It's Mr. And Mrs.!  Dave proposed; and I said yes. We were married four weeks ago in my childhood church where my grandparents raised their ten children, and where my mom and dad raised my brother, sister, and me.

Of all weekends for the church doors to be taken off so they could be refinished.  But we didn't care.

Because my dad passed away 12 years ago and my mom is in her own world due to Alzheimer's disease, my friend Mark escorted me to the altar and where his wife LuAnn was my maid of honor. Mom's best friend Shirley and her husband Jack stepped in where my folks would have been.  Dave's parents were very excited for us.  Normally Dave's dad is a man of few words, but he told me at the rehearsal dinner how glad he was to see Dave so happy. I will always treasure that moment.

My granddaughters Natalie, Aubrey, and Gigi were the flower girls; and they carried bouquets of baby's breath.  My grandson Max carried Mom and Dad's Bible with our wedding rings tied on it with ribbons.  And because little boys rarely stand still, Max stole the show by hanging on the Communion rail and eventually falling off it.  I also caught him spinning Dave's wedding ring on the rail. I was able to grab the ring before it fell on the floor.

See Max on the Communion rail behind Dave?!!

Before repeating the traditional wedding vows, we spoke our own written vows to each other. I thought it would be difficult to say what was on my heart, but I got through my vows with no problem. Dave, on the other hand, got choked up. I thought it was one of the most touching moments of the ceremony.  My favorite line from his vows was 'I just want to grow old with you.'  My favorite line to him was 'In my life with all the words I have ever read or heard, none of them can describe exactly how I feel about you. Even the word 'love' is not enough but it's the only word I have.'

Instead of the usual rice toss, our guests tossed lavender buds.

I have three daughters and Dave has two. It's nice that all the girls have given us their blessings.

We kept our guest list small and invited our families and a small handful of friends. Our reception was a picnic at a local park. One of my quilt buddies helped me buy two bolts of Moda fabric that I cut to fit the picnic tables for tablecloths.  Think of the quilts I can get from all that fabric!  Each table was decorated with pots of greenery or flowers.  

I bought these forks on etsy, and we used them when we shared the wedding cake. We are not cake smash in the face people. I loved our forks so much that I've since bought a set for a favorite couple we know who is getting married in a few weeks.

We received a beautiful quilt was a gift from my TT quilt group made up in red and white fabrics - my favorite colors!  The funniest gift we received?  A fat gift certificate to a local quilt shop!  The most touching gifts?  A framed paper cutting my mom made and framed years ago, a cranberry cruet she had in the dining room for years, a doily that belonged to a favorite aunt who passed away earlier this year, and a set of antique chairs my parents bought, stripped and refinished years ago. Jack and Shirley bought them when Mom's things were sold at auction, and they offered them back to us as a gift.

Here we are with my daughters, their husbands, and my sweet grandkids. 

And here we are with Dave's parents, brothers, and their wives.

I have such a good life. Dave treats me like a queen.  I must be the luckiest and happiest gal in the world.

I quit my job and moved to a new town.  I've got some plans in the works which I'll talk about at another time.  I also have a new job with a trucking company that is interesting and that I enjoy (no, I'm not a driver).  The two ladies I work with are both fun, and I look forward to going to work.

My friend Dave and I were at the town's street festival a few weeks ago, and one of the vendors was a woman who was advertising her soon-to-open quilt shop.  She gave me information on the local quilt group.  At last - I found my kind of people! 

I went to Saturday's meeting, and the ladies were all very friendly.  The show and tell was outstanding; I was very intimidated!  But back home, I thought of the quilts I've made in the past; and I think I will be just fine with this group. 

This is Iowa Girl which I made a few years ago.  I went through the archives of my blog to look at some of my past work, and this is one of my favorites.  I have a few UFO projects in the sewing room that I want finished up in time for Christmas.  So I think I will have some pretty good show and tell next month when I go back to the guild meeting.

And this is a quilt I made almost two years ago with my friends from my TT quilt group.  I've had emails from women asking who's pattern this is.  In looking through my old blog posts, I found the information.  The quilt is Old Glory, and it's from Yellow Creek Quilt Designs.

Yes, I think I'll take a couple of my quilts for next month's show and tell.

It's cherry picking time!  Unfortunately the severe winter has ruined the local crop, but I have been able to buy some really good shipped-in cherries.

I love cherries and couldn't wait to sew up this pattern.  It's a Fig Tree mini, and I downloaded the pattern.  I just used a few scraps and some nice background I had on hand.  The top sewed up in a few hours, and it took an afternoon to machine quilt it.  Easy, easy, easy!


Last weekend Dave and I were in Michigan for a wedding.  Can you tell by this picture where we are?  Cabelas!  Also known by our hunting friends as the mothership.  lol


Can see us very well?  Look below!

Saturday my friend Dave and I were at a family reunion at my Uncle Don's farm. It was fun to introduce him to my family and to visit with cousins I hadn't seen in a couple years.

Afterwards as we drove through the night, we could see fireworks celebrations in the small towns we drove through.  The hills of Pennsylvania provided a great opportunity to see lots of flashes of color in the night.

I'm finishing up this stitching project, and here's the link.  I'll post a finished picture soon.