SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED ... WITH LOVE!

"Quilters" commemorate all the joyful occasions in life with quilts ... it's just what we do! You've got the birth of a new bundle of joy, the joining of two people in holy matrimony, the successes of a graduate and the blessings of a landmark Anniversary or Birthday ... the list goes on and on and on; and we all hope that the quilt becomes a treasured possession to our loved ones.

There's also the solemn occasions in life ... the death of a loved one ... their memory living on in bits and pieces of fabric sewn together with love and with sympathy, which is exactly what Gene and I received 3 months after our Daughter, Michelle (Micki) passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 28th, 2007, at precisely 4:45 p.m.

Micki bravely battled Crohn's Disease for 23 long years, the last 10 being the worse; and she handled it all with an amazing amount of grace, dignity and an abundance of faith. When she died that Saturday afternoon just a little over 28 months ago, we were devastated, shocked and heart broken. She was terribly ill at the time, but we had no idea that she would be leaving us so soon; and were in total disbelief when a blood clot went to her lungs.

The three months following her death are still somewhat of a total blur, during which time 31 of the most amazing women you'd ever want to meet ... 31 woman who reside all throughout this glorious Country we live in were busy putting together 3 absolutely gorgeous quilts in loving memory of our Daughter. These quilts touched our hearts more than they could possibly ever know ... as strange as it sounds, it represented a turning point in our grief ... we still grieve today and always will; however, when we received the beautiful work of these special ladies, our hearts softened and we were able to see more clearly ... to see that God's timing for Micki was perfect. He knew she had had enough and that it was time to bring her Home. We finally knew in our hearts that she was where she was supposed to be ... in Heaven, where sickness and suffering is not allowed ... where only happy times and happy thoughts exist. We finally realized the abundance of the blessing that God chose to give her; and although the pain is still significant today, our hearts are at peace; and her memory will live on always ... in the very depth of our souls, in the members of our family and yes ... in all the bits and pieces of fabric in this beautiful quilt.

Today I share with you the first of the 3 quilts that these wonderful ladies presented us with, which is the one they made for me ... an absolutely gorgeous "Sampler."


If you enlarge the photo above, you'll see that this adorable block is embroidered with "Sweet Memories of Micki." The rest of the photos are close up shots of all the gorgeous blocks ... aren't they awesome!!!!!!!!







Gene and I will be forever grateful to the love that was given us in this quilt and it will warm our hearts all the days of our lives. God Bless all 31 of the wonderful women who played such a loving part in the creation of this masterpiece :)

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13)