Honey Bun and Butterflies

Today I received a gift in the mail.   I was treated to a $25 gift card from Green Fairy Quilts through my blogger friend Em.   I used it to buy a Honey Bun and a cute quilt pattern.

Thanks again Em!!

My plan is to use the pattern to make a quilt to enter in the quilt show at this year's Butterfly Festival.

My mind is already brewing something to use the honey bun in. 

Until next time...

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Last day of the month

 February flies by so fast. It seems you just get comfortable with the idea and the dates, then “poof”… the month is gone.

Today, the March winds decided to move in a day early.

I had planned to have my “Spring Trip Around The World” done by today, but alas I can’t claim that goal. So I have rescheduled and set a finish date of 3/5/11.



 As I sit here today, pecking away on the keys I wonder what’s next.



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There is a sense of change in the air, but I can’t quite put a finger on it. I’m not afraid of change. I look forward to change; in my mind change is usually a good thing. As a matter of fact, I have been planning steps to change, but this sense of change is different, out of my control.

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The anticipation can be a bit overwhelming at times. When thinking of change that is outside of your doing, thoughts invade, creating scenarios that could happen; some good, some bad. The mind is a monstrous tank of imagination that can take you anywhere.

I try to keep the machinations of my mind at bay and just wait… wait to see what plays out, what my next step is to be. This sense of change often times puts my plans for change on hold.


Ever have a feeling like that?

At It Again...

The 2011 Butterfly Quilt Committee met again today.

We cut out applique pieces.

Here we are pulling the paper backing off the fusible side of the appliques.




We then placed them on the quilt top.

There were several pieces to place.  So we got in the floor to place them instead of standing on our heads.  :)


I started appliqueing the big butterfly down and then the machine I was using knotted up on me.  So.. I wound up ripping out a few stitches.

Lenora is going to take the top home and sew down the rest of the appliques with another machine.  We are using a blanket stitch to sew down the appliques.  After she gets the appliques sewn down, she will add the last row of blocks and sew on the first border.   The quilt will then be sent to me and I will sew on the last three borders.    It will be ready for quilting then.

Here's what the quilt top looked like by the end of the day...

We plan on having it done within the next week or so... then hopefully will have it quilted and done by the time of our next quilt guild meeting, which is scheduled for March 15th.

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To check out the Giveaways Tab at the top and enter.  :)

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Check out the Quilt Pattern tab 

  for the 90 Minute quilt method 
by Meryl Ann Butler



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In Closing

May your weekend end in blessing and your week begin with smiles.

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

Books and More!

Today was my "book day".

After leaving work today, my daughter, mother-n-law and I went to the library.   I checked out House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekkar.  It's described as a mind-bending supernatural thriller.  I started the book on the way to Ft. Smith the evening.  I'm hooked!!

While in Ft. Smith, I went to the LifeWay Store and bought the book Life Interrupted, Navigating the Unexpected by Pricilla Shirer.  Upon doing so I received another of her books free.
It is titled One In a Million.

I also went to Michaels and bought items for one of the door prizes at our next quilt guild meeting in March.  I bought a pair of snippers and a wrist pin cushion.   I added a fat quarter to it from my stash to round the gift out.

I also found some crosses to change up my black pearl necklace from time to time.

That's how my late afternoon and early evening was spent.

After getting home, I set out the ingredients I need, to make a 2X4 soup.  It's my turn to cook the main part of lunch for the 2011 Butterfly Quilt Committee.  We will meet again tomorrow to work on the quilt we are raffling off during the Butterfly Festival in June.

The recipe is posted on the Recipe tab above.  I will be cutting the recipe in half, as there will only be 5 of us to feed tomorrow for lunch.

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New Give Away posted.

Check it out by clicking the Give Away tab above.

 

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 Quote for today

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. ~ Isaiah 54:10

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

Hatching Plans

Today I noticed my Daffodils are coming up and I got a glimpse of the first of the Hyacinths peeking through the soil.

I will need to re-do the mulch again this year.

I will also be pulling out this Japanese Holly as something got to it and killed it.  I plan to transplant my Hostas in it's place.   A few of my Lilies are coming up too... just hope it doesn't freeze again and kill them off.

