White Christmas?

Ok, probably not, but the kids are enjoying the unusual snow storm in St. George today. You can't tell from the picture but it is snowing out there.

It's Christmas!?!

I am so not ready for Christmas. I finally got cards sent out, but only because Ryan was getting a little concerned that I hadn't done it yet and so took charge himself. I didn't put up Christmas lights this year. First time in 13 years of marriage. I guess I'll use the excuse that I'm conserving energy this year. Haven't done any shopping yet either, except for one book for each kid (I'm sure their Christmas morning would not be satisfying at all with one book under the tree). I have been sitting out in my sewing room all day sewing and catching up on projects. I got way behind on the Modify Tradition quilt-a-long. I'm only 4 blocks behind now (I think). So for my sister, pictures...

Flying Duchman

Churn Dash

Amish Diamond

Ohio Star

Olivia also informed me that her teacher's wife was expecting a baby and it was due any day. So I ran out and bought a towel and washcloth and whipped up a hooded towel for her to give her teacher. When she got home from school she informed me that the baby had to have a tutu not a towel. And of course I gave in. I don't think the picture does it justice.


I also finished up this cute blanket. I bought the fabric almost a year ago, just because I loved it. I'm not sure anyone else will, so I'm not sure where it will find a home, but for now it makes me happy to look at it.




I have one other project that I've been working on. I may share that another time.

In the mist of all my projects, Simon's 7th birthday came and went. His actual day of birth is not one that I like to revisit often. Maybe we should start celebrating January 1st, the day he came home the first time. He was thrilled with the skateboard he got. He won't have to sneak and ride Drew's anymore when he's not home. He even wears the pads he got from PaPou and PaPat. He loved the Sock Monkey he received from Grandma and Grandpa Everett. It was all decked out in a Sheriff uniform. He lovingly refers to it as Papa monkey. It look just like Grandpa Jim. And of course the money is always a hit! I can't believe he is 7 already. He is a joy to have in our family. He is such a peace maker and has the unique gift of making us all come together.

I'm late, again!

For some reason life seems to be getting away from me lately. Maybe it's that Ryan has been out of town for the last 5 days, maybe it's because my mom has been here since Sunday, it could it be that Thanksgiving is just one week away, or maybe that Christmas has finally started looming over my head (I didn't start getting stressed about it until I started shopping this week). I'm sure your life is just like mine right now.


I did finally get all the blankets washed and folded and delivered to the Jubilee House (This is the equivalent of the Ronald McDonald House but local to St. George). My neighbors and I finished 49 blankets and 364 note cards, my mom brought me another 6 blankets, and my mom's sweet friend, Marie, also made one for me. We ended up delivering them on Monday, which happened to be my brother Andrew's birthday. It was a good thing to do on his birthday. He was always so willing to give of himself to others. He didn't even want Christmas presents-he wanted my mom to adopt a family in need and give Christmas to them for his Christmas gift. My mom would get mad at him because he was always giving his clothes away.

I'm grateful for the all the woman in my neighborhood, my mom, and Marie who were willing to sacrifice their time to help me with all these blankets and cards. The kids and baby's who receive them are going to stay so warm and cozy!

Modify Tradition

I have started a new quilt thanks to Modify Tradition. They are going to do two blocks a week and at the end of the quilt-a-long I will have enough blocks for a sample quilt. I'm excited to learn some new squares. If you have ever thought about trying quilting, this would be a good time to get started. I will post each of my squares as they get done (mostly so my sister, Ang, can see them. I talked her into doing this with me). Here are pictures of the first four blocks. For some reason I couldn't get the first one to totate, but you get the idea.

Happy Birthday.

Yesterday was Matthew's birthday. He would have been 28 this year. As I was cleaning out my laundry room last week a came across an article Matthew's friend wrote about him after he passed away. The article was published in a climbing magazine. I think it really says who Matthew was and I hope David doesn't mind me sharing it here. I have decided that I hate feeling sad on my brother's birthdays. I don't want to feel the feelings I felt when they died anymore. I want to feel the feelings I had when we were all together being silly kids and loving each other. This article helps remind me of what kind of a person Matthew was becoming. It's long so read it if you want but just typing it made me smile thinking of him up in the Gunk's doing what he loved.

Last Dance by David Schmidt

"Just keep me real loose," Matt says, scoping the final pitch of the Gunks classic route. "I can't see around the prow, but those roofs look airy." I watch as my friend silently conducts his pre-game ritual: harness, check; knot, check; rack, check.

"Alright, you got me?" Matt asks, as puffy white clouds roll across a pure indigo sky. The mirror finish of Matt's sunglasses reflects the perfection of the morning. The rock's deep earthen yellow adds even more brilliance to the moment.

