I Can't Resist!

Every time I make a different kind of square + wish to swap, I can't resist making another for Jade!

Square 14- From Mommy, Daddy, Penny & Bailey



"One sees clearly only with the heart.
Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Little Prince

May you always see with your heart-
Love,
Mommy, Daddy,
Penny & Bailey
xoxo

A Four Squish Day!

I am off from school for yet another snow day and was excited to receive FOUR squishes in the mail today!

Square 10- From Kammy Krisell in Sherwood, Arkansas



This pretty square and wish is from Kammy Krisell in Sherwood, Arkansas. The wish includes really meaningful lyrics from "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget,
all the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
and you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, and you find God's grace, in every mistake,
and always give more than you take.
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you,
and wants the same things too,
Yes, this, is my wish.


Square 11- From Jill and Mike Charles in Rochester, New York



This square and wish come from Jill & Mike Charles in Rochester, New York. The wish contains a message from a Chinese fortune cookie:

"It matters not what road we take
but rather what we become on the journey."


Square 11- From Ileanna Bosch in Punta Gorda, Florida



This happy square and wish come from Ileanna Bosch in Punta Gorda, Florida. The fabric is so cute with messages like, "He keeps his promises," "He makes us all special," etc.

The wish contains the following biblical verse:
For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11


Square 13- From Susan and Larry Zinn in San Antonio, Texas



This colorful square and wish are from Susan and Larry Zinn in San Antonio, Texas.

The wish has the following quote:
"Believe that life is worth living
and your belief will help create the fact."
~William James

Thanks to all for the beautiful squishes today!

Chinese New Year in New York City

We had a great weekend in New York City recently for Chinese New Year! We left around noon on Saturday and drove to NYC. We checked into our hotel which was just two blocks from Times Square. We walked around Times Square, bought some CDs at the Virgin Megastore, and went to Rockefeller Center and saw the ice skaters. We then ended up going to a nice dinner at the Heartland Brewery before heading to the Chinese New Year Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.



The show was beautiful and the colors were amazing. There was one candlelight number with a little girl that made me choke up a little bit.

The next day (Sunday- New Year's Day)- we spent the day in Chinatown. We took a cab to Chinatown and arrived in time for the firecracker demonstration at Chatham Square. It was FREEZING. The firecrackers were a bit scary becasue we were right in the area where they were set off and the smoke, sound, debris, etc. were kind of overwhelming. For a few seconds, I even thought something had gone horribly wrong and all of NYC would explode! They set off the firecrackers to scare away evil spirits. I'm sure it works after having witnessed it!

We shopped around Chinatown- frequently coming across dancing dragons and much confetti in the streets.





We went to a nice lunch at the same place we had been last time we were in NYC for Chinese New Year. It was warm and cozy and we were just happy to be seated quickly and warm ourselves up with some tea! We shopped some more after lunch and then headed to Soho where we shopped in Pearl River. It is amazing for all things Asian! I bought many things for future Secret Pals and for Jade/us.

We then had some wonderful cappucino and dessert at an Italian restaurant before catching a cab back to our hotel. We headed out to see if we could have a drink at Mars 2112 but the bar was closed for the night. We considered having dinner there, but I had my heart set on Charlotte's Web and Chinese take out from our favorite place- Lucky Sunday- in the hotel room! I ate my shrimp with asparagus happily in my pajamas!

The next day, Monday- we headed out to M & M World and then for some hot chocolate before heading to Mars 2112 for lunch. What a fun place! It is a theme restaurant that "transports" you to Mars for your meal. We enjoyed it even though it was pricey.







We headed home and when we arrived back in town, we went to order Jade's furniture for her room. The furniture store was having a great no interest until 2011 option, so we did it!

All in all, it was a great weekend and a LOT of fun!

Thank You, Secret Pals!

We just want to say a HUGE thank you to our February Secret Pals in the Winter Blossoms group! What a wonderful treat it was to receive their very special package. I had to use all of my willpower and wait for Ken to arrive home to open it with me!

