Little Baby McLaughlin will be lucky to have Paige as a mom for many reasons. She knows how to raise boys, she is patient and gentle, she is a woman of faith, and she is an artist. It is fun for children to watch a parent draw something well. I bet he will ask her to draw all kinds of things and he will be delighted with the results. Lucky baby.
These children’s books were illustrated by Paige and they were privately published, so they are not available for sale. They were my Christmas presents. I am such a fan of Paige’s work. 💕
Sometimes life is going just fine when I arrive at the war chapters in the Book of Mormon and I feel a little inconvenienced. On happy days there is rarely something in these chapters for me, so I read the words and move on.
This time as I have been reading the war chapters, life has been more complicated. “Oh, great,” I thought, “just what I need right now, stories about war.”
I was wrong. I have needed those war chapters during February 2024. I have needed the words of resolve that were uttered during those icky times. Concrete examples of faith. A script for how to face a daunting task. Reassurance that it will all be okay. Heroes. Miracle stories.
The editorial lens of Mormon is fantastic in these chapters.
I began making this quilt right after Tim left on his mission. I let the finished quilt top sit for 9 months before fixing a problem with the outer border, then there was a major delay having it quilted. I was in no rush to finish it until last week when I just snapped and got this thing done at the expense of almost all of my responsibilities. It is made from scraps from my sewing projects and the fabrics go together pretty well because I like what I like. Each fabric holds a piece of our history.
Paige and Mike had a scary week with both of them so unwell. Paige tested positive for Covid, Flu A, and Flu B. 😱 I can’t bring them dinner or help much but pray. I did finish the top of their baby quilt and thought about them the whole time.
I had a friend who did a lot of hand applique work on her quilts. She said she had time to do it as she sat with her husband who liked to watch crime dramas. I cross stitch in the room with the boys as they watch football. There has been a lot of football this winter.
I am also making a baby quilt to hug our grandson when I can’t be with him.
Today I have some tender feelings about Tim leaving home again. This morning I helped him carry out a couple of boxes and a duffel bag he is taking to his new apartment and we said goodbye in the dark street before he left for work. I’ve had some tears throughout the day, but I’ve also felt gratitude for the tender mercies that led to this moment.
We’ve loved reconnecting with Tim these past 3 months since he returned from his mission. He is delightful company, so funny and musical and capable, so we will miss him. But hello, since we live close to Provo we will see him soon.
For the first couple of months after his mission he worked some odd jobs, including raking leaves, moving furniture, building shelves, building and selling Christmas trees, and shoveling snow. Since early January he has worked full-time in a cabinetry shop in Provo. He builds custom cabinet doors. This move to an apartment in Provo is more progress in his search for the next right step after his mission.
Tim will attend BYU in the fall, but since he would like a career in cabinetry, he is taking time to explore that career before he launches into college. Tim thinks through decisions thoroughly and chooses his own sequence and pace. This has been his pattern since he was a little boy, and he is a remarkable person because of it.
I just realized that our recent films are all politics and war. The one about Churchill was most inspiring. Golda was most artistic. The Franklin film had details I never knew about his life. All of them were worth the time.