As I looked around this afternoon on my lunch break, it was raining lightly... plans started going through my mind... get rid of this plant, move this plant... buy more of these plants....

Have you started hatching plans for the Spring and flower or veggie gardens?

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POLL RESULTS

Question:   Do you ever set goals and meet them?

0% said Yes, Always

66% said Yes, Sometimes

33% said Yes, Rarely

0% said Yes, Never

There you have it..... It seems we all set goals but not always make them.

Glad to know I'm not alone in the matter.

A new poll will be posted soon.... Any suggestions?

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Well... I sewed until my bobbin ran out, then stopped for the evening.   

I was able to get all the blocks for the middle of the "Spring Around the World" quilt done with a thin dark blue border.  I'll add another border tomorrow then finish it off.  

I looked for a pattern for a quilted camera bag for a friend of mine, today.  The books I have, have no such pattern.  

Does anyone know where we can find a pattern (preferably free) for a quilted camera bag?

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Check out the crochet pattern I'm working on, by clicking on the Crochet tab.

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 Don't forget to check out the giveaways, by clicking on the Giveaways tab.

God bless and keep you,

Sonia  

SPRING FEVER!!

Wile E. Coyote - Chuck Jones

　 TWITCH.... TWITCH......daffodils are bursting through soil, rain is softly showering the earth.... don't know how much longer I will stay inside.......

A Spring Trip Around the World

Tonight, I cut out the blocks for the small quilt I've started.  

I've decided to call it "A Spring Trip Around the World".

I haven't received permission to share the steps to the 90 Minute Quilt, so I won't be able to post them.  I will however be able to share the quilt I'm making.

After viewing the layout in the picture, I'm thinking of putting the green squares where the blue is, the blue squares where the pink is and pink where the green is.   

The picture shows my second choice of layout.  The first choice had the pink and yellow blocks reversed.

I will decide for sure which way to place them by tomorrow evening and then I will begin to sew.

I am also working on a small afghan at this time. 

Here is what I have done so far.  I'm at the place of a color change.. so I will pick back up with the light pink and do the colors in reverse ending with the dark blue.

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I received a email from a friend today that ended with "Take care of the earth... it's the only planet with chocolate!"   And as I am sipping on hot chocolate  at this time, I decided to share a chocolaty recipe.

One of my favorite cakes... 

German Chocolate Cake.  

See recipe by clicking the Recipe Tab at top of page.

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Here's bidding you ado.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

God bless and keep you, 

Sonia

Ever Have A Day Like That?

Do you ever have those days when you want to stop what you’re doing, stomp your feet and scream bloody murder?

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I had a moment like that at work today. It seems it’s the “little” things that tend to get to me from time to time. I do pretty good, sailing along on calm waters for a while and then one day a rogue wave hits, rocking my boat.

I had to walk it out, talking to myself within.
“Breathe… count to ten – 1…2…3…456…7…8…9…10…”

Ever have a day like that?

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Thought for today:

 

Give your stress wings and let it fly away.  ~Terri Guillemets

 



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POLL

 

We are down to the wire on the poll posted to the right. 

It will end at 11:00 PM, Central time zone.

Please vote!

I will post the results tomorrow evening.

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Until later...

Don't stress... don't let the mess, mess with you.  :)

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Laughter and Smiles

This evening I asked my daughter and son if they had a more recent picture for me.  So... they took my memory stick and both uploaded a picture for me.  

I asked them to put a caption under their pictures.  Updated pics with captions are to the right.  

We laughed at the captions as the two thought... typed... back spaced... and typed again until they were happy with the caption under their pictures.

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That's how it has been for me the last 22 years.  There has always been love, laughter and smiles, sprinkled with a little heart ache and sadness along the way.  

My husband and my two kids are always, in one way or another, bringing a smile to my face or making a roll of laughter come from within.

They say laughter is the best medicine, I believe it may be. 

Wouldn't you agree?

A Twist On A Good Day

Let me begin by saying today was a pretty good day, overall.   It was a typical Sunday - church in the morning, nap in the afternoon, then church in the evening.

But it seems from time to time life throws in a little quirk or two to put a twist on your good day.