It turned out our pals were Mike and Leanne Rollins from Oklahoma. They sent us a lovely card with a Confucius quote that means so much to us and a heartfelt, handwritten letter as well. A very special touch to their package was the photo they included of their family. All of these things are going right into Jade's scrapbook!

Their gifts were wrapped in red paper for the Chinese New Year. We received a set with Jade's first piggy bank as well as little homes for her first tooth lost and first curl. We also received a wondefully illustrated book on Chinese Astrology. Lastly, we received a book called Mommy Hugs. What made this extra special was that at Christmas, I bought Ken the partner to it (Daddy Kisses). Now we have a set!

Thanks, Leanne and Mike! You are truly special Secret Pals!

Another Squish

Square 9- From the Amick family in Marietta, Georgia



This pretty square and wish come from Erik, Christine, Alexia, and Caleb Amick in Marietta, Georgia. The wish says:

May you always appreciate the beauty of nature,
be surrounded with those that love you,
grow in wisdom and knowledge
and live a life without any wants.

More Squishes!

It is so exciting to receive new squishes!

Square 6- From the Hurtgen Family in Centennial, Colorado



This adorable square and wish are from Mike, Ashley, Tyler, Will & Peter Hurtgen in Centennial, CO. The wish says:

"For it was not into my ear you whispered
but into my heart.
It was not into my lips you kissed
but my soul."
~Judy Garland

Blessing while you wait for your little one-

I think the quote is just beautiful.


Square 7- From the Bowman Family in Ladson, South Carolina



This wish and square are from Keith and Sheila Bowman of Ladson, SC. The wish says:

I wish for you in the days to come
God's blessings multiplied
And that you see in every one
His love for you beside.

I love the message and the colors of the fabric are so pretty!


Square 8- From the Lozoraitis Family in Falmouth, Maine



This square and wish come from Mark, Cheri, and Emily Grace Lozoraitis in Falmouth, Maine.
The wish is so beautiful and powerful:

May your heart always know
the fierce love, unyielding determination,
and everlasting hope
that carried you so many miles
into the loving arms
of this family.

A sincere thank you for all of our new squishes today!

Quilt Square Central

The quilting fun has begun! I am having great fun assembling squares and wishes for others. Of course, every time I make a new kind for somebody else, I have to make one of that kind for Jade from us. So far she has three from us! Today, however, I received my first two from others! What fun! Here are the squares so far:


Square 1- From Mommy, Daddy, Penny & Bailey (furry siblings)



“Sometimes,
if you stand
on the bottom rail of a bridge
and lean over
to watch the river
slipping slowly away beneath you,
you will suddenly know
everything there is to be known.”
~Winnie the Pooh

Wishing you many moments of
knowing exactly what life is all about…

Square 2- Also from Mommy, Daddy, Penny & Bailey

"Be glad of life
because it gives you the chance
to live and to work and to play
and to look up at the stars."
~Henry Van Dyke

May your life be filled with much wonder,
magic, and wishes upon stars...

Square 3- From the Louie Family in Centennial, Colorado

This pretty fabric and wish come from Tamra, Jeff, Tyler & Morgan Louie in Colorado. It has the lyrics to "Somewhere Out There" which is just so perfect. Underneath, it says:

After many nights of wishing on the same bright star, may all your dreams come true as a Forever Family. I love this wish!

Square 4- From the Geddis Family in Greenwich, New York

This adorable fabric and very artsy wish comes from Lance & Carol Geddis in New York. The fabric is so cute, and the wish is just so pretty! It says:

"Every moment holds a hidden gift."

Square 5- Also from Mommy, Daddy, Penny & Bailey

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse.
"It's a thing that happens to you.
When a child really loves you for a long, long time,
not just to play with, but REALLY loves you,
then you become Real.
Generally, by the time you are Real,
most of your hair has been loved off…
and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.
But these things don't matter at all,
because once you are Real you can't be ugly,
except to people who don't understand."

~Margery Williams
The Velveteen Rabbit
May you always understand what is Real…

I am excited to get more squishes in the mail. It truly is exciting! I will post about our Chinese New Year's weekend in New York City once our film is developed and I can post photos. We had a wonderful time! We also ordered Jade's furniture on the way home! It had to be special ordered, so it should be here in abotu 8 weeks. I just want her room to look more like "hers."

