Magic and Aloha

I'm excited to announce another contribution to our 2nd magic quilt. This one is from the soon-to-be author, Donald J. Cary whose first book, Bumpy Landings is coming out in January. Don grew up in Laie, Hawaii (WOOHOO)! He should be one of my homies from the hood but I didn't really know him in Hawaii, I only knew of him. Now, thanks to blogging, I'm proud to call him a friend.

MUCH MAHALO Don, for sharing.

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Given the circumstances, a trip to Hawaii seemed like a very selfish move. My wife was living half a continent away so she could get medical treatment, and my two young girls were finishing their last year of school in Utah before we were to sell the house and move away from our vital support network of family and friends.

Yet given the circumstances, a touch of selfishness was just what I needed. And twentieth high school reunions only come once in a lifetime. So with assurances from both heaven and earth that my loved ones would be well taken care of in my absence, I boarded a plane for Honolulu.

Near the top of my list was the task to find an Aloha shirt or two – a classy one like the kind I’d grown up with. After searching high and low, I found two.

My contribution to the Magic Quilt is one of them.

The months that followed this short, personal vacation were by far the toughest of my life. With any luck the future won’t hold any even remotely that hard.

My wife was sick, and had been for years. We didn’t know what was wrong, other than she had a list of symptoms as long as all of our arms, and the doctors couldn’t find anything in her battery of tests. Headaches, tremors, neuropathy, and brain fog joined fatigue, sensitivity to everyday chemicals, and drastic, unexplained weight loss. The best we could do was find costly, time-consuming band-aids that would slow the symptoms, but solid answers were few and far between.

My role in this adventure was to be Superman. Hold down a job, take care of two small children, help my wife find answers, and keep the family afloat. The only way I could see to do this was to sell our dream home, pay off our six-digit medical debt, and move our family to a Texas where my wife had found some promising treatments.

I wore this shirt as I packed the house, loaded the moving truck, and drove to Texas. I wore it to hundreds of appointments with dozens of different doctors. I wore it while trying desperately to provide two little girls a normal life amidst utterly insane circumstances. I wore it to writing conferences where I tried to find a little bit of normal for myself.

I wore it to the hospital where my wife lay dying of malnutrition, despite bottle after bottle of nutrients being pumped into her veins. I wore this shirt as I pleaded with heaven to spare her life – if not for me, then for our children.

And I wore it when those prayers were answered.

I wore it to the doctor who figured out why my wife couldn’t digest her food, and found the one enzyme that would work for her. I wore it to the doctor who diagnosed our whole family as having Lyme disease.

I wore it as I watched my wife gain dozens of pounds. I wore it as I helped her move home, and later join us on our first family vacation in years.

I wore it until the edges tattered and the seams ripped out and I couldn’t wear it any more.

I wore it until only the magic was left. The magic, and the Aloha.

And now I’m sending it to you, so the magic can help someone else.

God bless you.

Don Carey

The Magic Wand

I posted this on my Crash Test Dummy blog last week and I wanted to re-post it here for my Magic Quilt supporters.

I also wanted to post a link to a powerful story From Susan Scribble. She said we could include it in our Magic Quilt book and she's going to send fabric. YAY! I will post the story in full as soon as I get photos of the fabric. If you want a sneak peak click on the following link: Mighty Man Adam


Okay, on the my re-post:
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Last Sunday I laid in the room in the house where my great grandmother Constance was born over 100 years ago. I read the beautiful history her daughter, my grandmother, wrote about her and her family and I got choked up. These are my people, I thought.

I have people.

Constance is one of my people. She has a mysteriously tragic story, which I will tell sometime. She did something that caused deep shame to her family and had an indelible effect on her posterity. But she is mine. I come from her. And I am honored to have her as my people.

I wish I could hug her right now and tell her that all love is a blessing, even if it's short lived. And that no love is wasted, even if it's ill-timed.


I hope she saw it that way when she was alive, but I'll never know.


This post is not about my great grandmother. This post is about April from Springrose Journals, who is making the 2nd magic quilt. She needs our help.


Springrose didn't do anything shameful, but I wish I could hug her too and tell her that all love is a blessing, even if it's short lived. And that no love is wasted, even if it's ill-timed.

Springrose just lost a baby. It's the second pregnancy that has ended in a miscarriage in the past year and a half. I was hoping the magic quilt would miraculously keep her baby growing, but it was not to be. So now she needs our magic more than ever. She needs more fabric to finish the quilt because she is anxious to work and get her mind off her grief.

