HAPPY THANKSGIVING and post #400!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!! I hope you have a day full of family, food, laughs, good health, and gratitude! In this day and age we are living in, I have a LOT to be grateful for. I wanted to share a few of the things that I am grateful for.

First is the love of my life, Steve!!! Over 26 years ago he asked me to dance at his sister's (my best friend) wedding and we've been dancing ever since!!! I am thankful that he has a job and one that provides well for us. He also LOVES his job and enjoys going to work! I love you Steve and am thankful that God gave you to me!!

I am also grateful for my only daughter. She is working hard to be self sufficient and is pretty successful at it! She is a CSR for Staples Promotional Products and she LOVES her job!!! I love you Sarah and am grateful that God gave you to me!!!

Then there's these two yahoo's! LOL...my oldest and the 3rd child. Both are great kids. The oldest struggles but is working hard at living on his own! The 3rd guy...well he'll be our only college graduate in May! It will be amazing!!! I love you Joe and Kevin and am grateful God gave you to me!!!!

Then...there's Autumn! She's my DD's dog and I just LOVE her to tears! This is a picture of Autumn when there was a thunderstorm going on. She is a scaredy pants during storms and you can see the fret on her brow...just LOVE this one!!! I love you Autumn and am grateful that God brought you into our family!!!

Then I can't let this post go without a picture of my AWESOME girlfriends!!! I'm gonna miss the daily contact when I move! LOVE YOU GALS and am grateful God gave you to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOW...last but not least...I saved the BEST part of my thankfulness for last!!! Dan, our youngest, has been a part-time firefighter in Johnson County. He applied for a full time position last week and it has been tense waiting to see who got the job. It came down to him and a guy named Mike. Mike is about 8 years older than Dan but Dan has logged more hours than Mike. Dan also has been dedicated to the JCFD since he was 14yo. He found out at about 4pm yesterday that he GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH it was such a HAPPY day here! LOTS of hugs and tears (my tears) that his hard work paid off. Chief Johnson told Dan it was close and he almost flipped a coin to decide. But instead the Chief went through both of their work records and he told Dan he chose him because of his part-time hours logged and his dedication to the department. Chief Johnson did tell Dan that he wants him to work on his maturity! LOLOL...I can't tell you how many people tell me that Dan is the most mature 19yo they've ever met...and they are right. That comment stemmed from Dan getting a page an hour before he was told to meet with Chief Johnson for a second interview on Monday. Dan said he was so nervous that he stuttered a bit! GOSH...I would too given an hour to prepare for something you hadn't anticipated! But anywho...Dan is now a full-time firefighter and starts work on Sunday! SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is selfish about this for me is that since DH and I are moving back to MN (dh is already there for his new job), I have peace of mind knowing that Dan is employed full time and will be OK without his mom nearby!

SO...here are pics of Dan as a little guy who knew then he wanted to be a fireman, him going to work at JCFD, with a firetruck at the department, and lastly, his helmet!

I love you Dan and am grateful God gave you to me!!!!! Stay safe and thank you for being a public servant!!!!!

SO...there ya have it...my 400th post and why I am thankful!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post #399

Not a lot going on...just wanted to get this one out of the way for the big #400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thought I'd share this silly picture of my BIL from last Christmas!!

North Park Coach's gift

WOOHOO!!!! I was able to cut the center medallion to fit the borders! WHEW!! I am very pleased with how this turned out so far! I wanted to have the top assembled before my son came home for Thanksgiving and I did! I am going to wash this now to get rid of the glue. I didn't want to use fusible web so I used Aileen's glue to hold the pieces in place so I could do the zig-zag stitching on it. It worked pretty well...so the quilt will not be stiff now! WOOHOO!!!

Now for the backing........and then load it on the machine and bind it! I am well ahead of schedule...it needs to be done by December 5th or 7th...whenever the banquet is...I haven't heard yet!!! Stay tuned!!!!

Quilt progress!!

I have gotten a couple of great days in on the quilt for DS's college coach! I am VERY pleased with how it is turning out. All of the zig-zag is done and all that is left is to assemble the siggy blocks and figure out how big to cut the center medallion! (the quilt isn't hung on the design wall very well so the letters look a little wonky. I believe they are balanced better than they look in this pic! (fingers crossed) I hope to get the siggy blocks stitch together tomorrow! It sure felt GREAT to quilt today!!!

QUILTING!!!!!!!!!!!

I am working on this!! The zig-zag stitch is being done around all the pieces! UGH...then I will work on the letters that I need to put on there. WOOHOO!!! It feels SOOOO good to be quilting!!!

Catching up...

I was gone for a week and could not upload any pictures. BAH...so here is my week in a nutshell!!!

Last Wednesday, our son Kevin and his college soccer team had their first conference playoff game against the #1 team in the conference. We managed to score first and that was AWESOME!!! Then our luck turned, starting with a bogus red card against our top defender. SO...for 3/4 of the game we played a man short and were down 2-1 at half. Do you think DS is a bit upset at the start of the second half????

The boys fought hard...very hard and ended up losing 4-2. DANG...this pic tells it all...no words necessary. The Gathje soccer era came to an end that night...my heart was aching as well. *sigh* I've been a soccer mom for 21 years...this transition will be hard. I am SOOO very proud of Kevin though!!! (the athlete with his head down is the one who was kicked out of the game...his last game as a North Park Viking as he is a senior.)

I drove back to MN with dh and was bored silly! LOL...on Saturday my niece got married. Here is my sister (mom of the bride) and my dad walking her down the aisle.

And...introducing Tricia and Ryan...the newlyweds!!! Don't they look happy?????

Then on Sunday, DH and I drove around a bit looking at condos. I think we might've found something in Minneapolis that we both like. It would be new construction and I would get to pick out all the "stuff"! Time will tell...I waver between being excited about condo living and wanting a house with a yard. This is a huge decision and not one to take lightly.

I drove home today...sleeping in my own bed will be super. Also...i need to get my eating habits back...I've gained at least 10 lbs since this whole move stuff happened. I HAVE TO GET CONTROL BACK!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Today would be my mom's 78th birthday. Unfortunately, God called her to him in May of 1992. I still miss mom terribly. It amazes me how often I want to talk to her about NOTHING!!! And sometimes I want to talk to her about EVERYTHING!!! (does that make sense?) She was a women of faith, grace, dignity, and integrity. She set the best example of how to live life to the fullest!

Mom died of ovarian cancer and was so full of faith and courage through her 7.5 year battle. I remembered that during my battle with breast cancer almost 10 years ago. God truly blessed me when the woman I call "MOM" gave me life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!! Some day we'll be together again!!!
LOVE YOU!!!

EXERCISE...

...YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DID!!!!!!!!!!!