Catching Up

Well, the month of December absolutely flew by! The office was extremely busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas and Dad, Ashley, Alex & I were there working a lot. It was a very different Christmas for us but we took the time to celebrate Christ's birth and to enjoy all of our family and friends throughout the month. Steve, Claire, & Tyler joined us for our traditional Christmas brunch and we were so full we had to postpone Christmas Dinner to Saturday night.

I spent all my free time (and some of the time I should have been sleeping) making quilts for me, Ashley & Alex. It is something I have always wanted to try but have never taken the time. I don't think I have the patience to be a good quilter. For that, I think, you have to be willing to see the quilt form a little at a time over several weeks, working each night. I want to see the finished quilt! My grandmother Bonnie made a quilt for me using the Sunbonnet Sue pattern so I chose to copy that style for Ashley & Alex but used the Sunbonnet Sam pattern. All the material for the squares and the connection pieces were cut from pieces of Mom's clothes. I don't have any pictures of those squares because the quilt tops are off being quilted by hand by the mother of a close friend of ours. I chose a teacup and teapot pattern for mine. Before I sent it off, I took a few pictures.











I had a wonderful birthday on Friday. Thank you all for all the well wishes! It was so nice to receive the cards, emails & facebook messages. It was kind of decadent because we went out for lunch & dinner on Friday! Saturday night I continued the celebration with my cousins Misty, Summer & Charity and we went to see Bride Wars (in preparation for Summer's upcoming wedding in which we are all bridesmaids)!

Now that all the celebrations are past I have to focus on finishing my dissertation. I am planning to hide away for a week or two so if you can't find me, I am in seclusion with no internet and no cell reception at an undisclosed location in the mountains! In reality, since I am used to being so connected I am sure I will sneak out for free wi-fi somewhere!