Stan and Lila (the recipients of the first magic quilt) are sending her fabric as we speak. My MIL is donating fabric as well, and I brought home a quilted shower curtain from my aunt and pillow cases from my grandmother.

Please, if you have a story of healing or faith or inspiration or comfort or joy, (and who doesn't) and you have a piece of fabric which either represents that story or which you actually wore or used, please send it to April so she can make some magic and experience comfort from you.

Please, please, pretty please. Dummies with stone cold hearts don't usually beg but here I am on hands and knees, because not only is one of our friends in need of a little magic, but there is a whole world in need of a little magic.

Let's be the wand.

Here's a poignant comment on my Magic Quilt blog from Aunt Claudia:

Isn't this what God does with our lives? Takes all the scraps in our journey and sews them together with strength, love and healing.

Did I already say let's be the wand?

I know my great grandmother Constance would give Springrose a hug too. There was no written record of her life, but at her funeral her bishop said, "Whenever I had to call upon the Relief Society to aid me in giving service to those in need of help, Sister Connie was always the first one to come forth."

See why I'm so honored to have her as my people?

In her scrapbook two words, "my favorite" were written next to this poem:

The Holy Supper is kept, indeed

In whatso we share with another's need;

Not what we give, but what we share,--

For the gift without the giver is bare;

Who gives himself with his alms feeds three,

Himself, his hungering neighbor and me.

(From The Vision of Sir Launfal).

If you want to send fabric, email me for the address. MAHALO!

Priceless!

Today was a very humbling day for me because I got to meet the first recipient of the magic quilt, Stan Tolman and his wife, Lila.

It was amazing.

I was already verklempt before I met them because I had read their latest blog update and seen this photo of Stan with his grand kids snuggled up in the magic quilt.



Priceless!

That's how I would describe the sensation--the charge of emotion that blew through me. Let's just say my eyes started sweating at the sight of it.

After all of our dreaming and planning and sharing and sewing . . . and now the quilt is REAL. It's REALLY REAL. And it's traveling around doing what it was made to do, spreading love and bringing comfort to those in need.

Does anyone else feel like a group hug is in order?

Stan has gall bladder cancer. It's rare. And it's hard to treat. In fact, none of the treatments have worked and Stan and his family have decided to stop with the medical procedures and enjoy life. After they decided to quit treatment they began traveling across the country to visit their family. They see it not as the end, but as a new beginning.

SNIFF!

So Stan received the magic quilt the night before they embarked on their final journey together, and he has been taking it with him and sharing it's message. Lila says on her blog:

I would like everyone who was involved in this magic to know how much it has touched our lives and the lives of all of those who love Stan.


GET THIS! After stopping in Nauvoo and Mt. Rushmore, they were driving past Martin's Cove on Friday morning and decided to stop. Lila says:

It was too early for the buildings to be open so we started the two-mile walk to the cove. We took it slow and stopped at the benches to admire the view and rest. Stan was getting very tired but we could see a little cabin ahead and pushed on. The cabin was manned by 3 senior missionaries. Stan sat on the bench and asked them if this was the cove. When they said that it was a mile farther up the trail you could see the pain on his face because he wanted so much to see the cove, but he knew he could go no father. I explained to the missionaries his condition and his desire. One of the sisters went into the cabin. She used a walk-e-talkie to ask them to send a rover up to pick up Stan. A wonderful missionary drove us up to the cove. At the cove he explained what happened there and told us we could take all the time we wanted. The spirit was so strong as we held onto each other and looked at the spot where so many had given so much. I couldn’t stop crying. Their faith was so strong and even though their trials were great, they were never alone. As we drove back down I looked out across the mountains and saw a handcart company coming in. It was about a mile long of youth and leaders experiencing their own faith promoting experiences.

Okay that mile-long handcart company having their own faith promoting experiences . . . that was ME and MY stake! Lila saw MY handcart company, and she was right, there were several faith promoting experiences going on.



How crazy cool is that?

Lila goes on to say:

Friday night we were in the arms of our sweet little grandchildren. Stan wanted them all to see the 'magic quilt'. As I told them the story of the quilt I could see Stan lovingly rub his hand over the quilt. This is when I knew how much the quilt meant to him.


This alone makes it worth all the effort, but I know this is just the beginning. I can feel the momentum. I know that the more people the magic quilt touches and comforts the more power and comfort it will be able to bring to those who need it.


