IN LOVING MEMORY

Today's post is dedicated to my sweet Grandmother who passed away last night, March 18, 2010, just a few days after her 87th birthday.

She was a mother, daughter, aunt, sister, friend, Grandmother and Great grandmother. She wasn't your typical tea sipping, blanket crocheting Grandma. She was so full of life and ALWAYS the life of the party. Even well into her 80's. She was a true Italian beauty. Just look at her skin and dark hair. Even on her death bed she looked pretty. Barely any wrinkles! I always loved her widow's peak and luckily I inherited that from her as did my cousin, David.

Grandma.....I'll always remember your thrift store fashion shows, your birds nests, your Italian cooking, your zest for life, your driving skills (scary), your laughter, your always willingness to have a good time, the way you always had one slice of Italian toast for breakfast dipped in coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other, your obsession with Young and the Restless back in the day, on my wedding day when you told my new husband "that if he messed with your Granddaughter you were gonna give him one of these" while holding your fist up to his face. Haha this is making me laugh out loud right now!!! Most importantly I will remember the way you treated me. Out of 5 Grandchildren, I was your only Granddaughter and you always made me feel special. You would always introduce me as your "only Granddaughter". I will miss you terribly and your legacy will live on!

When a family member or a loved one dies it sort of throws you into reality and makes you think about what you want in this life and what you want to be remembered for. We are only given a short # of years on this earth and we need to make them count. It made me think about how unimportant money and "things" are. You can't take that stuff with you. I don't want to be remembered for my awesome designer jeans or how much money I had. I would like to be remembered for being a good, loving person who made a difference in people's lives. This, fortunately is how I remember my Gram. We need to remember to tell the people that we love how much we love them more often. We need to try to not sweat the small stuff because it isn't important in the grand scheme of things.

Here is to a life well lived. I love you so much. Thanks for all of the memories. Till we meet again someday....

Below is a picture of all 4 of her Grandsons who she was so proud of!
All 5 Grand kids all together for my wedding weekend.

SPRING BREAK

Wow! It is early. This is my FAVORITE time of day. It's not really early in my standards but in most people's standards it is. It is 5:58 am. and the house is so quiet that I could hear a pin drop. This is a really strange sound at my house......quietness. Soon all the kids will be up running around asking me to make breakfast and the baby will want his bottle and the day will have to begin.

It is Spring Break and I am desperately trying to find things for the kids to do to make spring break fun. It stinks that the weather is not very good. Taking them to the gym for an hour a day isn't cutting it!

I haven't been sewing or blogging much lately because I have been really busy. My cousin has been in town for the past week. It is always so great to see family members that you don't get to see very often. I only get to see him once every couple of years if that. We had a lot of fun catching up, eating good food and drinking to much wine! Here is a picture of the two of us that I really loved.

Here are the pictures of the last project that I just finished up. It is a first birthday shirt. I love doing birthday onesies. They are so much fun. The person who ordered this shirt from me hasn't seen this shirt yet, in fact, she just wanted me to do a shirt and she said she didn't care what I did with it! I really hope she likes it!

Jules

KANSAS CITY STAR!

This is the picture that was in the Kansas City Star this morning! I didn't even know it was in there until someone face booked me about it. Apparently someone took this picture at Addie Rose Boutique. This is just one of the several photos of children's clothing that was featured in the FYI section. To bad it didn't mention my blog site. Oh well-it's still exciting! You can go to www.kansascitystar.com and see all of the adorable kid's clothing.

Jules

NEW FABRIC = HAPPY LADY!

I made another trip to Sarah's fabrics in Lawrence yesterday and look what I came home with. I would have spent much more time there but I took my baby and he wasn't a happy camper. I was walking around the store holding him and holding huge bolts of fabric in the other hand quickly trying to decide what went with what and what I was going to do with each print. Even though it was a bit stressful I think I came away with pretty good choices. I'm still not sure what I am going to do with all of it but I have some ideas.

Here are some pictures of the dress I finished yesterday:
Whatcha think?

WHAT I WOULD TELL THEM

What I would tell them (if I knew what to say)

You are a miracle

And I have to love you this fiercely; so tht you can feel it even after you leave for school, or even while you are asleep, or even after you childhood becomes a memory.

You'll forget all this when you grow up. But it's okay.

Being a mother means having your heart broken.

And it means loving and losing and falling apart and coming back together.

And it's the best there is. And also, sometimes, the worst.

Sometimes you won't have anyone to talk to.

Sometimes you'll wonder if you've forgotten who you are.

But you must remember this: What you're doing matters.

And you have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.

The truth is, being a woman is a gift. Tenderness is a gift. Intimacy is a gift. And nurturing the good in this world is a nothing short of a privilege.

That's why I have to love you this way. So I can give what I have to you. So that you can carry it in your body and pass it on.

I have watched you sleep. I've kissed you a million times. And I know something that you don't yet: you are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day. And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.

I read these words on debsphotographs.com blog and I had to pass them on. These words are so powerful and I read them at a time when I really needed to read them. Being a mom isn't glamorous but it is the BEST job in the world. I wouldn't change a thing!

Jules