It has been a couple of busy and emotional weeks here.  I'll start with quilt camp and go backwards and forwards from there.  I have a few pictures from camp.  Not many because my camera ran out of battery and because my computer will only let me upload and choose, on xanga, 8 pictures at a time.

Quilt camp, the one I have gone to for many years, is held at Camp Bethel, in Fincastle, VA.  It is only about 45 minutes from my house, so that is nice!  It is a beautiful place.  We had 25 this year.  We all stay in this building - here are some of us walking out of there to go to the dining building -

                                        

 

Inside there, is one large room where we set up our sewing machines, and then 4 large rooms off of that, with bunk beds.  We each get a lower bunk and use the top one to store our stuff!

                                        

The scenery is beautiful -

                                        

Here is the large dining room where we ate all of our meals -

                                        

Sorry about the lighting there! 

And here are some quilts!

                                        

                                        

                                        

Quilt camp this year was bittersweet.  I love being there, sewing with so many of my very close friends, learning new things, seeing beautiful quilts emerge from everyone's sewing machine, and this one was wonderful for all of that!

But there was so much sadness in the lives of many people who I love, that I was sad and distracted.  First, early that week, my daughter, Suzanne, called to tell me that one of her best friends had died suddenly.  I had met this gal, and she and Suz have been friends for a long time, have traveled together, and spent a lot of time together.  My heart hurt for Suzanne and for the family and other friends of the young woman who died, although there was joy mingled with sadness, that she was now seeing her Savior face to face.  We were also waiting for news of a young woman who lives here, who we have been friends with for many years, a young mother of two little boys, who was losing her very courageous battle with stage 4 breast cancer.  I am teary just writing about it here.  Kim died the first night that I was at quilt camp, and my heart was sad the whole time.  We also rejoiced that Kim knew Jesus as her Lord and Savior, that she had faith and praised the Lord until the very end, and that we are confident she is in Heaven with the Lord she loved and served for her 39 years.  But my heart hurt just the same.  Just before I left for camp, I had news that a young son of another family we know well was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 8.  He has had surgery this past week to have the tumor removed, is doing well, and his family is hopeful and prayerfully awaiting the results of the pathology report.  And as always, I pray faithfully for my friend Julie's 9 year old grandson with leukemia.

So, I came home from quilt camp that Sunday with lots going on here.  We had a few days of activities to welcome a pastoral candidate to our church - he and his wife and children were here for everyone to meet them and to hear him preach.  That Monday night I hosted a dinner here at my house.  The following day, Tuesday, was the funeral for Kim.  I was privileged to have my grandchildren stay here for the day, so that Amanda could play the piano for the funeral with no other concerns, and having them here cheered me up!

I din't unpack until Wednesday - I didn't even take most of the quilt camp things out of the car!  But slowly, I progressed in getting life back together around here.  I kept the kiddos on Friday too, because I often do, to give Amanda some time for whatever she needs to do.  She is, by the way, expecting Baby #4 at the end of May, and I can announce that on here now because she put it on Facebook this morning!

And now we are almost ready for our annual production of "Scrooge" here, where Jim is in the chorus, dances on Scrooge's casket, and I help interpret it in sign language.  So, that is coming up the week after Thanksgiving!

 

I know that I won't get a post written again before Thanksgiving, so I will say that I am so very thankful for all of the blessings I have!  And I am looking forward to having my family here - we will miss Bets and Andrew, but we will know they are with Andrew's family, and I am thankful that they are well and healthy.