Nesting for Baby Brooklyn

Here are the happy parents to be. . .Kim and Mark

This is a little quilt I made for Brooklyn.  Kim loved the fabric from the 'Ruby' line by Moda.

A simple quilt with the fun gathered white strips.

This a a crib quilt that Kim bought with the rest of a crib set, bumpers, skirt and such.  I wanted to make her a pillow that could go in the rocker, so I used some fabric that we made the curtains from and some other scraps I had on hand.  I think it matches quite well!  (The curtains are the striped yellow with a 2 foot hem of the yellow dot fabric--the walls are the aqua blue--doesn't that sound peaceful and soft for a little girl?)

Hand stitching with some crewel cotton thread sets off the simple design!

I didn't want to fool around with piping, so I just used a binding to finish it off.

We had a surprise  baby shower for Kim!  And we pulled it off. . .Kim had no idea what she was walking into.  Kim's mom, Jill (to the right in this picture) did a great job getting her there.

Good food and good fun and wonderful, generous gifts!  

Big brother Wyatt will be almost 4 . . .

And Jaxson is 6 and they are both very excited for their new little sister!

Only a couple more weeks and Brooklyn will join our family!  Can't wait!

Creations. . .

I love Fall and the wonderful colors we get to feast our eyes upon.  On my morning walk, I saw some of these beautiful creations and had to grab my camera when I got home and go back and take some pictures.  Even though these pictures are nice, it's never the same as having your breath taken away by God's beauty!

Here are a few other creations that I have am enjoying this fall season.

I made this long pumpkin pillow just a few weeks ago.  I didn't realize how perfect it would fit on this bench until it was finished!   Love it when that happens!

My cute daughter, Raquel, made these two baby quilts for her friends.  Didn't she do a great job?

Just as our Creator, we enjoy and are compelled to create useful and beautiful things. . .again feasting our eyes!  I love this quote from Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf-- "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul."

The Bells' go to Washington, DC

Matt, Caroline and Raquel have moved to Maryland so that Matt can continue to work as staff for Senator Mike Lee and hopefully attend George Washington University for his law degree.

Sweet baby Caroline got sick just before they were to leave, so Raquel and Caroline stayed with us

until it was time for them to fly out.  Here are a few delicious pictures. . .

THAT is the face I got to see for 10 straight days!!! 

With the bedhead and concentrating on a Baby Einstein DVD

A fun ride on Uncle Tys' shoulders. . .

"Aw Grandma, I just woke up and there you are with that camera in my face again!"

Love my new dolly!

A happy girl!  (But like her mom says. . .she is NOT one who can just roll out of bed in the morning and look spectacular--the hair, that is--it's the blessed curly hair thing!)

We had a great time together and made some good memories.  It is a bitter-sweet time for Dan and I as parents and grandparents!  We are so happy for Matt and Raquel to leave the nest and FLY!  But I will sorely miss seeing them and squishing that Yummy Caroline.  Thank goodness for Skype and Holidays! 

The 'Dress-up Box' and evolution of a smile

When the grandchildren come over, one of their favorite things to do is go through old Halloween costume/dress-up box and entertain us with their creations!  Here are a few:

Wyatt being some version of a Dracula. . .

Look at those teeth. . .and those eyelashes!

Makenna. . .what outfit isn't complimented by a red boa and long gloves/  (BTW, the gloves were worn by her mother to a high school prom, seriously!)  Isn't she gorgeous?

Connor is underneath the clown wig and hat!

Now Makenna is wearing the clown wig and the ski mask, Wyatt in the blue wig, which he really did not like wearing. . can you tell by that face?

Jaxson, McKay, Connor, Makenna and Wyatt

One more Makenna picture. . .she was enjoying the posing!

During the week, I met Raquel and Caroline at a Fabric Shop to help Raquel decide on some decorating fabrics.  Caroline was asleep, but when she woke up here is what I got to enjoy. . .

Stage one. . . waking up smile

Stage two. . .Ok, hi Grandma!

Stage three. . .Its' a great day to be me!

Caroline and Raquel came to visit on Dans' birthday!  We are soaking up every minute with them before they move to Washington, DC next month.

A Birthday outfit for Caroline

Even though I already gave Caroline a few things for her birthday, I was compelled to make one last outfit.  I had this fabric and it looked great together, so I made this little skirt.

Then, as all outfits go. . .the skirt needed a top.

I just got  plain onsie, ironed on a bit of thin interfacing where I was going to stitch,

drew the flowers on and stitched the cute daisies in matching colors!

Wala!  A fun new outfit. . .although Caroline would say, "Grandma, don't you know

skirts are so hard to crawl in?"

Caroline's First Birthday

Caroline will be one on Sept. 9th!  We celebrated a few days early.

Raquel had arranged for us to meet at Fitts Park by their house.

We had a nice pavilion, a stream with ducks and lots of fun playground toys.

Here are Caroline and Raquel before the party started.

Caroline and Matt 

(Matt held her so that she could see the gifts while Raquel unwrapped the gifts)

Her new dolly!

Caroline standing on the darling kitchen that Jo and Grandpa Kremin made for her.  She is holding one of the pans.  A better picture is seen on Matt and Raquels' blog @ mattandraquelbell.blogspot.com.

More opening. . .this was a camera that she will have so much fun with.

Some of the guests. . .Grandpa and Grandma Harmon.  I could never get a picture of them together at the park, so I took this one in their house when we dropped them off!  Aren't they awesome?

Ashley, Me and Tyler

Laureen and Dale Simper with Caroline  (such great family friends!)

Caroline ready to tackle her Birthday cake!

At first, she wasn't quite sure how to eat it. . .

Then, she tasted the frosting very daintily. . .

THEN, she really started to enjoy the cake. . .

And look at that face!  She loved it, but apparently kind of suffered for it during the night.  

Haven't we all done something similar???

All in all, a very fun and happy night.  We love you Miss Caroline!

Happy Birthday to you!