lazy weekend

Well compared to our last few weekends, this one was pretty laid back.
On Friday night I FINALLY finished my Lone Star Quilt. It has been 3 or so years in the making. THe star it self has been complete, it's just the border I have been playing with- but I finally went with the easy way. Now this is just the top. I still need to find a backing and quilt it. So to non-quilters this wouldn't be "done" but to a quilter, having a top done is pretty significant.




While David was attending a work party at the church on Saturday morning I went to my parents so my little brother could do the brakes on the van. While we wanted for him I jacked up the van, and took both tires off, all by my self (my dad direct me, when needed). I had even started removing the brakes with DJ arrived, he walked me through the first side and then let me do the second all on my own. When you have a family of mechanics it is really cool to learn something new.



Sunday was a lazy day! I love football season, it means Sunday afternoons are full of naps and football. There wasn't much on yesterday so I enjoyed the peacefulness of the house by quiling (Josiah's dog quilt is almost done now), taking a nap and finishing a good book.
Now the countdown begins, it's the last week of summer and it's raining. It's time for school to start!

Have I mention I feel old?

My oldest nephew began college at the Cidadel this week. I can't believe it. My little nephew, whom I babysat for the first several years of his life is in college. My sister showed me photos of him there and I was SHOCKED to see that they shaved his head.... yup, bald. I guess the first week is "He** Week"- kind of like the first week of boot camp. My heart is breaking for him, but Kim assures me he is fine and he knows exactly what he got himself into.

I also realized yesterday that one year from today my oldest son will be entering HIGH SCHOOL! I can't believe it!

Pray for my nephew Chris as he endures this week for torture, and that he can endure his first year at this school. I am truly proud of him and his strength to go through this.

Exciting Announcement

So over the last year or so David has been unhappy with his job. He has been casually looking for jobs, but he was picky. We continued to pray that God would bring along the job he wanted.

Well a few weeks ago a good friend told David about a job that was open at his work, and he thought David would be perfect for it. So he applied. At the same time he also applied for a handful of other jobs at the same time. Our friend, Gary, had given David a RAVING recomendation and so he got an interview.

The interview was on Monday and they told him they would make a decision by the end of the month. I prayed for patience and a speedy result to their decision. So on my way home from work that afternoon David emailed me that they had made their decision and he should expect a letter in the mail. Once he does he can call and accept the position.

So the letter came today 6 minutes before their office closed. David was able to accept the position and give his two weeks notice today!!! He starts his new job on September 3rd. It will be an exciting day for us- First day of school & first day to a new job.

God has answered our prayers in SO many ways, but He also answered the Tollefson's prayers too. The job is union so there is some security there, it has better insurance, better pay, hours aren't bad, Gary wanted someone there who was a Christian & had a famiy, it's outdoor work, and it isn't down town

So we are celebrating today! Pray for David that he can jump in and learn this new job in a timely manner. He will be working for Olympic Water & Sewer in edmonds, so he will be working out doors again- something he misses.

My Weekend Adventures

So it was another fun weekend. I am so blessed to have great friends & family to hang out with each day and looking back on my weekends always gives me a smile.
First, on Saturday we babysat Gabe (my nephew). We were still house sitting at the Williams, so he had lots of space to run around.

What do you get when you mix a kitten, a pixie stick with ribbon attached & a one year old? HOURS of fun. I am not kidding, Gabe played with this cat ALL day long. Anytime we put him on the floor he went straight for the pixie stick.






After our afternoon nap, David got the pool out for Josiah & Gabe. The pool has a slide, and it was so warm out that the cold water was PERFECT. Here are some pictures of the boys having fun.









Everytime Josiah went down the slide Gabe would giggle. It was a lot of fun to watch.

On Sunday our Sunday School class had our annual picnic, which I planned this year. I spent most of the afternoon in the water with the kids. It was a blast. I would escort them out to a dock in the water (it was way to far for the 4 & 5 year olds to swim by them selves). Then I usually had to help them back. I definatly got my excersive for the day and I am paying for it today. But some things are just worth it. The smiles, the laughter & the fellowship. It was an amazing afternoon- I wish we had more Sunday's like that.



The group down in the Monan's backyard



David



All the food. Potlucks are the best!



The entire group, except Ben, who was behind the camera. Maybe we can photoshop him in.



David splashing the guys on the dock.



