Montana Mama Sarah Visits!

Sarah has meetings in Des Moines all this week, so she flew in early and spent Labor Day weekend with us!

There's nothing like having a family gathering with all the local family.

And the dogs. All five are present in that picture. Can you find them all?

We went out for lunch together.

And of course we played many games at the dining room pattern cutting game table.

We did some growth measuring

and shared strategies for winning.

For fun, Vanessa made a family video of us running a backwards race.

I think Curt was the clear winner. We also celebrated his birthday together.

Aunt Leslie, Uncle Rick,

Aunt Jenny,

and Aunt Cindie and Uncle Steve came over for a family dinner and to catch up with Sarah.

Then, one evening Craig and I were asked to "not listen" while Curt, Sarah, and Lisa met online with their other siblings. (Although they did ask me to come in and take a photo of them all together.)

Our 50th wedding anniversary is this November and the kids are planning an open house for us over the holidays.  We know some of the details but apparently others are going to be a surprise.

Sarah was with us Friday through Monday, and it was lovely to be together. Our kids all have very busy lives and I am grateful for any time they can give us.

She flew to Des Moines Monday evening. She is the director for states' expansion for Healthy Birth Day, a stillbirth prevention organization. She has 48 states on board and the final two are in progress. As such she supports the state partners and helps them integrate Count the Kicks, a program that's been shown to help prevent stillbirth. 

Needless to say, I am very proud of the work she is doing.

Craig and I have settled back into our quiet lives again, but it was breath of fresh air having her come. I love you, Sarah. Thank you for the gift of time you gave us. We treasure those moments with you. xo

Here They Come!

Second Post of the Day

Family (and dogs) began pouring into the house on Thursday, the day before the 4th of July.

Sadly, Mountain Mama Jessica and her family could not join us, but it was for a very good reason.

They are performing as Goldilocks & The Three Bears in a production of Shrek the Musical this summer and could not skip rehearsals. (You were all missed! We love you!)

We were also missing the JCs^2 as they are soon to become the JCs^3. (Yep, I am about to become a great grandmother!)

Cole, Emily, and the girls would be arriving on the 4th but everyone else was there by mid afternoon Thursday.

We were all looking forward to the reunion of Kyle and Tammo.

Tammo knew him immediately and (to quote The Incredible Journey) went into "great transports of joy" when he realized that Kyle was there.  

Tammo is a happy dog who loves life, but he was absolutely in heaven to be with his boy again. (I think Kyle was in heaven with him.)

It is not unusual for us to have several games going at once.  Mila and Lukas invited their Uncle Kyle to play a game on their Switch with them while Ian and Vanessa played an intense game of chess.

The rest of us took pictures and mingled. It was loud, it was full kids, dogs, and family, and it was wonderful.

Coming next? The 2025 Isenbarger Family Bocce Tournament! Stay 'tooned!

Almost Done

The jokes and memes have begun flying among our family members - having a big family gathering is fun but it's also quite an undertaking and my kids like to poke fun at that.  (Craig and I are right in there with them!)

Here is a screenshot from a tongue in cheek video Hawkeye Sarah just sent the family that was taken inside her kitchen pantry. In it, Sarah said, 

"Just over here preparing for the Isenbarger Christmas."

You can't see it all, but there are 20 cans of frosting and 24 boxes of candy canes. She laughed at the end of the video, and I honestly don't think she's bringing all that here, but... She works with the teens at her church and I suspect she's putting together an activity of some sort. (Although it's very possible she might bring what is left over.)

Our tree isn't up yet (tomorrow's project) nor is my mother's Nativity but we will be ready decor-wise when those are completed. (Oops, forgot about hanging the stockings.)

Not the best picture due to the late afternoon lighting, but I finished the staircase greenery. Honestly, that's one of my most favorite decorations. It really makes our home look festive.

I'm done sorting out the ornaments that we will put onto the tree. We have tubs and tubs of ornaments, but I am putting out those that I know are the most meaningful to our family.

Like this set of Rudolph ornaments. Only they were not ornaments - they were zipper pulls!

My kids love Rudolph and during our lean years I couldn't afford beautifully made Rudolph ornaments even in the Christmas section of Kmart. But, I sure could afford this set of Rudolph rubber zipper pulls and convert them into ornaments! 

Even better, they were unbreakable due to the rubber (which has made them last over the years) and there are 12 of them - two per child! Win-win for the Isenbarger clan!

I've also sorted out the stockings into family groups. My mom made the knitted ones and I made the fabric ones. I wanted to be sure we had enough for all who are spending Christmas with us this year.

Good thing I checked - I am four short and so I have some fabric sitting on the sewing table waiting for me to turn them into stockings before Christmas Eve.

I had an epiphany while going through Grandma Honeywell's ornaments. They are around 100 years old and were used during my mother's childhood.

Grandma always vented her cherry pies with this design and I do the same. But I never knew where that particular pattern came from, and neither did my mother but we used it because Grandma did.

While I looked at those old beauties in their boxes, thinking I'd choose one to go on this year's tree, I spied this pair:

Oh, my goodness. I think I just discovered where Grandma got her pattern.

My heart turned to mush and I got a little teary. Gently I tucked those two ornaments safely back into their box. Maybe next year I'll put one of them on the tree, but not this year. 

Speaking of ornaments that are old and precious, my childhood favorite is currently out and hanging in a safe corner. I'll take it down when our family begins arriving but we will enjoy it in the meantime.

My sister Leslie sent me a photo from one of our childhood Christmases, and look what I spied!