You get me?


So today, not only did I get to meet Stan and Lila . . .



I also got to meet two of their sons, one daughter-in-law, and three of their grand kids.

Did I already say it was amazing? Because it WAS amazing.

First of all, they are all gorgeous--the whole lot of them. Seriously, the look good in their photos, but double that in real life. Stan is so dang handsome. And Lila is muy bonita. (Their offspring were kinda easy on the eyes as well.)

Second of all, they are shiny people. As Lenny Kravitz would say, their eyes could light the world on fire.

We talked for a while and got acquainted and I told them how the magic quilt got started and told them about some of the quilt blocks and about Kritta finally being able to get pregnant after she started the quilt and how she felt the quilt really was magic because it got her through her high risk pregnancy safe and sound.

But I forgot to tell him why I also gave him a Mozart CD along with the quilt. I haven't told you guys that yet either. I promise to tell that story soon.

Lila told me that once they accepted Stan's condition she began praying that he wouldn't have to suffer. She prayed it over and over, but then one day she received an answer in the form of a voice in her head saying in effect, "why would want to take these learning lessons away from him?"

That made me cry because, darnit, isn't it just the truth? Since I've been playing pioneer woman as of late, I've been thinking a lot about the lessons that come from our struggles.

One of my favorite parts of the trek was the hardest part of the trek--the woman's pull, where the women had to push/pull their handcarts up a steep, sandy hill without any help from the men. It was super tough, but I felt close to the other four girls in my handcart family in a way you only feel close to people you go through struggles with. I loved them. Whole heartedly.

And isn't love all you really need?

Love is the magic.

While we were pulling our handcarts up the hill, the men had to stand in silence, lined up along the trail with their hats over their hearts. My husband said later how much he wanted to step in and push our handcart, but he wasn't allowed.




I guess sometimes we just have to stand by and watch those we love receive their lessons.

But you know what? When I started up the hill and saw all the men standing in silence on either side of the trail I just knew I could do it. Their energy! It was powerful! To me they represented all those who have passed on before us, who are silently cheering us on along the sidelines. Wanting us to make it to the top of our own challenges.

I wish I had told Stan about the day my twins were born. About how I was panicking because one of the twins had dropped into the birth canal way too soon, at only 29 weeks. My husband laid his hands on me and gave me a blessing and I was instantly calm.

"It's okay," I told him. "They aren't going to be born today."

But I had mistaken my instant peace for the answer I wanted to hear. While I didn't get what I wanted, and what I thought was best at the time, I got something better. I got a glimpse into the world beyond and while I was being rushed into an emergency c-section I could see that the room was completely full of angels, excited and cheering me on, so to speak. Two of them, a man and a woman, were physically touching me and helping me through each contraction.

I know there will be a room full of angels waiting to greet Stan when he takes his journey back. I feel so sad that he has to leave early, and yet there is a little tiny part of me that is excited for him. I told him so when I hugged him goodbye and wished him aloha oe. I didn't mean to tell him, it just slipped right out of my mouth. I hope it didn't make him feel bad.

And then I asked him to please say hello to my dad for me when he gets there. And to tell him I miss him. I didn't mean to say that either, but Stan nodded and said he would.

And then we hugged aloha oe again.

Where in the world is the Magic Quilt?

The Magic Quilt is finally in the hands of the first recipient, Stan (thanks to Amanda, who nominated him.)

Here they are being granted our quilt full of . . . well, full of us. In a way that quilt is our way of wrapping our arms around another human being who is suffering.  May he and Lila feel comfort, and love, and peace, every time they look at it. I know it will bring them good luck

Here is a picture of Amanda with her sister-in-laws, Emily and Laura (my neighbor in Hawaii, who was visiting her home in Maryland).

Here's what Amanda wrote about the night she brought the quilt to Stan:

Stan had been briefed of the magic quilt she did not tell him we were coming over to deliver it today so he was surprised to see us coming through the door. I explained the premise of the magic quilt and your vision for spreading hope, love and inspiration. Stan, in his quiet, stoic manner just listened and smiled. I presented the quilt to him and he said, "thank you" with some slightly sweaty eyes. Lila and I were close to waterworks, sniffling and wiping away our tears. Lila hesitated to be in the picture but I explained that she was a part of this and without her the quilt would not be in Stan's hands. Brian Blum (Swirl's hub) was able to impart some Bishopy comments about a talk President Monson gave at last conference on eternal families and encouraged them to read it. We had a lovely discussion about eternal families and the difficulty of hearing and accepting what comes along with the words "terminal cancer" but that there are blessings in everything and knowing that an earthly death does not separate us forever but brings such comfort during these times. 

