Moving to a new blog is like moving to a new house.  All my stuff (my archives) seems to have made it here.  Now I just need to unroll the rugs, hang curtains and decorate the walls.  

I am upset that I can’t post things on blogger, especially that I can’t announce the move.  I met a woman at the IHM Conference (Tampa) yesterday (hi, Beth!) who reads my blog.  We’re not FB friends, and I don’t have her email address, so if she hadn’t introduced herself, she never would have learned about the address change.  Perhaps some of you bloggers would kindly mention me on your blogs.  I’m sure most people who read me also read some of you.

I’m trying not to be overwhelmingly disappointed.  I took George to the IHM Conference yesterday, but I had a babysitter arranged for today so I could actually sit down and listen to the speakers.  She canceled.  This morning.  Sick with a fever.  I looked at the schedule and decided to go for the 2 middle talks, instead of all 4.  With George.

Despite that change of plans, I know it will be a great day.  Husband is on a plane bound for the US right now.  We haven’t seen him in 2 1/2 weeks.  Poor guy has been “stuck” in Bavaria, eating local food, drinking local beer.  He’s bringing me Bavarian mustard, so brats will be on the menu next week.  Yum.

One year ago today, I was not in labor.  This was a problem, since I was two weeks late, except I wasn’t two weeks late as we most decidedly learned after the baby was born. 

With his six older siblings, I wrote out the details of my labor and delivery.  I used to go back and read these in those final weeks before the next baby came.  I never wrote George’s birth story.  I think a lot of that had to do with my husband and sons leaving me in the care of my daughters about nine hours later to drive to Florida to meet the moving truck.  And how 4 days later, we had grandparents in town for his baptism.  And how I spent the 5th day of his life loading boxes into a U-Haul trailer and driving 350 miles, arriving long after midnight, and needing to unload the entire trailer right then because my mattress was in there.

Writing the birth story just didn’t seem very important at that time.  I wanted to, but I just didn’t have the energy.

Somehow, we recovered.  Here is George, on his birthday eve.

His chin dimple gets the most attention from strangers.

My earliest walker – first steps at age 10 months.

At this point I asked the kids to be amusing and make the child smile.  At first, he just thought they were strange.  But they finally got him to laugh.

Peter made his First Holy Communion.  Those pictures are on a camera which is in Germany right now.  The last time I thought to post those photos, the camera was in Jordan.  But he DID make his FHC.

And he had a birthday almost a week ago.  Happy 8th, Petey!

birthday pinches – she loves him so much

George can’t wait for his turn…coming soon!

When you blog about starting a project, you know exactly how long it took you to complete it.  Just about 18 months.

And we’ve only finished Katie’s quilt.  Not Jenny’s or Mary’s.

Baby steps.

This is mine and Katie’s first twin-size quilt.  She did all the piecing and some of the binding.  I did all the cutting and quilting and most of the binding.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty.

Freshly washed and drying in the sun.

Puss-in-the-corner block.

We loved the backing.

This is my paradise.  Come and join me for margaritas.