Karen's Quilt Comes Home

The Quilt Block at Festival of Trees is an amazing part of Festival where quilters display their most unique talents by designing, creating and donating beautiful quilts.  These quilts are sold by Silent Auction and Cash and Carry on Opening Night.  These heirlooms amaze young and old alike as their amazing patterns and themes are displayed.  Each quilt is stitched with love, and more time than most can imagine is donated to create them. Over the past 48 years that Festival of Trees has been in operation, hundreds of quilts have been created and donated and thousands of dollars have been raised. 

This story of "Karen's Quilt" is EXTRA special and started in 1970.....as told by her sister, Jenny. 

Karen's Quilt

"When Karen was about 11 years old, her mother Vivian gave her a sewing basket filled with embroidery tools as an incentive for her to learn to do embroidery and other sewing.  

Included was a baby quilt pattern which could be used for learning embroidery techniques.  Karen was immediately determined that she would make the baby quilt for her little brother, who was about two years old at the time.  Karen quickly caught on to the techniques and did beautiful work.  But as time went by, the project was set aside. 

Karen's Sewing Box

Then, when Karen was 13 (in 1970), she was diagnosed with cancer.  To help pass time while in bed at Primary Children's Hospital and at home, she began to embroider the quilt blocks she had started two years previously. The darling blocks in the quilt had pictures of animals and flowers and the background was a soft baby blue. Both of her grandmothers, Vera Best and Lula Croft, volunteered to do one or two blocks for her.  After the blocks were lovingly completed, Karen and her Grandma Croft put the blocks together and quilted it, with Grandma Croft doing most of the work.  The quilt was completed about a month before Karen passed away.

By this time, Karen's little brother was four years old and too old for a baby quilt.  At the same time, the Festival of Trees was in its beginning stages.  Karen's parents, Myron and Vivian Best, decided to donate the quilt to the fund raising project in December, 1971.  Her mother says, "We wanted the quilt to be special.  We wanted it to have a purpose." At Festival, one of the doctors who had worked with Karen at Primary Children's recognized her quilt, bought it, and then donated it to the hospital.  

Karen's quilt hung in the boardroom of the old Primary Children's Hospital building for several years.  When the new hospital was built, it was framed and hung in the hall near the children's playroom in the cancer area.

Time went by.  Karen's seven siblings grew up and had children of their own.  Occasionally one would visit the hospital and look for the quilt to show to their children.   On one visit, inquiry was made that if some time in the future the hospital no longer wanted the quilt, could the family have it back?  To the surprise of the inquirer, she was told she could have it right then.  Arrangements were made to take it home.  Someday the quilt will go to Karen's little brother (who is now a grandfather) for whom it was made in the first place. Karen's quilt now hangs on display at the home of her parents and is considered a family heirloom." 

Karen - 13 years old

Editor's note:  I met Jenny (Karen's amazing sister) coincidentally at a Nail Salon.  She immediately shared the story of Karen's Quilt.  Her mother Vivian has been thrilled to share the story as well.  Vivian said to me via email, "Perhaps with you having this story, the quilt can keep on giving." If you would like to donate a quilt to the Festival of Trees, go to our www.festivaloftreesutah.org and click on "Get Involved".  Scroll down to "Quilt Block" to register.

"My Festival Story - Playhouses" by Jennifer John

The Festival of Trees not only has hundreds of decorated trees, wreaths, centerpieces, gingerbread houses and baked goods for sale, they have Playhouses.  The Playhouse Plaza features playhouses, gazebos, dollhouses, children's furniture, backyard decor and playground equipment.  These amazing and unique displays are sold on Opening Night through silent auction. If you are interested in donating a playhouse or know of someone who might be interested, please go to Festival of Trees and click on Playhouse Plaza to register.

This is the "Festival Story" of our Playhouse Plaza Chair, Jennifer John.  Jennifer and her family turned tragedy into a family tradition that has benefited needy children at Primary Children's and thousands of playhouse fans at Festival of Trees for quite a few years now.

Jennifer's story...

"16 years ago we had a stillborn daughter and shortly after her passing decided to decorate and donate a tree to the Festival of Trees in remembrance of her.  

The next year we decided, as a family, to make it a tradition to donate to Festival of Trees.  After five years of donating a tree we decided to build a playhouse.  My Dad was a school teacher and built homes in the summer so he was the man with the skills and I was the one with the ideas!  Our first playhouse was pretty simple but we raised $10,000 for the hospital.  

Jennifer and her Dad, John Sparks in 2017 

I've had a lot of fun working with my Dad building playhouses and trying to learn some of his skills.  He is 83 and still able to sink a nail in two swings!  Many of you may remember the Black Pearl a few years ago.  That was one of many creations built by "Grandpa Sparks". 
 

Jennifer and her children aboard "The Black Pearl"

This year we will be making two playhouses (a She-Shed and a Man Cave) for the Festival, bringing our playhouse donations to 12 playhouses. 

