As I promised, grandchildren...

There are so many things I can brag about when it comes to grandchildren, I could fill pages and pages. But I will restrain myself from boring those who do not have grandchildren yet and because of that wouldn't understand why it is so important to brag on them. I do have a few very important things to say about some of them, though, so bear with me:

Kate just graduated fromHollins University (Roanoke) with her Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, and Cum Laude. Her grades placed her in the top 10 students of her class. She plans to attend NYU graduate school later this summer, so she will be moving to New York.

Greg was just offered a job with the New York Mets in their security department, so he will be moving to New York next month.



Matthew, who will be married in August, flew to Montana for a job interview as a music teacher in a Christian school. The location is not far from Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, on the west side of the Rocky Mountains.

Jonathan performed over Mothers Day Weekend in a "Festival of Faith" concert at Wheaton College (Chicago) where he attends the Conservatory of Music. Fortunately, it was broadcast online so we were able to watch it on a laptop computer! Outstanding job!

Stephen graduates from high school in June and plans to attend (at this moment) Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mt. Vernon. Ohio.

Jesus Alfredo just finished an end-of-season baseball tournament in Orlando, where he plays several positions including Catcher.

Jessica still enjoys her year-round schedule for teaching 3rd graders in Wake County. She'll have a 3-week break starting in early June and plans to visit me for a few days. I'm looking forward to working together on some projects I've been saving for her the last several months.

Though there are several other grandchildren to brag about, I'll wait until another time to brag on them.

In the meantime, I'm taking Sonja to a weekend retreat in the mountains of Brevard tomorrow. We are so excited! We've started packing, making lists, checking lists, and packing some more. We'll be staying with my friend, Sue Dial, and she promises lots of fun things to do while we're there. I do hope your holiday weekend is fun, too!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

My son, David, ordered this cake for me--said it was the best picture he could find on short notice! Ha! I think he inherited my sense of humor, don't you?

My Ravelry friends sent me well wishes with special postings--aren't they the greatest?

Sonja (you can read about her earlier on this blogsite) threw a big dinner party for me, pulling out all the stops--and all her energy--to make sure I had a good time. Isn't she the greatest? To update you on Sonja-she's finished with her chemotherapy and ready to start radiation next Thursday. BTW, in case you forgot, Sonja made the PJ's I'm wearing in the photo.

Quilting continues to take up huge blocks of my time these days. One for the grandson who graduates from high school this year is at the long-arm quilting machine now, one for the "unofficially adopted daughter" is also at the long-arm. The top for my very special "Mystery Quilt" is finished, and I'm contemplating quilting it myself. Now, besides those projects, the Lake Norman Piecemakers have finished 98 quilts for the Blackfeet Indians in Montana! We set a goal of 100 quilts, and we're going to make that plus some! I'm so grateful that God has blessed this mission. We had some help from the Lincolnton Quilters Guild, and every single Piecemaker has contributed to this project. All the quilts will be displayed in the sanctuary at DUMC on Sunday, June 15, for a special blessing before they are sent to Montana.

When my hands are not cutting, measuring, sewing or pressing pieces of fabric, they are knitting. I'm almost finished with the Bettna Jacket, which I'm teaching this month at Baskets of Yarn
and I'm making lots of progress on my Stash Jacket (Grandmother of the Groom Jacket) that I plan to wear in August in Chicago. Being the "process knitter" that I am, I couldn't wait to start 2 more projects, too--both of them are lace. I'll be posting pictures of those on my Ravelry pages soon.

My granddaughter, Jessica, tells me she reads my blog every day. Wow! That really makes me accountable for posting news here so she's not wasting her time. Jessica is my gem, and someone more special to me than she'll ever know. I treasure every minute I ever get to spend with her.

I'll write more about grandchildren tomorrow.