Maddy, who I just adore. Her and her sister are so beautiful- their parents are in for some fun dating years.
So the weekend was really great. Thanks to Cassnadra that she grabbed my camera & took tons of photos! so now I wait for next weekend, not sure what we have in store- maybe just some R&R... Quilting I hope.

Championship Game

Well, we had our Championship game... it was an interesting one. The first place team won their first game so they played us for their second. If we won it would be over, we would walk away with 1st place. If we loss we would have to play again at 8:45. Low & behold, their bats and gloves were just a tad better than ours in the first game. And in the second they really came out and showed what they could do. It was a disappointing loss, but we did 10 times better this year than we ever have. So Ending the season was bitter sweet. We took 3rd place on the season & 2nd place in the tournament. That is some to definatley be proud of!! Here are some photos from last nights games.

Keith


Praying before the game.



Me, if I was smiling I'd be so cute.



Jen, our short stop



Cute Socks!



Kim, one of two of our AWESOME Catchers!!! She also had some amazing hits last night-- WAY TO GO!


Nita, the fabulous pitcher we've had this season.



Ok, who got ahold of my camera and why are their pictures of Shawn being goofy on their?



The camera theif strikes again. I happen to know who's butt this is... why it's on my camera is beyond me. I will have nightmares for DAYS, thank you very much.



what do you do with a 7 year old who has been watching softball for almost 3 hours? Play Go Fish on a blanket! it was a nice evening.



Beannie



Me after one of my hits



A dugout photo... someone just had an amazing hit as you can see from Jen's face.



End of the year prayer time.



Me!



This would have been a GREAT team photo but Tracy and I are asking Keith to turn the flash on and then, the flash pictures turned out horrible. Oh well.

God is so good!

Last night I headed over to a friends house with a heavy heart. I didn't have one specific thing on my heart, I had several. My mind kept trying to remind my heart of God's love and His ability to get my through these trials.

So I headed to a friends to drop off some Disneyland tickets. She offered to let me pick some raspberries from her garden since they would be bad before they returned from their vacation and I had no issues helping her out. I was blessed to just chat a little about nothing much with her & her daughter. Since it would be the first time for me in her backyard I got the full tour. I oggled over her flowers and I also drooled on her hydranga's (my second favorite flower). She insisted that I take some home since she wouldn't be enjoying them. As I was getting ready to leave her neighbor yelled over the fence to come and load up on his flowers since he would be in Austraila for three weeks... well ok!! I left there with some AMAZING flowers. I wish you could smell the roses, but you will just have to enjoy the photos.










Now if I only had lilac's it would have been perfect. My heart wasn't mended in my way last night, but I was reminded of God's beauty in so many things from the ugly plants that produce a beautiful flower, to the honey bees that swarmed around.

My Weekend Adventures.....

FRIDAY

Friday was a big day for me. I decided to take the day off work & go to the Pacific Northwest Quilt Show. I went on my own and spent the whole day just doing my own thing. I had a BLAST and came up with somenew & exciting ideas. I took tons of photos, but I am not allowed to post them on a site with out permission. But here is a couple of photos I took.



So I'm breaking a rule... this isn't the whole quilt, but I wanted to show you just how AMAZING it is. This is all HAND DONE!!! that's right no machine. She won the award for best of show in hand work. The photo of her name got lost...




Saturday
In the morning Kim & I headed to Manna Mills to do some Gluten Free shopping. My doc wants me to try it and see how it effects my Lupus.... too bad I am having a TOUGH time finding food I can actually choke down.
Then we went out to snohomish for some blueberries. Kim needed them for a party she was throwing next week so I went along as grunt labor and brought a pound home for my boys.






Sunday
Just a normal Sunday, no softball, so we stayed home & relaxed. We are house/pet sitting for some friends. It has been an interesting week so far, and I am sure this week will hold it's surprises. Here is one of the kittens trying to figure out what in the world the bubbles are from my bath. The other is just hanging out on the edge of the tub taking her own bath.





This is Lily & Thyme. Both these pets have given us a run for our money. Thyme has to go out during the day, but we need to find her every night. Not fun. We have had a few nights going down stairs every 10-15 minutes calling her in. Lily was really scared of us the first four days and barked the whole time she saw us. Luckily she has wamed up to us and now she will play catch and let us pet her. Here they are hiding under the bed enjoying a nice Sunday evening.
I am loving spending some time in a house. After being in an apartment for 8 years I forgot how wonderful space is. It has really given me some motivation to move in March.... David will be so happy!
It was a fun weekend and now it's time to start the week.