I love "hosting" in Playhouse Plaza during the week of Festival and watching the expressions on, not only children, but adult's faces too as they walk by our playhouses.  I once heard a mom tell her kids..."I wish we had a 'Grandpa Sparks!'"  I love the joy that I see in others because of the festive Christmas vibe that seems ever present at Festival of Trees.  I have witnessed many miracles in the lives of those who donate, those who buy these precious donations and those who volunteer (many behind the scenes and unnoticed).  

I remember as a young girl coming to the Festival of Trees when it was downtown at the Salt Palace.  For me, Festival is a Utah Tradition.  I love what it represents...hope, healing, giving, sacrifice and love.  After all, isn't that what the first Christmas was all about?"

You can watch a fun news clips about Jennifer and her Father HERE.   You can watch another clip with Budah & Jennifer in the Playhouses HERE.

My Festival Story-- "My Nephew, Courageous Collin" by Mallory Urquhart

Our family and I do a tree each year in memory of my nephew, Collin Halling. 

In 2014, at my sister's anatomy scan at 18 weeks, they discovered they would be having another boy. They also found out that sweet Collin had not one but four heart defects. The most serious defect being Transposition of the Great Arteries or TGA. Thankfully we were aware of the heart defects before his birth, and were able to prepare for his arrival. He was born at University of Utah Hospital and immediately transferred over to Primary Children's Hospital. 

Collin's birth was a miracle. He arrived plump and pink and STRONG! He spent his first days at Primary Childrens before undergoing his first open heart surgery at just one week old. He did so well that he was sent home about a week later to be loved on by all of his family, especially his Mom, Dad, and big brother Emerson. 

Collin was strong, beautiful, content, peaceful and loved by so many. Sadly, at just 6 weeks old Collin passed away unexpectedly.

Sept. 30, 2014 ~ Nov. 13, 2014

A few weeks after Collin passed away our family attended the Festival Of Trees for the first time and we were so touched and overwhelmed with the Festival we knew we needed to be a part of it.

 In 2015, my little family (kids and husband) surprised my sister and her husband with a tree for Collin called "Courageous Collin"! No one knew we were doing a tree and it was the best gift we could ever give to my sister and her family!!

Since then it has grown into our family's favorite event of the year. Below is our tree from 2016 called Christmas for Collin. 

Our fun at Festival of Trees has spread to include so much of our family; Collin's parents and siblings, cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, even Great Grandparents, and friends from all over the country all participate in this event in his memory. We did a big display last year (2017) called Collin's Christmas. It featured three trees, one of which had a moving Santa that was helping decorate the tree. 

Not only do we donate a tree, but we love being a part of different aspects of the Festival as well. We have been hosts on Auction Night, helped wrap and deliver trees, sold tickets and held craft nights to make gifts for the Gift Shoppe. 

We are SO thankful for the Festival and what it does for Primary Children's Hospital.  We are even more thankful for Primary Children's Hospital for what they've done for our Nephew and many other families and we we are forever thankful for Festival of Trees, where we can remember, honor, and share Collin with others. 

Cole -- Our Festival of Trees 2018 Poster Child

The Festival of Trees Executive Board is thrilled to announce their 2018 Festival Poster Child-- Cole. We look forward to seeing his darling face on billboards, print ads and social media representing Festival of Trees.

Meet Cole

Cole was diagnosed with Spina Bifida, hydrocephalus and Kyphosis in-utero at his 20-week ultrasound.  He first visited Primary Children's Hospital as a preemie/newborn and had his first surgery there at three months old to fix a hernia he was born with.

Cole has had a few surgeries at Primary Children's Hospital including a hernia surgery and was also there a few months ago to have his tonsils and adenoids removed.  Cole comes to the Spina Bifida Clinic on a regular basis.  

Cole and his parents really appreciate the clinic because they can see all his specialists at one time in a four-hour window.  As Cole gets older he will have in-depth checkups once a year, unless something comes up that needs to be addressed.  Specialists are always checking to make sure there isn't too much pressure in his head or that his tethered spinal cord with scar tissue doesn't grow into the spinal cord and cause damage.  They also help with braces for his legs and feet and then monitor kyphosis that could cause breathing problems in the future.  Cole goes to PCH every three to four months to have his bladder checked.

Cole LOVES the security guards at the hospital and his favorite doctor is Dr. Jim Gottlieb.  Cole loves Dr. Gottlieb because he lets Cole pretend to be the doctor.  

Cole and Dr Gottlieb

Cole loves to be outside playing.  His favorite activities are football, basketball, baseball, horseback riding and skiing.  He loves Legos, action figures and superheroes.

Cole and his "Bumbo Wheelchair"  made by his Father to help Cole become more active & independent

Cole is working on being able to physically keep up with this friends.  Cole's mom says, "Cole is a fun-loving kid.  He loves Santa and finds all kinds of Santa's wherever he goes.  He loves to ski.  When he is skiing, he is always trying to get his helper to go faster or to do tricks and jumps." 

