The Thankful Plate

The Thankful Plate was introduced to our house this Thanksgiving season. For Family night we decorated this plate. Then each night for dinner one person was chosen to have the plate and then asked to say one thing they were thankful for. Then the next night that person got to pick who got the plate next. My girls loved doing this. Their favorite part was when it was their turn we would all close our eyes and then one would walk around the table carefully choosing the next recipient. She would place this plate under a dinner plate and then we'd all open our eyes and be surprised.

My girls were the most thankful for our neighbor Joylynn who gives them little dolls at church. Bart was the most thankful for all of his girls. I was the most thankful that Bart has a job he enjoys.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Reflections!!

The PTA held their annual reflections open house at school tonight. Emily was honored with 1st place for her art work in the category K-3. On the way home she told me when she grows up she wants to draw books like our neighbor's sister Leslie Lammle the author and illustrator of Once Upon a Saturday and Pajama Pirates (Emily enjoyed a few summer nights this past year drawing with chalk on the driveway with her)

Draw often and work hard and Emily you can do just that!!

Two things I'll never do again i.k.a. I should have listened to Bart

#1 Let Emily pick where we sit in church
#2 Allow my girls to pack their own church bags


Here's the scenario. It's Sunday morning and Bart, who usually comes home from early morning meetings to take us to church, is caught up in a meeting so we prepare to go to church alone. Despite being advised by Bart not to do this, I tell my girls to get a bag of things to do at church together because I didn't want to worry about the church bag. Emily who is always begging to choose where to sit, but has a dad who doesn't allow it, asks me if she can pick and I not seeing a problem agree and she leads us to the second row in the chapel. All is well until the congregation starts to sing the sacrament hymn and Emily pulls a Barbie out of her bag. Jane immediately seeing the Barbie seizes upon it taking it from Emily which produces the loudest squeal Emily has inside her. Emily then pounces on Jane attempting to get her prized possession back. In all the jumble a portion of the Barbie's clothing goes flying and lands on a elderly man's shoulder in front of us. I then grab Emily and pull her out of the chapel as she screams bloody murder not caring that I just left Jane alone to fend for herself. Later a lady from the ward comes up to me telling me she knows she shouldn't be laughing but she was thoroughly entertained. She thought the best part was as I left the chapel with Emily, Jane just stood there with this smug face of victory.

I've learned my lesson!

The Queen of Quilting

My Grandma Pace turns 90 today. In celebration my extended family all got together for a birthday dinner. As a gift my Aunt Michelle compiled pictures of all the quilts and handmade items she has given us through the years. Here is the pictures and descriptions I sent her of what my Grandma has given me.

My first treasured gift I received from Grandma Pace was my baby blanket. It was white with little blue flowers on it. Unfortunately I lost it at a 4-H camp when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I took that blanket everywhere I slept. I loved it and am still so sad I lost it.

One Christmas everyone in my family received new Velor blankets. It was the perfect couch blanket. I remember well coming home from school to a cold house. Sometimes I was too lazy to start a fire so I’d curl up on the couch with that blanket and watch a couple of T.V. shows until someone else came home to start the fire. I was also fortunate to receive another Velor blanket on the Christmas Day that I spent on my mission. During that bitter Indiana winter I once again came home and wrapped myself up in a nice Velor blanket to keep warm. We still use both blankets. Even as I write this Emily is downstairs curled up in both of them watching a movie.

In high school Grandma gave me these heart wall hangings. They hung in my room until the day I graduated and then they took their place in my Cedar Chest as things I treasure.

When I graduated from High School Grandma gave me a large homemade tied quilt. I promptly put it away in my trousseau and didn’t see it again until I got married. I remember how excited I was when I took it out and realized it was made of the coveted Barbizan fabric, just like my baby blanket. Both Bart and I love this blanket and I can’t imagine sleeping with anything else.

I am so grateful to have a hand pieced and hand quilted quilt from Grandma Pace. I received this one when I got married. I love all the many colors in this quilt and one day when I don’t have little sticky hands around I hope to display it on a bed in my home.

Each of my girls received homemade baby blankets from Grandma Pace. I think they are very special so I won’t let them tote them around like I did as a child. I’m pretty sure it stems from my emotional distress I had from losing mine. Despite my efforts of constantly trying to get my girls to use other blankets, they both refuse to sleep with anything else. Jane will not settle down and go to sleep without her “big blankie” . The other day I put Emily’s blanket away thinking she wouldn’t realize it was gone. As I tucked her in bed later that night she demanded I go and find "softy" and put it back on her bed. I guess they both know a good thing.

I also won Matching Christmas Wall hangings and large homemade stockings at a Pace Christmas party. I love the homemade touch they add to my Christmas decorations.

This is how you'd find my grandma, with her two sisters, on most any given afternoon. I remember being very little when my Grandma would tend me. I would climb under the quilt and watch them quilt from underneath. I was lucky to have spent a lot of time with my Grandma's sisters, Aunt Lorea and Aunt Bernice. It was as if I had 2 other Grandma's. Now that I am older I admire and feel a twinge of jealousy that my Grandma got to spend her life within walking distance of all of her sisters doing the thing she loved the most, Quilting!

A mom's got to do what a mom's got to do

We just had our Primary Program in our ward this year. Because last year Emily had a case of stage fright and refused to speak, although she had her part so beautifully memorized, I pulled out my inner bribery this year and took Emily down to Kohls to purchase a stuffed animal she has been asking for. I then told her that it would stay in the sack and if she did her part for the program, without any help, she would get it otherwise it would be returned. Jane also picked out a stuffed animal and was committed to stay with dad and not run up on the stage after me. Well I think it wasn't necessary because Emily stood there like a champ and recited her line without any sign of fright! She makes me so proud. Here are two happy stuffed animal owners!