Baptism Quilt

Grandchild #3 was baptized in May.  He told me that his quilt needed to be red!  It's his favorite color.  I did what I could to oblige.  He was so excited to get it, that when we went to his house after the baptism, he saw I was carrying the quilt and came running to me with arms outstretched and said: "Come to papa!  "Funny boy!

I cut each of the blocks 9.5" square, so when they are all sewn together they are 9" blocks.  I only chose one fabric that was minky.  The kids love how it feels, but I don't like sewing with it so the majority of the blocks are flannel as well as the backing.   I have a good friend who stitched his name and baptism info on a block and I chose a fun, coordinating cotton fabric to bind it with.  

I'm still not a great quilter, but I'm getting better.  I'm glad I can do this for our grandchildren and they genuinely seem to appreciate them!   

 

It's not the packaging, but what's inside -and- Chocolate Chip Cookies

 A little while ago I was making some cookies.  I needed 3/4 lb of butter (and yes, the cookies are fabulous!).  I finished one package and opened another.  I was struck by the appearance of the two sticks of butter.  One is more 'short and stocky' while the other is more 'tall and slender'.  But do you know what?   They both contain the same amount of butter!  

Both packages of butter will accomplish the same purpose.

Although they look different, their value is identical (to help make the best chocolate chip cookies ever)!

So - why do we do it?

Why do we look at someone and judge them because of their appearance?  Do we know anything about them?  Do we understand their story?  Do we know what they have to offer?  Do we know their heart?

My guess is no - we don't.  

Do we really want Jesus to judge us by our outward appearance, or are we hopeful that he will look upon our heart?

I know I don't always present myself well.  For example, I struggle with some anxiety and sometimes if I'm leaving a gathering, I just go.  I don't tell anyone I'm leaving, I just walk away.  Doing all of the hugging and saying goodbye and making sure I don't miss anyone is exhausting to me (and I love hugs).  But sometimes I just walk away.  

I know that Jesus knows my heart.  He knows I don't always try as hard as I should, but He also knows that often-times I do better than I ever thought I could.  

Let's be a little less judgmental, a lot kinder and pull more people into our circle, not less.  And let's do it over a warm chocolate chip cookie!

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Cream together:

3 cubes butter (3/4 lb) softened                

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar                                    

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix well and add:

4 cups flour                                                

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

After ingredients are all mixed well, add:

1 pkg milk chocolate chips                        

1/2 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 pkg white chocolate chips

Mix well and place on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  (I usually leave them for 15).  You will want to remove them when they are 'lightly' browned, but may still seem a little gooey in the center.  Let them rest on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.  They will finish setting up as they cool.  I have three large baking sheets, and sometimes I just pull one from the oven and leave the cookies on the baking sheet and put in another batch on a different one.    

Baptism Quilts

I've been working on baptism quilts for our grandchildren.  It is such a special time for them and I wanted to make something so they could always remember their special day.  I didn't get a picture of the first quilt I made all by itself, but you can see how happy this sweet girl is with her quilt.  It's just the perfect size for snuggling.

I let them choose their color scheme and make the quilts from a combination of flannel and minky fabric.  The squares are cut 9 1/2 inches square.  I use 6 colors or color/pattern combinations.  The quilt is 5 squares wide x 6 squares long.  I also have a friend embroider their name and the month of their baptism on one of the corner blocks.  

I'm working on quilt #3 right now.  He requested every color (except the girlie ones!), but I had him narrow it down to his favorite color - which is red! 

  

 

YET...

 

When I worked at an elementary school, the PE teacher had a word on each of the four walls of the gym...

YET

When she would teach a new skill to the children (like how to dribble a basketball), she would often hear: "I can't do that."

She would respond with: "Yet.  You don't know how to do it yet."

She would explain why dribbling is an important skill to learn if you want to play basketball.

She would demonstrate the skill.

Everyone would be given a ball and a chance to practice.  Some would pick it right up, others needed a little one-on-one time with the teacher.

They would dribble standing in place.

They would practice walking while they dribbled.

Pretty soon they were running back and forth across the gym - dribbling!

Doing the thing they didn't think they could do.

Don't you think each one of us is like those children?  

When we are asked by our Heavenly Father, or our doctor, or someone we trust to do a 'thing'....  

...Maybe it's to pay tithing.  Or to listen better to those we love.  Or to be more focused on studying the example of Christ.  Or to go all in on learning how to decorate cakes!

Maybe it's to eat better, be in better shape, lose some weight.

It's so easy to say: "I can't do that."

We need to remember that small steps and lots of practice will help us accomplish those things that we don't think we can do.  

If a seven year old can learn to be darn good at dribbling a basketball, what might you be able to accomplish?!  It might not be yet, but with practice - it will be amazing!

There's Always Room for One More!

 Quilting Bees!! 

They happened in different homes, and sometimes with different women, but typically it was the same core group of ladies that went from home to home to work on quilts. 

They came to my home when I was a child. I had aunts who were there, neighbors, and ladies I did not know. I remember lying underneath the quilt as they worked and listening to them share stories of their families, express concerns and relay their hopes and dreams. It was a magical time for me. I didn’t know it at the time – but that was my first exposure to the Relief Society in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the sisterhood that comes when you participate in it.

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Fast-forward 40 years.

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 I returned to that little community I had grown up in on a summer day, looking for an older cousin to chat with. I was told she was at the church, quilting. My husband and I went to my home church building, and there on the stage was a beautiful quilt in progress. But even more beautiful were the women gathered around it with needles in hand. Some of them were the same women who had been in my living room those many years before.  Some were the daughters or daughters-in-law of those women.  There were grandmothers, women whose lives had taken some tragic turns, widows, those who had never married, young mothers and newlyweds.

My mother passed away a few short months before I got married, and many of these women were responsible for some of the beautiful quilts that I now enjoy.  Two were made from scratch, and another was given to me by a sweet woman in our congregation who shared with me that my mother had worked on that quilt.  She knew it would be a treasure to me.

This sisterhood had blessed their lives in so many ways throughout the years.  

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 I recognized stability there, and the feeling of being needed. 

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Strength and support from others who had already walked the path that someone else was currently traversing.

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Trust.  A physical, emotional and spiritual source for when it was needed.

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If I could go back to my younger self - one thing I would change would be to include more people in my circle.  There are so many things I could have learned from others if I had only let myself invite them in. 

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So maybe - those lessons learned from under the quilts can be applied to a time such as this...

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We need one another - there is always room for one more!