Stan has chosen to stop all treatment, at this time, due to the rare cancer he has there is little hope that he will benefit from further treatment. Stan and his lovely wife will spend the next three weeks driving cross-country to visit family and enjoying special moments with one another. These two have a magic of their own, but I am hopeful the magic quilt will add a little something extra.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this.  I can't think of anything else that I could have done to help Stan and Lila, even though my heart ached for a chance to show them how much I love and care for them.  This quilt has meaning beyond words and the magic is not limited to the person possessing it.

Lots of love,
Amanda

Thank you Amanda.  

Jack Johnson give-oh-give-away

Last month I took my Laurels to the singles ward. They didn't love looking that far forward, but I loved looking that far back. Young people are so darn fresh and optimistic. In sacrament meeting the speaker quoted from Elder Uchtdorf's last conference talk, You Are My Hands where he referenced a statue of Christ which was severely damaged during a World War II bombing. Most of the statue has been restored, but the hands remain missing so the people of the city added on the base of the statue these words: “You are my hands.”

The speaker quoted Uchtdorf saying, "When I think of the Savior, I often picture Him with hands outstretched; reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love."

In Relief Society the teacher drew a hand on the chalkboard and explained that the hand is only as good as it's working fingers, and then she said that we are all the fingers on the hands of the Lord and as we work together we can reach out to heal, comfort, bless and love.

Ain't that just the truth. Especially when it comes to quilting. Many hands make many quilts.

And many quilts make many magic.

Or something like that.

You get my drift.


Soooooo, the first magic quilt is on the road. WOOHOO!

In other words, it's traveling, which is exactly what magic quilts do. The more they travel, the more magic they generate.

First it went to April from Springrose Journals, who is making the next magic quilt, and now it's on it's way to our first official recipient, Stan in Washington D.C.


Photographic evidence coming soon.


Kritta, who made the 1st quilt, has enough leftover fabric to make a 2nd magic quilt. Springrose will make a 3rd magic quilt and, I, the Crash Test Dummy, am making a magic t-shirt quilt.


But I need more fabric and t-shirts nd inspirational stories to keep healing the world, which is why I'm having a Jack Johnson give-away. (I'm not actually giving Jack Johnson away, just two tickets to his concert in Salt Lake City on August 13th.)


I chose Jack Johnson because everyone knows he's my favorite Hawaii surf-dude-turned-rock-star from Kahuku high school.

Plus I have photographic evidence of him with his arm around me.

Have I ever showed you that picture?

Oh yeah, we're tight.


I also chose Jack Johnson because he is big on reducing, reusing and recycling. I'm not that good at reducing, but reusing and recycling fabric for healing quilts is right up my alley.

So here's how to enter the give-away:

Put the magic quilt button on your sidebar and you get one entry.

Mention the magic quilt project and Jack Johnson give-away in a post and you get one entry.

Become a follower, one entry.

Contribute fabric or a signed t-shirt for the next quilts and get three entries.

Contribute an inspirational story and get three entries.

Make sure you post a comment letting me know which of these things you've done. I will check up on you. Don't think I won't.

Deadline for the give-away is July 31st. All entries will be placed in a hat and the winner will be drawn and announced on August 1st.


If you send a t-shirt, please sign your name in permanent marker somewhere near the middle. Also, please chose a t-shirt that you've worn and that represents you somehow.


All inspirational stories will be published here on The Magic Quilt blog and will also be eligible to be published in the first Sisterhood of the Magic Traveling Quilt book.


Fabric donations are more meaningful if they are meaningful. You get me? In other words, if the fabric somehow represents you or your story. For instance I recently bought swatches of bright Hawaiian fabric from Walmart and sent them to Springrose.




They didn't cost much.

The fabric can also be scraps of fabric you've had for years or fabric you wanted to make a quilt into a quilt someday. Tauna, from The Egan Garden donated this fabric and these quilt blocks she's been making (with love) over the years.




T-shirts would be great too. Cubworld already donated the shirt off his back.



Okay, it's time to get started. Let's put our fingers together. Get it? fingers?


hee hee


But seriously, please help me (and Jack Johnson) spread the magic!



