Quiet things you can do at 3am...

Iron.
Knit.
Read on another level of the house.
Type - with same caveat above.
SLEEP - this is my preferred activity at said time.
Empty/load dishwasher using extra precaution for maximum noise reduction.
Laundry (ours is in the basement)
Hand wash floors - this is NO FUN
Watch tv - but there's nothing on, old dvds would be good here - except the funny ones, because then you wake everyone up from laughing too loud....
Shovel snow
Think about things you can do when everyone is awake, when you'll be ready to sleep
Plan the ultimate dream vacation
Plan a vegetable garden, or even a flower garden - these things take research!
Surf the net
that's all I got. I'm actually TIRED!!

Such sweetness...

The other day Noah was in his room with Molly and he had the radio going, and I stopped to listen, and he was singing to her:
"I get down, you lift me up, I get down, you lift me up, I get down, you lift me up, I get down" It's from a VBS Praise and Worship CD over last summer. He really adores her.
He's doing very well with the separation for training so far, although its only been two and a half days - BUT, with Mommy sick and Daddy out of town - that is a HUGE success for him!
He thinks of Scout still, and he tells people that 'yeah, he was hit by a car' - so he remembers, but he is embracing Molly as well. He's really excited about a couple of things: first, that when she comes back on March 9th she will be test ready, and able to accompany him EVERYWHERE; and second that she will have GOOD MANNERS, ie: remember to close her mouth when she's smiling so she doesn't scrape with her teeth. She's VERY smiley!
So I thought I would just post a few photos of Miss Molly :)

More quilt finishes :)

This first set of pictures is actually a quilt that I've been working on for the better part of 4 years! The border is one star pattern, and the center portion is made up of stars that DO NOT repeat. The fabrics don't repeat either. This was made for my Inlaws, which I lovingly refer to as my Outlaws. Why? Because the difference between an inlaw and and outlaw is that outlaws are WANTED! I do love my extended family so!!!!

So Mom and Pops like jewel and earth tones, so this is a King size quilt for their bedroom.

The bottom set of photos is a pattern called Boxy Stars, and I had been holding onto a piece of fabric that just reminded me of Grandma Forsythe. When I came across this pattern, I knew it would be perfect to showcase the special fabric, and perfect for Grandmas living room :)

She really liked it, and it looks wonderful on her sofa! I hope she's actually using it though, to keep her lets and feet warm at night!!!

Pride of Trilogy - JamLive at Cobo

*********WARNING************** This is a tear jerker... and mom got a little loud.

Lifehorse

This is Noah's totally FREE TO US horse therapy. This first video is 'his' horse Domi. Domi is absolutely beautiful and sweet, he even gives kisses!!!




Stacy is the owner and Coach and she is fabulous with each kiddo. If she's not familiar with your child's particular disability(s) she makes it a priority to find out more. She also goes out of her way to learn more about your child, and your family! She seems to instinctively know when to push Noah for more, and when to back off - when to be serious, when to be goofy... she's just wonderful. Stacy and her Lifehorse have been such a gift in our lives! THANK YOU!!!

If you would like to find out more, or read about how you can support this non-profit organization, please visit http://www.lifehorse.org/

Noah's Special Needs Cheer Team in Chicago at Nationals

FREE Ladybug lapbook today!!!

http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=34152&it=1&

Last Found Quilt Post for today

This is the quilt I did for the newest addition to our extended family, RT and Nora's son, Trey. I haven't seen him since they live in Minnesota... but I totally loved each fabric in this quilt! SO SWEET!!!!

Just a special gift

This is the babydoll quilt I made for my friend, Grace. Actually, she's my friend Shari's daughter, but Grace is my friend too. She's an absolutely stellar young lady, and I thoroughly enjoy her. I just felt moved to make her something special.

Another quilt !!

This is the quilt I made for Chelsey, our go-to babysitter, when she graduated from High School, Class of 2009.

Man do I miss having her!!! Her quilt is one of my favorites so far :) The backside is meant to represent a pool - she's a swimmer and diver.

Flat Travelers - a new approach to learning geography!

Okay, so there's a Yahoo group called Flat Travelers. The idea is based on the Flat Stanley book series. Basically you make a flat character and mail them off around the world, or just the USA, for other people to take on adventures! I hope for it to be a great way to learn about similarities and differences of people and places. Our flat traveler, Happy, will be departing for Memphis TN tomorrow!

Here is our Letter to the Host Family:

Date:
Temperature:

Our name and address
My Email addy

Dear Family,

My name is Happy, and I'm so happy to be staying with you for a while! I was created by mom when Noah was little. Noah's had 3 open heart surgeries, and I was used to help teach him how his heart is happy now that it's fixed!

