Time for friends and sewing. BOM

BOM= Block of the Month. I have posted before about our Sit N Sew group but I will bring you up-to-date periodically on what I am working on. We decided last year that we would dedicate the majority of our time together in 2011 to a project that is an Old Testment quilt. I anticipated this project like a child waits for Christmas morning. I dreamed about how much fun it would be to pick the fabric. So the creative process started for me long before January.

In January our block was the creation:

I know you cannot see it very well but there

are elements of sewing, applique, and embroidery.

One of my very favorite things to do is choose the material and colors.

Just the greens. :)

I have also already made some modifications to the quotations, as the person who made this pattern was not of our faith and though her quotes were cute...they lacked something in accuracy so I have changed a few scripture references. Which is one thing I LOVE about quilting. Although we are all making the same quilt pattern we are completely free to change things and make them uniquely our own. You should see how differently wonderful all the blocks are turning out. Mine won't be as much of an 'Old Testament' quilt as it will be a 'Scripture' quilt since in February I added a scripture from the Book of Mormon regarding the Tree of Life.

Check out the fabric Lois had that looks like wood.

Isn't it great? You can see that I have marked the

block for embroidery. It is finished now though.

Here's Lois working away on her new Bernina.

She is my quilting mentor.

Don't ask me what she is doing with her hand.

It must be some new technique. LOL

There is my friend Blanca (L) who came along with me.

And Janet is busy tracing patterns for her applique.

This month (March) our block is Noah and the Ark. I have been shopping for cute animal print fabric everywhere in town and have found some amazing fat quarters. I cannot WAIT. The February block was only 5 applique pieces. But this month the Noah block has probably 20+ pieces. So we will have our work cut out for us. Bahaha- Little pun there. 

Guess who bought Lois's old Bernina? Hmmmm...

Happy Birthday to me. :)

 

Life is SEW fine.

~Sandi

How is Cassi?

I LOVE my friends and family who always ask about my kids. I do a blog for my Missionary (Kristi) and so I don't post that much here because you can read about what she is doing at http://sistermariacdodge.blogspot.com/ 

I will write a little more about Cassi and Jered. Cami lives and works away from home so I don't have as much news or as many pictures of her. But, she is so loved and I will share what I can.

Today at church I must have had a dozen people (not less) ask about how Cassi is doing and how she is liking BYU-Idaho. So I will share some of the things she has been up to lately.

Cassi's apartment Complex. It used to be Married

Student housing but they just built new apartments for

the married students and renovated these to become

full 'cooking' dorms. They are really nice and clean.

Cassi and Adrienne (from LA).

Sharing Texas Pride with her flag in the background.

The flag has been known to disappear and be displaced by the BOYS.

Cassi cooks Tex-Mex for everyone.

Chicken enchaladas, quacamole & home-made salsa.

Check out the kitchen in their dorm.

Yup, thats a dishwasher. Times have changed!

Time to test the fare.

(from bottom left clockwise)

Lindsey P, Cassi, Erica J, Adrienne W, Meagan J,

 Ashleigh (standing), Curtis H, Spencer, and Jared W.

Going to Church with her roomie, Hannah Minkler (from CO).

There is a webcam in the testing center so she txt'd me

and told me to log-on and waive to her. She is in the

white sweat-shirt. LOL!

Road Trips to see TX besties at BYU-Provo.

Watching movies OUTSIDE snuggled with Buds-

Jannae Haug, ?, Cassi, Robin Pratt, & Debbie Horikami

Being silly at school with Kelly Stanley (from Wisc). 

That's how our sweetheart Cassi is doing? GREAT!

The Skin Gun

One foot in the past...and one in the future.