Much Mahalo!

We found our first recipient!

When I asked if anyone knows someone who needs The Magic Quilt, Amanda from What's For Dinner sent me this email:


I know someone who needs it... I'm crying just thinking about him and this blanket. His name is Bro. Tolman.

He and his wife have very special spirits, with faith beyond anyone I have ever met before. They are people in a realm somewhere between heaven and earth--amazing beyond words.

Bro. Tolman is suffering with cancer. He discovered last fall that he has a tumor in his liver---the size of a softball--- and, due to the size and placement, he has not been a candidate for any treatments or surgery other than chemo.

Each month during Fast & Testimony meeting he has an inspiring, faith-filled testimony to share about the love of Jesus Christ and the blessings in his life. Last week he gave his testimony, and although he was very faithful, I was brought to tears hearing him say the Lord has not removed the cancer from him. He continues to take chemo and he's grateful that he can still work and carry on with life.

This man loves children! Any time my kids were at his house, as soon as we walked through the door he would grab toys, hit the floor and start playing with them. He is just such a special individual and I'm so saddened by the thought of him dying, of his poor wife who has been with him since they were teenagers, of his four strong and talented boys, and of the many grandchildren who will not know how truly special their grandfather is.

I think Bro. Tolman would be greatly touched by the gift of the Magic Quilt, the stories that go with it and the love that was put into it. He is one who will appreciate it's comfort. I could go on and on with stories about this man...

Here is the blog his daughter-in-law set up to keep everyone informed...you can read about his journey since January.


After Amanda told his wife about The Magic Quilt here is what she said:

I don't even know what to say. I think this will be such a comfort when he becomes bedridden. He has been so upbeat, but I know there will be dark moments. Thank you for your love and thoughtfulness.

Brother Tolman lives in Silver Springs, Maryland and I am sending the quilt to Amanda, who will present it to Bro. Tolman.

I am so excited for this quilt to go out and work some magic! Along with the quilt, I'm including my favorite Mozart CD. (YAY for Mozart!), as well as a book of all The Magic Quilt stories. Amanda will take photographic evidence of Bro. Tolman receiving The Magic Quilt package.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Announcements:

Kritta is making the Magic Quilt #2 out of the same fabric as quilt #1.

We need to start gathering fabric and stories for The Magic Quilt #3, which is going to be made in Ideeho by Springrose. (Wixom Zoo is in her ward so I bet she'll help too.) When they finish the quilt I'm going to blog across Ideeho to get a photo with them and the quilt.

Please send stories and photos of your fabric to my email address: ctddiaries@gmail.com

And I'm making the Magic Quilt #4, which will be a t-shirt quilt. (I'll explain details later) Cubworld is our first donor. He is even coming over to my house to drop off a signed t-shirt. (YAY!) I've got other inspiring donors in the works (TBA).

Good News Minute

I hope you have some tissue close by because Kritta finished The Magic Quilt and it arrived on my doorstep a few days ago.

My stone-cold heart was pounding and my eyeballs sprung a leak as I opened the package.

It is bee-U-tiful! Thank you Kritta. And thank you everyone who shared their stories and their fabric.

And guess what Kritta did that gave me shivers? She sewed the names of all those who not only donated fabric and shared their stories, but also those who are following this blog.

Like this:







I ran my fingers over each block and thought of each corresponding story.

Here is Andrea's blocks from her Surrounded in Love entry.

And here is Springrose's block from her She loved Me Most entry.

It's right next to Sandi's block from her Safe in His Arms entry.

The following block choked me up most. It's from Anjeny's entry Finding Comfort. It contains extra special magical powers because she actually took it from her mother's favorite skirt. Her entry, and the fact that her mother passed away three or four years ago, made this donation exceptionally powerful to me.


There are so many inspiring stories.

I want MORE! MORE! MORE! Please send more.

Since our first recipient is now in remission (thank goodness), I will start taking nominations for our actual first recipient soon.

Kritta has enough material to make another magic quilt, and I am going to start quilting myself silly too. If anyone out there wants to help sew or donate fabric and share stories, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do! There are plenty of struggling sistahs around us who could use a little magic in their lives.

Speaking of magic, I'm going to leave you with a video I saw posted on LoW's blog yesterday featuring the amazing Nie Nie who is incredibly inspiring. Maybe I can get her to donate a piece of fabric for our next quilt.