We live in Michigan, about an hour north of Detroit. Our city is called Lake Orion, and it used to be a vacation area for those who lived in the city. Many of the houses in our neighborhood are still 'cottages' that haven't been remade or expanded into larger homes! There are many small lakes in Lake Orion. We live up on a hill, and our house backs up to a paved road - but the best part is we overlook a small lake called Bunny Run Lake! It is very beautiful in winter and spring.

Did you know that no matter WHERE you go in Michigan you are never more than an hours drive from a lake? It sure makes swimming easier in the summertime. Because we are so far north our winters here are long, and our summers are short. The waters stay pretty cold until about the 4th of July. Sometimes it's even too cold to swim then!

Mom has been homeschooling Noah for 3 years now. He was in Special Education, but they don't teach academics there. So now we get to do all kinds of fun things together. We LOVE to take field trips, and travel, and have fun with friends - and especially picnic! Dad has to work during the week so he doesn't get to have as much fun. We have 2 dogs - Einstein who is a Bichon Frise, and mom's little buddy; and then right before Halloween we got a labradoodle and we named her Molly. She is going to be a certified service companion dog for Noah! She finishes training mid-March and then just has to do a test to get a special paper. The test is kind of like show and tell - mom tells Molly what to do, and Molly shows that she is a good listener!

Noah is also on a special needs cheerleading team, he really knows how to pump up a crowd. He is always smiling. A lot like Buddy the Elf. Elf is one of our favorite movies. Mom loves purple, and smiling is her favorite. I like Martha Speaks on PBS. Noah would love it if all his toys could come alive just like in Toy STory. Did you know that Toy Story 3 is coming out this summer? We can't wait to go see it.

I think I'll put a couple of photos here for you to see, and I can't wait to see what fun we will have together!


And here is our host family journal page:

Date of Arrival:
Host Family Name(s):
Host Family Location:
Places I Visited:
What was your favorite part of my visit?
What was the weather like?
What do you wish *could* fit in the enveleope for me to bring home?
How far did we travel together in one day?
In the whole week?
Online Traveling can be very hard work, what did we do to relax?
If you have any pets, what are they and thier names?
What do you like best about where you live?
What are your favorite movies?
What are your favorite foods?
What sorts of things are available where you live that might not be available anywhere else?
What book are you reading right now?
What do we have in common?

Last one on Quilts... TODAY!

This one is called Patriotic Love, and I made it for Christmas for Grandpa Odie 2007. It is hand appliqued hearts, and then I quilted stars and hearts in each sashing square. It's really cute - he loves it (and subsequently wants to be BURIED WITH IT - ACK!) I love it (and would like to have it returned to me versus buried in the ground), everyone loves it. This was my first forray into 'freestyle' quilting. I stippled around each of the applique hearts to make them pop a bit more, and then I drew on the hearts and stars in the sashing squares and did a satin stitch over them. I'm not happy with ALL the stars, but all in all, it came out really good! Stitched in the ditchAround the borders and did a little more freestyle on the border. Happy Happy!

I was sooooooooooo sick that Christmas, but I remember hand stitching the binding on, basically racing the clock to get it done and wrapped up in time.

This is going pretty well - yet another quilt completed!

So this one was my Boxy Beauties that I made for our California King Size bed after our Brittany Spaniel had a fun day with our old comforter. I LOVED working on this one! I made it all out of fat quarters, and it came together very quickly, and its such FUN colors! Very bright, very beautiful, and very BIG!
My friend Nancy McNally has a longarm machine and she did the quick quilting for me - which is just a grid of waves... like the ocean. I had originally had this project slated to use all periwinkles and sand and ocean colors... but well, even the best laid plans go awry! I had to work with what I had... and I'm really pleased with the outcome!
I double padded this one, and then used snuggle flannel for the backing. It is nice and cozy warm! Carl still needs another layer in between, but it's perfect for me :)
LOVE IT!!!!

Let's try again with more completed quilts.

So this one was a Christmas gift for Grandma Otberg, and I call it Irish Rag Time. I WILL NEVER MAKE ONE OF THESE AGAIN! Oh what a pain. With the leftover circles I made some purples and made some semi-matching placemats for my Mom-Out-Law. (What's the difference between Inlaws and Outlaws? Outlaws are WANTED!!!)
So I actually took a class at Viking for this one... and I think it was WAY more complex than it needed to be, and I'm happy with the outcome... I twas just the most time consuming thing I've ever made and its not even really "quilted"!!!!
I can't find a photo of the placemats so I'll have to go take some and post them here later. Everything is a learning experience :)

Quilt history photos - a test... do I feel lucky???

Okay, so I think I messed up and should have typed the text first, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, this is Froggys in Pink, but I don't remember who I made it for now....LOL I'm sure it went to a good home though! Aren't they CUTE!?!?!?!?!?! Crappy lighting, sorry about that.