Joe's feast...

Meet Joe. He's 17 and a perfectly nice fella. People tend to really like Joe. What's not to like? He has a ready smile and a quiet way. I was trying to think of the right words to describe Joe and I asked Abe, "What's a good thing about Joe?" and Abe answers back real quick, "He loves us." Yep, he does. He is very sweet with all of his brothers and sisters. I've never heard him complain about them getting into his things or bugging him. Joe likes to read and draw and is working, full-time, for Habitat For Humanity. He does have a facial hair fascination, but no one's perfect.

Joe's feast was a great event. He had decided that he would buy the kids a movie to share as their gift and then he would serve up a "movie night!" How fun is that? He bought them the new Harry Potter movie and you should have seen the raptures over that! Joseph got a big kick out of the girls' squeals and their big eyes! Because he works and doesn't get home until dinner time, he kept his feast simple but full of the things that the kids like the best. We had our Bible reading and prayer in the living room and then he shooed all of the kids up to the family room. He served them pizza and soft pretzels and, of course, popcorn. He had a 5 gallon bucket full of ice and canned pop. His dessert was the biggest bowl I have, filled to the brim, with candy. Talk about a sugar high! It took Abe two days to mellow out!

July 4th...

Well, yeah I know it isn't July... You see, this is how it starts...

Every spring, around April, I get all geared up to make a Quilt of Valor. A quilt for a soldier. I figure that I could finish it by July. Seems, kinda, more patriotic that way. Does it ever happen? Nope. The quilt always gets done, mind you, but closer to Christmas than 4th of July. And every year, I have no idea where the quilt is going...but by the time I am finished, someone has told me about "this soldier" and suddenly my quilt has a home. It just works out that way. Quilt done by Christmas and going to a soldier that knows somebody that I know. So I don't consider it a failure. Just a slight delay.

I think this quilt has a cool story. I started it in, yep, April. Some of you may remember the starter block. I messed around with the design until I came up with something I (and the guys in my family) liked. I loved the printed batik. Maybe not traditional patriotic fabric, but it works for me. So I have my design and a stack of fabric and I start cutting and sewing. I had to put the project up at the end of May because I was going on a big trip out West, to Oregon. Here's where it gets kinda fun.

I waited in the airport for 5 hours. No, this is not the fun part, but it had a vital role in the unfolding of this story. There was a rainstorm in Ft. Worth, so the planes were all delayed. When we finally boarded our plane, I was a little stir crazy and knowing me, I strike up a conversation with my flight companion. Now, I don't always do this. I flew all the way to Boston with nary a word passing my lips aside from, "Diet Coke, please." See? I can be quiet when I wanna be. But I had sat and sat and sat at the Indianapolis airport... and I was ready to reconnect with the human race. So... my flight companion. He was an older gentleman. A sweet face. I said hello and aren't you glad we're finally taking off and why are you traveling to Ft Worth? Yes, it was nosy and I hate to say it, but I'll get a whole lot worse in just a few minutes. He says he is going to help his daughter take care of her new baby while her husband comes to Indy for the 500. I said how sweet that was. Then I ask if he's retired and he said no, he was going to retire, but then his wife passed away and what was the point of being home all day, alone? Well, that is very sad, indeed. How did she pass?- oh, yes, I did. Can you believe it? Well, he starts to munch rather slowly on his package of trail mix... She had been sick for a while and then she took her own life. Oh! I am so sorry! And incredibly shocked- not at all the answer I would have expected. But you know what? He seemed to really want to talk about it. I'm not just saying that because I pried it out of him. He didn't get into details, thankfully, but he was really working through his grief and it was, oddly enough, a beautiful thing to hear and watch as he described how he had finally decided that her actions weren't a reflection of him and their 40 year marriage. She was a good mother and wife, but she had diabetes and mental illness and a failing mind can kill you just as fast as a failing heart can. That made a whole lot of sense to me. Chronic illness takes it's toll on the whole person.

He had a very gentle way about him. He went on to describe his family and you could just see how proud he was of his son and daughter. His son was in the Navy and was due to retire in 2008- he loved the Navy, but he knew he needed to be home with his wife and three small children... Eureka! Yep, I just got my military quilt an assignment! (I was even more forward and asked him for his address and his son's name... and believe it or not, he gave it to me. I guess I looked harmless enough.) And then he was telling me about his daughter who had finally had her first child at nearly 40 years of age- after years of wondering if it would ever happen- guess who that "Leaping Lizards!" quilt is for? Alex Rex is his grandson.

It's funny how a little conversation with a complete stranger... who had such sadness in his life... made me feel better about the world. Yes, there's a lot of brokenness around us, but there is a lot of strength, too. And that should encourage all of us to keep trying. Maybe, to be more watchful of opportunities to serve and help. Service seems to be politically incorrect, but really, it's a pathway to joy.

