hospital with my dad. He had been sick with a fever, body aches, etc., but then developed some shortness of breath. She convinced him to go to the doctor and they put him in the hospital (this is in Moscow, Russia).

They discovered his lungs had a ton of blood clots in them and they also discovered a growth on the outside of his liver. He stayed in the hospital in Moscow (where there is no AC or ice!!) for several days and then the doctor's and Area Authorities for the Church decided it was best to send them back to Utah for further medical testing and treatment.

We immediately felt the prayers, thoughts and fasting on behalf of my parents! We were hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

The night they arrived at the airport, Jon was at work. I bathed the kids and I decided to take them all to the airport. We were getting ready to leave and literally found our neighbors & friends, the Ruben family, in our garden. They were weeding! I was so touched and was so grateful for their service to us. Little did they know, that was I headed to the airport to see my parents.

It was wonderful to see them! They both looked so good and were so happy! We hadn't seen my dad in a year. All of my siblings came too (except Pete, who was in Hawaii).

They began doctor appointments, blood draws, etc. the next day. Come to find out, my dad had a rather large clot that travelled up near his lungs and heart. Thankfully, his heart was strong enough to burst that clot into a ton of pieces and it sent it into his lungs. H found out he has a genetic predisposition to clots and will be on blood thinner the rest of his life. Then, the mass on the liver, was gone! Totally gone! They did find he has some hardening of the bile ducts and that can be a pre-cancerous risk, but there's not a lot they can do about it. For now, he's fine!

They were able to be in Salt Lake for 3 weeks and it was absolutely wonderful! They got his blood levels back within the range they want them, so they were able to return to Moscow and will continue their missionary service, under the care of Moscow physicians.

We enjoyed every minute with them and will always remember the summer of 2011! We swam (they stayed at a friend's house that had a swimming pool), ate delicious food, shopped, sewed, played games, watched them enjoy their new 3 grandaughters, and talked for hours and hours. I love my parents so much and am so grateful for the Lord's tender mercy in letting us enjoy them like we did!

Hannah waiting for grandma & grandpa at the airport


Aren't they cute?

Becky & Dad

Emily, grandma & Hailey

Becky, my dad & I

Rich, Becky, my dad & Mike

Hannah getting ready to "swim."

Becky & Brooklyn

Jack

Hannah & Rich

Lindsey and Mike against Jack and Rich

This is what Kate spent the time doing.

John & Brooklyn

Kate & Mike

Peter (with his Hawaiian tan) & Kate

One evening, my parents had some of their missionaries and a member from Moscow come and visit with them. It's easy to see the love that they have for them and the love that the missionaries have for my parents.

Baseball Season

We just got back from a wonderful week in Worland, WY, so it's time to do some serious blogging!

We started the summer with t-ball for Kate on Monday & Wednesday nights and coach-pitch baseball for Jack on Tuesday & Thursday nights. Not surprisingly, Jack had another great season and he LOVED playing baseball.

Our next-door neighbor, Josh, was the coach and Jack and his little boy, Case have loved playing together this summer. They just go back and forth between each other's houses (although they spend the majority of the time at Case's house - not so girly over there).

Jack loved playing and did a great job! He's definitely ready for kid-pitch next year. Just like all sports that Jack plays, he's focused and is always trying his best!

The Marlins

L to R: Isaac's dad, Isaac, Case, Jack, Marshall, ?, Logan, Bowen (Jack's other best friend) & Coach Josh.

Stitches

Jon has done a lot of sutures in his life as a medical student, resident & physician. He's even done stitches at our house (Ethan Rasmussen's chin, a couple of cut hands from cutting up food, a head wound, etc.), but he's never had to do any stitches on our kids - until yesterday!

Jon didn't have to work until later in the day, so he had left to take Emily to a store. I was trying something on my sewing machine and I heard a loud thump. I hear loud thumps all the time. Then, I heard Jack start to cry. I hear Jack cry all the time. But, I decided I better go see what happened when I heard Lindsey's concerned voice say "Are you okay?"

Jack and Lindsey had been on the computer and he leaned back in a folding chair. It toppled over and he whacked his head on the wooden bottom of our railing. I walked up the stairs and he told me he fell and hit his head. Lindsey was behind him and said "He's bleeding." Sure enough, his hand was full of blood and it quickly ran all over his back (he had a swimming suit on).

I took him into the bathroom, gave him a cold washcloth to put on it and then called Jon. When Jon answered, I asked him to turn around and come home. When Jon got there, sure enough, his head needed stitches. While waiting for Jon to come all Jack could say was "I really don't want stitches. I really don't want stitches."

Jon was able to numb the wound with some lidocaine cream and then put in 3 stitches. Jack was really brave about it and was so happy when it was over. That ended swimming lessons for him this week! Poor guy! Hopefully he's learned to not lean back in a chair, especially a folding chair!

Here's his head with the cream on it - waiting for it to get all the way numb.

3 Grandaughters

In 2011, my parents have had 3 new little grandaughters! They are all so cute and sweet and fun! When Sophia was about a week old, I took the kids over to see her and they loved her!

Sophia (1 week), Hailey (3 months), Brooklyn (5 1/2 months)