When I was a young girl we lived in Provo, UT while my Dad attended BYU. We were originally from Alberta, Canada. So my parents were a long way from home. I remember the grin on my Moms face when she'd check the mail and find a letter there from her own Mother. I loved listening to my mother as she read my sister, Cindy, and I what Grandma wrote. I became familiar with her penmanship, and I'd look at the letter and even smell the pages to see if it smelled like Grandma's house (it did). Grandma Mertz would nearly always clip interesting articles, obituaries, wedding announcements, etc. from the hometown newspaper. This newspaper was so small that ANY news became newsworthy. Example: Mr. and Mrs. Johnson went on holiday to Bozeman to see their children and grandchildren. A fun time was had by all. -or- The Constable was called over to Mr. Zauggs home for reportedly the fifth time. A complaint was lodged against Mr Zaugg's neightbor to the south (Mr. Harper) for letting his pigs get out and damage Mr Zaugg's vegetable garden. Mr Zaugg was reported to have said that if those (bleep) pigs got loose and into his garden one more time...they'd be stocked well with bacon, sausage, and ham for the coming winter months. When Mom would read these little clips from the paper she'd laugh and laugh, and I couldn't wait for Dad to come home so I could hear her laugh and giggle while telling the story to him.

Well, my point is obvious, times have indeed changed. Those letters have been nearly completely replaced by email, texting, Skyping, and nationwide cell phone calling plans. The internet has thankfully made many hours of scouring library shelves for specific information (albeit outdated) moot in many respects. Although I could spend hours and hours in the Library, I find that since my children have grown, and with the simple availability to touch and click information... the call to do it has decreased significantly.

With the thrust of the future upon us I find myself in a bit of a quandary. At 50 years old (soon to be 51) this year I have felt more than ever before that I have one foot stuck in the past and one foot eagerly strutting forward into the future. I love all things old, relics and antiques of all kinds. This love of the past has made me the natural historian, scribe, geanologist, and basic pain in butt, of the family. My childhood inquisative nature has currently made me a perpetual question asker, story teller, and jokester. Sometimes, I am met with eager anticipation, and sometimes with a roll of the eyes, and a stiffening of the neck.

But I was born to be right here, right now. I FEEL it. Let me explain:

Once several years ago I was asked by a very wise Bishop to speak in church, the subject he gave me to speak on was (drumroll please) The Meridian of Time. At first I puked a little in my mouth (I stole that grotesque visual from my teenagers), and I probably whined a little (in private), stomped my foot once or twice...and then true to my nature...I pulled up my big-girl panties and got to work. In my research of this incredible subject I soon discovered how fascinating and timely this subject was. I delved in and soon was awash with information. With each new discovery I felt my love for my Heavenly Father and Savior increase. Let me share in a VERY concise manner what I learned. Jesus Christ came into this world at the precise millisecond that He was supposed to. The governments were in place (wicked king), the people were called to be taxed so that He could be born in the city of his fathers (the city of David), the stars were aligned perfectly, the shepherds, the wise men, the rejection, EVERYTHING was in place in the universe (and beyond) for this event to take place precisely when it was supposed to. Can we presume to be so bold as to ask ourselves the seemingly audacious question were WE? Were we actually born into this world at the precise millisecond we were supposed to as was Christ? The answer is simply....yes.

Jered & Me (2009)

Our kids are born when they are supposed to be too.

How. When. & Where.

As much as I LOVE and embrace the past like a long lost friend, I find myself being giddy with anticipation with every new announcement or release of the LATEST gadget, phone, tv, computer, laptop, software, or i-anything. I cannot take complete credit for this intriguing quality/$fault$ of mine...I do have kids. LOL. But even my 73 year old father is a wonderful example of willingness to not only adapt and embrace change but to find JOY in it. He worked in the medical/sales field for most of his career and then zip zip....went to work for Word Perfect Magazine several years ago. Helllllllo! He was right in there emailing, and managing schedules and working on his laptop with the best and brightest. I LOVED his tenacity and his...If I'm alive...I can LEARN, mentality. Which he still has today. He is the proud owner, and toter of an iPad. Unless you've been out of touch or living under a rock he has just married his sweetheart Marilyn May on February 5th. Go Dad! I see a trend here.

