2015 update continued: Dad's Final Battle

This will be a hard post. I'm intentionally keeping it short because it is difficult to write.  We lost Dad to cancer in April.  He fought with bravery, dignity, and courage; never complaining, and always with a positive attitude. Dad left behind one final lesson: do not complain and accept what life throws at you with grace.
There is often a mixture of emotions when a loved one passes away. In these pictures you will see the joy that comes when family gathers together. Yet, even in some of the faces and actions you see the pain and sorrow. Enough said. We miss you, Dad.

One of my favorite pictures of Dad. He was in every sense of the words, Mr. Fix-it.

 During the weeks before Dad's death, the brothers came down to help care for him and offer whatever support Mom needed. They stayed at Mom and Dad's house and took care of so many things. It made the time much easier for Mom.

The youngest Porter boy; David Andrew and his cool Harley camper.

 The grandkids gathered around and gave Dad a lot of joy. Their laughter and antics brightened his last days. Aunt B was great about providing them with diversions.

A final message from Maggie Lyn...

 The funeral was held at the Texas State Veteran's Cemetery. It was a quiet ceremony attended only by his closest friends and family members. Most of his children and some of the grandchildren were able to make it down in time to say goodbye to Dad. Those who were able, traveled from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, and Kansas to be there for the funeral. The women from our church, Mom's quilt group, and many other friends kept us well fed.

From left to right: Amanda, James, Alisha, Sarah, Brad, Emily, and Jason.

Left to right: Alisha, Sarah, Larry, Brad, Ryan, Emily, Jason, and Matt.

The oldest Porter boy; Bob and his sweet wife Kathy Lee.

The second Porter boy, Larry, and some of his children. Sarah, Brad and James.

Ryan and Jamie.

Jessica and Scott.

Emily, Lesie, and Kathy Jane.

David, his wife Deb, and his son Kyle.

Clockwise from the left: Ryan, Scott, Jessica, Larry, Kyle, Mom, Kathy Jane, James, Jamie, Brad, Alisha, and Scott

Clockwise from the left: Kathy Jane, James, Jamie, Brad, Maggie, Leslie, Kathy Lee, Jason, Emily, Sarah, Amanda, and Alisha.

2015 update continued: Springtime means Sports (and Bluebonnets)

Oh, how I remember the days of rushing from one sporting event to another as our kids were growing up! I honestly believe that mothers get wide fannies from sitting on bleachers year after year. I foolishly thought those days were over once our kids became adults. Nope; the faces and places changed but bleachers still remain. This year, Sophie played soccer and Maggie played softball. Luckily, I got to watch most of their games from the comfort of a camp chair instead of the bleachers!

Sophie Lyn played soccer again this year, on a team her daddy coached. She is certainly the more athletic of Leslie's girls. Sophie loves any sport she tries and is a solid player. She gives her all and doesn't complain.

Maggie Lyn has played soccer in the past; but, she hasn't ever really enjoyed playing. This year she decided to give softball a try. Between having coaches that had never coached before, a lack of athletic ability, and a stubborn streak; Maggie's experience was less than pleasant. There was a lot of chatter between Poppy and Leslie about possibly coaching next year and having both of the girls play. Ugh! I am so conflicted about that.

Besides getting to watch the grands play outside in the glorious Texas weather, springtime offers the beauty of native wild flowers. Unfortunately, the hectic nature of our lives this year kept me from getting many pictures. These are the only two I found on my camera. At least they are my favorites; Indian Paintbrush and Bluebonnets.

2015 update continues: Easter

Easter wouldn't be complete without an Egg Hunt! Even our biggest grand, Seth, got in on the fun. No words are needed; just enjoy the pictures.

Let the hunt begin!

Leslie had to get creative with hiding places to challenge Seth!

I love Sophie's little outfit! As colorful as the eggs.

Maggie was so serious and determined!

I think this one must have been hidden by Poppy. He takes it easy on the grands.

Almost finished...

Maggie Lyn's haul...

Sophie Lyn's haul...

Seth's haul.

Happy Easter!

Where did the year go? Oh, here is the rest of March!

