"Q" is for Quilting
not quitting

Today seems like the perfect day to tell one of the greatest stories I have to tell and it is all true.

The summer after Jeff's first year at Tulane, we were flying back into New Orleans from a west coast family vacation. It was a flight that got in around 11:30 pm. On the flight I noticed a guy our age in a blue polo shirt sleeping on a spread of three seats. He slept the whole 3 hour flight from Salt Lake City.

When we got off the plane to get our luggage we were talking to another passenger who was there with his family who happened to be flying in for freshman orientation as well. The young man in the blue shirt overheard us talking and asked us if we were Jeff and Kristi. He explained that he as well was moving here to start school... The next day. We were a little surprised of how he knew our name as we had no idea who he was.

During graduate school we kept our name on a board at BYU to have anyone interviewing to come stay with us and that was where he got our name, as we was also a BYU graduate like Jeff, And also was a member of our church.
It now being almost midnight we stood with him waiting to get our luggage and found out that David had just found out he was accepted and hopped on a plane with no real plans of where he was going to stay that night. Jeff and I both said, "come home with us!" After much convincing we brought him home and he was able to go into school with Jeff the next day.

I wish I had a photo of a friend at works face when I told her this story the next day. She said to me, "WHAT? You brought home a stranger from the airport to come live with you!"

David lived with us for 4-6 weeks I don't really remember but it seemed like 2 days. He is hands down the best house guest we have ever had. The fact that he is still friends with us after living with us shows what a forgiving and understanding guy he is.Mardi Gras 1998

His wife was getting ready to come out once he found a house. I remember the very night I asked him to tell me about his wife. I was wondering what she was like, what she liked to do. He said she loves aerobics and to quilt.
My mind said to myself, "QUILT?" Like sit around a big wooden frame with old ladies and quilt. I even chuckled and tried to convince myself it was not like what I was thinking in my mind.

catching cabbage St. Patricks day 1999

I had hoped that me and his wife could become friends because David was such a great guy and we looked forward to getting to know them better. There were only a few friends from church who went to school with Jeff and it was fun to think there was another coming in.

David found a home and then his wife Mindy moved out. I don't remember meeting Mindy like the first time I met Dave but I will never forget the impact she had on my life while we lived in New Orleans.Kristi and Mindy with the doubloon man

The fun story continues and Mindy and I became fast friends or I guess I could say I fastly wanted to be her friend.

She has been given many spiritual gifts and one of them is how you feel when you see her smile. You can't help but smile and feel good when you see it. What always amazes me about Mindy is she has no fear when trying something new. This quality in her is something I will always admire and becomes contagious when you are around her. She makes you believe you can do anything.

my first quilt mindy "helped" me make.

While living in New Orleans my Nona passed away in Utah she left me a wedding ring patchwork quilt. I brought it to Mindy and said "please teach me how to do this" {oh how I was eating my words of my first thoughts of.. "She quilts?"}
I remember her patiently teaching me how to quilt. Every step. from picking a pattern, choosing the fabric, cutting, organizing, cleaning threads out of your vacuum cleaner to quilting and binding. She is a wonderful teacher and again makes you feel like you can do anything.
She bit me with the sewing bug. She took me to Wal Mart where I bought my first machine for $77.00. I remember charging it on a credit card because I didn't have the money to buy it, thinking is was the most expensive thing I had purchased on a card. That sewing machine is what I used to sew all my quilts on and start a purse business. She told me it is not the machine that makes the seamstress it is the person behind it. She made me feel like I was using a $5000 Bernina.
She taught me and MANY other women to quilt in New Orleans and and don't think there isn't one of us that has not taught some sewing skills to someone else, her gift keeps giving and spreading.
I still keep a piece of the fabric used for the binding in my scriptures to remember the week we made this quilt.

Selfish thinking would make me believe that David was accepted to Tulane because Heavenly Father was sending in reinforcements for me. I have cried many a tear on her plaid couches and will be forever grateful to the power one person has made in my life. She taught me to serve and not complain. She taught me to face trials head on. She taught me Q is for quilting not quitting.

Today is Mindy's birthday it is a day for her! I love you girl. fill her blog today with birthday wishes.

the top Noah's ark quilt was a baby gift Mindy gave me for Annie Kate. It had to have taken her 100's of hours to complete. The day she gave it to me I cried so hard I got a bloody nose. I have often said that if my house was on fire I would grab my kids and that quilt. My favorite part is the rainbow and whales. The detail is amazing.