Today I am grateful for...

Last evening I got to spend almost an hour on the phone with my Navy Man~ It was wonderul. So I am grateful for my son, telephones, and the fact that his new fiance' was on a plane headed home.

I love my kids, its just that simple. I respect their rights as people and I think this makes for wonderful relationships with each of them.

Martail, who is 18 and just graduated Navy boot camp on Friday got engaged to be married Sunday night. He and Heather have been together for a little over 3 years! I have never had a problem respecting my kids 'sweetie' because ultimately I am the Mom and their 'sweetie' is a potential life partner. It had usually been a trait of mine that is well appreciated.

I must admit, that while I respect the couple, it has been tough to share my child's time on occasion. It's been especially hard with Martail at boot camp. I miss the hell-outta-him! He has been the one constant giggle I can count on everyday and he is also my buddy.

This weekend, I am sure, was hard for Heather cos she had to share him with me, his dad, his sister, and his best friend(who just so happens to be dating his sister...how convenient is that?). He has been gone since December 4 and all of us missed him.

All was well, and we had a great time. Martail has grown into a wonderful person. He is strong and determined yet gentle and loving. He now also has a deep respect for himself and his country. It is amazing~ He is what parents want their kids to be. I told him that I no longer have to be concerned that he will be okay and that I truly apppriciate that gift. He said thats good but that I couldn't stop praying for him! LOL...that'll never happen. He even has a new appreciation for God, Mo, you are gonna love this: He is making a list of the blessings in his life that he is grateful for~~

Any way...he called last night after his fiance' got on her home-bound plane and we talked about everything!

This kid actually made arrangements with a jeweler here in town(where it just so happens that Heather is currently employed and they love my son) to purchase the diamond ring that he knew Heather loved, paid for it, and had her mother pick it up. The exclusive resturant he wanted to take her to was booked, so he took her to the upscale(his word) resturant in the hotel her parents stayed at for the weekend. During dinner he stood up, got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. He said the place was packed to the max, and when he got down on his knee, Heather burst into tears, and the table next to them made sure everyone noticed. When she said yes, everyone stood up and clapped! The people at the table next to them also sent them a celebratory dessert:). Martail was amazed that most people came over to the table...the men to shake his hand and the women to 'ooh and aww' at the ring. They also thanked him for joining the military.

The ceremony for his graduation was beautiful. All in all, it was wonderful weekend and the long phone call made it even better.

I am grateful to God for the children He gave me and that He was and is always there. It's been a rocky road, but I have and will continue to cling to this:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Thank you God for being faithful!

Best of Yahoo Groups~

This is the email I sent to: "best_of_groups@yahoogroups.com" ,

date: Jan 13, 2008 11:20 AM





I think the Quiltville Chat is the absolute best of Yahoo Groups. This group was started out of necessity and grew like wildfire.

Bonnie Hunter, of quiltville.com, teased her blog readers with a sneak peek at her latest quilting adventure on 11/29/2007. A few days later one of her readers offered to sew along. The rest, shall we say, is history!

By 12/03/2007, Bonnie found it necessary to form a Yahoo Group to better facilitate communication between herself and the many people who were now sewing along with her. She named the quilt and the Mystery Carolina Crossroads as a tribute to where her life is right now-in limbo as she is moving from South Carolina to North Carolina.

In order to manage the masses, Bonnie enlisted the help of two of her fellow quilters. One would manage photos and the other files. Membership grew rapidly and in just two weeks, it was announced that membership had reached a momentous 1,000 avid quilters! Today, as I write this there are 1,192 members.

Yahoo Groups enables us to stay in touch with our fearless leader and each other. Members ask questions, share tips, encourage each other, share trials and triumphs, and befriend other quilters from all over the world. The web tools enable us to share photos of our progress and links to our blogs, keep a record of where everyone is from and make files available for general information and printing.

Bonnie is what makes this group special. Her willingness to share her knowledge with others and her ability to not take herself too seriously makes the process of making a quilt that takes you out of your comfort zone less frightening and, in fact, quite enjoyable. Her love of using what others consider scraps to make beautiful usable works of art combined with her awesome grasp of the concept of contrast in her quilts is nothing short of amazing.

Thanks to Bonnie Hunter and Yahoo Groups for making this possible!

Sincerely,

Phyllis Williams aka ladybug7495

Carolina Crossroads

I need to confess...lol. Other than managing the files of Quiltville Chat in order to help Bonnie manage the masses(1,173 members), I have done nothing toward the beginning, let the end, of the wonderful mystery that is currently in progress. Oh, wait! I did join the web ring...does that count?

I do, however, enjoy the wonderful group of women from around the world who have come together behind this "little adventure". The photos of work done so far are nothing short of gorgeous; there is a web ring that links blogs of those participating, and everyone is enjoying working at their own pace. Such fun~

So far, five steps have been posted and even as I post this, there are those who are attempting to be patient in their foot tapping in anticipation of Step 6!

I do, at least, know that I will be using blue scraps as my main color choice, red for "pop-n-sizzle", and white as my light. My local guild has a Sit-n-Sew Day on the 19th and I anticipate getting through most of Step One. Lucky for me, I do love Rail Fence Blocks:).

Happy quilting,

Phyl

Hostessing Mysteries

Yesterday I hostessed two mysteries for an online group...for Christmas. Since I didnt choose the mysteries, there was a little confusion at the beginning, but once we got rolling it was tons of fun.

I was up the night before making log cabin graphics until 3a.m., but it was well worth it. Thank God for graphics programs and even tho I was rusty, the graphics worked:). Also, thank God for PDF conversion programs as I was able to put a pdf file in the group files so others can have fun at a more convenient time.

One of the other women graciously donated some door prizes, as well as some of the goodies I had, so everyone won something...some folks won more than one.

Trying to keep it lively was a blast for me...a fun time was had by all and at the end everyone had 2 beautiful quilt-able wreaths...either for wallhangings or pillows...or even the front of a tote bag~ Everyone but me.

So...I am off to make mine...lol. Pics will be posted as soon as I finish:).

May your holiday be pieceful,

Phyl

Newest quilting phenomena

Having been a long time Bonnie Hunter fan, I am thrilled to be a part of the newest and perhaps fasting growing quilting phenomena to hit the internet quilter scene in quite some time.

Bonnie started a mystery quilt on a whim and in only a few short days membership to her yahoo group is near 800! What fun...kinda like a roller coaster caught in a whirlwind. We are looking at potentially 80,000 3.5" rail fence blocks being made all over the world at one time.

How amazing is that? Check out her website and come join us at yahoo groups by clicking on the yahoo box to the right on this page:).

Crazily piecing in Ohio,

Phyl

Quiltville Mystery:)

Bonnie has started a mystery quilt! I am sooo in....lol....

The first entry concerning the mystery is November 29. Lemme know if you decide to join in, too.

Phyl