Bekah's feast...

This is Rebekah and she's 6 years old. And her favorite color is purple. She's a very sweet girl with a timid soul but a very courageous heart. I say she is my bravest child because the others are so fearless, they have little to overcome. Bekah isn't like that. She's plenty afraid, but she pushes herself past that and is just a really lovely person. She loves taking care of people and is, oddly enough, our only child to have suffered a broken bone or stitches. She's good company and a pleasure to be around. She loves hanging out with me and is most often found wherever I am, drawing pictures of beautiful princesses with long flowing hair.

Her feast was last night and we had such a good time in the kitchen, together. "Mom, you just keep cooking there, while I take care of this bread." She's a natural at the cooking, herself, and even I was amazed at how much she knew. She made "nuthins" for her appetizer- blueberry muffins. Her main dish was spaghetti- 'cause it's daddy's favorite- and italian bread. Her dessert was chocolate chip cookies-also daddy's favorite... do we see a trend here? and ice cream sundaes. We had to get vanilla ice cream because... yep, it's daddy's favorite. As you can tell by the picture, he was very appreciative. Apple cider to drink and "chrismassy lollipops" for her gifts. Every now and then, she would holler out through the curtain to her siblings, "I hope I'm not taking too long! I'm certainly trying not to!" So funny. Such a responsible hostess.

Abe's Feast...

This is Abe. He's four. He's been called a lot of things...snickerdoodle, buggerhead, snugglebug, and sugarplum...just to name a few. Abe has a very sunny disposition. He is the youngest of our eight children. He is adorable and it would be very easy to baby him...if he didn't have 5 older brothers. His brothers have pretty much made a stand that he isn't to be babyfied- just 'cause he's the youngest. They treat him like a man, and usually he lives up to their expectations. He does get a whole lot of attention, but what ya gonna do with 10 people living in the house? He ran errands with me a couple days before his feast and we were gone for 9 hours- not a whine or a wiggle. As good as gold. One and a half hours was spent with the dietician- he ate breakfast there and drew on the paper napkins. I spent an hour in the quilt shop- he sat and played with his one puzzle. The rest of the day was spent in and out of the car and he just kept hopping... in and out, commenting, ever so politely, about the weather and the state of the roads- they were "slick as snot." OK, that was my observation, and he spent the rest of the day amazed by the quantity of snot on the roads. "It's really gross, Mom." I finally explained what a "metaphor" is and he seemed quite relieved.

Abe planned his own feast. He's been plotting for quite some time, because when I asked what he would like to serve his guests, he immediately listed off his appetizer, entree and dessert. If it didn't sound so much like him, I might have thought he had been coached. The older boys like to use him like a ventriliquits does his doll. "Abe say, What's up with the dealio?" And he's a brilliant mimic. He had apples with dip- that caramel stuff. When we were shopping, he saw the mini marshmallows- the rainbow variety, and says, "This would work, Mom." And they "worked" very nicely. He served fetticini with bread sticks- which he twisted himself and dipped into garlic butter. His dessert was jello. What 4 year old doesn't love jello? With fruit in it, of course. And whipped cream on top. He picked the brightest of my tableclothes for the table. (A vintage one with red morning glories on it.) We found some chandelier parts from the thrift shop and paired them up with a couple candlesticks from the dollar store- sweet! Added two red tapers and Abe had his feast. I almost forgot about his gift. He found these glow sticks that are attatched to these funky mouthpeices... anyway, when you are all standing in a dark room it's a riot!

Daniel's Feast...

Daniel is 16. He's the coolest dude I know. Without even trying or caring. He loves to hunt- and is very good at it. If he's home, he's either studying or shooting hoops- Indiana has a basketball hoop in every yard, I'm pretty sure. He volunteers at Habitat For Humanity for more hours than they can admit, and is a real hard worker. He loves to eat- must have a tape worm 'cause he is just so skinny. But every time I make soup, he comes in and sniffs and says, "Oh Mom!! I knew you loved me!" What's not to love? Can I just get off-topic for a moment... See that hat? Daniel loves his hats. He has a camoflage Ted Nugent ball cap that he loves. It is tattered and torn and that's what he likes about it. Some of you may only know Ted Nugent as a rocker, but he is some kinda crazy hunting enthusiast, too. Well, a friend of Dan's "borrowed" his hat and took it to Alabama. Daniel didn't know where it had gone, but you should have seen the moping and the searching- he even secretly accused "Elder Carter and Elder Campbell" of lifting it! Those poor baby-faced Mormon volunteers... When Daniel found out that it had been "borrowed" -as a joke, he was so aggravated- stomping around the house, accusing his brothers of being disloyal, as they were in cahoots with the hat-napper- Dan was cahooted. All in good fun, mind you. So the friend sent this Alabama hat as a substitute- it's a very cool cap. He's been wearing it, but we all tease him about being unfaithful to his beloved "Nuge" hat. We're hopefully headed down to Alabama at the end of the month- Dan thinks for the primary purpose of retrieving his hat.