My brother, Mike, and I hesitate. "You're sure you're up to this, old buddy?" I mutter, vocalizing the thought that's been weighing heavily on our minds all morning.

Time stalls as Matt somberly looks at us, sussing out my question. Am I comfortable with him leading the hardest pitch of the route? Am I worried that his sickness has gone too far-that his strength has been weakened by the months of chemotherapy and radiation? Or is it his surgery, looming less than 48 hours away, that is the cause of my concern? I lean back on the anchor and fidget with a carabiner, wishing I hadn't opened my big mouth.

A look of confidence spreads across Matt's face. Time resumes its fervent dance. "You're on man," my brother replies, giving Matt a knowing smile. The tension evaporates and it feels like old times, before the diagnosis: Ewings sarcoma, a rare cancer that forced my friend to abandon his freshman year of college. Our worries are forgotten as Matt inches across the thin leadge, 200 feet of air lapping down at the tender foliage of spring.

Time slips forward with no pressing destination. The wind bends the tree branches below and drifts through the airy alcove that is our belay. Matt is simply climbing, focusing on the rhythm of his vertical waltz. His feet glide further away from the safety of our belay, traversing toward the horrendously exposed prow. He stops climbing and glances over at me before placing two bomber cams. Suddenly, I realize what my friend's about to do.

Matt defines himself, consciously pitting his physical strength against his disease. He carefully studies the long, arching roofs and then inverts-his body tension holding him close to the rock, his feet gracefully cutting out from under him-and seeks the next hold. He moves with confidence and boldly runs out the next 50 feet without placing a single piece of protection. His movement is graceful, and the synergy between his mind and body is flawless.

"Slack!" The rope command ricochets off the bullet rock and revitalizes me form my thoughts. I watch as the purple rope jumps from my silver belay device, slithers against the yellow rock, and traverses over the airy abyss. Matt disappears above a series of roofs, leaving a massive tail of unprotected rope looping out into space. I faintly hear his distant shout echoing through the gathering wind: a victory whoop, and the timeless shout, "Off belay!"

Updates

Our internet went out about 3 weeks ago and was down for days. Now I have a lot of catching up to do!

Simon and I made our quarterly trip to Las Vegas for his CF appointment. He's BMI fell from 50% to 30% so now he has to go get snacks from school office every day. He hates it! Hopefully all the high calorie snacks I took in will make a difference next time. I always feel like the nurse is getting mad at me because Simon isn't big enough. I just don't think you can change genetics that much by what you eat. We always go to the mall after his appointment for lunch and playing on the little playground they have there. On this day Simon really wanted a picture of him and his mom.




Next came Andrew's 11th birthday. I can't believe how big he is getting. He only has inches before he passes me up in height and he already wears a bigger shoe than me. He was lucky enough to have his birthday fall on one of the Fall Break days. We had a good time going to lunch and then to Fiesta Fun for arcade games, go carts, and mini golf. He didn't want a party but did invite his friend Josh to go with us. He was also extra luck on his birthday and was able to get the H1N1 vaccination along with Simon and Olivia.








St George had a car show a couple of weekends ago and Ryan and Andrew were able to go for a guys day. Ryan forgot the camera so Andrew made him come home and get it. He had to have a picture of the Lamborghini. It is pretty sweet.



We had a weird soccer day on October 24th. Simon's team won again by a blow out, Andrew's team lost their first game by 2, and Olivia's team lost their first game by 2. Olivia's team should have won but the girls decided that they wanted to play volleyball instead of soccer and had several intentional hand ball. Two of which were in the goal box. Which gave the other team two free goals. They were all back to themselves by Halloween and all the kids won their games. Olivia and Simon's teams won by a huge amount and Andrew's team won by two. Andrew and Olivia both played goalie and did a great job.







We had a great Halloween. Ryan stayed at home and the kids and I went trick-or-treating. It was such a nice night. Not cold at all. The kids ended up staying out for three hours. It was quite the haul. Ryan weighed their candy when they got home and all together they had 15 pounds worth of candy. I'm sure that is all going to go straight onto my hips! I always end up eating the candy they don't want. I have no self control. Andrew was a skater, Olivia a 50's girl, and Simon a penguin. They all looked really cute.

Flamenco!

The music is an early intermediate piece that Simon got at his second lesson. I think this is phenomenal for a 6-year-old kid who has played for 2 months. I had to show him how to play it and he memorized it. He still can't read the music.

I wish I had a housekeeper...

So I could sew all day long. And now that I just got a new machine today, I really won't want to do anything else!

I love this little skirt I make for Olivia. She looks so darling in it. Thanks, to my cute friend, Sandi, for letting my use her pattern. I bought some more fabric today to make another one of these in black and white.