After church this evening, we received a call.   My son had fallen at work.   Now it doesn't matter how old your children are (my son is a grown man), when you hear your kid has had an accident, for an instant it's like a knife cutting into your heart, then you get a grip on yourself and do what you have to do.

My husband received the call and went to hospital.  Josh wound up with a broken nose with a gash on top of his nose and it looks like two black eyes coming on.

I'm very thankful it wasn't worse.

When he walked in my back door this evening I said "Hi, Son... let me see it"

"No", he replied (understand - my son was joking).  To which I jokingly responded "that's not fair, your dad got to see it."

Again, Thankfully Josh is okay.

Now,  let me tell you what else happened.

Just after we received the call about Josh and David left to go to the hospital, I went to my daughter's room and told her what happened and we discussed it, like girls do, for a few minutes.

I then went back to what I was doing (adapting a quilt pattern).   I sat down at the desk and realized I had ripped the back of my pants, right at the edge of the right back pocket.

Now I'm hoping this rip occurred while at home, after church, this evening.   The thought that it may have been ripped at church just mortifies me.

If it was ripped at church, I pray it was just the beginning of the rip, very tiny and not visible and then just got worse after I got home!

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So... short one pair of jeans.... 

It's time to go shopping!!  :)  

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Thought for the day:

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." 

~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

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Goal:

I decided on a baby quilt pattern.  

It's the Basic Trip Around the World quilt pattern from the book  90- Minute Quilts by Meryl Ann Butler.    

I have changed up the pattern a bit to suite my needs and am waiting on approval to use information from the book and share the pattern with you.  When I receive the approval, you can see my version of  the pattern, the fabrics and color chart I will be using, by clicking the Quilt Pattern tab at the top of the page. At this time it is not visible as it is in "draft" mode.

 

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This dish is a favorite of mine.  It sits on top of my piano.   This summer I will be scouring garage sales and such looking for pieces that will coordinate with this dish.  I plan to display them on my blue wall in the living room. 

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Giveaways:

 Just a reminder the THINK SPRING GIVEAWAY by Stray Stitches will be ending tomorrow.  

Go to the  Giveaways Tab at the top of the page to view the giveaways listed and enter them. 

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In Closing:

This morning I taught about putting God first in our lives for my Sunday school lesson.  I used a demonstration that included a small mason jar, three golf balls, 1/2 cup of children's beads and 1/2 cup of salt.  

The mason jar represented our lives.

The golf balls represented loving God and His Word and prayer in our lives.

The beads represented loving others as ourselves.

The salt represented us and everything else in our lives.

I explained that often times we put ourselves before anything else.   I poured the salt into the mason jar, filling it a third of the way. 

     Then I explained that sometimes we think to help others out of kindness.  I poured the beads into the mason jar, filling it the rest of the way.   

          I then tried to put the golf balls in but they would not fit.  Stating that when we put ourselves first, then others... often times we miss out and don't have room for God.

So I poured the jar out through a sifter and started over.  

Placing the golf balls in the jar first, explaining when we put God first in our lives, everything else falls in place and fits.  

     I poured in the beads on top of the golf balls stating when we put God first, loving others as ourselves, fits in our life.  

          Then I poured in the salt, showing that when we have God first, then put others before ourselves, everything else in our life will take place and fit.   

I put the lid on the jar with all three items contained within.

My prayer this week is that we remember to make a point to put God first and foremost in our daily lives.  Then everything else will fall in place.

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God bless and keep you, 

Sonia

Busy Saturday

This morning I drove to Midway, AR.  It's a little spot on the map about 13 miles East of Paris.   I arrived around 10:00 AM at the community center.  I met with Lenora, Charlotte, Debbie and Patsy.

The 2011 Butterfly Quilt Committee met today to work on the quilt to be raffled off at the Annual Butterfly Festival in June.

Everyone brought in their sewing machines, cutters, mats... everything we needed to get business done.  

I, of course, brought my camera too.  :)

I got tickled because Charlotte grumbled a little bit when she found out I had my camera.  She said she was tired of showing up in my blog.  She hasn't been in my blog that much but I assured her I would not post a pic of her in this blog.  

 

She paid me back for previous times by taking a picture of all the gray hair I have.  That's when you know your friend truly loves you. :)

Do I see a silver lining?  :)

We cut fabric.

