Sunday, June 28, 2009

One Year Later

Remember this little picture?
Here he is one year later!
Wyatt had his first birthday on the farm. He even got his own little cake! This is what he did when Daddy brought it over to him:
After that first bite he wasn't so sure if it was worth all the excitement.
Maybe he won't have a sweet tooth like his mommy!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Watching the Storm Roll In

There comes a time for all bloggers when you question whether or not to talk about something in your blog. You have to decide if you want to cross that line. Well, this is my time. I've decided to share something with you. Maybe because if I put it out there, I can move on. Or maybe because if one of you has been through something similar, you can offer me some advice. So here goes.

Over a week ago, my husband, my two babies, Wilbur and myself set off to drive cross-country to my parent's farm in Idaho. We left one evening, and by midnight, Wyatt started getting sick. Really sick. We ended up stopping at the Toledo, Ohio Children's Hospital. I thought they'd give him an IV and he'd be fine. Well, he wasn't. It was very scary. They ended up admitting him to the hospital. I spent the first day sitting next to his crib, holding his limp little hand that was all bandaged up with tubes taped all over it. He was so sick, and so pitiful, all I could do was cry. After two days without sleep, I started to doze off in the hospital chair.

My phone rang.

It was my husband, calling to tell me that our car was broken in to. While I was at the hospital with Wyatt, he and Liberty were staying at a hotel. The hotel security guard scared them off. But not before they got my purse. I never leave my purse, or anything valuable in the car. And either does my husband. But that night, he had to carry my sleeping daughter and puppy and an overnight bag in to the hotel. As he was getting ready to go back to the car to bring our stuff in, hotel security called.

In my purse was my first Blythe doll, Fiona (those of you who have been reading my blog will be familiar with her), our digital camera, and a bunch of "little things": baby toys, diaper, wipes, a book...you know how Mom purses are.

And my wedding rings.

That's right. A complete bad stroke of luck that they were even in there. There is no material object that cannot be replaced, other than my wedding rings. I know we've all heard these stories before.

I was not prepared for the emotional turmoil this would bring. Every day I try to focus on the important things: Wyatt is healthy again (after 3 days at the Children's Hospital), it could've been a lot worse, and my family is safe. My husband missed crossing paths with these criminals by minutes.

But I cannot get over the disgust that someone out there has my things. Someone has my wedding rings. The rings I was supposed to wear for a lifetime. Gone in a matter of minutes.

What really disgusts me, is that these criminals walked up to my car, looked in the window, saw two little car seats, and smashed my windows, filling the carseats with shards of glass. When they got away with my purse, they saw a mom's purse. Toys, diapers. Did they ever pause and think about the family they had affected? What we now have to go through? Weeks and weeks of insurance claims, paperwork, and car repairs. We had to get the windows replaced. We need to get the damaged passenger door replaced, new keys, new locks, new ignition keys (because they have my keys as well), we're still finding pieces of glass all over the interior of the car. We have to file three insurance claims: one for the damage to the car, one for my jewlery, and one for all the stolen goods. Along with that we have to meet three separate deductibles.

But will I ever feel safe again? Will I ever stop thinking "what if"?

Tonight I sat on the front porch of my parent's farmhouse and watched a storm roll in. It was so quiet, just the distant sounds of thunder, the smell of rain and a cool breeze. The storm stayed for awhile, then was gone. And like a cliche, the sun broke through the clouds and I saw a rainbow.

Thanks for the sign, Big Guy. I know you're looking out for me.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

And the Winner Is...

The winner of the giveaway is....Bonnie!! Bonnie, I've sent you an email requesting your address. To everyone else, thank you so much for your comments! I wish I could send a package to all of you (THAT would be a great Oprah moment..."You get fabric! And you get fabric...Fabric for EVERYONE!!). I just love having giveaways! Maybe I'll have to do an Idaho giveaway while I'm there...they have fabulous quilt shops!

Well, today will be a big day. I'm meeting up with two Bloggy peeps, Cara and Stef. We all met through an on-line swap (more on that later). And then I'm on the road to Idaho for a month! I will be blogging and getting lots of sewing done (grandparents make the best babysitters), so keep checking in!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Fabric Cuff

I stumbled upon the cutest tutorial yesterday...a fabric cuff. How fun! I whipped one up this morning with some Cotton Blossom fabric. This is definitely one of those "make up a dozen and keep for gifts" ideas! You can find the tutorial here. Happy stitching!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Giveaway Time!

I've been gone for awhile! We had a couple of trips planned, and then, well...I went on a Blythe binge! Lucky for me, I have a good friend who is Blythe-obsessed as well. That's a pic of our girls when we met up at the mall. Seriously, we could talk for hours (and sometimes we do!) about our "girls"!
Last Saturday night, we had our first "Sew-cial" at the shop! We had customers come from as far away as New Hampshire to attend. It was a blast! Wonderful food, and fabulous prizes (and I mean fabulous...brand new quilt books, fabric bundles, and patterns). We do everything top notch at Epicurean! :)

Now what you all really want to hear about: the giveaway! I felt so bad that I didn't buy more fabric at sample spree for the giveaway that I scrounged up some!
So there you have it! A stack-o-magazines (special issues, too!), patterns, little goodies....and fabric!! I am including 6 Minny Muu fat quarters to go along with the Melly & Me pattern (top right), a Lakehouse charm pack, and a Fig Tree jelly roll from my stash!

Here's what to do: Leave a comment between now and Friday night at midnight for 1 entry. Post a link on your blog, and you'll get 3 entries! I am leaving town this weekend for a month in Idaho, so I will be mailing it out Saturday morning!! Good luck everyone!