...slight delay...

I'm back from Priest Lake...we had a great time. The weather was beautiful! We got to sit outside on Sunday and Monday, which is usually unheard of for Memorial Day weekend! Watched a few movies, took a nap, read a book, did A LOT of Sudokus, and read magazines. We went to Coolin for the parade & craft show on Saturday and then over to Cavanaugh Bay for lunch. I had delicious fish tacos there - will definitely have those again sometime this summer!! On Sunday, we went to Hill's for brunch and enjoyed the scenery from a different locale along the lake.

Came home yesterday and helped Melissa organize her dance recital costumes for her little dancers. They are going to be so adorable! When I turned on my computer to work on designing her program, I discovered I have a computer virus. DARN! So - my computer's in the repair shop (or shortly on it's way).

You won't miss much in my life this week - it's graduation week, so very crazy & busy at school. I got a little sentimental today as it was the senior's last full day. They will be missed!

Once my computer is back, I'll have plenty to share...graduation, dance recital dress rehersal, and Farm Chicks!

…starting tomorrow…

I’ll be

.

In case you’re looking for me.

.special gifts.

I don’t even know where to begin to explain these girls.

Ali, Kellie, & Kate

Through youth group, church, family, and community activities, my relationship with these girls has grown deeper over the past four years. And now they are graduating from high school next week!

As I wrote on their cards, I struggled to find the right words to explain what their friendship has meant to me. As their school counselor as well as youth group leader, we have dealt with some tough issues and they have confided in me when things seemed impossible. I am glad they felt comfortable to come to me during those times and we could work through the situation together.

We’ve also shared a lot of fun times. I got to go on two mission trips with them, lots of fun youth group activities, and I even got to share in their high school activities – assemblies, Homecoming, & their daily stop by my office just to say hi.

I will definitely miss them next year (especially those daily “hi’s”!) – but I am so excited for them to experience college life and see what unfolds for them in life.

Tonight, we shared dinner together at Mei Lings and I gave them their graduation gifts. I’d been planning this since last spring!

I made them each a quilt – but I let them decide who got which one. They decided very logically – but assigning each quilt a number & then they each drew a number. Wha la! :)

I think they kinda liked their quilts…

I told them it turned out exactly like I thought – as I was making them, I kind of had an idea who would get each one or at least thought each quilt looked like one of the girls.

Kellie got this one – Nicey Jane fabric that looks a little vintage, just like Kellie’s style.

Ali chose this one…Hunky Dory fabric. Hunky Dory describes Ali’s personality! She is always happy and cheerful with a funny quip or tale. The back of this quilt is white with pink and blue flowers – so cheery!

Kate gets to keep this one. Don’t tell the others, but it’s my favorite. :) It’s out of the Verna line of fabric. Kate is always positive, wise, and is a deep-thinker. I think this quilt’s colors and design match her personality just right.

Much love to each of you girls…Love you moorrrrrreeeeeee (as Kate always says – or texts, rather!).

…more quilts!…

I know – it’s been a while since I’ve posted pictures of a new quilt….so, today, I have TWO for you!

I pieced both of these last summer at Priest Lake with some specific recipients in mind. I had them quilted in Spokane this fall & finally finished binding them this spring.

This one is made with Nicey Jane fabric using Camille’s Jelly Filled pattern.

This one is made with Hunky Dory fabric using Camille’s Piece of Cake {2} pattern. (I had to look up the name of this fabric – I love it so much, I thought I’d never forget it!!)

It was a little windy when my lucky quilt holders were helping me take these pictures!

I will share more tomorrow about who these quilts are going to live with!

. heider wedding .

My Mom’s cousin’s son got married yesterday – and it’s not a secret that Heider get-togethers are usually a crazy fun time!

Congratulations to Gavin & Aimee!

It was a beautiful wedding – she has great taste! Her dress was gorgeous and the bridesmaid dresses were super cute too. I liked the shabby chic-ness of the reception…old doors, burlap, hand-painted signs, and wheat. So cute!

Maybe the most fun thing was the photo booth with props!

You can see we had a little fun with it!

It was fun to see some family last night and to hang out with the Heider’s. :)

. last youth group .

Tonight was our last youth group of the year. We had a fun evening playing Twister Hoopla & trying to eat 6 Saltine crackers in 60 seconds.

Kaycee and Sarah

Kellie & Ali

Tanner & Kate

Whitney & Megan

Melissa & Kellie

There was an individual version – Melissa beat these girls & assured them the short bus would be along soon to pick them up! :)

We had a cinnamon roll hug with the seniors in the middle before we went home. I am going to miss this group a.lot. I started leading youth group when they were in 8th grade. They contributed so much to the group. The dynamics will sure be different with them gone!

