1 wedding, 1 funeral and a little cross stitch

So...I'm embarrassed to see it's been over a month since I blogged. I'm sure that's officially the longest gap in L*K blog history.

But a lot of life has happened since we last chatted. Happy, sad, busy, emotional, just plain hard...it's all been there.

Sarah "Lizzie" and Ali "Kate" getting ready for Ali and Barc's wedding

On the happy side, our daughter Ali was married on June 2. Barclay is the man she's been waiting/praying/hoping for for many years. And they are adorable together. They're so profoundly happy and grateful to have found each other (at ages 34 and 39), they're just totally embracing life together. It's just a joy to be around them.

Thanks to son-in-law Jeff for this pic before the ceremony

I loved my pretty pink MOB (mother-of-bride) dress. It was so comfy - no hose, no SPANX, and even pockets. Woohoo! Dillard's for the win.

We had the large wedding at beautiful historic KC Union Station

Henry (on Alan's lap) and Fiona (by his side)

We kept our grand-dogs while the honeymooners were eating their way through Mexico and frolicking on the beach. Henry recently lost his vision due to sudden doggie disease (SARDS), but he was a champ...navigating our stairs and even swimming in our lake.

Those crazy, sweet  newlyweds

****If you need a super relaxing, off-the-grid, not-too-expensive getaway with Mexi-food 3 meals a day...check out Ali's blog post on their honeymoon destination.

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/life/our-honeymoon-in-mexico-hotel-escondido/

I was still reveling in all the wedding bliss, trying to get back to work when I got a call from my Mom's Assisted Living complex, requesting me to take her to ER. My brother and I have been managing her care for 5+ years...driving her everywhere, doing 3 moves, too many trips to the ER, happy times and sad times...many of you know about caring for aging parents.

After 10 days in the hospital, Mom died on June 25. the day after Alan's birthday. We spent the next week planning her church service and cleaning out her apartment (yes, it's done!). On July 1 we had a wonderful celebration of her life at our church. 

Mom, Me (upper left) and brother John...circa 1957

We were so blessed by the service and the time surrounding it. So many family and friends from my past, it was such a joy to chat and catch up with them all. Yet, I can tell it's going to be a long time adjusting to this new phase in my life. Sigh...

 

The 3 Kathleens..Linda Kathleen (me), Wanda Kathleen (my mom) and Alison Kathleen (our daughter)

We are still patting ourselves of the back for managing to take Mom to the wedding. It never would have happened without my brother and his wife, but we pulled it off. I was her "personal shopper" and dressed and accessorized her head to toe for the big event. 

Back to my blog post title...1 wedding, 1 funeral and a little cross stitch. I've been trying to get back in the work groove. Thankfully I had the next batch of L*K newbies already designed and published. I've been SO distracted. But I'm looking forward to the week ahead - no weird mid-week holidays - and getting back to MORE cross stitch biz. 

***Thanks for your many kind condolences and well wishes on the L*K Facebook page. You can't imagine how much it means to me. The cross stitch community really is an extraordinary bunch of kind and thoughtful people. 

Check back soon and I'll post a preview of NEWBIES COMING JULY 21.