Christmas Wishes

Aside form Christmas cookies, I think the lights are my very favorite thing about the holidays!

This year we took the grands to our two favorite light shows.

The first was the Scentsy headquarters just a 30 minute drive away:

They have the longest lighted tunnel any of us have ever seen.

Poppi actually got the boys to slow down long enough to take a picture with Meme as they enjoyed running, and running, and running through the lite tunnel over and over.

Our second favorite place was in another nearby town where the whole center of town is lite up!

It's magical. There's a skating rink, Santa in a boat (which our youngest thought was hilarious!)..

...gingerbread houses for the kids to play in,

and even a fire breathing dragon!

As you can tell by their smiles, it was truly a night filled with the spirit of Christmas.

It's wintery cold in our part of the world and I find myself pulling out some ol' WIP as I spend much of my time in the sewing room. I actually have two queen size quilts I'm wanting to finish this winter break and am grateful for the time to get them done. It feels good to be sewing again and I find myself thinking of ways to incorporate more of it in my new life. It makes me think of all of you and the fun we had blogging and supporting each other. So, I'll be sure to post my progress soon. Until then, let me wish you, my quilty blogging friends, a Christmas that warms your hearts as much as these two do for mine. 

With smiles, Val

A Winter Hike with T.H.

This holiday season our daughter got engaged! We are beyond excited for her and her new fiance especially since it means we have inherited three more wonderful grands to love and spoil! God bless them as they create their blended family with FIVE boys in the age range of two to ten. 

Thus, this weekend I picked up the oldest for his 1st weekend of "Grammy Camp".

(He can use a break from all the littles I'm sure.)

First thing we did was go on my favorite Table Rock Trail  hike in Boise.  It's a 3.7 mile hike of moderate difficulty. There are some very steep sections but also mellow parts to balance them out. 

Hiking through the quarry was beautiful with it's skiff of snow and once you reach the top, the city overlook is amazing! (Imagine his reaction we he found out we could have drove to the top!! LOL!)

I took in the views and found it rejuvenating to just watch a snow storm dust the mountain tops.

Meanwhile, my grand guy busied himself with adventuring amongst the graffiti underneath a slope. Having learned we both LOVE everything chocolate mint chip... 

.. we took this picture!  Which was then followed by a good discussion on our way down about how we both disagreed with so much graffiti in such a beautiful place and as Boy Scout, he actually came up with an innovative plan to remove it all. (SMILES!)

The hike down was a bit colder as the snow flurries caught up with us,

 but he never once complained, and we both equally enjoyed the hike. 

The rest of our weekend will find us hanging out at home. His main goal is to help me put together a my new computer. (How did ten years get so computer savy???) But he'll also hang out with Poppi and enjoy building, baking and cooking. Oh and he brought his "favorite" sweatshirt for me to mend!

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

With SMILES! Val

I'm Back! New Look! New Purpose!

My goal for 2019 was to be authentic as my husband and I found ourselves at a crossroad that would find us making an intentional, major shift in our lives both emotionally and physically.

Life's journey is full of hills and valleys and it was just time for a change.  

  I'm rebooting my blog after almost a year long sabbatical with a new face-life and mission. Physically, my husband and I spent the last year downsizing. Gotta tell ya...we love it! The simplicity is wonderful!! We think of our new home as our "transitional" housing until we retire in a few years. 

Creatively, I've just been thinking...gaining a new perspective of myself and what I want to do with my time now that I don't have a large house and yard to manage. Kinda time to follow my bliss....

Curious to see how much the grands have grown??

Here's our daughter and those little guys now:

Our big guy is six now and started kindergarten and little Jack is two.

Okay, I'm literally teary eyed posting that pic....I mean look at those smiles!

They too have conquered life's challenges with love and joy.

2019 blessed us all in so many ways that we only end such a rough patch with gratitude.

Oh and what about Jackson??? I'm sure he will continue to photo bomb my posts.  He's getting a bit grey and is now ten, yet continues to be a loyal companion on walks, hikes and in the sewing room. 

Join me for my 20 in 2020.

Okay so my life isn't what I envisioned for myself when I reached middle age...but regardless of this, I'm ready to be the one to decide where my life will bring me instead of the other way around. I know we're all crafty, quilty folk, but I challenge you to also be thinking of the kind of goal setting that is more about WHO you want to be, what you want to do. 

