An Update on Dad

It’s been raining here all day, and I’m not sure if I’m mellow because of the dreary skies (I do love the sunshine) or if I’m heavy-hearted because of my dad’s condition; he came down with pneumonia earlier this week, so he's not progressing as quickly as we'd hoped. Either way, if I sound a little negative, I’m really not. It’s just that watching my dad with tubes going in and out of his body and unable to effectively communicate makes me feel so helpless. And you all know how I like to solve the world’s problems and “make it all better.”

The doctor says that Dad’s chest x-rays still don’t look good. He assumes the smoke damage is what caused the pneumonia and is hopeful that Dad will start to improve so the skin grafting on his hands can take place on Monday or Tuesday. That means I will be blessed to spend time with him every morning (I take the morning shift and his wife, Justine, takes the afternoon shift) for a couple more weeks.

Dad’s hands look good (or as good as they can look after being badly burned) with no signs of infection, and his faceimproves amazingly every day. Because he’s on a ventilator and has more tubes attached to him than I can count (filling him with all kinds of medication, nutrition, and sedatives) most of his time is spent sleeping.

We (I) visit about simple things, and I massage his head and rub his feet with lotion in between periods of rest. Other than playing “twenty questions” and Dad nodding yes or no, it’s pretty quiet when someone isn’t torturing (that’s what the nurses call it) him when they re-dress or perform therapy on his hands, give him a cold bed bath, and a dozen or so other minor procedures.   

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers on my father’s behalf. My family and I are grateful for your love and support.  

A Utah Fall

I hope you like the new web design; I thought it was fitting for this time of year. I love fall; it’s one of my favorite times of year! It would probably be my favorite season, but it never lasts long enough and I know what’s coming as soon as fall is over—winter. And winter is NOT my favorite season, so that kind of puts a damper on my feelings for fall. (smile)

One of the reasons I love fall is the changing of the colors, and Utah is known for its fabulous fall colors. Almost every year we head up the canyon (only a 10-minute drive from our house) to enjoy all the colorful leaves, and this year was no different. Sterling and I actually went up the canyon on Sunday, and it was so breathtaking, we knew we had to invite the kids to go with us. So yesterday we took everyone in the family who is close enough to come, and we had a family Dutch Oven dinner, surrounded by Mother Nature’s own creative decorating.

It was a wonderful evening, and the colors were incredible. It was a little colder than we thought it would be—it probably dropped 15 or 20 degrees in the short drive from the house to the secluded little campground we selected. While Sterling cooked up his normal delicious Dutch Oven treat, the boys hiked the trails, I snuggled with Phoebe, Grandpa tried to keep warm, and we made a fun family memory.

A few highlights (although every minute was great!)—three-year-old Ashton dragged the kids’ chairs over to the picnic table bench, saying that could be “their table” (I thought that was adorable); Sterling, Jon, Jason, and Shalae tried to break up a large log into firewood by parking the truck on it and jumping up and down on the bumper, while Ashton looked on, as if wondering how many Gardners it takes to cut firewood with a truck (I thought that was hilarious); and the chance to take several family photos that will help us remember Fall 2008. 

A Family Moment

My church teaches that families can be together forever, and today I got up early and flew to St George, Utah, to be with my brother and sister-in-law when they were sealed to each other, and to their twin babies, Jace and Jenna.

Cody is the youngest of seven; I’m the oldest, and I loved this photo of us with the twins (four months old).  

We used to think we were a big family—until we met Shelley. Shelley is one of 16 children, all from the same mother and father! You can see it’s a pretty large group.

Although not all of my family was there (Dad was in the hospital and my brother Kurt and my sister Vonna couldn’t make it), it was one of the many occasions when I’m reminded how much I love my family.  

A Bootiful Banner

Here’s the “bootiful” banner I promised; I can call it that because Sara made it! 

As you know, I don’t typically provide instructions for projects I show. If I felt like I had to do that, I would end up never posting projects! But I did want to note a couple of things about this banner.  

The stamp set and bell accents are from the Baroque Motif stamp set; it’s one of my favorites, and I’ve used it a lot this year. I stamped the swirly image on the front of each pennant, then I adhered the lace pennant on top of the card stock pennant with Sticky Strip on the back. Once I attached the lace, I adhered a one-inch black card stock strip, punched with the scallop border punch, then doused with Black Chunky glitter to finish the pennant off with a little bling.

I tied the bells (made from the circles from the pennant die) at the bottom of each pennant to the larger rhinestone brads that are attached to the pennant. I used embroidery floss to do this. (I usually use embroidery floss when I craft because thread is usually too thin, and when I do need thread, I can just use one strand of the floss.) I threaded the floss through the larger need from the Crafters’ Tool Kit. That’s also how I attached the teardrop crystals to the bell accents, as well as the fabric on the bottom. 

Finally, I created the lace accent on the front of each pennant by cutting both sizes of scallop circles out of different types of fabric (tulle, etc.), then laying them skewampous (is that a word?) on top of each other and sewing a circle in the middle of the layers, using a single strand of floss and very large stitches. Then I pulled the floss to gather the fabric, creating a layered fabric piece to put behind the letters, which you'll notice also have a little glitter bling. 
I hope that's enough insight to help you make this if you want to. I'm planning on making a banner for each of our girls!

Kansas City Kindness

Well, our first regionals of this year are over, and Kansas City was wonderful! The weather cooperated beautifully, although I only got to enjoy it on the short walk between the hotel and convention center and back. I would have liked to spend a little more time outside, but I was having far too much fun inside with our wonderful demonstrators!

We always tell our first group of the year that they are our “guinea pigs,” because we’re presenting the regional curriculum for the first time. Although we did make a few minor adjustments between Friday and Saturday, things went very well.

I love the mix between business and stamping we have this year, and I thought the workshop wows and best business practices shared by local demonstrators were wonderful! We’re doing our evaluations online this year, so we haven’t received any immediate feedback, but I’m looking forward to reviewing the feedback we do get to see if those who attended shared my feelings.

I demonstrated a “bootiful” Boo banner that Sara created for Halloween, which I would love to share with you. Unfortunately, the photos are captive in my camera, and my technological skills and knowledge are being challenged. I have vowed to conquer the camera this weekend, however, and I promise to show you the visuals of my project by Monday.

One thing that made this regional memorable is the outpouring of genuine concern for my father that I felt from every single demonstrator I talked to. To a person, they expressed thoughts of love and kindness—much like the expressions I’m reading from you here on my blog. How sweet and dear my friends are, many of you whom I have never met. These experiences remind me again about what kind of people we associate with and what kind of people we are all trying to be, and I thank you for your inspiring examples and warm expressions of love.