Cole and his ski helper cruising down the ski hill

Please enjoy a wonderful video where Cole was featured on Studio 5 a couple of years ago.  Cole's Bumbo Wheelchair

My Festival Story "Embrace Life Emma" by Jaclyn Tapia

My Festival of Trees Journey began when I was a little girl. I remember my parents going to Opening Night and we were so excited for them to come home and tell us all about the tree that they bought or to tell us if our tree that we made and donated sold. Our parents would buy a tree one year and then we would donate a tree the next year. I remember walking up and down the isles of beautiful trees, wreaths, blankets and of course the gingerbread houses. As I got older I started to read the stories behind them all and my love for the Festival grew even more. I can't remember a year that I haven't attended the Festival of Trees. As our family got older and started and having families of our own we decided to stop exchanging gifts between us (besides the little ones) and instead take that money and put it into a tree. So we did....The first year we did a theme that was near and dear to our hearts as a family. Growing up we spent a lot of time at Bear Lake (and still do) so we decided to start with that theme to kick off this new tradition. Here is that tree......

We all decided we wanted to keep this tradition and continue to do a tree instead of exchanging gifts. We also loved what it taught our children and now they are just as excited for the Festival and decorating day as we are. The next year we decided to chose a child that we knew and dedicate the tree to them and make the theme around what they love. So we started with a family friend named Teagan, Teagan has HLHS. He has been through so much he is a true super hero, and ironically enough that is just what he wanted the tree to be about so we delivered......he even got a ninja turtle popping up from the sewer!!!! See pics.....

Our hearts are just so full after we make these trees it is so hard to leave them once you set them up. But it's so fun to see it set up knowing you are giving back and we managed to put a smile on many faces including Teagan's. We all decided let's do it again, so we all had a goal of finding a person to honor for the tree and bring it to our next meeting about the tree. Well.... between the time this Festival of Trees ended and the new one began we found a family, but not the family we were expecting. In March of 2015, a beautiful little girl named Emma was born and made this family feel complete. Mom, Dad, big sister Ava (who was four) and now Emma. Four days later Emma started to have seizures. She was rushed to Primary Children's Hospital where 24 hours later she was diagnosed with a rare brain disorder called Lissencephaly meaning smooth brain, 1 in 100,000 live births. Her parents were devastated and wondered how could this be? Her big sister as amazing as can be just holding her and singing to her. At that moment we felt everything would be ok.....yes I said WE...... because Emma is my daughter. Here are some pictures of Emma at 4 days old being admitted to Primary Children's after having 30 seizures that day, her big sister showing her love and how proud she is to be Emma's sister, lastly it shows how amazing PCMC really is by supporting not only the patient but the family.

In 2015, we decided our tree needed to be dedicated to Emma. Never ever did I think a tree at the Festival would be for my child. Will my child really be in a frame next to a tree with her story on the back? It's a hard pill to swallow but man are we so grateful for Primary Children's. Emma deserves to be honored because she is a true fighter. Her life expectancy is unknown, so everyday is a blessing. The first tree we chose for her was nursery rhymes. Here is that tree...

Emma is our little sunshine of life so of course 2016 her tree was "You Are My Sunshine". This was a daring move as you don't see a lot of trees at Christmas time that are yellow. But in my heart I knew this was the theme that was best to honor Emma for that year. So we went for it turned out perfectly. 

Picking a theme for your tree is so hard especially when your child is non-verbal. So we try to do our best to do a theme that best honors her. Last year a poem I have always been a fan of called "Welcome to Holland" really stuck out in my mind and we really wanted to figure out how to make it work. I am blessed to have a friend who actually lives there so an idea struck my mind but how were we actually going to pull this off. But, we did!  My friend sent us tons of stuff right from Holland and it was beautiful. This tree was going to be even more risky than the previous years tree but it was going to mean so much to us as a family and a beautiful representation of Emma and our journey with her. Here is the poem it will help you to better understand each part of the tree........

I can't thank the Festival of Trees and all the people who come and donate to such a great cause. From the staff, drs, nurses, to the Child Life support and the care that Emma has received while there it's all been amazing. They not only care for the child at Primary Children's but the whole family. As shared in a picture above the Child Life specialists really made Ava feel comfortable even though Emma had all those tubes and wires. It made explaining such a complex thing to a four year old a little easier. To this day Ava is very involved with Emma and loves to help care for her. She is not scared and I attribute that to the Child Life care from Primary Children's. So thank you and thanks to the Festival for giving us a way to share about Emma and her Journey. Emma is now three years old and we are preparing for her 4th tree at Festival of Trees.

Emma's blog: http://embracelifeemma.blogspot.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Embracelifeemma/

Instagram: embrace_life_emma