My 100th Post

Gosh! It's been a long while since I have posted! Things here at the Carter house have been crazy busy. There were days when I resorted to crawling under the covers, assuming the fetal position, and sleeping. Long and hard. Thankfully, it has done wonders for me.

Well, everyone.....this is my 100th post! WOO HOO!

And, it's gonna be a long one, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Ragan told me everyday for about 2 months that the band Mayday Parade was coming to Tucson. I tried to mask my "who really gives a darn" feelings because she really wanted to go. Now, I know full well the kind of "folks" that attend concerts such as these, and I was, to put it mildly, very reluctant to let her go. Finally, Makenzie and Justin said they would go with her. They all had a wonderful time despite the mosh pit....

Here is Ragan with one of the band members. She was so excited. She had her belt autographed and got some body's guitar pick....I believe it was the base player's.... She shook hands with all of them and got pictures.

Who might this half naked boy be with my daughters???? What's with all the tattoos?? I guess no one ever told him his body is a temple......:)

She prattled on about the concert for days. She says she wants to marry one of the band members....I forget which one.

I say, OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!

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We are in to our arm pits preparing for Mark's mission. We are learning more and more about Uganda. We also found out that the son of his mission president is on our ward (church)! That sure did my heart good.

This is a picture of the Ugandan flag.

I have been asked on several occasions how I feel about Mark serving in Africa. If I am being honest, I have to say my first reaction was shock. Then, when it all began to sink in, I had to stuff the emotions that wanted to demand a "do over". When thinking of Africa, it conjured up images of mud huts, malaria, and orphanages. But, after researching it, I have found that it is a very civilized country. We have also received a lot of support from family and friends and that has helped A LOT! :)

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When I wasn't sleeping my days away, I was finishing up a few projects for Halloween. This is a little wall hanging that I made. It is my own pattern and I used up quite a few scraps making it.

This is a picture of the finished table runner I showed last week.... I would have put it on my table but it is covered with....well, everything....{{sigh}}

Next time I make one of these I will use more contrasting colors. But, I did take a solemn vow to use up my stash before buying anymore fabric. Another {{sigh}}

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I thought I would include a few pictures of my sewing buddies.

This is Rusty (cat) and Macy (dog).....

They are lovely little friends. They keep me company all day long. Macy follows me everywhere and lays at my feet whenever I stop. Rusty lays near, too. Just waiting for a completed project to curl up onto.

Macy believes she is a lap dog and very often crawls up onto Craig's lap while he's watching TV. **Craig is very happy to oblige! Can you see his other TV buddy laying beside Craig?? That's Rudy.

She is such a pretty girl!

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We have quite an assortment of critters her in Arizona. Mark found this moth on the door last night. He brought it in the house to snap a picture. (Ohhhh...if his sisters only knew....) He thought I might like it to show the preschool children, but I took pity on the poor thing and had Mark set it free after it's photo shoot.

It sure was a big'un!! But beautiful in it's own right! ************************************************************************************* Craig and Jill had a very memorable time in China. Their goal for her performance was for her to make the finals. She threw her season best to advance to the finals so they achieved their goal!! They both knew that it would take a miracle for her to medal so they weren't expecting that. This picture was taken right after the competition. She finished 12th in the world. GO JILL!!! Here is a shot of the Olympic Track Stadium as it is filling up with people. And for your viewing pleasure, here is a shot of Craig with "a couple of locals"! :)

The grounds were immaculately kept. Not a blade of grass out of place!

Well, that's it for now! I do have a little give away in the works so watch for that! I am also furiously working on opening my Etsy Shop. Thank you for being patient!!!