Ahhhh...back to me. (Hey- it's my blog) I have not only loved the technological gadgets themselves but everything fun they bring to the table. I have an 18 year old daughter, Cassi, who is going to college in a State 1,700 miles away from home. I don't know how our parents dealt with such separations. Because when I was younger, (MUCH), kids went off to college and everything involving a telephone was expensive. Calling a town 10 miles up the road was considered long distance and the additional charges were outrageous. So calling home was once a month for college students. With technology I get to call, txt, or Skype with her. The only limitations are the ones I place on myself to not be obnoxiously intrusive into her much anticipated personal space. LOL. (How am I doing sis?)

Me and Cassi at Grandpa Beaujeu's wedding 05 Feb, 2011

I also have my first-born, Kristi, who is serving the Lord, and our Church on a full-time Mission in the Raleigh, North Carolina Mission. We do have more limitations than that of my little collegiate, but there still are major differences. We found out that some of the Missions at Christmas-time allowed their Missionaries to Skype their calls home. Wow! In the MTC Kristi was part of a pilot program where they had the use of the latest in technology including ipods, big screens, closed circuit televisions, and the latest in cell phone capabilities. They are even allowed to txt each other on their Missions now. I love the fact that I am able to email her instead of taking the time to write her long-hand. I write her much more with a keyboard (OK, truth-be-told, I just typed 'typewriter' and then deleted it to write 'keyboard'- LOL) than I would if I had to write it out long-hand. And- if we are on email at the same time...we can get those emails going back and forth PDQ (pretty darned quick). So even though I am here in Texas, I feel so connected to my kids. I LOVE that!

Me & Kristi- dropping her off at the MTC 26th May, 2010

This brings me to the whole blog thing. I was NOT a blogger. Until my daughter accepted her call and left on her Mission. She has always been a social butterfly. But hers is not a popularity born by todays standards...Kristi has an infectious quality of genuinely loving people. And, in return, people gravitate to Kristi. She is an amazing individual. She has wanted to serve a Mission her whole life..and everyone who knows Kristi knows she was meant to do just that. When we went into the Stake President's office to have her set-apart as a Missionary he counseled her to write to her immediate family first and just what she could to others. The time is very limited for writing on a Mission. So I felt a sense of sadness from my daughter, even an anxiousness because she was leaving behind so many dear friends. I knew I had to DO something to help her. I immediately knew that I had to learn to blog. I started her blog not too long after she entered the MTC (Mission Training Center) in Provo. It was trial and error, let me tell ya. I had a great sideline coach (thanks Cynthia) and encouragement wasn't the issue, I got that by the number of emails I recieved from the recipients of her blog update notices saying "I LOVE the blog!" I am happy for the input because that let me know that blogging really was a phenominal idea. I also have learned that when she comes home from her Mission I can send her blog to a blog publisher to be put into a book for her. :) Come on....that's awesome!

Funny story: In writing Kristi's blog I discovered a few things- 1) people thought that Kristi was on the computer on her Mission writing her own blog. 2) that the Church had somehow provided these blogs for all Missionaries. 3) they wanted to know how they could find their own Missionary's blogs. To clarify: 1- Kristi does not wirte her blog, I do. I use her emails, letters, and sd cards to cherry-pick information that I feel she would want shared with everyone. Then, I write her blog. She doesn't even have the password. She asked me last week if I could add a 'Button' to her blog that would take the person from her blog to her profile on Mormon.org. That is something I am working on. 2) The Church does not provide blogs. That is something left up to parents. I know some parents who are great at forwarding their Missionary's emails. 3) already answered.

My discovery didn't stop with the above. I also found that I had a lot to say, and share myself. So for a while I batted around the idea that I should start my own blog. Voile, my blog was born. Several people have asked me where the Title for my blog came from. I did mention it in an early blog post. I will re-post that information:

Question: WHY BREAD AND COULEE WATER?
Answer: Because Grandma Mertz said so. LOL

I would like to introduce you to a couple of folks.

