Indiana......February......Circa 2012........

IMHO, this is just wrong.  I'm a winter lover and there have only been a few days that I would call wintry.  We've had very little snow followed each time by warm, thawing weather.....even the crocuses are confused.  They started coming up in December and after each snowfall melts, I see that they continue to grow taller.  Oh well.  I can't control the weather and it's been easy on my back to let the sun do most of my snow removal.  Maybe next year will be white, bright, and snowy!

Here's a recently finished quilt for the Linus Project.  I've had the fabric for quite some time and finally made the quilt.  I had a motive for getting it done...... Edwards, a local fabric shop, enticed me to get it finished in order to be eligible for a drawing for a new sewing machine and several other door prizes.  The "admission price" was a finished quilt to donate to our local Linus chapter.  Talk about motivation!

I did my "signature" wave quilting pattern.  It's just so easy and I've never had any trouble with bunching up.  It's not very fancy, but it gets the job done fairly neatly.

Here's a folded over shot of the back, which used the same focal fabric as the front.

And, no, they didn't draw my name.  The real winner was Project Linus, which received over 180 quilts that day.  These quilts will bring a smile to lots of faces!  Be sure to check for Linus chapters in your area...... many children will be thankful for your donations.

This poem was written by Stephanie Husted

Somewhere
Somewhere...someplace... today...
A family is waiting to hear...
Is something wrong with their baby?
The answers aren't quite clear...
This family has entered an unwanted world...
And they just don't know what to expect...
Somewhere...someplace... today
They first heard the words: heart defect.
And how they hoped this was not true...
And thought... this cannot be...
I too... know just how this feels...
For one day...this was me.
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A man and a woman embrace...
Their baby is in surgery...
They long to see her face...
They haven't got to hold her yet...
Without...a cord or line...
They pace the room awaiting news...
And hope she'll be just fine.
Prayers fill this busy waiting room...
And mom and dad are scared...
Somewhere...someplace..today...
The tiniest hearts are repaired.
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A child's growing fast...
Smiling,laughing,thriving...
His mom thinks...can this last?
It's almost easy...to forget...
That anything is wrong...
Somewhere...someplace..today...
Her child seems so strong.
Somewhere...someplace... today...
A little boy fights...just to live
A father holds his tiny hand...
His love...all he can give...
The doctor's are all baffled...
They fear that he might die...
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A family says goodbye...
Somewhere...someplace...each year..
More than 40,000 families will see...
What it means...when something's wrong...
They'll face a CHD.
Today...for just a moment...
Stop...remember...reflect...
Make time to tell someone you know...
"I've been changed by a heart defect".
Some bonds cannot be understood...
Unless you have walked them before...
A path that I would not have chosen...
A future I just can't ignore.
We've all watched our children intently...
Memorizing each line...
And let them leave our loving arms...
And prayed things would be fine.
We've paced the halls awaiting news...
And wondered just what lie in store...
We've felt our own heart's racing as...
We walked through an ICU door...
We've seen the child we love so much...
Struggling to overcome...
The lines...the cords....the monitors...
No thoughts...no words...would come...
We've prayed for an improvement...
We've laid it in God's hands..
We've cried...we've hoped...we've worried...
We've wondered of God's plans.
We've learned just how a heart works...
Each valve and artery...
We've asked a lot of questions...
We've faced each surgery.
And somewhere down this well worn path...
We've met more families...
Who know exactly what it means...
To live with this disease.
We've smiled at every triumph...
And shared in every sigh...
We've prayed for a child that struggles...
And each family that must say goodbye.
Some battles are fought with bullets...
And weapons made for war...
While these are fought in silence...
Behind a hospital door...
We've wondered what lies in our future...
We've been thankful for just one more day...
We've stopped and watched with tear-filled eyes...
Our children...as they play.
We've struggled with ounces and weight gain...
Why won't my child just eat?
But heart mom's ...we're a tough group...
We've learned how to face a defeat.
We've faced those moments...others do...
When life has got us stressed...
But it doesn't take long to remember...
That we are richly blessed.
We've taken on a whole new role...
One we we wouldn't exchange if we could...
We know that life is difficult...
We hold onto all that is good.
God chose each of us carefully...
I do believe he smiled...
Some bonds begin with strangers...
And just one special child.



One in one hundred children will have some sort of heart defect.  Heart disease is not just for adults.  Please pray for continuing research and funding to help more and more of these children survive.

This post is dedicated to little Madison who, at 9 months, is an inspiration to me in strength, bravery, hope, and fortitude.