April 27, 2026

 Hello!

Long time no hear from me....

I've been a whole lot busy and it's all been good, good, good!

First off....

Our Maisy Kate was born on April 4

8 lbs 7 oz. 

Cora wasn't so sure about little Maisy at first, but being a big sister for 3 weeks has grown on her!

Maisy looks almost exactly like her Mommy when she was a baby....

and like I said, Miss Cora is thriving being a big sister...

Three days after Maisy was born...

my son, Jacob, was notified by Eli Lilly that they wanted to formally interview him for a job. That was exciting news! In fact, they were giving him the two formal interviews that typically they space...back to back on the same day! 

He did the interviews and less than 24 hours later he had a job offer!

He will be starting full time with Eli Lilly in Indianapolis on May 4. He is doing exactly what he wants to do, in his field: Engineering Technician - Process Control. He will be programming and trouble shooting robotic arms. 

Lilly is a fantastic place to work for. I am so proud of and happy for him! 

A technicality for his job was: 

he had to move closer to Indy. Bloomington was considered outside the area for people who would be on call. So...two days after his job offer, we toured an apartment in Greenwood, Indiana. It was perfect, quiet, clean, the apartment that he would rent was just refurbished, it was modern and close to the office/clubhouse. It's well lit and I felt it appeared to be very safe. Three days after his job offer we were renting a Uhaul and moving him up there. 

Here I thought I would die before Jacob would ever move out and in a span of 4 days he had gotten his dream job, secured the perfect apartment and we had moved him out! 

That is HOW FAST life can move and change in the span of such a short amount of time. 

Not only has Jacob received his dream job....but Ellie

(who still will have 2 years of school - she changed her major from Informatics to Computer Science), received word OUT OF THE BLUE, that Crane NSWC wanted to interview her (this is where basically our whole family works for the Navy). She had a 30 minute interview and apparently knocked their socks off because one week later, in a no hire situation, she was offered an internship position that will transition to a full time position upon completion of her degree! She is studying Computer Science, with minors in Math, Data Science and Informatics. Crane has been very good to our family. They have excellent benefits and work to life balance. 

Ellie and Joseph...

also during this time frame has hammered down a date for their wedding. 

It will be June 12, 2027. So I have a little over a year to plan and execute it.

Joseph's Grandma...who babysat and took care of him for his parents his entire childhood (much like I am doing with my grandgirls)...is 85 and has hit upon some health issues. It is very important to Joseph to have his Grandma see him married. So they moved up their wedding a year. Ellie will have to finish her final year of school married...but that's OK. She can do it. Their moving up their wedding meant that Mom had to start the wedding sampler Ellie chose. 

Which was "The Wedding" by Lavender and Lace - Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum

which looks like this:

Yep...that's a lot of white....

So I started it off and here is a series of WIP pictures:

I think, I can...

I think, I can...

I think, I can...

It's on 32 count Natural Linen....I like natural linen, it's like a painted canvas when done.

Of course we changed the colors of the ribbons from blue to purple...

The flowers we toned down to more pastel pinks...rather than dark pinks...

Her colors are going to be purple, pink and yellow gold.

OK, so I told you about all the newsy, news....

I showed you my Wedding start....

I have not finished Vervaco's Jesus because well...life and starting this Wedding Sampler which I want done before I move to anything else.

I think last time I hopped on here, I told you that I was having nerve pain in my operative hip....that (for the most part) has resolved. It took exactly 1 month to resolve and let me tell you it was not fun. At all.

My left hip is quickly deteriorating.... 

I'm likely going to have to have it replaced....sooner rather than later...my surgeon has worked up the details, but told me he would hold it until I called and said I give in. I don't know when that will be though with a wedding on the horizon and a 3 month recovery....

My knees are going too...but I'll deal with it as it comes, things could be so very much worse, you know and I'm thankful that in today's world things like arthritis and joint disease can be helped with replacements, injections and I don't have to suffer the rest of my life.

I will say this surgery has taken it out of me...

I cannot work nearly as long or as hard as I have in the past. But I'm building myself slowly. 

I walked 1 mile nonstop today! Hurray! And bird watched along the way!

Katie and Austin gifted me a pair of wonderful, fantastic field glasses by Vortex. They are the Vortex Diamondback HD 8 x 32 binoculars. I have asked for a tripod for Mother's Day. I love birding and now that I have some time, I have been taking time out each day to bird watch and Keith is even making it a weekly thing for us to go on a birding adventure date. 

Speaking of Keith...

Today is our 30th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to us! Like I told him this morning....I hope I make it another 30 years because the last 30 years has been the best adventure ever and I know the next 30 years of adventures will be even better. We had a lowkey day together yesterday....we went out to eat - always a treat to do that because we don't do that often. Then we went birding and did some small hiking (Keith is very protective of me and my walking too much after what happened this spring with my hip and nerve pain issues which was brought on by walking and standing too much in one day). We visited a Covered Bridge we had never seen - we are trying to get to all of Indiana's covered bridges that are left. And we stopped in Brown County - Nashville Indiana to have our favorite sweet treat - Persimmon Ice Cream! Yum!

So folks...that's life...

between all these many bountiful blessings the Lord has showered over us in the past month....

I've also been doing Easter season flowers each week at church and have been averaging 4 hours each week procuring, arranging and then putting out in church the flowers for the season. 

I have decided that I am going to place orders each month at the florist rather than go around trying to find flowers myself. That's what I do for the 8 weeks of Easter season, and it makes my life SO MUCH easier. So why not be organized and do it that way every week even during Ordinary Time? 

Yeah, that's what I thought too...

Life is buzzing like the bees I see in the flowers in the trees outside my window...

And I thank the Lord for his mercy and goodness that He shows us each and every day!

Until next time...

lots of love, 

Vonna