So, about Daniel's feast... he had a cheese theme. Only a 16 year old guy could think of that. He decorated his table with little white lights and Cheeze-its. We kept eating the decorations! His appetizer was cheese and crackers- several different kinds. His entree was what we call Cheesy-Burger buns. My friend, Kim, started that. You use your favorite roll recipe, let rise, and divide it into pieces- layer cheese then a meat mixture(hamburger seasoned with some tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, paprika...whatever, to make it tasty) and then another piece of cheese. Wrap it all up into a ball that is about the size of a tennis ball. Let rise, again and bake with the sealed-side down. The cheese gets all melty... mmmm. He also had chili-cheese fries. Two bucks for what he had for dessert...yep, cheescake with cherries. I could feel my arteries clogging as I ate. I probably don't have cheese even once a month, and here we were eating it by the bucketful. Wallace and Grommit would have been in cheese-heaven. Daniel had Coca-cola in little bottles for his drink. He gave everyone their own pack of bubble gum for their gift. He was annoyed that he couldn't find anything "cheesy" for a gift, but the kids are still chomping on the gum, so it was a big hit.

Leapin' Lizards!

This is a little quilt for a little feller. His name is Alex Rex. Now, I thought that was an odd combination for a name, too. But I'm not one to talk. Nothing near as odd as my kids! Turns out he is named after both of his grandfathers, so I think that's real sweet. Alex is celebrating his 1st birthday this month and I still need to get the label on- it's all printed up and only needs about 10 minutes of attention and then it'll be on it's way. This is a Twisted Sister pattern- called "truly twisted" because the fans run in alternate directions. That was accidental, because I forgot to lay out all of the fabric right-side up when I was cutting around the template. But hey! it's fun, right? And I thought that the lizard fabric was bright and cheery and he'd still think it was cool when he's 5y. Can't wait to show you the one that is going to his uncle. But I didn't have my tallest helpers here today and I could only get a corner in the frame... Maybe next time.

Paul's feast...

The feast days began with Paul this year. (For those of you wondering what a "feast day" is, please feel free to peruse the archives from last December.) Paul is DS #4. He is still waters. He doesn't say a whole lot, but what he does say has been carefully thought out and pondered for days and days. Then it all bubbles over and it is... kinda amazing. He is brilliant- I never taught him to read. He taught himself. Just listening as I taught one of his older brothers. I never had a clue he was learning until he sat down and read me a book. Quintessential Paul. Unless you think he is flawless, let me just say that I am always in-the-know of where he has been and what he has been up to by the "Hansel and Gretel" trail he leaves behind. A trail of shoes, socks, wrappers and miscellaneous objects follow him. I apologize now to his future wife- I really have tried to train him better, but he's something of an absent-minded professor type. His mind is just too busy to pay attention to silly things like picking up after himself. But a sweeter, more conscientious young man, you'll never meet.

Paul is a huge Redwall fan. Redwall is a series of childrens' books written by an Engishman named Brian Jacques. These stories revolve around a group of mice and their woodland friends- and enemies. Paul's feast had a theme- Redwall. Think lots of nuts and fruit! Brian Jacquess spends an inordinate amount of time describing the feasts that take place at Redwall Abbey. Paul loves detail. His appetizers were tiny, little mouse-sized tarts filled with cheese or fruit. He made them himself of Pillsbury pie crusts and Black current jam mixed with blackberries and raspberries. His beverage was "black current wine" (grape juice mixed with 7-up) and "strawberry fizz" (Hawaiian punch mixed with 7-up.) He had dishes filled with dried fruit and honey-roasted peanuts. Then things got interesting, because he started getting concerned that there wouldn't be enough food. You can't appreciate how concerned he was. Paul is not a "whatever" kinda guy. Everything's deliberate and thought out. So he had creamed corn from the freezer, a fruit salad, cheese sticks, and then potpies. (Redwallians are, of course, vegetarians, but Paul was thoughtfully considerate of his brothers who are not the biggest seafood fans.) His dessert was cherry and apple turnovers with whipped cream. He made these with just pie filling and crescent rolls and we all agreed they were very tasty. I think Brian Jaques would have approved! He had the cutest gifts- he found 4 wooden spoons for a $1. So we bought two sets and cut all of the handles down to the same size. We wrapped those in a peice of homespun- for napkins- and tied them with raffia. So they had to eat their meal with a wooden spoon! So funny, as the spoon was a mite bigger than Abe's mouth. He managed. Paul needn't have worried about there being enough food- we all had to be rolled away from the table. That's all part of a feast, though!