So, I took a few minutes to look through the blogs that I follow and learned a valuable lesson: recording something a few months late is better than recording nothing at all. Of course, this year has been an emotionally rough one and when my emotions are raw I tend to withdraw.  I am starting to heal from the loss of Dad and have survived a few major events without him. So, I'll spend the next few posts filling in the blanks from 2015.

In March, the girls from the family made a trip to Marble Falls Sweet Berry Farm. We picked strawberries, the girls played on the giant trampoline, ate ice cream, and enjoyed the beautiful Texas weather.

It was one of our first outings with Jamie and her twins. They quickly wormed their way into our hearts.

The berries weren't as flavorful this year as they have been in the past; not really tasty enough to just eat. But, Leslie helped me make several pints of strawberry jam. We used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for strawberry jam and one I found on the internet for Strawberry-Jalapeno Jam. It was really good!

I know it is much easier to run to the store and pick up a package of strawberries that have been mass produced; and, it is probably less expensive to buy processed jams and jellies. However, I will always remember picking strawberries from my Granny Alice's garden and helping Mom "put them up" in the freezer or make jelly. Luckily, Leslie and I are of the same mind set and want to create the same type of memories for the grands.  So what if the berry patch is an hour away and it's a little more expensive?!?  Making memories is worth it! And, for some reason picking berries with these cuties is a whole lot of fun!

Chicken are Coming

A few months ago, I started thinking about ways to make the land where the yellow house is located more productive. We have about 3 acres around the house and have never really done anything on it except fight cactus, cedar, and rocks. Our boys, the fire fighter and the geologist, have lived in the house since the hubby and I moved to Temple. The yard has lost it's well cared for look; and, most of the cactus and cedar are starting to reclaim the property.  It makes me a little sad to walk around the place and think about the years we spent clearing the land and making it a nice place in the country. We keep trying to get the fire fighter to buy the property, but he says, "It's too much house for me." However, I don't think he will ever move out because "That's too much trouble." So, we are faced with a problem: try to sell it in the condition it is after having 2 bachelors live in it for 7 years. Or, use what we have to make a family compound capable of sustaining life.
Hence, the chickens are coming.  It is the first step in making the place more life sustaining.  (More about that in another post.)
Anyway, the fire fighter is also the family genius and can turn any of my sketches into a reality. I drew a rough sketch of a chicken coop and he turned it into plans.

For the last two days, he has been working on the frame for the coop.

I'm excited to see how it turns out. Knowing that the fire fighter's building ethic is taken from the movie, The Money Pit, it might be a while before it is finished. But, we are off to a great start.
Updates to follow as the "...two weeks" elapse.

Quilting My Break Away

Spring break usually means cleaning out closets, working on the yard, and maybe a family camping trip. This year our break didn't line up with my grandson's break and the granddaughters were going to Arizona on vacation. The hubby had just come back from an insane trip through Winter Storm Thor to Ohio with the boys to watch Ohio State host the Big 10 wrestling championship, so he had to work this week. That meant I could quilt all week long and not be disturbed. Whoop!!!! I finished 6 baby quilts; 3 are going to a co-worker who is having triplets!! (Better her than me!) The other 3 are going into the cedar chest in case another of my young and fertile co-workers decides to have a baby. Then, I finally finished Scott's quilt! I bought the main fabric for his quilt over a year ago. It is from the American Heroes line and it has firefighter and police badges on it. I started gathering the fabric for it over the next few months and got it cut apart during Christmas break. It is pieced, quilted, and trimmed now all I have to do is get it bound. That will probably take me forever because I HATE PUTTING ON BINDING!
Here are the pictures of the the finished products!

Fabric for Scott's quilt; American Heroes...

Scott's quilt finished except or the binding...

close up of the quilting...

back of Scott's quilt...

Three Yard Baby Quilt, number 1...

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 2

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 3

Three Yard Baby Quilt Number 1-B

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 2-B

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 3-B

This is the easiest baby quilt ever! You buy 1 yard each of 3 coordinating fabrics, cut them according to the directions, switch the fabrics around to come up with 3 different views. I have made so many baby quilts using this pattern!

This is the pattern I used for Scott's quilt. I added shashing and corner stones to give it a more finished look.

The pattern came from this book. It was one that belonged to my friend Barbara. Barbara passed away a few years ago from ovarian cancer. She used to tell me that if Scott was a little younger, she would definitely be interested in dating him!