This is my Grandma Rosina (Nelson) and My Grandpa William John (Bill) Mertz
This picture was taken on their wedding day, the 23rd of March, 1927. They were
married in the Cardston, Alberta, Canada Temple.

As long as I can remember few people could compete with my Grandmother's cooking. When we'd come visit (they lived in Stirling, Alberta, Canada...we lived most my life in the States) she would say all she had to feed us was 'bread & coulee water'. Then she'd procede to feed a bunch of us a beautiful, delicious, meal that smelled like heaven. At mealtime I can still hear her say, "Ya hungry? I bet I can find you some bread and coulee water." That came to mean, 'OH BOY!' :)

I named my blog after her light-hearted catch-phrase in her honor. No-one left her house hungry or unloved. I hope to write more about Rosina Mertz in the future. She was an amazing woman and raised a family of 9 children on a farm during the depression so there is lots to tell.

In 1995 I was asked to put together a family cookbook for our reunion. I titled it 'Bread & Coulee Water' what else?

Keeping up with the demands in my life (no... I'll not make the proverbial list) is sometimes a bit of a challenge. Then my Missionary wrote me yesterday and said, "MOM, when are you ever going to write a personal profile for Mormon.org? You must!" I wrote back; "I'll get right on that." {{{rolls eyes}}} .....No really, I will get right on it.

Discovery: What I have learned about having one foot in the past, and one stretched forward to the future is that it has provided me with a sort-of equilibrium that I am happy with. It grounds me and gives me appreciation for the past, help with today, and great hope and anticipation for tomorrow. Heavenly Father is so great. I'm thankful.

Stay tuned!

~Sandi

How long must we worry about our kids?

Answer: Until we hear God say to us, "Welcome home".

WORRY
Is there an imaginary cutoff period when
offspring become accountable
for their own actions?
Is there some moment in time when
parents become detached spectators in
the lives of their children and shrug,
'It's their life.', and feel nothing?

When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor
waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my daughter's

head and shakily I asked, 'When do you stop worrying?'
The nurse replied, 'When they get out of the accident stage..'

When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a

classroom and heard how one of my children talked

incessantly, disrupted the class, and was headed for a

career making license plates.
As if to read my mind, another teacher said, 'Don't worry,

they all go through this stage and then you can sit back,

relax and enjoy them.'

When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting
for the phone to ring, the cars to come home,
the front door to open. A friend said,
'They're trying to find themselves. Don't worry!
In a few years, they'll be adults. They'll be off on their own
they'll be out of your hair.'

By the time I was 50, I was sick & tired of being vulnerable.
I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle...
Even though they were on their own I continued to anguish over their futures, be tormented by their frustrations, absorbed in their disappointments, and stressed over their obstacles.
I think of the challenges ahead, and the worry continues...

My friends said that when my kids got married
I could stop worrying because then it was up to them.
I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my own parent's

warm smiles and their occasional, 'You look pale. Are you

all right' ?'Call me the minute you get home'. 'How's life treating you?'

I feel of their love and concern for me still...

My friends said that when I became a grandparent
that I would really get to enjoy the happy little voices yelling,
"Grandma! Papa!" Alot of the fun, but none of the responsability.
But I find that I worry just as much about the little kids
as the big ones. How can anyone cope with all this incessant worry?

Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry?
Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to
blaze the trail of human frailties and the fears of the unknown?
Is concern a curse or is it a virtue that elevates us
to the highest form of earthly creation?
Does love and caring furtively disguise itself as worry?
Would I ever really choose the thoughtless, callous, unfeeling alternative? 

As I pondered this seemingly impossible dilemma I decided to pray about this so that I might find peace. This story came into my mind clearly. The one in Matthew chapter 13 where Peter walks on the water to Jesus, and looking around him at the stormy seas begins to doubt, and thus, begins to sink.

