Yesterday Teresa and I went shopping at the Mall in Vancouver and then met Chris and headed for the Zoo. Unfortunately I misread the times on the Zoo website and looked at the summer hours instead of the winter hours so the zoo was closed. We were disappointed but ended up driving up to the Rose Garden above the Zoo and checked it out. Although roses were not in bloom yet we did manage to see many flowers including flowering trees, magnolias, daffodils, and many others. We ended up the evening at the Olive Garden restaurant. It was a sucessful trip despite the traffic and zoo closure. We even got Teresa three new tops and Chris found a summer jacket that looks nice enough to wear to work. Enjoy the pictures below. I love spring!

Chris and Teresa look at some of the many magnolias in bloom

Chris at the Rose Garden

This has been a busy week since I worked 4 days. I stayed up much too late so didn't get to the morning watch which made me feel like I was missing something. Thursday we had a huge doctor day at work and a "shower" for one of the doctors whose wife just had a baby. No one had time to unwrap gifts so it was just a quicky heres a basket of gifts and a thank you so much. Not the fun oh's and ah's that come along with baby presents but then we also had a 50th birthday surprise party for our administrator at lunch which was fun. It was a busy exausting day but turned out well.

Saturday night we went to the school's appreciation/fundraising dinner. It was held at the expo center and there was a big crowd. Jeff Kemp a former quarterback spoke an encouraging message. I actually won an autographed picture of him which he signed as a door prize. We sat at a table with Linda and Suzie and Jim and Janis Harvey and Tom Stiltz so there was lots of laughter and fun.

Lessons from a quilter continued.

I am still very frustrated with the actual quilting part of quilting. I tried using my new frame the correct way this time having the backing on two rollers, the top on another roller and the batting on a separate roll. However this time the problem was that the quilt was too wide for the frame. The only other rods I had were 10 feet long which would have been over kill. So I tried unsucessfully to improvise. I again I had to tear out a lot but I am getting more practice that way. So my lesson this week is don't give up. If at first you don't suceed do it over again!

I think the heart design also gives the impression of waves

my latest noah's ark quilt

Lessons from a quilter

Finished but not perfect.

I am pretty embarrassed about the poor job of quilting on my latest quilt. It is definitely not up to my standards. However it is finished and I am learning. I have had it on the shelf for over 6 months and it is time to be done with it. I have taken out the quilting several times and realize on this particular quilt it is not going to get better.

While working on this last night God began speaking to me about this less than perfect quilting job. In it there are lessons to be learned. Life is not perfect. Sometimes we need to look at the big picture instead of the details that are less than desirable. For example I am going to give this quilt to the caring pregnancy center. Some new mom is going to receive it. Her life is definitely not perfect at the moment. Yet look at the big picture. God is creating life in her, a new creature with all kinds of possibilities. This baby probably won’t care if the quilting is a little bumpy on his or her quilt. It is cute and will keep him warm. It will provide comfort when things aren’t going right.

In days to come there will be activities such as going to the zoo, their first Christmas, birthday celebrations, school days and vacations. Often there are little details that can spoil things if we let them. We are running late, we fight and quarrel. The baby throws up all over everything; we get lost on the way….. A million things can go wrong and often do. This is the time to forget the details and look at the big picture. Memories are being made. If we don’t make a big deal over the imperfections we can still find joy in being together. Life goes on. Don’t demand perfection of yourself or your child or others. It will never happen.

Love is greater than perfection. Love covers a multitude of mistakes. So concentrate on looking for the good in every situation and overlooking the imperfections.

Finished but not perfect

Flowers make me happy

Pathways