Life, enjoying the crazy ride!

Life has been happening.  That is the reason I have for being away from my blog and stitching for so long.  I have been keeping up with your blogs as best I can, not always leaving comments, but please know that you are part of my day when I take some time to sit and have a break with my cup of Chai! 

My boys have kept me busy.  We are finally wrapping up the school year, thanks to all of those snow days!  It's a bittersweet ending...my oldest will be entering high school next year.  I'm excited for him and sad for myself all at once.  The last fourteen years have passed so quickly, I can only imagine how fast the next four will go!!

Baseball is still going on for my oldest.  He plays until the end of July.

And this year, my youngest put baseball to the side to train for triathlons.  Well, I am so proud to report that in his first triathlon ever, he placed 4/7 in his age group and 25/63 overall.  On the way home, he commented that he felt good about himself ~ it was a mommy moment!

He loved it so much, he competed again the following weekend and placed 3/7 in his age and 14/33 overall!  He was so excited to place third and it made my husband's Father's Day even more special!

There are two more triathlons in this series, one in July and one in September.  I think it is safe to say he has found his sport!  And he says it is better training for a future Navy SEAL!

One thing is for sure ~ triathlons make for one hungry boy!

We've also celebrated our 21st anniversary and my husband's birthday ~ again, time passing by in a flash!  Oh, and I finally finished all 43 hours of my training and have about a month left of my six month probationary period.

I wanted to share some news about my niece, Kellen.  You may remember that she has William's Syndrome.  Well, last August, she started painting, working with a local artist in Fredericksburg, VA where they live.  I sent her my favorite sheep picture and look how fantastic she did!!  I told her if she ever sells it, it's mine!!  I will share some more of her paintings in future posts. 

Kellen also competed in the Special Olympics playing tennis and taking gold for singles and doubles!

On to the stitching...

There has been very little stitching and a couple of lovely gifts.

Yep, there it is...my little bit of stitching!  Actually, I have also been trying to finish a gift for another niece who just graduated high school.  It is a piece I won from Kim at Wisdom with Needle and Thread at the beginning of the year.  I thought I had plenty of time and well, she graduated Tuesday night ~ I am almost done the stitching and then I need to assemble and will share a picture when it is done. 

I received these goodies from Julie at Julie's Knit Sew Craft Corner.  It was a complete surprise and made my day!  I love the sunflower cushion and all the extras will come in handy for finishing.  Thank you so much, Julie ~ I love sunflowers and the ladybug makes it even sweeter!

June, of Butterfly Wings, sent me a beautiful gift for my birthday.  Not only is her stitching and finishing beautiful ~ but it brought back memories of my grandmother with its smell, like roses, just like a powder that my grandmother used many years ago. 

Thank you, June.  I will treasure it always!

I will sign off now with some random pics from the last few weeks...enjoy!

Exploring at Grandma's and Pappy's...

Tractor driving lesson with Pappy...

Panzer goes from looking all grown up and serious...

back to playful and curious puppy...

I am thankful for my boys that keep me running, my husband who is my rock, and to all of my friends for being there!

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts.”
― A.A. Milne

Stitches and Spring!

I was beginning to think that spring would never arrive!  It has been a cool, grey and rainy spring overall, but there are some signs that are promising...

More baseball, are you surprised?

And even better, my gardens are starting to come back to life!

There is a lot of clean~up to finish, slowly, one bed at a time, we'll get it done.

 

Easter was a wonderful day, spent with my boys here at home.  They found the eggs in record time and didn't take to long to devour their goodies!

 

Panzer wanting me to stop stitching and play...

Daring his boy to touch his ball... 

Not wanting me to get up, he's too comfy... 

His attempt at a "selfie"... 

It will be two years this month since we brought Panzer home.  It's hard to imagine life without him now!

 

One of my favorite oil lamps is a dark green color.  I purchased it years ago when living in TN.  It was hidden on a shelf in the basement of an antique shop just waiting to be found.  Since discovering flower frogs, I have been searching for a dark green one to match the lantern.  I was actually with mom when I found one, deciding to wait a week or two to see if I could bargain for a better price.  Not sure how she did it without my seeing, but when purchasing a couple things for my nieces, mom snuck it in with her stuff.  I was disappointed when I went back to buy it and it was gone!  Imagine my surprise, when I opened my birthday box and found it nestled inside!!

And here is it with the lamp ~ love it ~ and love my mom even more!!

I also managed to fit in enough stitches for a finish...please excuse the shadow in the bottom left corner.

This was a fun one ~ love the colors and that sweet bunny!

 

This saying seemed perfect, as it mentions birds and bluebells, both things I can see in my gardens right now!  And, it makes me wonder what adventures await myself and the boys this summer!

“Where am I going? I don't quite know.
Down to the stream where the king-cups grow-
Up on a hill where the pine-trees blow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.

Where am I going? The clouds sail by,
Little ones, baby ones, over the sky.
Where am I going? The shadows pass,
Little ones, baby ones, over the grass.

If you were a cloud, and sailed up there,
You'd sail on the water as blue as air.
And you'd see me here in the fields and say:
"Doesn't the sky look green today?"

Where am I going? The high rooks call:"It's awful fun to be born at all.
Where am I going? The ring-doves coo:
"We do have beautiful things to do."

If you were a bird, and lived on high,
You'd lean on the wind when the wind
came by,
You'd say to the wind when it took you away:
"That's where I wanted to go today!"

Where am I going? I don't quite know.
What does it matter where people go?
Down to the wood where the blue-bells grow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.”
― A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

 



Organized chaos...

Well now, seems another month has passed me by....seriously, where has the time gone?

There have been two more birthdays in our house...my little guy is now a decade old...sniff...

And me, let's just say the I am now headed towards a big one...thanks to everyone that sent birthday wishes, you made my day!

 

Panzer is a very good helper when it comes to unwrapping presents...



 

Thank you to Christina for this sweet card and bookmark ~ of course, I love, love, love the sheep!!!

 

I also won some fabric from Dyeing to Stitch from their Facebook page and they were nice enough to include extra goodies!  Two pieces of fabric, some trim and one of their R&R Reproduction charts.  Love it ~ thanks, ladies!

 

Spring seems to have finally arrived (with a few extra cold days thrown in) and that means it is finally time to get back outside for baseball!

And for my little guy...the triathlon training is in full swing.  He is very excited about this new adventure.  He says he still likes baseball, but this might be "his thing".  Love it!

 

My two younger guys and I stopped at the museum at the Dover Air Force Base on our way home from a rough tournament.  Just the thing to lift the mood of the boys...

If you are ever in Dover, DE, I would recommend stopping for a visit.  They have some great exhibits inside and out.

And, the family ventured in for a quick visit to the big city for a much belated birthday dinner for my oldest at Fogo De Chao....yummy!

And thanks to the advice of Jacki, we found the eagle!  A Philadelphia landmark.  Thanks, Jacki ~ the boys loved it!

I really should venture in more often and I need to take my real camera ~ there are so many fantastic old buildings!  What do you say, Jacki, we should plan a photo day in the city!

 

I guess by now you have guessed that my stitching remains neglected.  I am very close to being done with my job training and am feeling like I am adjusting to the craziness of our spring schedules, so I hope to get back to my needle and thread ~ I really do miss it!  Thanks to all who are hanging in there with me....hopefully I will be back sooner than later and with some stitching to show!  And in the spirit of how disorganized and chaotic I have felt, I will leave you with this....

“One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries.”
― A.A. Milne