It's my Family!

   OK, Well.... I've traveled to WV for a family reunion with the Italian side of my family. Some of them I haven't seen in a very long time. So this should be interesting. :) But more about that in another post. We are headed for the family reunion today.
    We traveled to NC first using the GPS. Well don't you know that was exciting! Detours are adventures that make for interesting stories in our vehicle. : \  More about those adventures later also.
   In the meantime, we had a bit of a thunder storm and Jessica got a couple of awesome pictures of lightning strikes! Yes, we were all standing out under the skies. The doors to the house almost didn't survive the race in the house when the thunder would crack! But OH the excitement! Plus we have made an awesome memory!

The lightning was not hitting the tree, it was behind it.

    Before last night though, my sister and I were traveling up here and we stopped at a place in Beckley WV called Tamarack.  An awesome arts and crafts place. We spent like two hours in there just walking around and looking at all of the wonderful fun arts and crafts.
     Well anyway that has been what we've been doing on our adventure so far.
    Blessings to all, ~S~ The Quilted YaYa

Today I am Thankful

 After my post yesterday, everything in my home was quiet. Projects got accomplished and I had time to sit and spend over an hour with God in a quiet place.
  Today I am thankful. Thankful for quiet time, and projects finished. Food on our table and a roof over our heads, (we know of so many right now that aren't living in their own homes due to natural disasters). A job for my husband. He really is precious and good to us all. For my sweet Hubby and my Children. For dirty dishes and clean dishes in the dishwasher. For dear friends and Sisters. For bunches of fabric that I can use to make things and be wild and creative with.
  Thankful for a God who loves us so much. God has provided so much more than I could ever have thought about. How GREAT is Our GOD!
   I hope that you have a peaceful, blessed and thankful day.
~S~ The Quilted YaYa

I'm Out of the Boat

    Sometimes I want to scream and make the world just stop! It's sort of like things get really out of control and I get so overwhelmed. I think I know how Peter felt when he stepped out of the boat and took his eyes off of Jesus.
    I have too many projects going at one time! I love doing things for people and often will accept things to do for others like make a quilt, crochet or sew, help out with a project, etc. when I really don't have the time or inclination to do it.  When it is spirit led it goes quickly and I don't even have to think about it. I have an afghan throw that I am making now that was totally spirit led, and I am now putting the border around. I have such a peace when I sit down and work on it in the evenings, and I have prayed over each stitch that I have crocheted. When I finally give it to the young lady that it is for, I know that she will be covered in much prayer. I hope that she will know how much I love her and her family and how precious that they have been in my life.
    On the other hand I had a young girl ask me to make a quilt for her. I said I would and I will make it. But it has been slow going. My heart has just not been in it yet. I have the fabric sitting on my table and some of it is even cut out. I know that when the time is right though that God will be with me and I will sit down and in a week or two I will be able to put the top together. To sit down to it right now would be useless, because I would end up messing it up. So there it sits and I go down to my sewing room and look at it every day or two and pray over what to do about it. Soon I will get to it. Then I have a baby quilt to work on also, actually two of them. And a cross stitch project that I've been working on forever. In the meantime, I've been working on a quick project that is major simple!
    My sister, Veronica is quilting and sewing with a group of ladies near her home in NC. They are involved in a project making pillowcases for the Children's Hospital in their area for the children with cancer. These are brightly colored pillowcases to add color and joy to their room. She explained to me how they were made and I found the tutorial on line. Such a simple project and since I have so much fabric that has been given to me I decided I would help her out with a few of them. There are actually a couple of videos online that show how to make them. Pillowcase Tutorial and  The Million Pillowcase Challenge .  So far I've made six of them to give to her when we go to visit later this week.  Here is a picture of the first four that I made. Fun and easy.












So as my week goes this will be a wild one with getting ready to go on a quick trip to see family and friends. I choose to keep my eyes on Jesus and not look at the storm. I can't rely on me, but I know that God is in control and He will calm the storm.
  Blessings to all, ~S~  The Quilted YaYa

I serve an Awesome God!

   It's been a very busy weekend. So Happy Independence Day a day late. Hope that everyone enjoyed their day.
    Our week last week was busy with cleaning and errands and getting ready for the 4th. Thursday I cleaned one house and then as I walked in the door my Father -in- Love called and asked if I wanted veggies from their garden. That was a no brainer. I'm always up for free veggies.  But I had to go to their home an hour away to pick them up. I asked if they would keep until Friday morning and he said "yes".
   So bright and early Friday morning, like 5:30 a.m. I got up and headed for their home. Gave many thanks to God for His provision and thanks to my sweet in-laws for their hard work and generosity. Loaded up our truck, well it was just the back seat, and headed home.
   Once home Jessica and I cleaned the peas and washed them prepared my jars and canned four quarts of peas. Then we got back in the truck and completed a couple more errands. Got back home and started cleaning the green beans and preparing the squash. Two gallon bags of summer squash par-boiled and put in the freezer. When my sweet hubby came home he sat down and grabbed a bowl full of clean green beans and started cutting the ends off for me. He's so helpful. :)  He got home earlier than normal because they had a 4th of July dinner at work. When ever we do things together we have the most wonderful conversations.
   So... There we sit talking over the events of the day, cutting green beans and  he started sharing with me about his supervisors wife, who has breast cancer. We have known about this for awhile but the family very much keeps it to themselves and we only occasionally get updates. Then dear Hubby says, "I pray for them every time she comes to mind, but mostly I pray for their salvation."
   I almost chopped my finger off when he said that. My heart was jumping for joy so hard in my chest that I could hardly contain it! My sweet hubby is a quiet man about his faith, and I'm not. He keeps me grounded and I add spontaneity to his life. I've prayed, along with many friends and family members for his salvation. (Neither one of us was saved when we got married and then 22 years ago I gave my life to Christ.)   Right then I bowed my head as I cut the beans and thanked our Awesome God for all the wonder and blessings that He has poured into my life!
   By the way, I canned 13 quarts of green beans and Saturday morning I cut corn off of the cob and canned 10 pints of whole kernel corn. I will have food for my family this winter that is chemical free. And my shelves are so colorful with pretty jars of good yumminess.
  Blessings to All ~S~ The Quilted YaYa
PS. My computer is on the fritz, so I'm using my daughters. I'll post pictures later.