This is a pic that I borrowed from a blog that I found... www.twiddletails.blogspot.com ... a picture of a quilt that was hand pieced and hand quilted by a woman from Japan..

It was shown at the Houston Quilt Festival-2009.

The hexagons are less than one inch in size, all the pieces are cut from one hexagon pattern.. I can't even imagine how many of them are in there!!

Isn't it just amazing?  WOW. Craziness!

Here is a pic or two or three of our newest Fannin family member..  We don't get him for another 8 weeks, at least, but here are his one week old pictures...  We have not settled on a name, but are leaning towards, "TUG" ...  today, Austin came up with the name "TURNER" out of no-where!  Turner is one of the screwdriver's names in the Disney show Handy Manny.

But for now, here is our little Tugger..

He's really ours...  I can't believe it!

Next week's pics should maybe show him with his eyes open...

He has a little white goatee on his chin..

Oh, look at that face.. I just LOVE it!  He may grow to be BIG and furry and leave dog-hair tumbleweeds here and there, and slobber on things, but I have a feeling he is going to bring lots of love and learning to this house...

Wow, I have really been neglecting my blog.  Oh well, I don't think anyone even reads it anymore.  Seems like everyone had rather facebook or twitter (tweet?).  I do not tweet, but I do spend a fair amount of time on facebook.  Kind of addicting.  And faster.. BUT, you don't get the joy of reading a post from someone, you only get a sentence or two.. I miss reading posts from the blogs of others, maybe they will make it back to blogging eventually.

I'm feeling "newsy" this time, so I think I'll turn to the bullet point format.

• I have found several blogs on blogspot that I like to follow.  Lots of ladies that quilt and do crafty things.  If this sort of thing interests you, go to www.filminthefridge.com and there is a list to the right of the page on her site of blogs she follows.  Lots of neat ones.
• About a month ago, or maybe two months now, we went to storytime and I asked Austin if he wanted to write an "A" on his nametag by himself instead of me writing his name.  He wrote an A alright, and then the rest of the letters in his name!  I was shocked.  He wasn't quite 3 yrs old yet.  He has written his name a few more times since then. It's not the neatest most legible writing for SURE, but you can tell it's his name.  I  reading to him, and I  storytime at the library!!
• I have had the worst shoulder pain for several months now, it comes and goes usually but each time it comes back it is WORSE until finally I was in tears one day. After talking to Becky (who has had the same exact symptoms that I had and in the same shoulder) I found out that massage therapy helped hers so she gave me the name of the gal, and I've been twice now and it is HELPING.  I am so happy and relieved not to be in so much pain.  It is just irritating after a while to have your arm hurt every time you do something, esp when you have a small child to take care of!
• The massage therapist told me that I was lucky I came in when I did b/c I was for sure on my way to a frozen or "locked" shoulder which is very painful and hard to fix.  I still have some pain but WAY less than before.  I have to go in for two more and then after that hopefully it will be fixed.
• We are getting a PUPPY.  Yes a newf puppy is going to be joining our family.  It (and its 7 siblings) was born the night before last.  We've been on a waiting list and were shocked that the breeder called us yesterday with the good news. 

• Possible names for above mentioned puppy:  Salty, Stretch, Sarge, Moose, Chinook, Grizzly... hmm.  We have a whole list of names, but will probably wait to name it until we see more pics of it as it grows.  The breeder is going to start next weekend posting weekly pics of the puppies with their assigned family's name so we can watch our little guy grow.  He will come home at 9 wks old, sometime in January.  The website is www.greatbasinnewfs.com if anyone wants to look at the pics and follow along with us.  We are so excited!!

• Halloween came and went.  Austin was Thomas the Tank Engine this year and he was way more into it than last year.  He did really good, walked around a whole block with KC (a little storytime/gymnastics friend) and some other kids.  Well, he was usually lagging way behind, but theoretically we were "with" them. ha! The little chocolatey faced boy was beat when we got home!

• We also went to an event at UOP a few days before that for a "safe trick or treat".  He liked that too, and even wore a drawn on mustache with his costume that day.  That day, he walked with a diff. storytime friend, Caleb.

• On the campus of UOP, at Morris Chapel is where my parents got married in 1962~so it was extra special and fun for me to take Austin there.. it was one of the buildings on the safe trick or treat tour.  It was kind of odd to trick or treat in a chapel though. ha! A little creepy..

(me and my baby where my parents got married almost 50 years ago.. and can you tell he had NO nap that day?)

• Since finishing the sock monkey quilt, I pieced and put in the frame, an "I Spy" quilt.  It's a fun one.  I like that there are so many diff. fabric squares in it.  Over 50 diff. prints, all little boyish prints.  The frame looked kind of sad with nothing in it after the sock monkeys were in it for several months, so I'm glad something else is in it.  I think I'm hooked on my hobby.  Colorful fabrics make me happy.  Someday I will take a pic and post it of my favorite quilting fabric.  I want to make something with it, but yet I don't want to cut it.  It's so colorful and cheery.  Ahh, oh well.

• Austin is saying funny things all the time now.  Quoting lines like "I am MRS. NESbitt!!" from Toy Story, and saying big boy things like, "What's that about..?!"
• He is also reading a few words, whether it is actual reading or just word recognition, who knows.. but either way I love it.  The other day I was reading to him and he recognized the words "moo" and "quack" on the page, and there were no corresponding pictures on the page to cue him. 
• On the potty training front, its still not happening yet..   Oh well.  I wish it would be done with already, but I don't want to make it a tug of war thing, and I don't want to start spanking him or punishing him for it.  So I will try to be patient and I guess it will happen when it happens.  He was a late walker, a late talker.. etc.  Maybe he is just going to be a late toileter.
• Seems I may be potty training a child and a dog at the same time come January.
• Speaking of January, we have planned our first big family vacation, other than going to Monterey for a few days or to visit family.  We are going to Disneyland in January!  Austin is so excited he can hardly stand it.  We keep watching videos on youtube of people's kids meeting the characters.
• After our vacation, we will pick up our new puppy.
• My grandmother has an ulcer on her leg that she is seeing a wound nurse for.  I think she bumped it on the dishwasher door or something, but it won't heal.  Please pray for her.  She's doing fine otherwise.  Hopefully she doesn't catch the flu that's going around these days.

This is entirely enough news.   If you made it this far, I'm impressed.  I think I would have dozed off after the 3rd or 4th bullet point. HA! Until next time...have a great week!