100 Good Wishes Quilt

I have decided to do a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt, for Jade. I've signed up for quilt swaps in my various yahoo groups and am looking forward to getting started. One hundred squares seems like so many...I just hope I can reach it! When the time comes to assemble it into a quilt, I think I am going to have to hire someone to do that. I think I'd just make a mess of it! However, I don't want Jade to not have this special keepsake just because of my poor fabric skills, so I'm going to give it a shot!


To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

"She must offer the child as an adopted son, by symbol, to other powerful families in her clan. Yet what friends had she? She thought and she pondered and she devised this plan. From the head of each of the highest one hundred families in the Empire, she required a bolt of the finest silk. From the silks she commanded the palace tailors to cut one hundred small pieces and from these make a robe for her child. Thus he belonged, by symbol, to one hundred strong and noble families, and under their shelter the gods would fear to harm him."
~Imperial Woman (about the final Empress of the Qing dynasty) by Pearl S. Buck

Some Beautiful China Images

Snow Day!

We are off today due to the incredible storm hitting our area. The snow just keeps coming down, and they have just closed all of the interstate highways in our county. Some boroughs are declaring states of emergency. We may have no school tomorrow as well at this rate!

Happy Valentine's Day to all! I am spending it without Ken, unfortunately, as he is at work plowing snow!

Pan's Labyrinth

We went to see Pan's Labyrinth yesterday. I found it very charming, magical, and haunting. It was a bit of a downer, but I thought it was well-made and visually stunning. It's definitely worth watching for anyone who likes fantasy, magic, or the dark side. Watch the trailer at:
http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

Pan's Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable. Told through the eyes of a little girl whose imaginary world is inhabited by nightmarish creatures, Pan's Labyrinth is a visually imaginative and allegorical take on the fears she faced in Spain during WWII.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), into the home of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), in an abandoned mill in the middle of dark, dangerous woods. Vidal is leading his team of soldiers against resistance fighters--and he will do whatever is necessary to kill every last one of them. As Vidal bosses around the pregnant Carmen, a flying creature leads Ofelia through a garden labyrinth and into an underground cave ruled by Pan (HELLBOY's Doug Jones), who believes that Ofelia might be the lost princess of this strange yet magical place. To prove she is royalty, Ofelia must complete three tasks, each more difficult and terrifying than the previous one.

Meanwhile, Vidal is becoming more and more paranoid, torturing and murdering seemingly at will. Del Toro (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, CRONOS) creates a marvelous battle between good and evil, between heroes and villains, in both the real world aboveground and the mystical land below. Baquero gives a compelling performance as the terrorized Ofelia, who is befriended by Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), a woman who harbors some secrets of her own. Stellar production design, superb special effects, and a stirring score by Javier Navarrete add to the scary fun. Selected as the closing-night entry in the 2006 New York Film Festival, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a captivating story that is not for the squeamish.

Happy February!

All is well. I feel so busy lately, and I'm not sure why. It sometimes feels like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything finished. Hopefully, when we have Jade, I'll just focus on her and won't care about everything else I didn't finish!

We did go away to see Rockstar Supernova in concert last weekend. Tommy Lee was just as cute in person! The venue was great. It was the old Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut. I loved it. It was a drive, but I would definitely go there again for other shows. On Sunday, we went to the Danbury Mall on the way home and ate at a great place there, Rosy Tomorrow's. It was a blast from the past because we used to go there a lot in the early 1990s when Ken was in the Navy stationed in Connecticut. I was so excited to get their shrimp and asparagus salad only to find 4 spears of asparagus in it! I know-it's not breaking news, but wow, it disappointed me. I fear I am becoming an asparagus addict.

We are looking forward to our next trip to New York City for Chinese New Year.

My sister went on a business trip to Seattle and she brought us back the most adorable outfit for Jade. She bought it at the Pike Place Market from a shop there called Little Shanghai. It is an adorable red Chinese outfit with little dragonflies all over it. It's so beautiful!

Now...I must go and do schoolwork!