-Matthew 13:31-

31) "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

I don't think we will ever find a time when we cannot find something to worry about. That is simply the nature of the world in which we live. But I found solace in this:

-Matthew 11:28-30-

28) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30) For my yoke is easy; and my burden is light.

As we learn to come unto Him through scripture study and prayer and by aligning our will to His, we partake of the atonement and worry is replaced by faith.

So too we teach our children by example where they can look for their help, strength, inspiration, salvation.... and PEACE.

Doctrine & Covenants101:16    "Be still and know that I am God."

Jesus is- The Great Healer

P.S. This is my re-write of a story that has been circulating on the internet. The original version is about us becoming our parents and passing the worry torch onto our children like a proverbial baton. Although the story was a good read, I felt to tweak it and add my own pictures, and completely re-write the ending to encourage faith in the Lord, and not somehow buy in to the theory that history has to repeat itself. -SD-

Cutie Got Braces!

I know- people usually put braces on their kids teeth when they are 12 or 13 but Cassi waited patiently until it was her turn. Which is now. She is not only patient and graciously excited...she is appreciative which is awesome. I think she looks DARLING in them. Grandpa got married on the 05th of Feb, and she got them on Monday morning the 07th. Fun (and painful) times!

Cassi in her cute BYUI 'blue' braces.

Cassi sings 'At Last' at Grandpa's wedding 05 Feb, 2011

Who can find a virtuous woman?

Cassi and her Roommates

Lyndsey (Burley ID), Hannah (CO), Cassi (TX), Ashley (MO)

 The girls ready for their first night on the town.

Look-out Rexburg!

These are darling, brilliant, good girls. They bonded and took to each other right away. They are in a four-girl cooking dorm. So the apartments are bigger than regular dorms and have two girls per bedroom. Cassi's actual roommate is Hannah.

It was fun for me to be there to help her get situated but she didn't need much help. I realize that was more for me than her. We shopped alot since we flew and most of the stuff she took was clothes. There was much to buy. She was beyond ready to spread her wings and fly. But I'll admit the drive back to the airport in Idaho Falls was l-o-n-e-l-y.

When I tell her I miss her beautiful face... she'll text me a pic. She's the BEST!

Cassi auditioned and made the BYUI Women's Choir and they will be singing in the April General Conference in Salt Lake City. She is very excited about that. So watch for her. She has already sung in three shows at BYUI. Her Grandpa has asked her to sing at his and Marilyn's wedding. Thats quite an honor for her. You can see her sing if you go to YouTube and search 2010 Texas All State Choir. She was first chair alto.

Cassi is only one of a few girls in her chemistry class. She's a little perplexed by the lack of females in her science classes. After the professor put fear of failure into his students the first week of chemistry her partner was surprised by her return on Monday morning. He said, "Whoa your still here?" and she said, "Wow, I was just going to say the same thing to you!" He dropped the class and she now has a new partner. LOL. Though gifted musically she wants to be a Dr.

She has not complained about the cold or snow. This seems to bother everyone but Cassi. She has had a few moments of missing Texas (and her car) but lets us know the day or two after the episode not during, which I admire as she pushes through these little bouts of homesickness.

Lyndsey P

We took her to the Orthodontist while I was there and she goes in tomorrow to have all the molds made and spacers put in. Then she gets braces on Feb 7th (after Grandpa's wedding). :)

Funny story: At home I make a tuna noodle casserole we call 'Goulash' and Cassi told me that she can only hack it once every six months. But she told me last week she'd already eaten it three times. LOL. She was hitting the 'yuck' factor. Time to use her Mac to search for a few recipes. LOL.

Well, writing about my sweetie is not just informational but, alas, it is also theraputic for a Momma who misses another one of her darling girls. I'm counting down till we get to see each other for a couple of days in Feb at Grandpa's Wedding. Yay!

