Renewed Hope!

After the heartbreak of last week's baby Bluebird loss, there is abundant hope that we have another family in the not too distant future. Mom and dad have been back checking out the nesting box! 

Speaking of nesting birds, at long last I have gotten this one quilted and the finishing binding on this four block folkart wallhanging; this is the result of a Sue Nickels workshop that I took years ago at MidAtlantic Quilt Festival up in Hampton, VA.  I was inspired to get it done after touring the Southern Quilts exhibit at the National Quilt Museum and being enamored with the historic applique quilts there earlier this year. 

Not only is it finished, but it's hanging, at long last, in our home; I always HOPED I'd see this day. Don't we all start every new project with high hopes and determination ~ only to lose steam? 

I need to teach myself the importance of being a little ol' ant and hanging on to those high hopes! 😊

We hosted our former neighbors for the weekend, we had a glorious time catching up (it's been years);  the late nights took their toll, I needed naps for two days in a row after their departure! Back in August of 1985 we bought a newly constructed home right next door to these fine folks. For ten years we lived side by side, we raised our children together and Janis and I walked together every single morning after we loaded the kiddos on the school bus; those were golden days. A good neighbor is a found treasure and we certainly were the beneficiaries of that, to the fullest. We moved away in 1995 and, after a few more years, retirement saw them selling their home and moving to Oklahoma. You may remember, in September of last year, I requested prayer for Janis in this blog post. Thanks be to God, she is now totally free and clear of cancer! Her healing is complete and she has been released from further treatment for her lymphoma. She never lost hope for one moment but, rather, as a role model of immense faith, persevered and triumphed over this dread disease; and she did it with a joyful heart! I have always marveled at her strong spirit and unshakeable faith, one that has been demonstrated as long as I have known her. She gives all the thanks and glory to God; and is grateful for your faithful prayers and for her doctors, nurses and drug therapies that all, ultimately, come from Him, creator of all things!

And so, we go on, with HOPE in our hearts for every. single. blessing; both great and small.

Life is Good!

A Quilted Hug

After learning the news about my dear friend (and former neighbor) who's currently going through chemotherapy for a recent lymphoma diagnosis all I could think of is "what can I do?" She lives in Oklahoma, so not only is distance a factor in feeling helpless, but my current state of worry over infecting someone with anything, (let alone a dreaded virus) when their immune system is wiped out is another, even if I still lived next door to her! I thought about her having to endure the treatments and worried about her being warm and comfortable throughout those procedures. What could I do? I quilted up the most recently completed top that I had on hand and quickly put together a matching tote bag which I personalized for her; my thinking was that this could be her "go bag", it could stay in her car and be ready whenever she needed it. I shipped it off on Wednesday. It's all that I could think of that I could do right away, I sent it along with love and prayers; I included a note and explained to her that this was a quilted hug, directly from me to her. She received it yesterday and I heard from her immediately; she began her first chemotherapy treatment on Thursday, it lasted for eight hours and will recur every three weeks. She loved the quilt but was concerned because her skin is leaching toxins out through her pores and, if she used it, that the quilt will need to be washed constantly, in hot water. I assured her there was no problem whatsoever with that, everything had been prewashed and if the quilt wore out (is there any higher praise for a quiltmaker?) over time that I would make her another! I know that she feels the love and the prayers; thank you for praying for Janis; please, keep them coming! Through tortured hours of repeated questions running on a loop within my brain: "how could I help, what could I do", God whispered directly to my heart: "send off a quilt"~  that's exactly what I did!

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 Isn't this why we do what we do?

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We cover those that we know, and many times those we'll never meet, 

with love and quilted hugs, warming their bodies and their souls. 

Life is Good!