First, I am disappointed because Keith and I met John in Philly on Saturday but I forgot to take any pictures. It could have been because we went to the Terminal again to eat lunch and it is such a cornucopia of food that I was distracted. Anyway, it was great to see John since I haven't seen him in such a long time and I used to see him all the time so I miss him a lot. My future son-in-law is a great guy and I am glad he is going to be a part of our family. Hope to see you again soon, John!


Ok, my quilt is progressing. There is more to quilting than just sewing. I had to cut all my fabrics and little by little I am building these blocks. I pin them together to sew and I can tell you, I have pricked myself a million times already.

Then I sew them together. I am getting better at the sewing as I go on but some on my blocks are a little crooked. Sometimes I want to do them over but Edna tells me I am to hard on myself and that it will end up ok, so I will trust her in this since she is the expert. Also, I have had trouble threading the needles and such and end up bringing the whole shebang to Edna at the shop to help me. The machine is the hardest thing to learn.

There is a LOT of ironing involved which I had no idea when I started this. Everytime I sew a block, I have to iron it. All in all, I have 24 blocks so that is going to be a lot of ironing and most people know, I am not the ironer in my family.

Then I have to cut the blocks each time to start sewing a new fabric on to it. Keith thinks this is all very tedious but I find it kind of relaxing though it is very time consuming since I am trying to go slow and do a good job.

Then I have my blocks but I still have 3 more fabrics to put on so I had better get to work because my next class is tomorrow and Edna will want to see lots of progress.

I am about to embark on a brand new hobby. I have wanted to learn how to quilt for some time now but I thought I was to dumb to do it. Of course, I thought the same thing about me going back to school and I guess that turned out ok (thanks again, Christine) so I guess I can learn to quilt. I have to start at the very beginning since I don't even know how to sew. I had to buy a sewing maching and have to learn how to work it. I was lucky enough to find a lady, Edna, who will teach me one on one to work the sewing machine and quilt once a week.
Here are the fabrics I picked for my first Log Cabin Quilt I am going to attempt. I really have no time for this right now since I am still Christmas shopping, I am in the middle of a big Christmas project that I am not telling anyone about and I am about to pick up a book that has about 800 pages. Oh yeah, and who knew a job took up so much time. But I am determined and excited about it so I will just have to cut out my computer time or something! Wish me luck....

The last C-17 arrived last week and there was a big ceremony. That is Keith standing on the end if you can't tell. Sometimes those guys all look the same in the flight suits. Anyway, his picture was in the paper and it was a really big deal. I was unable to go because of work (shucks). But now, Keith's squadron is complete and they are full steam ahead.

Michelle recently visited with Kyle at college. And though this is her picture to blog, I am stealing it for a reason. She told me while she was with Kyle that they talked about me and how I am doing with an empty nest. The day before that, Josh had asked me how I was doing with an empty house and it struck me how concerned my children are with how I am doing. As most people know, I carry a purse with my kids pictures on it and many people comment on how beautiful they are but I always want to say "But they are so much more than that". Their concern for me at a time when they are on their own, doing their own thing, shows how much heart they have, how kind and caring and unselfish they are. Every single day I feel blessed with these children and how much we all love each other. It is also what makes life without them in the house that much harder. But I will be alright eventually and I will get through this empty nest mess. I have heard grandchildren help!!! Just Joking, children. I love you.

Keith bought this vanilla flavored plug in that has been making me smell cake in my kitchen now for a week so today I made cupcakes to bring to work. I didn't know what I was going to do with all the cupcakes until I realized all the boys I take care of would probably eat them. By now, most of you know that I have a job working in a group home for boys and I would like to say they would appreciate them but the boys I work with will probably complain A) they have chocolate frosting B) they have an M&M in the middle C) they are not cooked perfectly D) you get the idea. They like to complain but if at least a few boys enjoy them, it will be worth it. I find my job extremely interesting to say the least. Every day is different and my coworkers are fantastic to work with. Yesterday, I worked with a woman who is also a Pentacostal minister and Praised everything that happened. I love her...she is fun! So I am off to work now and we will see how big a hit the cupcakes are. At least I have satisfied my own craving for one!

P.S. I am just home from work and I was wrong...the boys loved the cupcakes and I even got two compliments and many thanks! They are always surprising me...and they were good.

Today on our way back from Rehoboth Beach we stopped at Cape Henlopen which is a State Park where lots of people go lay out at the beach. We had never been there before but Keith sometimes flies over it and sees people driving on the beach so he wanted us to do that. Unfortunately, the only people that are allowed to drive on the beach are the ones that are fishing. Since we did not bring our fishing equipment (hahaha) we had to settle for just walking around and seeing the sights.
There is an old Fort there and here is one of the big cannons that are still standing. Believe it or not, they call this a 3 inch gun. They also had an observation tower but it looked like to many stairs for me to climb. I didn't take very many pictures because I did not have my camera with me just my phone camera but it was really beautiful out there and we are going to try and go again. The rest of the day was spent on the couch watching football....Go Bama!!!

Michelle came in this weekend and we had a great time. We found the most perfect wedding dress ever but unfortunately I can't blog that. Just know that she will be the most beautiful bride to ever walk down the beach but I guess that has more to do with Michelle than the dress. So, Michelle decided to get in shape with the Wii fit and is doing some yoga here. It is a lot of fun and really funny too.
Of course after Yoga and getting fit, Michelle needed a snack.
Here we are at Rehoboth Beach, one of my favorite places in Delaware now. We did some Christmas shopping (yes, I do mean Christmas) and ate at a good restaurant that had a fantastic crab and spinach dip that Michelle refused to try for anything. Now that I think about it, I should have offered her money. Maybe next time. Anyway, she took off on Monday and I miss her so much. We love you honey and come again real soon.