Happy Days...Happy sleep...remember your morning prayer.......

Preparation for Master William's Blessing.......

a few months ago( I remember Mel posting that she was 25 weeks),I caught Peter online.I instant messaged with a question....
"What are your plans for a Blessing Outfit....Is there a Family Heirloom .....?"
"well,no....we haven't thought about it......"
"I'd like to make something for you...better check with Mel to see if she has something in place.."

....I should have but didn't start anything..I had it set in my mind to wait until the birth....as Peter and Mel had decided not to know if they were going to have a boy baby or a girl baby....
I know we all eagerly awaited signs of labour as Mel got closer and closer to her confinement.The day arrived... I knew by friends' comments on Mel's Facebook Wall....I then verified with Jenny who told me that "Yes!..Mel told me you wanted to make something for the Blessing...She was reaped!"......so..."will they have the Blessing next Sunday,as you will be still there?".......oh no, it will be in March, we'll come back over " (Mel and Peter live in Melbourne now....Jenny and Derek in Tasmania)...Just a hop,skip and a jump across the Bass Strait!!
I thought...ok.... My preference would be to make a smocked romper ,white with a touch of baby blue ....then Mel posted photos of William...and although a baby romper would be cute, I remembered that Dylan had been a companion to this young gentleman in the quiet and safe Pre-Existence...A suit was the answer ..... with time an issue.. the Denver Temple being closed...so was the Beehive shop,I googled "blessing outfits"....all sorts of web sites came up ..I browsed them all and found many of the same on Amazon.com....I ummed and ahhed....smiled and turned my nose up... one wasn't quite right...
I finally went back to the first one I saw...lol! Yes!.... this is THE one....It was ordered ... wonderful....I had been thinking of what i could MAKE.....a cardigan.....not really....it is Summer and HOT over there.....knit a blanket?....not enough time....ahh... I could sew a blanket .....I have enough material......well, my design needed a little help from,actually..Walmart and Hobby Lobby.. I could also sew a romper..if its finished in time.. a plus..if not..Mel won't have to decide which one to use....

Tonight I will continue.....ummm.... Photos borrowed from Mel's posting on FB, and from the albums of Bob Barff...and Michelle's too......Thank you!!..
Michelle holding her daughter in the Blessing dress she wore for her own Blessing .....
I was browsing throgh the "people you may know" page on FB...and the dress in this photo jumped out at me... was it possible that someone else had this pattern ,too.. of course it was..I did pull it out of the English Woman's Weekly almost 40 years ago...it felt like one of the dresses I had made....I then checked how we could be linked...several mutual friends popped up...among them Mel and Chelsea...I had given a Blessing Dress to Gwen when Chelsea was born 21 years ago...the same pattern..and Chelsea had just used it for her own daughter's Blessing a short while ago....?maybe she had let Michelle use it ...hmm, just now I thought how nice it would be to have a photo of (my) Blessing dress....that I would have made for Mel if Will had been a girl...I looked again for Michelle's profile...I happened to glance down at her friend list...her family members..a sister Cherie Smith ...wait.. smith... Sue Smith.. what were her daughters' names...I clicked on her friends' list and sure enough.. there was Sue... and Michelle is her first daughter..wow... I remember my friends' kids as still kids...not all grown up ..married with babies of their own...logic and common sense tells me otherwise..I'm really not that daft...
so...if I may "borrow" the photo,Michelle....please... yes..it is one of the dresses I had crocheted lovingly for a young mom to place on her newborn child for the Blessing of her name...Enjoy....courtesy of the Smith Family....
and the Barff Family......below is Little Nasia......and then Nasia with her Mom, Chelsea who originally wore the dress..and her Mom, Gwen

Happy Australia Day, World!!

Melissa went to serve her Mission in Japan.....
several years ago...the next I knew ........Heidi's best friend was married.... in December of 2007.....to a handsome young man ...Peter...







