I should've given credit to the photos. I assume they're AP? I got them from the Comcast news online site.

Destruction in Chile

As most of you know I served my mission in southern Chile. We dubbed it "the frozen chosen" due to the severe cold temps in the winter. Think penguins. Now you got it! :)
I woke this morning to news about my other home country, Chile, which I loved with all my heart. It broke my heart to see the footage of the devastation they are suffering. While it didn't happen (epicenter, that is) in my actual mission, it was just north, the next biggest city to the north of my mission in Osorno, Chile.
What I can't stop thinking about is the people who I met who actually live in the north, the companions I served with, and those who may have moved north after I left Chile.

How do the people rebuild? What becomes of the neighborhoods? Chileans are such a warm, loving people. Their culture dictates they are kind to one another. Oh, that I could be wealthy and fly there to help them somehow. So instead, I ask that you all join me in prayer and fasting on their behalf.
Thanks.

clean again! clean again.....thank goodness I'm clean again!

mkay. so i once again have a clean counter and still no pics of the china. i've been busy doing other things, like blessing my home. so i have strayed from my blog community a little bit. there are more important things to me than sitting at my computer and typing my blog.
but i have to say that it is wonderful to be able to go shopping and get new clothes that actually fit the body!
since i had the swine flu and lost a ton of weight (okay, not actually a ton, but you get the drift) I've needed to go shopping. especially for church clothes.
so i've worn my new dresses 2 weeks in a row now, and have gotten lots of compliments on them. nice to have a new dress. even better when the one woman at church who i admire the most for her attire thinks i look adorable! what a boost.
so i'll post more later. maybe much later. we'll see. my kids need me.

kay, still no pics. i'll get them done, promise!!!
i've been just a leetle bit busy with getting the meeeelion valentine cookies rolled out, cut out, baked, and frosted. Whew! i forgot to take pics, but you all know what heart shaped sugar cookies with pinkish-red frosting look like.
once i get the rest of them bagged up then i can continue on my quest to make those darned china keepers. such a pain. i may just end up ditching the whole project and buy new.
it just may be worth my peace of mind.
i think i've lost it for now.
i'm going n.u.t.s trying to figure out this pattern. it just makes no sense whatsoever.
oh well. one day the china will be safe and out of the box that's on my once-pristine kitchen counter.
till later

more to come

Okay, so I haven't posted in a few days and I'm feeling like I'm avoiding. Not really. I'm sewing. Yes, that's right, peeps, I'm sewing again. I have missed my buddy, my beautiful Singer machine beaut that I bought for myself at Costco last May, in the guise of "It's my Mother's Day gift!" when Ryan balked that I already had one machine and it worked still. Never mind that I dropped it in my driveway while rushing to teach how to make my favorite quilt, a kaleidescope quilt, at church to one of our mini-groups of quilting. When I dropped it, not only did I lose several bobbins that broke on impact, but also my spring that kept my little pocket-thingy that you keep your bobbins and tools in, broke off, causing me to have to duct tape it to my machine. It wasn't so bad sewing with it that way, until I needed to drop my feed dogs to use my walking foot to quilt the derned quilt.
so what prompted me to bring out my machine? ok, so you say, "But Heidi, you have about 500 unfinished projects that you haven't completed yet, why start a new one!?" well.....I got nothing.
I guess I really do have A.D.D., and I just bore really easily, so I jump from project to project. oh, and the fact that I found these 2 boxes out in the garage, totally unprotected, from Ryan's grandma from last year.
These weren't just any boxes, but 2 cardboard, lidless boxes, with her fine bone china, just sitting on the floor of the garage. The fact that I only lost 2 pieces amazes me. And they were those little saucer-type things that I guess you put a piece of bread in? I don't really understand the purpose. But anyhow, these are absolutely beautiful, gilded edges, magnolia flowers, on white bone china. I'll take a picture tomorrow when it's light out so you get a better pic. Then I'll share with you the beauty that is my china. I finally have china. We sort of registered for it when we were engaged, but never received any. so now we do. and i lurve it.
so to prove how much i lurve it i am making some protective cases for it. you know, the ones you can buy for a set of about 30 bucks or so. well i don't have 30 bucks or so, so i'm using my batting i have here at home, and my scraps of yardage. then i'm quilting them all to make the outside/inside and then i'll make them. so you'll have to be patient with me while i take a break from blogging. i don't pretend to be as popular a blogger as carrot, so i think you'll all live. :)
i'll post pics soon. i promise. maybe i'll even show you some of my "quilting" as i am practicing some free motion quilting. i'm tired of just stitching in the ditch. too predictable. and i'm tired of predictablility.
out with the old, on with the new!!!!!!
yeah for cleaning my garage! i found my china from last year!!!!

Happy Happy Birthday, Matthew dear! ;)

Well today is my brother's birthday. Why don't you go on over and visit his family blog, see their adorable children and wish him a happy day? :)
We all have funny memories of our childhood. One such memory I laughed over with my mom and sister about, and I just had to share with you. Oh, how I wish I had the capability to transfer tape to CD so we can have it forever. This tape was one of many that my mom would hide somewhere and just let tape whatever we were saying as kids. I think she just wanted to document her crazy days, because Dad probably didn't believe all the crazy things she was saying to him that we were saying!
So on this particular tape, it has Matt reporting to my mom about my babysitting the night before. You can hear this little boy, probably about 6 or so, in a "cry" voice (ok,whine!) complaining that, "Heidi said that after Adam and Kimberlee were in bed I could get back up and we'd have a popcorn party. Well I waited and waited and then I heard her start the popcorn machine. She never got me up! She had a popcorn party without me!" ok, so maybe I didn't quote verbatim, but that's the gist of his complaint.
So Matt, to you I extend a popcorn party invitation. Come on over to my house and we'll have that popcorn party, just you and me. I'll even watch Star Wars with you.

That's right, no title! I'm a rebel!!!!! ;)
I've been told that my last blog was too revealing, that I let too much info onto the web and cyberspace, and people could use it against me. What do you think? Will people really use what I say against me?
The reference was to my use of the word "shrink." As most of you know, Will has ADHD. This is just the doc that regulates his meds so we can co-exist and he can be a good student at school and a good boy at Cub Scouts.
So while maybe you don't all want to read about my life struggles, I say, "TOO BAD!" This is my blog and I'll type if I want to. (just think of that song, "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to....")
So if I offend or cause distress in any way, I'm truly sorry that you took it that way. :) I'm just trying to work out in my mind my thoughts and put them down into words. It helps me make sense of my life. Kind of like a mental exorcism of sorts.
On another note, Emma had her third seizure yesterday on Tegretol. And the quest to make that girl seizure-free continues!
So more later......