Debbie cutting fabric

We squared up the appliqued blocks, as they tend to get a little wonky during the appliqueing process.

Lenora squaring up a block

 

We sewed blocks together.

I'm sewing... Charlotte sewed too :)

  We pressed.

Lenora pressing a block

 

When enjoyed a meal together of Broccoli Cheese Soup, crackers, soft drinks and chocolaty confection.  YUMMY!

Here's what we accomplished today.  The two missing blocks will be turned in next week.

We plan to meet next Saturday to finish the quilt top.

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Thought for today:

"Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough." 

~ Charles Dudley Warner

Since it was a busy day I decided to make a light meal of my smoked sausage with beans and baked sweet potato fries.   See the recipe for my smoked sausage and beans by clicking on the Recipe tab at the top of the page.

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 Goal:

I've decided to do a quilt out of a book I received at Christmas.  It's titled 90- Minute Quilts, by Meryl Ann Butler.  I will post the pattern tomorrow with pic from the book on the Quilt Pattern tab at the top of the page.

Remember to vote on the poll listed at the top of the page.  Only 3 days left! :)

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In Closing:

I enjoyed today working with friends on a project we love to do.  I think the quilt is going to be beautiful when it's done.   I pray your day was enjoyable as well. :)

God bless and keep you,

Sonia 

Getting Ready For A Sewing Day

Winding bobbins

 This evening I prepared for a sewing day.  The 2011 Butterfly Quilt committee will be meeting tomorrow to sew the quilt top together.

I pulled out my old Dressmaker sewing machine (my first sewing machine), ran several rows of stitching to make sure it was still in good working order.  I will be taking it to our meeting place tomorrow instead of the one I have sitting in my sewing table. 

My craft  bags are packed and ready.  

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Since I had my camera out, I went ahead and took pictures of my sewing area.


A little while back I had posted that I was changing up my sewing area  to make it more efficient, organized and easier to use.  It takes up half of our bedroom.  At one time the bed was in the middle of the room and my sewing area was all around it.   I decided to move it all to one side of the room.  

David built me a sewing table with a cutting table that can be pulled up and locked to the wall when not needed.








My fabric use to be in totes or cardboard boxes and wasn't always easy to get to.

Now it's all in one cabinet.

I also now have an area for designing or writing. 

It has made a big difference and I'm glad I made the change.   Plan to paint a quilt block on the wall that will show when the cutting table is down (that is what the diagram is, that is pinned to the wall).  The block colors are brown, antique white, blue and aqua.   I also have plans to make a quilt in these colors and hope to start on it later this year.

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GOAL:

I found out today that we will be having a "tea cup" auction at work to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  The due date for donations to auction off is March 11, 2011.  

I have set a goal to have something made for the "tea cup" auction.    I'm thinking a small quilt.   I have to yet to decide the pattern but plan on having a decision made this weekend so that I can start on it next week.

What goal have you set?

Don't forget to vote on the poll at the top of the page.

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 In Closing:

What ever you chose to do this weekend, I pray you have blessed weekend!

 

God bless and keep you,

Sonia 

Micro Vacation!

My place of work is having a "All you can eat Soup Lunch" to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  The menu is Potato Soup or 2X4 Soup, with all the fixings, desserts, and drinks.

I volunteered to make a "food run" this morning. We were a little short on carrots and ham.  I thought "micro vacation!" but then realized when I walked back into the office how badly I wanted to stay out.

It is beautiful today.  The sun is shining, there's a breeze, birds were singing... just beautiful!

While I was out, I ran by the post office and gave the quilting book to Sandra.    She was pleasantly surprised and offered to pay for the book.  I denied payment and told her if she gets hooked on quilting, she's going to love it and that the book had helped me out a lot when I started quilting.

It was nice... giving a smile to another.

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Thought for today:

This morning I received a quote in my email that I liked.

Death is more universal than life;

everyone dies but not everyone lives.

 ~ A. Sachs~

Are You Living?

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God bless and keep you,
Sonia

PS.  Check out the poll I have going on at the top of my page.   Place a vote and let's see the results at the end of the week!

Keeping Quilting Alive

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This afternoon I went to the post office, on my lunch break, to mail out the Valentine's Day Giveaway winnings. 