Peter and Melissa welcomed a Son to their family today....Happy birthday to WILLIAM DAVID....Will arrived at 0820 on January 26th 2011....weighing in at only 10lbs 9oz....and 22 inches tall.... Melbourne,Victoria....Hey, I was born there!!





Melissa and Heidi became friends at 2 years old...when I met her Mum, Jenny at church. Launceston Ward in Tasmania welcomed Heidi and i with loving open arms when we arrived there ...no money....Jack and Joan Prebble graciously had us stay at their home until I had received my first pay cheque from the Hospital... yes..I did have a job....




















Heidi Wardle and Melissa Jones, age 4,
Ready to go to Church ( the dresses, the doll's too, made by Jenny and me!)

Weddings continued....January 8th 2011...Tiffany and Jeremy

The Groom's Parents.
Mickey and Anne







The Bride and Groom Mr & Mrs Jeremy Driggers















The best Man Ryan...childhood friend...newly married too!


















Sister of the groom &
Matron of Honor
Caitlin





Jeremy and Caitlin were 10 & 12 years old when I became a an honoree member of the family.

They have a younger brother,Kevin, who was about 20 months at the time....Kevin was born at 28 weeks gestation in the middle of The Blizzard of 1997....weighing in at 1lbs 3oz..his Mom then adds ,affectionately, the length of a Barbie doll...
My role was to provide his medical care while his family got some much needed sleep...of course..Kevin got loved..tickled ...hugged...for 9 years..by that time Anne and Mickey were able to take care of his medical needs during awake time...so everyone could sleep at night....well, most nights!

Anne and I will always comment on Kevin's favorite statement of the evenings...amongst his mimicking my english/australian accent pronunciation of words ...can't...either etc...that I just cannot say the american way...and that was

"Sally,Let's go to bed!" and "come to bed" ...When he was tired.....

Jordi playing with Kevin.....last Summer.....

Weddings....

This is Ashley....My BFF's daughter....She married her high school sweetheart Calvin on August 28th 2010

Mr & Mrs Calvin Nelson......The wedding was beautiful....

The postman is always late!

Dear Annette,
Please accept my apologies for not posting the parcel off to you when I said I was.....
Keep a lookout in a week or two..... It is now on its way.......

and here is a photo .....of what is inside....

A busy New Year....along with a little bit of couch potatoness

Supasal is back!!..

Over the years I know we have all had our share of aches and pains....and I do empathize .really...I can whine and share about my own ..stop reading now if you don't want to listen!
...... the telling signs and symptoms of aging....the niggling notion of I'm failing simply because of my body and mind just don't want to respond as instantly as when in my prime....oh, how I want to go back to those care free sunshiny days.....of when my physical abilities were as endless as my Spirit....and yes, looking at the BIG picture...I'm not so old.....in fact,I'm too young to receive what would return me to the independence I know and love....

Here is the problem....


In October,after weeks of experiencing pain when I walked, in my right knee...I finally conceded that it was not going away...I made an appt. with an orthopoedic Doctor....He confirmed that indeed, my knee was in dire need of medical attention....Xrays and an MRI showed a torn meniscus and lots of arthritis....I needed an arthroscopy to fix the meniscus ;actually, it was in shreds and removed and the bones were scraped of as much arthritis as could be removed..that was 2 weeks ago..yes.. the wait was the next available spot on the OR schedule...and the Christmas Holidays...I was working 2 shifts a week.....now I am concentrating on getting my knee joint to work better! The Doctor advised that within 5 years I would need the replacement...I say why not NOW... the need is NOW....so..it is not to be NOW because of those who have the power..I must clarify that... that is the insurance thingamajigs...not the Docs..say that replacements last 10 years ......and I am too young...I guess I'm only allowed 2?....if I have not karked it by then!! maybe THEY know when one will not have a need of a second or third knee???

see...I have those lumpy aging knees!!....after the surgery...and yes... there is muscle atrophy too... Hello Physiotherapy!!