Whitworth! Best on Earth!

Yay! We have another Whitworth alumni in our family!

Yesterday, Amber graduated from Whitworth University with a B.A. in Elementary Education.

Whoop Whoop!

Melissa and I were very excited to go to graduation and to remember our own graduations. It was fun to see “old” friends & professors from our time at Whitworth.

It’s been a while since I was an undergrad at Whitworth, but I think my allegiance to Whitworth grows more and more each year!

These pictures are a little blurry – they were taken on my iPhone!

Our first “Amber – sighting!”

Do you see Amber’s face whited out? My dumb camera!

Amber receiving her diploma from Whitworth President, Beck Taylor.

At Whitworth, the President is more personable and accessible to the students than I’ve witnessed at other universities. His home is right on campus & often has students over to hang out. Bill Robinson, the President while I was at Whitworth, retired last year and this has been Beck’s first year as President. Bill left big shoes to fill – he was really good at knowing students’ names and stopping to talk to them in The Loop; he was known for riding his bike around campus. Students affectionately called him “B-Rob!” Beck has done a great job of living up to expectations!

Back to Amber! Here she is with her diploma (cover!)! :)

Here’s her name in the program…

Some pictures from after the ceremony….

The Heider family Whitworth alumni:

Grandma with her college graduate grandchildren!

Look how original we are:
Melissa, Whitworth; Craig, WSU; Amber, Whitworth; Karlye, WSU; Marcie, Whitworth; Kevin, WSU!

We wanted to give Amber things she could use in her classroom, so I made her these things:

This is a jar with popsicle sticks in it – so she can write the names of her students on the sticks and use them to randomly draw names for different activities.

And a decorative sign with her name!

It was a fun celebration followed with a fun dinner (& drinks!) at Azteca.

I’m so proud of Amber for persevering through & accomplishing her goal! So excited to share alma maters with her too!

…what a week…

This week flew by in the blink of an eye…

It was the 2nd week of AP testing – I made it through proctoring 9 tests in 12 days! Not my favorite two weeks of the whole school year, but I made it through!

We had Beta Bunco night on Tuesday. Melissa beat me for most wins by one win. Competitive much?!

Mom & Melissa had their LASIK surgery on Wednesday! Although each had some complications, tonight they are well on their way to a full recovery. Hopefully they’ll be pleased with the final result.

I got a new purse yesterday at Heritage – I love it! I’m in <3 with houndstooth right now, so this was hard to resist!

Tonight, we celebrated with Tiffany Schneider after her graduation from WSU Tri-Cities with a BSN. YAY! You made it!

I’m really excited to go to Spokane on Sunday to Whitworth’s graduation and to cheer on Amber as she takes that walk across the stage! Can’t wait!!

Random, but this was my life this week! :)

…I love a plus sign…

I love this little quilt!

It’s another ‘designed-by-Marcie’ plus sign pattern. I just can’t get enough!

Nick & Kate gave me this fat quarter bundle for my birthday (such great friends – they know exactly what I’d love!)…

and I turned it into this!

I’m not sure what the line of fabric is called…

But it’s happy!

I quilted straight lines in random intervals from top to bottom and side to side. I love the effect it made on this quilt – it fits perfect with the pattern, in my opinion!

I didn’t have enough of the daisies for the back, so I added this gray & black polka dot. I like it better from a distance…

It’s bound in solid black, which I think makes a nice frame.

…pennies from heaven…

Last night at youth group, we got tally up how much money we raised in our “Fill the Can” fundraiser! This fundraiser was super simple – I found the idea online. The youth group-ies all brought cans of pop, we put labels on them, and handed them out after church one Sunday. The basic idea was to fill the can with change, cash, or checks – as well as prayers for the mission trip we’ll be going on in June. We handed the cans out around Ash Wednesday and asked for them to be returned on Easter.

We had a great response from our generous congregation! We rolled the change last night at youth group…there was so much, I did not think we were going to get it done last night. I thought we’d have to bag up what didn’t get rolled and do it again next week. I should know better than to not believe in these kids – they amaze me all the time!

They worked so hard rolling all this change – it was very overwhelming, but they had great attitudes and we had a lot of fun doing it!

We’re going to announce the official total at church on Sunday…but I will say that we are so lucky to have such a loving and generous church family who supports the youth with all their hearts. <3