35 Years Ago Today....

I gave birth to my youngest son. He joined two brothers and was probably the bane of their existence! He was a pretty cute kid, though, and since the other boys went off to school, he became my constant companion and buddy. He captured the hearts of all the ladies I came in contact with, kind of like his son does. (That nut didn't fall too far from the tree!)

Napping, with his best friend guarding.

Grade school.

Steve has always had a bunch of friends. In fact, the kids he went to school with are still really good friends. When one of their group lost his wife recently, Steve was right there to give Jody comfort and keeps showing up just to make sure he's OK.

He's a super dad, not only to his son, but to his stepson Danny.

His little family in 2006

He's always been kind of stubborn, but it has actually served him well all these years. He likes to have fun, but didn't go beyond a certain point in that fun. He didn't do anything he didn't want to do. That list may have been more comprehensive than Mom would have liked, but he came out fine on the other end. He's always been the one that tested us, and stretched our ideas and beliefs. The phrase, "unconditional love" came into our minds many times during the teen years.

Steve, we're so glad we didn't stop at two kids, even if we were trying for a girl. Not a bit sorry that you're a boy now.

Father and son on Syd's first day of school.

Happy birthday son!

A Boy and His Fish

Stan took some of his boys fishing today. Those boys took three of their boys-Isaac, Sam and Sydney. Sydney caught his first fish-a real nice trout, about 2 1/2 or 3 pounds. That trout is almost as big as Syd is. There's fish for dinner at their house tomorrow!

I Met Another Bloggy Friend!

Last night Chris played his last football game for the season. It just happened to be against the Livingston Cougars. One of the Cougars' moms is Jenn Claar. We got to finally meet after the game-she's a bubbly, lovely lady and her daughter is pretty cute, too. AND her son did a great job playing football. The Panthers won, but the Cougars did a fine job.

Hope to see you again soon, Jenn, maybe you could teach Millie and me how to scrapbook. Or just get together for a gab fest.

Crocheted Swiffer Duster Cover Tutorial

Finally, as I have promised for two months, I've finally put together a tutorial for these covers.

Materials & equipment:

4-ply acrylic yarn-about three or four ounces. Use the bargain bin cheap stuff-static is a good thing with these dusters. This is a great stash buster. You can use one color or have a different color for the loopy part and the base part.
Size H crochet hook (gauge isn't important)
Yarn needle

For base, chain 21.

Round 1. Do 3 sc in 2nd chain from hook. Sc across to last chain, 3 sc in last chain. Do not turn.


Rotate work and do 3 sc in the other side of the last chain. Sc down second side and 3 sc in the other side of the first chain you did the 3 sc in. Join to the first chain with a slip stitch.


Round 2. Chain 2 and start dc around, making dc ONLY in the back loop of the stitch, and making 3 dc's in the center sc in the 3 sc in the previous row. This forms the corner. Dc down side to next 3 sc, 3 dc in middle sc. Dc around to next corner, 3 dc in center sc of the 3 sc. Dc to fourth corner and make 3 dc in center sc. Dc across end to ch 2 and join with a slip stitch, making sure that both ends have an equal number of double crochets.


Round 3 & 4. Dc around in the same manner as Round 2, being sure to only catch the back loop of the previous round and that your ends have an equal number of stitches.

Get your Swiffer out and lay your base on it. Mine is the Pledge brand and I don't know if there's a size difference, but if there's a big difference in size, just do one more dc round. It should be somewhat smaller than the Swiffer.

Round 5 . Ch 1, sc around in back loop of previous round. This is forming the sides, so you don't have to turn the corners from here on. Join with sl st to ch 1.

Round 6. Ch 1, sc around in BOTH loops, join with a sl st to ch 1.

Round 7, 8, 9. Ch 1, sc 4, dec. in next two stitches. Repeat around-if your single crochet count is off, its okay, we're just making kind of a sleeve that stays on the Swiffer base. Cut yarn and pull through loop.

It kind of looks like a funky slipper.


Now here's the fun part. Make a slip knot and starting in the center, insert your hook into any of the loop we left when we single crocheted the first round. Attach it with a slip stitch. Chain 4, slip stitch in the next loop. Continue around, and slip stitch in the first loop.

Chain 4, move to the next round and slip stitch in a loop. It doesn't matter which one, just be sure to start in the center round and move out-much easier to keep track of. Where you joined your base rounds with a slip stitch won't have a clear loop, so just pick up any thread-this is for the floor after all, and you can't see it when you're done.

Continue all the way to the last row that has exposed loops. You should have 4 rounds of ch 4 loops.

Cut yarn, pull thread through. With yarn needle bury threads.

Ta daa! You could use this either wet or dry, so far I've only used mine dry and LOVE it!


Note: I have changed the pattern a bit. Check out row 6-there are no decreases. This will be much easier to put on and off the Swiffer.

If you have found my pattern here and have tried it, I would LOVE to have you leave a comment so I can see how it worked for you.

41 Years!

A very young bride and a nervous groom.

41 years ago today we said, "I do." Life sure has a funny way of racing past. I can't believe we're at this point in our lives. Stan is retired and we are known in our church as "senior citizens." Not so! It can't be!

A few snippets of us through the years.

Our six grandkids-they make life worthwhile!

Yep, I'd do it again in a heartbeat-hope he feels the same way. Love ya sweetie!

Us today-not too worn by the years.

Service

It's funny how people hear things differently. In describing the new church my son and daughter-in-law are helping to start, if I use the word "service," most people think of going in, sitting down, looking at the back of somebody's head, and listening to someone talk. What this church means by service is that-actually serving God's people.

The name they chose for their church is "Imagine." It's connected to a main denomination but that's the only way they resemble a "real" church. Imagine goes where the people are, and where the needs are. People who have been turned off by conventional church are finding a home here.

Here is a You Tube video of their "service" last Friday night-a cardboard box city to raise money for and awareness of the homeless. This money benefits a super organization called "Family Promise." Also check out my daughter-in-law's blog to read her thoughts about the city and about her church. Daughter-in-law is an IT person, so I don't expect it will be long before they have a website and I will put up a link when they do. They are on Facebook if you are a subscriber.

Enjoy the video-a couple of my grandkids and my son are in it.

The Hard Process of Aging

My mother-in-law is 93. She's been a strong woman all her life-raised by Dutch immigrants who barely had two nickels to rub together. She spent most of her married life taking care of a husband with a bad heart, losing him 20 years ago. She raised five kids with nothing, and made it taste good. My sister-in-law always said she would eat Grandma's baking mistakes any day. She didn't retire until she was over 70.

In the last six years, since I lost my mom, Grandma Liz and I have become very close. We spend a lot of time talking as I drive her to appointments or church. She was there when tiny Gracie had her first real bath in the NICU. All my grandkids are crazy about her-she and Sydney have the cutest banter in the back seat on the way home from church.

Now age is catching up with her. The forgetfulness started slowly but as time goes by it picks up speed, kind of like a snowball down a steep hill. She is discouraged because she can't see and her body is starting to fail her. The spot on her lung is getting bigger and we wonder if it's going to be the last straw or if she can overcome that too. It's so hard to watch.

My mom left quickly, the victim of a car accident. Do we want Grandma Liz to go quickly so she won't have to spend time suffering, or do we want to hang on to her as long as possible? Only God knows the answer, so I'm praying for Him to tell me what to pray for.