The Rexburg Temple

~Momma Dodge

My Dad is getting married!

Marilyn May and Moe Beaujeu

To be married 05 Feb, 2011

Their invitations are in the mail so I am not letting any cats out of the proverbial bag by sharing this tidbit of information. In fact I got mine last week (invite) so I am feeling pretty confident that a bunch of you know this already.

How do I feel about this? Quite frankly...I'm stoked about it. I could NOT be happier.

As many of you know we took the passing of our Mother (23rd Sept, 2007) hard. Her sweet presence has been missed terribly. We love her and respect her so much, and we still miss her EVERY day. But, no-one has taken it harder than our Dad. No-one can dispute the eternal love he feels for his Marlene. That is clear and in full effect...for all of us, and it will never change.

I have taught my children since they were knee-high to a grasshopper, that love is NOT a pie! Remember in kindergarden or first grade when we are introduced to fractions by being given a whole pie? Then the teacher would ask, what if we had two people and we needed to share? Well, we'd take that pie and cut it in half, each to share an equal lesser part. Well, what if we had four people? Then- we take that pie and we basically rob the others of a portion of their pie to accomidate the new people, thus making fourths. As a fifith or sixth person shows up there starts to be a little bit of resentment beginning to build behind the niceties of our communal share (murmur murmur). What happens then when we start inviting our friends, and six become eight, or ten, or more? Well, if my sister can bring a friend and share...then I should be able to make everyone share their pie with MY friend, right? So, you can see that this demonstrates perfectly the example of the limited capacity of pie sharing. The more people who come for pie the smaller the piece given to each person present. Ugh! Pretty soon...why bother...right?

This story was always a great segue to the limitlessness of the capacity of love.

No, love, indeed, is NOT a pie. We do NOT have to rob anyone of their piece of our love. Nor are we given a specific compartment of love with limited capacity. Like a tupperware bowl, where if we pour too much into it it begins to over-flow and make a mess. (Do a subject study in the scriptures using the topic, 'capacity'.) Wow, Heavenly Father is so great!

Love is only limited by fear. As we exercise faith and love others Heavenly Father blesses us with an increased capacity to love more. And no-one in our lives must have one ounce of the love we feel for them compromised or diminished by having someone new come into our lives. The more we give love, the more we are able to recieve it.

That brings me to our sweet Marilyn. She is lovely, and as sweet as they come. Her and her husband were friends with my parents (having a cabin near theirs). Mays sold their cabin and lost touch with my parents until one day at the Huntsman Cancer Institute where my Mom, Dad, and I were sitting in the waiting room waiting to go back for an appointment with her oncologist, Dr. Tudor, and in walked Richard and Marilyn May. Everyone hugged and some tears were shed by my mother as she felt the pain of seeing another friend struggle with the ugly 'C'-word. Richard was there for his chemo treatments. Again, with the all consuming nature of this terrible disease, they again lost touch. Unknown to my family Marilyn lost Richard little more than two months after we lost Mother.

Through a series of events that some would call coincidental...I do not... Dad and Marilyn were able to find each other and connect in such a sweet, respectful, and loving way. I won't give away all their secrets and share their courting, and how love found it's way blossoming into their lives again. I only know the day I got a voice-mail from my Dad saying he had something to tell me and I heard in his voice on that message a joy that I hadn't heard since my Mother passed from this world. I said to Jerry, "He sounds HAPPY!" How could a loving child of my father not embrace and be excited for this return of joy and the woman who brought it back into his life? He is not dead, and his life is not over. His life is prescious and this life is meant to be LIVED! I am so proud of my Dad. Again he teaches us in the way he is living his life. You go DAD!

