Tuesday, February 28, 2012

In Loving Memory

February 23rd will never be forgotten. First off, it is the day that we buried my dad in 2003. Second of all, it is the day my mother-n-law passed away. I was sitting down at my scrappy desk when the phone call came, it was  a little after 6:00, my husband's brother, telling me that their mom isn't going to make it through the night. My husband was sleeping and I had to wake him up to tell him. I had a few moments at my desk, pulled myself together and woke him up. The next couple of hours were a little bit of blur, rambling, discussing things, Dan getting ready to go to the hospital. He left around 8:00, we just told Danny that he had to go into work early. Dan called me a little after 9:00, he couldn't speak and I knew. He missed seeing his mom by 10 minutes, then the what ifs began. We decided to keep Danny home from school on Friday and we would tell him together. We both pulled ourselves together the best that we could and told Danny that his Granny had passed. This is the first close death Danny has ever experienced. Danny did wonderfully on Sunday and Monday. He had his moments as all of us did. He wrote his Granny the most beautiful letter and laid it on top of her. When he said his final goodbyes, he held her hand as he wept. WOW! What a kid, something that I could never do.
My mother-n-law had 8 children, her oldest son, Buddy, passed away when he was young. She raised 7 kids. 5 boys and 2 girls. Not an easy task from some of the stories I've heard over the years. I met Renee in 1993. The year that Dan and I started dating. Her and her husband had moved to Florida and would stay in our driveway in their camper during the summer. Those summers were enjoyable. I enjoyed sitting outside talking to her and Bud. Renee and I would sit at the picnic table long after dark and just chat, the two of us, the guys would give up and go inside.
The only thing in life she ever wanted to be was a wife and a mom. She excelled at both. Renee had a love for life like no one I have ever known. Nothing gave her more pleasure than to see all of her kids and grand kids together. She loved her children, but loved her grandchildren even more.
Never keep words unspoken. I did. Renee was a fantastic mother-n-law, never interfered. At times the normal mother-n-law things would come up, but they never were a big deal. Renee would always thank me. She thanked me for filling a hole in her son's heart, for making a difference in his life. She thanked me for Danny. Her beautiful grandson. But you see, I never got to thank her. As I said my last goodbye, I thanked her for my guys. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have them. And they are my world.
Danny will improve over time. The nights are hard for him. I printed this picture for him and he has it above his pillow. He turns on a little battery operated tea light candle and keeps it in front of the photo.

Last night I felt out of sorts. Trying to get back to the every day schedule. Reflecting back on moments in my memory bank. One of the challenges at Crafting By Designs was to create a project by refurbishing items. Years ago, Renee gave me her sewing box. I cringed, I can't sew. Sewing a button puts me over the edge. I went downstairs and opened her sewing box. I looked at everything. I chose a few items and went to work. I cut the base from a piece of heavy, heavy card stock. I have about 100 sheets that I've been saving. I then covered with a piece of paper from a sewing pattern that she had saved. The buttons came from her little button container and I cut apart the packaging of a Talon Zipper. The zipper only cost .10 cents at the time! I cut the Talon label from the packaging.The lace came from her envelope of odds & ends pieces.  The flowers, pearls and fiber are from my own stash. I know if my mother-n-law were here, she would have loved it.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sunday, Sunday

Ahhh, it's Sunday {Big Sigh} If there would be a day in the year that I could skip, it would be February 19th. Today is the 9 year anniversary of my dad's passing. I miss him so much. At times I forget he's not here, I want to tell him something, then I remember. It is really hard with Danny and trying to explain. He's young and doesn't understand, but I'm an adult and I don't understand. My dad was taken way too young. Danny was only 18 months when he passed. Danny didn't get a chance to know his Pap. The memories he holds are only those of the ones I've told him over the years....  O.k., time to move on.
For Valentine's Day, I created this for Danny to use as his Valentine Box. He really liked it, but being the age that he is, he was a little embarrassed to take it on the bus with him, so I ended up driving him to school. The kids in his classroom just looked at it and said, "Spongebob? Really?" I'm 43 and I love Spongebob! I've come to realize that there are a lot of kids out there in this world that I just do not like. The way they act and speak? Really? Do their parents not teach them manners? Respect of others?
I think Spongebob is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!
The following pics are from a few more challenges. (I am so horrible at keeping my blog up to date! I really have to work on that!)
Over at the fantabulous Crafting By Designs, the wonderful Design Team has come up with these:
JUST ONE LAYER - Just like it says, one layer, no layers and layers, just one....embellies are allowed. I stuck to just one layer.
I dug out my light box and my stencils. Then I colored with
chalk. I'm not happy with the colors - a little too green,
but that is something I am going to work on.


I also made this one and changed the sentiment.
I like it with just the plain white embossing too. This
challenge was brought to us by the ever so talented Rene.

Now we have the Year In Cards Challenge,
One Versatile Sketch.
The lovely Cindy provided the sketch.

And this is what I came up with:

Getting Ready for Christmas:  (I'm so happy we are doing this twice a month! I will not be stressing about getting my cards made this year!)
Our ever so talented, wonderful creator of CBD and the
one that challenges me the most, Doris, came up
with this one.




Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Time for a little catch up

I am so sorry for neglecting my blog for a week. Life got a way with me. A little busy and trying to limit computer time since the hubster isn't very fond of the time I spend on it.
Being on the Design Team at craftingbydesigns.ning.com is a lot of fun. The ladies over there are truly wonderful. Sometimes I feel as though I'm not as talented, but like my niece said to me, "Aunt Sher, every one has their own style. Your things are awesome." The encouragement was much appreciated.
I was lead on the February Week 1, Use your stamps challenge. The challenge was to create using heart stamps,   Tracy from the Stamping Boutique is graciously sponsoring a prize this month and asked if the DT would use one of her digis for a challenge. I used a cute little guy, his name is Trenton.
Isn't he adorable? I don't have Copic Markers, so I used chalks. I think he turned out really cute. The paper is from a DCWV stack and I'm not sure of the maker of the sentiment.
I also entered a couple of challenges over at the Outlawz. Don't really think my Nightmare Before Christmas Valentines went over too well, but I think they are cute and those that are going to receive them will think they are cute and that is all that really matters. I went outside of the box on creating and I like it. I'm going to try it a little more often.


How can you not love Jack from Nightmare before Christmas? One of Tim Burton's finest films.
I also entered this one at the Outlawz under the Twisted Thursday Valentine/Love Challenge:
I think that is all the catching up I have for now. Time to get dinner in the oven and start priming Danny for his homework.
I would love to hear from you, please leave a comment (I really do love reading them) to let me know you stopped by. Do something crazy....become a follower! I will possibly be participating in a blog hop at the end of March and just might have some yummy blog candy up for grabs, but you have to be a follower for a chance at winning.