Joy

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Another quilt!

I can finally post my newest quilt!

I started it last January as soon as my broken wrist could handle cutting fabric and I didn't finish it until the week before Christmas.  

I could have had it done by March if I had just worked on it a little everyday but it fell to the wayside for months at a time.  
I instantly regretted the quilting pattern that I chose. The quilt is 72in by 78in - do you know how many times I had to stuff that quilt through my machine throat to turn it?!?!  Too many.  But it was worth it!

I am very pleased with how it came out. This one went to my Mother-In-Law for Christmas.  

And now to start on the next! I am very glad that I have many pro-quilters in my new Sunday school class and I already have learned a few nuggets of quilting wisdom from them. I want to have most of it done before the baby is born....but we'll see.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Santa!

Today we went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop.   It was way more fun than going to the mall and we got a free picture.  It's not the best but what can you expect?

The girls have been looking forward to seeing Santa for quite a while now.  Claire hasn't been able to decide what she wanted and kept coming up with weird suggestions that I tried to discourage. Mostly those ridiculous things you see on tv around Christmas time like Stompeez and similar absurdities that I would throw away a few days later.  (We don't have room for that kind of junk!)  Luckily, she went with "You can just surprise me."  Phew!

Sweet Joy has a very specific list. She wanted a Sophia doll. socks, and a purple dress or shirt. Reasonable, small, and inexpensive suggestions. Santa can do that.

Apparently the Santa at Bass Pro Shop is a "photo op only" Santa and does not talk to the kids. You can write him a letter while you wait in line and put it in his mailbox,and you'd better because he won't ask you if you've been good and what you want for Christmas - he won't even give you a "Ho".  He just sits there and endures, probably questioning his life decisions with each screaming child that is taken off his lap.

Joy telling Dad what to write.


Paige surprised us all by being nice to Santa and sitting on his lap all by herself.  She did not cry at all and she is very proud of her picture with him.  "That me!" she says.

After Santa, we shot at the shooting range,


admired the reindeer,

and rode the carousal....


all for free!

Paige was not too sure about the whole ride thing.


We also just enjoyed walking around the store, looking at the fish, waterfalls, and taxidermy.

Afterward, we went to get our Christmas tree. I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed decorating the tree. What a pain it is!  There are so many rules!  So many different ways to break ornaments! And a huge shortage of branches that can bear the weight of any ornament.  We got it done though.  I only have 4 ornaments in need of some glue gun repair.

This upcoming week is our busiest one before Christmas.  Next Monday our "to do" list will be complete and I can relax and enjoy the season.