Quilt Therapy

DD#3 was having a blast, reading the fabric book panels that I gave to her.  It almost looks like she’s playing Twister!

A horse, of course.  KC caught in profile on a beautiful winter day in mid-Texas, with 70 degree weather and sunshine.  Who could ask for better?  From a horse, of course.

There is no other quilt therapy than that provided by the response of a little girl whose family has been in upheaval, who I make a quilt for.  None.

Today was the coup of Christmas - the defining moment that we did our jobs right.  We went to the Tc2 Ranch under the guise of certificates that DD#1 and DD#3 received for Christmas – teaching them how to care for a horse and to give them riding lessons. 

When we first began, Ms. Tessa asked us what type of pen we had for the horse – yup, she gave it away. 

DD#1 said to us, “You got us a horse?” with excitement in her voice!

All her life, that child has wanted a horse.  She has horse figurines all over her room, has horse magazines that she never throws away and even received a tack box for her sixth birthday, from her Godparents.

She later came to the fence and said, “This really IS the best Christmas ever, isn’t it?!”

We got them a horse.  Just a loaner, one to help teach them responsibility and to learn to ride.  We made two little girls’ dreams come true – though, I have a feeling that the oldest one feels much closer to KC (the horse’s name) than the younger one does.  Mainly because KC stands a good 16 (or more) hands high and DD#2 won’t be able to ride her without the help of DD#1.

But, it sure did make the parent’s have a proud day, knowing that they fulfilled the lifelong dreams of two little girls.  And hey, even I got into the action and rode KC around the arena a couple of times!

I wanted to share a little diddy that my husband and I made.  He cut out and sanded all of the wooden pieces, and added the electrical elements – while I quilted the cover, to match the decor in our living room.  I’m tickled pink (errrr, red, white and blue) with the results!

Just a quick note to wish you a Merry Christmas. 

Do you think we were too suggestive with our love of Texas to Santa?

We FINALLY got the house decorated for Christmas.  ummmm, yeah, it’s been a bit cwazy around here.  But, with the constant barrage of nagging and whining from the kids, I succumbed to the fact that it was now or never.  Do you realize that we have 49 Christmas music boxes in our possession?  Only a few of them are actually owned by JD and myself – the rest are the kids’.  They get one (or more) for every Christmas.  They used to get them from their Great-Grandmother (JD’s grandmother) … and now they get them from Mama Lu (JD’s mom).  Then, my doctor-friend (the one who delivered DD#1) started giving the kids smaller (thank you!) music boxes – which just adds to our collections.  We had to remove everything from the VCR bookshelf, clear off the fireplace mantle and clear off a couple more shelves in our bookcases just to fit everyone in.  And now, we’ll be expecting at least four more in a few days.  Wow, what a mess!  So, while I unpacked the music boxes (no small feat, considering they’re all mostly in their original boxes), Mama Lu and the kids hung ornaments on the tree.  It came close, but our timing was just a bit off as it took me longer to unpack – which gave the kids (and even the dog) ample time to screw around and get into trouble.  Next year, I think I’ll start secretly unpacking the music boxes, so when it’s time to decorate, the kids won’t have to wait on me!

This year, we’ll attend Christmas Eve services at church tomorrow evening.  Then, Christmas morning, the kids will sing Happy Birthday  to Jesus – before running from their rooms to see what Santa brought them.  Hopefully, Thursday morning will be made up of relaxed fun and chaos – no screaming, no fighting and no whining.  We are one of those families who makes everyone open one present at a time, so we can all oooh and awwww over what they got.  That makes our morning last a bit longer, and it makes the moments of Christmas turn into a couple of hours.  And this year, we really have something very special planned for a couple of the girls!

Then, JD’s sister and her kids will arrive on Friday, and we’ll have our Christmas with his family that evening.  It’s usually more chaotic (because I sit in the background and let the matriarchs of the family be in charge) and they are all into the fun and excitement more than the slow process that I enjoy.  I’ll be making dinner, of course, because everyone loves a good meal before we waddle to the living room for presents! 

I guess I’ll be spending my evening tonight wrapping gifts – as I haven’t even opened the wrapping paper yet!  EEEEEK

Thoughts for this Christmas Countdown Day:  The anticipation and excitement in our children are palpable – especially now that the tree is decorated and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.  I hope we’ll all be able to take a few moments to reflect upon the true spirit of Christmas – because we are awaiting the coming of the Christ!

Today is the last day I’m heading to town for shopping – we still have the dad-person to buy for, and I’m letting the kids pick out all of his gifts from them.  We weren’t going to get mom and dad gifts, only make some things; but a lovely client of mine gave me a Christmas bonus yesterday (actually, two clients did this year) and the dad and I are splitting it so the kids can have more experience and fun with the giving end of Christmas.  We’ll see how cwazy I am when we return home, after spending the day trying to steer them in the directions they need to go (dad-person things) … and not in the directions they want to go (toys, jewelry, clothes).  Should be fun for all – and I’ll probably need an extra dose of quiet time when we return home!

Thoughts for this Christmas Countdown Day:  Kids and Christmas go hand-in-hand.  Their eyes are ever-wandering, their minds ever-changing and their anticipation of gift never far from their minds.  God bless His child who made all of our dreams come true.