The postal person behind the counter and I chatted away and got on the topic of quilting.  She asked me a few questions and then told me she is taking up quilting as a hobby.  She needs something to do outside of work to keep her brain active.  I thought she picked a good hobby for that.

She is completely a beginner.  I told her she could find a lot of basic information and tutorials on quilting on the Internet. 

I had to leave as another customer came in. 

I went home to finish my lunch break and as I sat there thinking about my conversation at the post office, a light went on inside my head.  

I have all kinds of books and magazines on quilting and such... why don't I give one to her?

I didn't have time to go through my books at lunch.  I did however go through them this evening and chose a book that helped me out a lot when I first started. 

The book:  ALL ABOUT QUILTING FROM A TO Z; from Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, Quiltmaker Magazine, and C&T Publishing.

I plan to stop by the post office on my lunch break tomorrow and give it to her.   It is, after all, a Quilter's duty to share the craft and keep it alive. 

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 Thought for today

It was another beautiful day today.

Boy, it sure is hard to stay in the office a work!

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 Some of the quilts I've done in the past.

 

 

my first quilt for my hubby

1st quilt for my daughter

                      1st quilt for my son

 

first landscape

 

 

 

 

 

tropical scene

Jewels

Tennessee quilt

Flannel and Fleece

Angels Among Us

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 In Closing

I'd like to quote Mary White of Texas.

"You can't always change things.  Sometimes you don't have no control over the way things go.  Hail ruins the crops or fire burns you out.  And then you're just given so much to work with in a life and you have to do the best you can with what you got.  That's what piecing is.  The material is passed on to you or is all you can afford to buy...that's just what's given to you.  Your fate.  But the way you put them together is your business."   from a book titled, The Quilters-Women and Domestic Art by Patricia J. Cooper and Norma Bradley Allen.

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

COOL! It's A Halo!

Last night I got home around 9:00 PM, hurried into the house, put my handbag down and headed straight for the 'little girls' room.  My daughter, Audre, and I had visited my parents who live about 45 minutes away and that last bottle of water I had... well... like I said, straight to the bathroom. 

Driving home and then rushing into the house I failed to notice a beautiful site in the sky.  My husband brought it to my attention. 

He led me outside and said "Babe, look up."

"Cool!  It's a halo!"  My voice echoed in the neighborhood...

Though a picture of the halo around the moon was not to be caught on film, the beautiful moon was.

It never ceases to amaze me, how beautiful the moon is.

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Had a quilt guild meeting tonight.

I was blessed with one of the door prizes tonight

I belong to the Logan County PieceMakers Quilt Guild in Paris, AR.  

We had a good program tonight.  It was on marking your quilt for quilting. 

One tip I was impressed with was to use a clear vinyl sheet.  You lay the clear vinyl sheet on top of your quilt top and use a dry erase marker and draw out your quilting design.  You can erase it away if it's not quite what you want and redraw it until you get the pattern just right.    

Another useful tip was if you use the clear vinyl sheet make sure to mark the edges so that you don't mark on your quilt top as you are playing around with the design.  The lady doing the demonstration used gray duct tape to mark hers.  She said that markers wear off too easily.  

I'm thinking some of that cool looking duct tape (like the zebra stripe or something) would be a cool way to mark the edges.   

What do you think about the handy tips I learned tonight?

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Don't forget about the Giveaways my fellow Bloggers are having...

 The MugRug Swap Giveaway by Leona's Quilting Adventure

http://oneygirl-myquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/2011/02/mug-rug-swap-adventure-sponsored-by.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LeonasQuiltingAdventure+%28LEONA%27S+QUILTING+ADVENTURE%29 

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The Think Spring Giveaway by Stray Stitches 

http://straystitches1.blogspot.com/2011/02/think-spring-giveaway.html

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The February Giveaway by Quilts By Lee

http://quiltsbylee.blogspot.com/2011/02/february-giveaway.html

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The ST Publication: Relationships & Giveaway by Faith Imagined

http://www.faithimagined.com/2011/02/st-publication-relationships.html 

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One of my favorite quotes....

Your worst days are never so bad you are beyond the reach of God's grace, 

and your best days are never so good you are beyond the need of God's grace.

God bless and keep you,

Sonia