Midlife and Milestones

Well, I finished my annual rotation around the moon and the universe graciously plopped me right back down where I love to stay... right at 36;)  Craig has now started referring to me as "Moonbeam, his Genesis 1 wife" :)  That's why I love that man!  He lets me sit right where I enjoy staying, even if I choose to do so forever ;)  In all honesty, I really don't mind turning 50.... my entire childhood, my parents were told by all the doctors that I most likely wouldn't live to see this age because of the severity of my asthma and all the damage to my lungs, not to mention all the damage that a lifetime of prednisone will cause.  But, being a classic redhead, and not liking to be told what I will and won't do... I set out to prove them all wrong :)

I'm not a big one to enjoy much fuss over birthdays, but this year was a milestone, so, a little fuss was in order.  I had spent a few weeks trying to figure out what I wanted to do to celebrate.  We tossed all sorts of ideas around.  We thought about a trip somewhere, Craig offered a quilting retreat at Missouri Star Quilt Co....then I realized what I really wanted; the ability to have my own personal quilt retreat anytime I wanted...at home:)

Unfortunately Craig had to be in Colorado over my birthday, but the girls worked hard to make my day special.  There was a lot of whispering and secret texting going on around here.  Anytime I'd ask "what, where, who, why" I'd be reminded that it was too close to my birthday for me to be asking such questions.  By Monday, I got news I didn't want....Craig's schedule was mixed up and instead of coming home late on my birthday like he'd planned, he wasn't going to be getting home for another couple of days.  UGH!  Well, the girls kicked things up to compensate.

The morning started out with brunch with my mom and the girls (sadly, Tess was working).  Then a little shopping...nothing special, just some girl time and a few necessities.  A quiet afternoon at home, then the girls told me that I had a mystery date picking me up around 5:30.  Gotta be honest here, I was really hoping it was Craig, but they assured me it was NOT their dad.  Shortly after 6 one of my dearest friends came to whisk my off to dinner.  What a treat!  Julie and I never have enough time to get together and visit as often as we'd like so this was a wonderful gift!  She took me to my favorite restaurant, and we chatted over chips and salsa and amazing mexican food.  After a couple hours, Tess joined us.  I was confused at first but she quickly informed me that she was there to take me off of Julie's hands:)  We visited for a bit longer then Tess and I headed off to coffee.  It quickly became apparent that I wasn't allowed to go home and she was keeping me out until she got the all clear.  That's ok because I was having a great time with my oldest daughter and enjoying some rare 1 on 1 time together.  Shortly before 10:30 we were finally able to go home.  Sarah, Gracie and Hannah had worked hard on birthday surprises.  They decorated the house with balloons and chocolate kisses, had a cake made with patchwork quilts in each corned, and even went shopping for some gifts.

We were having fun giggling and opening gifts when the doorbell rang.....let's just stop right here.  I don't care how old I am or how many rotations around the moon I've made, I've never outgrown my fear of the dark and I still believe in the boogey man.  There was NO WAY I was opening that door after 11pm.  Being the quick thinker she is, Tess convinced me that Logan had just texted her and it was him at the door.  I hesitantly went to the door and opened it..... nobody was there.  I mean, I looked and looked (without opening the storm door) and there was nobody there.  (note to self....remember to get lightbulbs for the porch light;)  I cracked the storm door open to look when I hear " HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"  ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!  I jumped out of my skin and back into the foyer!  My heart was pounding and I was nearly in tears.  My poor husband busted his behind to get home ON my birthday to surprise me!  It was the best surprise EVER, wrapped in my biggest nightmare :)  We will laugh about this for decades to come, I'm sure!  My Birthday was complete... or so I thought.....

The next morning we woke to just a little snow and Craig told me he had cleared his day for us to go up to Omaha to tour Accuquilt.  Remember how I said I'd finally figured out what I wanted for my birthday?  I requested a cutting system to make quilting easier and faster :)  Problem was, I was struggling to figure out which one I wanted.  By going to their headquarters, I'd be able to see them all and even try them.  We enjoyed lunch at Cracker Barrel and were warmly welcomed when we stepped into the front door of Accuquilt.  Their offices are beautiful!  Quilts hanging everywhere.  Happy sigh.  Pam, our tour guide, shared the story of how Accuquilt came to be then showed us into their Quilt showcase.  A lovely room built to showcase a different quilt artist's work each month.  Each quilt on display was made using their cutting system and it was so inspiring.  From there we went into their Dream Studio.  WOW!  It was like Disneyland for quilters;)  This company makes this room available for all their employees to enjoy creating in.  They have the use of all the accuquilt cutting machines and every die made.  Drool!  I got to try the different machines and was so impressed with the fact that they easily and quickly cut up to 6 layers of fabric in a single pass.  After that we marveled at the efficiency of their warehouse.  We ended our tour back in the office, meeting the owner and CEO of the company.  Very nice gentlemen who graciously came over to introduce themselves and welcome us. They even gave me a birthday card!  WOW!  Everyone there was so nice, wishing me happy birthday all the way throughout our tour.  They handed me a "happy birthday" sign and we all took a picture under their logo :)  That's when they told me about what my wonderful husband had pulled off for me and left me speechless, which if you know me well you know that is a rarity;)

I came to find out that Craig had taken things into his own hands while I was struggling to decide what I wanted to choose for my gift.  He called them the day before, after hours, and was so persistent with their automated system that Pam had, on a fluke, answered his call.  He had explained to her that it was my milestone birthday and he wanted to order my gift so that I could actually take it home and start playing instead of waiting for it to arrive in several days.  I looked over to a large rolling shelving unit full of boxes as Pam was saying they were ALL MINE.  WHAT?????  NO WAY!!!!  They were all so tickled to be a part of this surprise that they even gave me extra gifts beyond what Craig ordered.  I seriously felt like Queen For The Day!  We loaded the back of the sequoia and headed home.  My amazing husband had gotten my my dream kit.... every foundation set so that I can make any quilt block my heart desires in 4 different sizes, along with an appliqué set.  He also splurged even more and got me the electric cutter, knowing that with my fibromyalgia it can sometimes be painful to stand and cut quilt pieces out and cranking a hand crank machine would cause me pain in my shoulder and elbow on those days.  Accuquilt gifted me with extra cutting mats, rotary cutters, rulers, a book, extra dies, and they even gave me a GO! Baby to take along to any classes or retreats I may go to.  Seriously...I was blown away by it all.  Within an hour of getting home and unpacking everything, I made my first block for Craig.  We will frame it as a reminder of this amazing day :)  It's a windmill block and the colors remind him of our farm life together.

So, if anyone is wondering what I plan to do with the second half of my life..... Quilt!  I plan to enjoy quilting as much as I possibly can :)

As you can tell, my sweet family treated me very well as I celebrated this milestone.  I couldn't have asked for a better birthday :)