I went to Utah a couple of weeks ago (actually it was a lay-over when I took Cassi up to BYUI) and was able to meet Marilyn for the first time. Excuse my comparison, but this is what it reminded me of;  Like the feeling of loving a child before it's born. I knew before I laid eyes on this sweet lady that I would love her. My Dad does, and thats good enough for me. I have talked to Dad on the phone enough and he has shared enough with me to know that she is going to be a wonderful addition to the Beaujeu family. She is considerate, happy, thoughtful, and kind hearted.

I hope you will ALL expand your capacity to love, and embrace the opportunity to increase the love you recieve by loving Dad's Marilyn. We do.

No, love is NOT a pie!

~Sandi Beaujeu Dodge

A quilt for my Missionary!

One of the Sister's that Kristi met in the MTC had a back-pack made by her mother and the material was a lavender Sister Missionary flannel print. So Kristi sent me a picture of it and said how fun the material was and wondered if I could find some.

So when I was in Utah in July part of my vacation quest was searching for this material. And I was triumphant when I came upon a piece (in pink) just large enough to piece a quilt. I was now armed and ready to make my Missionary a surprise for Christmas.

This was a picture of their bedroom in Nov, 2010

Needs a little hug from home...no?

So, I got crackin.

I decided it would add some maturity to the quilt by adding some 9 patch.

My fun work station.

The idea is coming together. I decided to use a large center piece instead of cutting it up to preserve the integrity of the small print, and to keep the focus on the Missionary theme.

I took pieces from Cami & Cassi's quilts and added it to Kristi's. My mother collected teddy bears. So I incorporated a few teddy bears. Also-the butterfly material is Breast Cancer Awareness material. There is also material with the Salt Lake City Temple where me and Jerry were married.

I free-hand embroidered the name of her Mission, her Mission President's name, and all of her companions names (thus far), and her name, of course, on patches of the quilt. (P.S. You can see how the inegrity of a small print is sometimes lost when it is cut up, thus, why I chose to leave the center piece large).

Sister Ward, Sister Kingsford, Sister Kissell, and Sister Gallego

I laid it out on the floor to get some ideas and to begin piecing it together.

I chose brown as the other majority color to add age to the print.

Isn't it a cute print?

I added brown flannel sashing, brown flannel backing and binding.

Lois Schauweker quilted it for me with her long arm machine.

Then I put on the binding.

Then it was finished and ready for Sister Dodge's Christmas box.

I also made flannel pillow cases to match and my friend Melanie Leonard embroidered their names on them...Sister Dodge and Sister Gallego. :) I also made others for Christmas presents. Fun times.

When I went to Utah I snapped a darling pic of my niece Brinley snuggled up in the quilt I made for Shannon last Christmas. You can see the Temple material I also added to Kristi's. :) I love that there are pieces of the same cloth in each other's quilts symbolic of how we are all connected in the fabric of our lives.

I have made some fun quilts. I love making them. It is definately in my genes. My grandmother Rosina Mertz made many many quilts. In fact when she passed away and her bed was disassembled and moved there were several quilts folded up in between the mattress and box springs. Beautiful quilts for 'someday'. This taught me a valuable lesson. Every day is a special day, a day for celebration...today is someday. That is not to say that she didn't use and give away many gorgeous quilts, she certainly did. I was raised snuggled beneath her quilts, and I loved knowing my grandma's hands made them. Oh how I love her and find happiness in knowing she is on the other side with a grin as I continue with her passion.

This is Sister Dodge showing some of her Christmas presents.

She already has put her quilt on her bed. :) Thats my girl!

~Missionary Momma Dodge

Nushin Tea

2 1/4 C Tang
2 pkgs. pre-sweet lemonade
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp ground gloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together and store in air tight container.

To make a cup of hot lusciousness:
Mix 2- 2 1/2 tsp of drink mix into 1 C boiling water.

For those frosty mornings....Mmmm

This is one of those recipes that has been in my Moms recipe box since I was knee-high to a grass-hopper. But I had lost touch with it. Thanks for helping me with it Aunt Bev I knew it had to still be bouncing around the family somewhere.

~Sandi

To: My Children