I did not want to make a new comforter for my bed but I did. We got a new bed quite a while ago and when I put my old comforter on the new bed it had somehow shrunk. I don't know how but all of a sudden it didn't fit on my bed anymore. I have been looking for a new comforter for a while now but could not find anything long enough to fit the new mattress. I also could not find a comforter I liked as much as my old one. I loved the fabric of the old one. So out of necessity and my OCD compulsion I ripped up the old comforter, added it to some off white linen and a new comforter was born. I like it. I think it goes well with the mission style of our bed. Anyway, anyone know a good housekeeper...

Service Opportunity

I find myself on SugarDoodle.com at least once a day so when she had a great idea of doing a mass service project, I wanted to join in. She is collecting blankets and homemade cards to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. I wanted to donate as much as possible but knew I couldn't do much myself so I sent an email out to the ladies in the neighborhood and look at all the wonderful women who responded to the call! You guys are awsome!!! The two women in the top picture offered to get all the card supplies ready for us to assemble and not only that, they fed us all a fabulous lunch. We were able to make about 250 cards in just a couple of hours.
Next week we will get together to make some blanket. I will give a total count of everything when we are ready to donate.

We did decide to donate our things to the Jubilee House, which is the equivalent to the Ronald McDonald House but is local to St George. Thank you again, ladies, for your willingness to serve.

Fun Weekend

We spent a quick weekend up in Salt Lake this last weekend. It was full of fun for all. Ryan and I were able to attend his 10 year medical school reunion. It was so fun to see some of our old friends. You know a friendship is good when you don't see someone for 10 years and you can pick right up where you left off when you finally get together.

We also got to go Saturday night to the Utah football game. It was fun to be on campus again and to see how it has changed since I graduated. The game was a blast and we were lucky enough to sit with our friends Brad and Susan. The conversation may have been funner than the game. I think Ryan's favorite part was watching the marching band. I think it brought back memories for him. While we where at the football game, My mom and Jim took the kids to the circus. They had a great time with grandma and grandpa. I will post some pictures of than when my mom sends them to me. Thanks, grandpa for sacrificing your time to go along and help grandma.



On the way home on Sunday we made a pit stop at the exotic car store in Salt Lake so Drew could see the cars. For those of you who don't know, Drew has been obsessed with cares the last little while. He was amazed at all the Lamborghini's they had for sale. As for me I think my next car will be a lotus :)



Thanks again mom and Jim for taking the kids two nights. I can't remember the last time Ryan and I went out without the kids two nights in a row.

FYI-For those of you who are interested...Even though the kids didn't play soccer this last weekend, all there teams won again. Drew- 4-1, Olivia- 10-0, Simon-25-0. There was a dispute on the exact score of Simon's game. One of the dad's told me they scored around 20ish but coach Jake said it was 30ish, so I averaged the two to get the real score!

Undefeated 2: Electric Boogaloo

Drew learning the value of hustle

Simon exercising his judo chops before dominating his opponents

Olivia gets two pictures this week to commemorate her first goal

(As always, click on the photos to view larger versions.)

Holy Spider, Batman!

I was hopeful that this day would never come...

Today I had the dry waller here fixing popped screws and a crack in my wall. We were on our way into the casita to look for popped screws out there when he said "You have a pet tarantula". I of course looked at him very confused (because we don't have a pet tarantula and why would he say such a strange thing). His eyes wandered from my face to just above my head. I looked up and there about 3 feet from my head was a big hairy tarantula. I'm so glad I didn't embarrass myself by acting like a girl and screaming. Luck for me the dry waller was not afraid of tarantulas and scraped him off the wall and into a bucket for the kids to see when then go home from school. They were obviously impressed. I can handle the cockroaches but please don't send anymore tarantulas our way.

When Ryan arrived home we released the tarantula into the field across the street. At the very back of the lot. Hopefully it won't find it's way back to our house. He is one house guest who is not welcome.

Undefeated!!!

We had a winning streak today on the soccer field. Way to go kids!


Simon poised to head the ball.


Olivia making sure she looks cute :) She actually played better than I thought she would for her first game. She is quite the defender.


Drew kicking the winning goal for his team.

More of my favorites.

Trampoline fun

We had a great weekend full of food, fun, family, and laughter. The kids had a great time jumping on the trampoline with their 23 year old cousin (who acts about Drew's age, I may be being generous), playing basketball and being thrown around. They love it when Brent and Brandon and Rachel come down to visit. You would think they were the same ages but the Seller kids have ours beat by about 15 years. Thanks for humoring Drew, Olivia, and Simon and playing on their level once in a while. They did miss Tyler. Here are some pictures of the weekend spent with the cousins.






Thanks, Mom, for coming down early to help me shop and cook. There is no way I could have done it without you this weekend!