There it is, about 60 years ago in the 1960s hanging on our tree! It truly is a treasure. (How about those mid century modern drapes??)

It's about time for the December Give Away. Give me another day or two and I will post it, probably on Thursday, and it will run through Sunday evening like usual. I think you will like this month's prize.

Stay 'tooned!

Christmas Horse of the Day

Neva, a 2022 Holiday Web Special. I like that midnight blue contrasted with the white and silver, and the snowmen peeking out.  

Advent Calendar Reveal - Day 9

The Trotting Morgan Stallion in a pretty blue roan.

I'm procrastinating making a scene because I have to lift the calendar box over the scene each day to open a window, and it's very easy to knock pieces over when I do. And as more pieces are out, the easier it is for me to tip them over when I set a new piece into the scene. But I'll get it started later today or tomorrow.

JC & Jayci's Wedding: Part 1

For the first time since 2018, our entire family was together in one spot. That's a lot of Isenbargers - 27 of us! And it was wonderful.

Lisa, Craig, and I drove out together - a 24+ hour drive that we split into two days. We took my car (behind us) which had no problems getting us there. (It was the drive home that became dicey.)

Our main gathering place was a Vrbo with room enough for us all to play games, watch the Olympics, and chat.

There was a huge (and shady, thankfully) back yard with lots of room for the kids to play and enjoy themselves. (Cambria, Kate, Julie, Susie, and Titan.)

Me, Cory, Kyle, Melissa, Addie, Whitney, and Craig.

Abby is Cory's "twin horse" - I got the call that she'd been born as I was hauling Abby from Indiana Horse Rescue to Tim's place. Notice her cute horsey tee shirt.

The "twins" together in 2018. I love the happiness on both their faces.

We call Julie, Cambria, Whitney, and Ian "the Quads" since they were all born within thirteen weeks of each other. (Interesting that the oldest is the shortest and the tallest the youngest!)

The original photo from July, 2014. Cambria, Julie, Whitney, and Ian.

When they were babies, we took a picture of them like this and recreated it since we were all together.

For the life of me, I cannot find that picture but I'll keep trying.

The Vrbo was a great gathering place, but there was no way it could hold all 27 of us. Todd reserved a block of rooms for us in an Embassy Suites hotel.

The view from our room, looking across the valley. It was hazy due to fires burning in California.

The wedding day was excessively hot and it caused problems for us right from the beginning.

Combine that heat with the smokey haze and the much thinner air due to being so high up in the Rockies, and it was no surprise that we had problems.

The wedding (performed by Craig - what an honor!) was indoors and in the morning.

But when the bridal couple came outdoors, we were already wilting from the heat.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Coleman. Don't they look happy?

Walking to the site chosen for family photos. Lisa kept the bride in the shade while Whitney and Cambria walk with them.

The heat was awful and getting 50+ people organized was time consuming and tedious. Those not in the current picture would immediately head to the shade.

Some of us got a little silly. I nearly tipped myself over backwards clowning around like this. Lesson learned. 

People began wilting from the heat almost immediately and finally we decided to head on over to the air conditioned reception venue and finish there.

It was a good idea, but already the heat was taking its toll. 

Stay 'tooned.

Lots (Still) Going On!

After a nice nap yesterday and then sleeping in again this morning (sorry, Pepper and Tammo!) I think I am all caught up on my sleep and feel much more like myself. And as I said, I have a lot to share from the past few days.

I promised I would begin with the April Give Away.

The first winner!

And the second winner! Thanks to all who entered. Didn't win? There will be another Give Away in May so stay 'tooned!

I thought you might be interested in seeing how our family NCAA Basketball Tournament ended up.

It's Pony Pal Cambria for the win! And in second place is Cowpoke Titan who spent most of the tourney down in last place. Pony Pal Susie placed third.

The highest placed adults were Lisa and Craig who tied at fourth, and I dropped down to tenth place after the championship game. 

As you might imagine, the kids are very excited to have done so well against the adults. Mountain Mama Jessica shared that Cambria also won the 50-entry bracket at Andrew's office. Maybe next year I should ask her for some help in picking my teams!

Despite the lovely weather outside, I am spending a lot of time in the sewing room.

With so much new horsey fabric in stock, I am preparing for the Indy Blooms swap meet and the Midwest Mini Mayhem show. I've got six XLTs (Extra Long Traditionals) cut, pinned, and partially stitched and have begun adding velcro closures.

I should be able to finish these today

and then I plan to cut some more haversacks out of these new fabrics. I'm not sure if I will make XLTs or Traditionals from these yet.

Here is a peek at the four newest fabrics in my stash.

 

Hunt Scene on Green.

Foals & Dandelion Fluff (I love how the dandelion fluff is blowing!

 

I don't even know what to name this fabric, there is so much going on in it!

Foals & Flowers on a blue background (my favorite shade of blue.)

Frank and Eva head home to North Carolina today so last night we had one last family gathering, this time at Lisa's home.

Vanessa took this video of Lukie and Eva having fun with some bouncy cubes in Lisa's front yard.

Lisa and Frank had put together several charcuterie boards in the kitchen and we nibbled and chatted while we played games together. 

Frank set up video games for the kids, too.

It was a lovely gathering, but a little sad, too, since we would not see each other for a while. My heart lifted, though, when Eva told me that she really didn't want to go home but would rather stay here with us. Thank you, sweetie. We wish you could stay, too.

On the docket for today? Errands and the barn this morning, sewing more haversacks this afternoon. I hope to pack up and pop those inkwells into the mail today, too.

Lots going on - good thing I am retired!