More than sisters

They're friends, too, and I love it

Closing a chapter

We had a marvelous Christmas and had our fill of family and gatherings and love and laughter.

 

It started with my brother and his new wife coming into town to be sealed in the SL Temple.

We overwhelmed her with our loudness and sheer numbers, but it was great to have them here.   Also visiting were aunts and uncles from across the country.

 

The sealing was very special.

 

 

Christmas Eve this year was with Strider's family.  Three of our kids took part in the program.

 

Bugs played three songs on the sax.

 

Potter and Princess split T'was the Night Before Christmas.  Princess learned the entire thing in school, and it was a proud moment for me as she recited perfectly from memory.  Potter crammed and learned the first half of it in an hour (the day prior).  He asked her to do the second half LOL.

 

 

All of us with Strider's mom

 

 

Strider's Grandma

 

 

 

We did pjs at my mom's, and sibling gift exchange.  Then Santa came.

 

 

 

 

Ths morning was magical.  We were spoiled. 

 

 

 

 

 

None more than me and Strider, as we got a new Canon Rebel DSLR!  Years of wishing has come true.  We are thrilled to be able to record our family happenings in a richer way.  So if you noticed a little higher quality to these photos in this post, you're right.

 

 

 

 

Today the girls got to wear their new dresses from Grandma.

 

 

 

The best best part of the last two weeks has been sharing time with my sisters and their kids.

 

 

Baby Brooke

 

 

Rosebud with sweet Sugar

 

Add in Sam and you have a triple bundle of cousin joy!

 

And our feelings are mixed.  As one sister continues college, one has to get back to Cali, and the other moves home for good!  But for a brief stint, we were all together for the first time since August.  We feel so complete when we're with each other.

 

 

Speaking of feeling complete....

 

I feel like my time as an active blogger has wound down.  I will miss this creative outlet but I am ready to turn my attention elsewhere.  At least for a while.

 

Thanks to all who have read my thoughts for the last 5 years!

 

 

 

They're coming!

Two of my sisters are coming home for turkey day!

I am all set for shopping and relaxing!  Ash and I are Black Friday all-stars (starting years and years ago when my babies were tiny and when stores opened at 5 or 6 am on Friday, not Thanksgiving night).

Wendy is the master gamer.  And lover of all things pumpkin roll.

In her honor I cleaned and organized the game drawers and counted out full decks of cards to be ready for her arrival in three days.

 

 

Oh yeah.  And the pumpkin rolls are waiting in the freezer.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

The End

If you read this blog, you know all the goodbyes that this year has seen.  To put an exclamation point on it all my baby sister, the last remaining sister in Utah, moved to California today.

To say I will miss Jessica would be a huge understatement.  Aside from my husband, she is my best friend. If you'd told me when I was 12 and she was a new baby that we'd be this close 24 years later I would have surely laughed.  And as I type this it occurs to me that I think every one of our family members would say that Jess is the one they're closest to.  What does that say about someone?


She is the one that listens for real.  You know that kind of person; you don't have to wonder if they really heard what you said, because they remember it all and refer to it later. 

She is gentle and good-natured and funny and forgiving.  Not to mention stinkin' cute.

She is up-to-date on what's going on with everyone, so she is the glue to the family.  She keeps us close.

She has two great girls and teaches them wonderfully.

We have so many things in common, despite the age difference.  She is the perfect mix of feminine and sporty.  She shares my love of board games.  We have a passion for low tech childbirth.  We have tons of wavy hair and both wear contacts. 

She is a fantastic aunt and is more than happy to take the kids when I need help even though her own arms are full.  She loves to do my girls' nails every time they ask.
 
When I am hesitant to give up my time, she is the one to give hers away. She says yes to everyone. She shares without being asked and gives without keeping track.  I simply love her.

 

We we fortunate to have the ENTIRE family home for Christmas break last week and it was a riot.  In fact, I dubbed the week "Brown Fest" and we sucked up every possible moment together. 

Wednesday was our final opportunity to see Breaking Dawn, so we went to the movies.  We were missing Ash who had already left for Nevada, but the rest of us had waited to see it with each other so we went anyway.  Here we are after the movie.


Thursday was pack-up-the-truck day and Jess couldn't say goodbye till we'd had one more round of her new favorite game, Carcassone.

These two buds are just 6 weeks apart, and act like sisters.

Goodbye, Jess.  Enjoy San Diego and the new adventures of hubby being in school.  We love you so much and will miss you terribly!  If you're keeping track, I have said goodbye to 4 of my 5 siblings in the last 5 months.  No biggie. 

And so... we are at the end of the year of many many endings.  David, it's just you and me, bro. Gotta stick together.

So long 2011!!

Surprise!

My sister Wendy came home for Fall Break!

We pretty much packed in as much as we could in five days.  We were so surprised to see her and it was a great visit.

We:

watched Bugs play football

window shopped at Pier One

took the kids to Gardner Village

had family dinner

read a book (she read it in 24 hours!) and attended book club

talked to siblings on Skype

played games and danced on the Wii

It was fun!  Thanks for making the long drive home, Wend.

Long distance embroidered pillow

Isn't it nice to see my crafting mojo back?


As I have been blabbing about on here, one of my sisters moved away to Omaha for grad school.

I saw a similar idea to this on someone's blog who I believe had an out of state engagement or something. I have tried and tried to track it down to give credit (PLEASE tell me if you know). But the instant I saw it I knew I was doing it for my sister Wendy.

I'll call it the long distance pillow - perfect for any loved one who has moved away.  Simple but classy.

I used natural muslin (about $2) for the pillow and a taupe scrap fabric for a ruffle.  I didn't really measure. My guess is that my muslin pieces were about 12"x16". 

Then I found outlines of Utah and Nebraska online and held my paper up to the computer monitor to trace the shapes.  And I free-handed a heart.

To make the ruffle I sewed one long tube, encasing the raw edges inside. 

Put your sewing machine stitch length on the longest setting and gently tug on the top thread while sewing down the middle.  Perfect ruffle!

I pinned it where I wanted it to be, down the left side of the front. Then I sewed down the center to attach it, right on top of the ruffling thread.

Next I slipped my patterns inside my fabric to trace it lightly with pencil.

I stitched the outlines with a three strand thickness of embroidery floss, and taught myself to backstitch.

States are finished!

I added a red heart to link the love across the miles.

Time to make the pillow.

Pin with right sides together.  Sew and stuff!

I loved the finished product!  One of my favorites ever.  I shipped it off right away.

What do you think of it??

Miss you Wendy!

The ruffle goodness continues Friday with a copycat clothing item.  Don't forget to come back and see my next project!



Linking to:We Did it Wednesday, Look what I made, and  Whatever goes Wednesday