Bai Jia Bei Deadline Worked.... Sort Of!

So, I tried to encourage y'all (yes, I'm Southern. Born in Louisiana. I'm allowed at least 3 y'alls a year. I think it's on my birth certificate) to send those quilt squares in by November 15th.  I know a few are still on their way, but these are the ones who will not be receiving one letter grade lower automatically because they turned the assignment in on time.  (Just kidding!  Hope no one is offended by that one.  I'm really punchy at the moment because I did a lot of driving and it's late and I'm exhausted. If your square isn't here yet, please do send it soon.  There's still a little time left, but we really need to get crackin'!)

OK, also, since I'm walking the fine line between being silly and sarcastic to a fault, I will add another disclaimer:  Since I didn't get family photos of several of you, I resorted to snatching them off your FB profiles!  So, if you'd like another photo in the official record, please email one to me.  Otherwise you'll end up in Asher's book looking like this:

This is the wonderful Jana, with whom I "taught" Kindergarten out in the lovely barren desert of Lancaster, CA for exactly 1 and a half school years.  With her is her husband, Curt, who I still just call "Mr. Jana."  Jana sent a whole panel of Veggie Tales squares and I think this one will be the one that goes on the quilt:

Jana and I share an undying love for those Veggies!  I think there are a number of Veggie-related messages that could be appropriately passed on to Asher here: "God made you special and He loves you very much!" or "You were meant to be..." or simply the classic "Oh where is my hairbrush?"  So much depth! 

Thank you Jana!  See you again soon!

We'll stick with the California connection for the next piece.

This one comes from the Carter family.  Remember all those "Little Golden Books" from when you were a kid?  Well, this piece shows lots of them!

Andy, Tera, Mary, & Kaycee lived in our neighborhood in Lancaster (well, technically Kaycee didn't live there when we were there... she wasn't born yet).  I really wish they were still our neighbors!

Here's their message to Asher:

They also sent a Little Golden Book to go with it.  Thanks so much, guys!

This next piece is from Conny.

Conny is another Helibird, whose husband Sascha has been studying and instructing at the helicopter school here.  Conny amazes me!  She is truly one of those people who is unbelievably kind, patient, and thoughtful!  She remembers every detail about everyone and puts up with an incredible amount of responsibilities with a smile on her face!  She is wonderful and we will miss her very VERY much, as their time in Tville is drawing to a close.

 Our international contributions continue with this piece from Britt Oda, Allan, and their two boys.

 

 Also once in Tville for helicopter-related activities, they have been back in Denmark for over a year now.  Britt Oda is most likely the most efficient and organized person I know, and even though it was just a couple weeks after giving birth to baby #2, she managed to get her fabric piece in the mail so that arrived exactly on the 15th!  This family picture is just a temporary one, as the real one will show the complete family of four!

Next up is a piece from Melissa, who I've known since I was at least 7 years old... I definitely have pics of us at my 8th birthday party!

Again, Melissa's family pic will be updated soon because she & husband Garrett have welcomed adorable baby Michael in to their family, and the fabric she chose is also the theme of his nursery. 

 

Thanks, Melissa, for your kind words and for your love & prayers!

Finally, the last piece for today is from our AWESOME friends Ben & Anisha.

Ben and Anisha have been in Tville since a little while before we moved here.  They are involved with the helicopter school, but this won't be their final destination, as they are working towards the mission field with Helimission.  We are excited for them, but also selfishly dreading the day when they leave.  In the meantime, however, Anisha used her artistic creativity to make this incredible scrapbook page to go along with the fabric:

I have to brag on her here a little for this!  Firstly, the entire page is made of felt.  And she cut that map out of felt... have you ever tried to cut tiny pieces of felt? Like, really really tiny ones?  It's pretty much just falls apart on you!  So, that part is impressive on its own.  Then, she stitched the word "love" in red thread, connecting China and Florida!  So clever, adorable, creative!  This one really knocked my socks off!  Thanks, Anisha!  You really put a lot of work into this one, and I LOVE it!  We love you guys! (Oh, and the little British kid on the page here is because Ben is from the UK.. that's random to stick in at the end, but I just remembered I didn't explain that part.... We love Mr. Ben too!)

So, thanks again everyone for the great contributions!  As always, I really, truly appreciate the time, effort, and thoughtfulness it takes for you all to participate in this project.  I am so excited that we've had so many pieces sent to us, and I know a few more are still on their way.  I can't wait to get it all put together and show you the final product!  Keep 'em coming!