 WHAT KIND OF GOALS can GO IN A 20 FOR 2020 LIST?

Your list can be anything...challenges, adventures, personality goals, dreams to chase, projects to finish, hobbies to try. There is power in writing things down and then making them happen. 

I'm PLANNING TO DISPLAY AND CHECK OFF THESE GOALS through the use of a Travelers notebook and here on the blog! 

Christmas Day will find me "unwrapping" all my supplies and playing.
With SMILES! Val

Also linking with my quilty friends at:

When You Can't Reach the Peddle....

While visiting our grand guys this past weekend, knowing I made quilts and after inquisitively watching me stitch during movie time, one of their friends really wanted me to teach him how to sew. My daughter didn't hesitate to unpack her sewing machine and we let the boys dive into a box of fabric scraps. As I sat and worked on some binding, I taught the oldest, who is nine, how to use the machine. I taught him the main parts of the machine: foot, pedal and the ol' 1/4 inch! 

 He was very focused, detailed oriented and caught on quickly. Well, before I knew it...

.

..he was quickly on his way to making all the younger boys their very own blankie, even

seeking their help when he couldn't reach the pedal himself! (Look at how focused they are!)

After busily rocking a teething baby,

...I soon returned to the kitchen to find all the older boys giving sewing a team effort!

(Is this just not adorable!!) One at the machine, another at the pedal, and one

guiding the fabric. I was so happy my daughter caught these moments for me!

By the end of the day, our guy had made four blankies for all the younger boys.

He spread them all out and I was flattered when he insisted that I join him for his finale! 

(As you can see,  I was busy giving our little grand guy a bath...and well, 

you know how one year olds LOVE to splash and play in water!)

As if the story can't get any better....we soon realized he can earn a Boy Scout patch for his efforts!

I truly had the best weekend with these guys and loved sharing our hobby with them.

A Crochet Blanket....

I quilt, my mom knits and my sister crochets.

I got this blanket as a surprise in the mail today!!!

Our deal was she'd crochet me a blanket and I'm going to make her a quilt.

She's wayyyy ahead of me....but I love it! And it's sooooo warm! Lucky me....and Jackson.

A Birthday Celebration!

Our little grand-guy is five and we celebrated by treating him to his first college football game!

The pre-game "kid zone" events were full of fun! Bouncy houses, "cool" cars and big foam hats!

Boise State is know for it's BIG BLUE...and they didn't disappoint. By half time we had scored four touchdowns to the opponents one, each filled with fireworks, loud cheers and music.

He and Poppi spent quilty time together as he taught him the "ins and outs" of football. 

...and his day was made when Poppi even wore his funny hair!

A much needed family day was had by all and I'm so grateful for the fun had.

Plus, you know it's good when you have two very exhausted little boys by day's end!

 

A Mental Health Day=A Great Hike!

Once or twice a year, I treat myself to a Mental Health day off from work. So when my niece's volleyball team was in town for college play and my sister decided to drive across the state to gather a set of videos of her on the court, I knew exactly what to do.

Yep! The next day I took a mental health day. We loaded the pups into the car, took our "selfie"

 and headed to Boise (only a 45 minute drive away) for a day hike.

Our hike began at the Old Idaho Penitentiary....

 ...and our destination was Table Rock. A two mile upward hike.

 We loved it!

The view of Boise was breathtaking.

 Along with that of the foothills behind us:

Being four years apart, like many, our journey in life has had it's periods of closeness and distance. 

We married within a year of each other yet our oldest daughter and her youngest daughter are nine years apart...thus she is just beginning her "empty nest" chapter of life and coping with the loneliness and transition of such. We enjoyed one of those two days visits that found you staying up till 1:00am talking only to turn around and get up early for hiking and a little shopping the next day. 

 We literally laughed out-loud as we found ourselves driving along with  dogs on our laps,  reminiscent of the days our cars were then filled with car seats and children instead. We wrapped up our day with a visit to a quilt store to pick out fabrics for a quilt I'm going to make her and JoAnnes to pick out yarn for a blanket she is going to crochet me. I'm grateful for our visit and that we had this time to get reunited. I'm learning that it's not so much that we change, as much as it is that we grow. We're already discussing our next visit and things we'd like to do. I hope the next time you have the opportunity to take a Mental Health Day from work that you feel inspired to take care of yourself and do just that!