Stampin' World

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Health Updates...

I just wanted to do a quick update on me and where my infection is. I am doing much better and there has been ZERO bone loss in the hip...so no surgery in the picture...YEAH!!!! I am still on tow different oral antibiotics and will be for at least another 3 months....I want to take this time to say thanks to all my friends for the prayers and thoughts during this last 3 months as I have fought this battle.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Hubby got the dog collar off....

Well the doctor let the old man take off his collar. I am sure it feels better, but he is still not sleeping well. We tried to talk to the doctor but she was not interested in his symptoms other than his neck. He has another appointment coming up Wednesday with his primary care doc.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Updates.....

Well the puppy has a name....She is TURBO. She runs laps all over the house and is just a bit wild. She went to the vets today for her first shots and she weighed in at 3 pounds 4 ounces.

Hubby update....Rick is still having dizzy spells and is returning to the doctors in two more days. The rigid neck brace is really disturbing his sleep. Hopefully he can get that off after the docs visit.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Our New Dog

This is a picture of our new puppy. She is still nameless at this point, but we have only had her for 8 hours. She is 1/2 doxie and 1/2 pom. At this time she is about 1-2 pounds and will be about 10-15 pounds when she is full grown.

Here is another picture relative to my hubby you can see how very small she is.

We had the Worst Wednesday night. Our old dog (Miranda 12+ years old) had an episode and within 15 minutes we had her at the vets. He said that she had a rupture of a spleenic tumor and was bleeding out and there was nothing her could do.

MissMiranda=====R.I.P.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

How Sweet it is

This was made for the challenge WT246 on SplitCoastStampers.com

Thanks for looking

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

HUBBY

My husband was assaulted at work Sunday morning. Some thugs wanting to steal some bikes hit him in the back of the head with a large object (the bike) and it caused a brain bleed, injured his neck muscles, and really shook his world. They knocked him out completely and left him outside in the rain, without regards to his life. He is going to be okay...Praise God for that.

He is now at home and still in a lot of pain, but at least he is in his own bed. The prognosis is good.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I made this for my youngest son. He is an awesome kid (35). I am so proud of him.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

It's hard to believe that I am now feeling like making cards again. 3 days in a row and I think I am getting back into the groove. ( I had better, I usually mail Christmas Card on the 1st of December) Here is todays which I have titled...

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Monday, November 16, 2009

80 pounds gone

This is the before picture and yes, I was that heavy. I have worked really hard and since February 3, 2009

UNTIL TODAY.....I have lost 80 Pounds

Friday, November 13, 2009

Congrats to OUR CRAFT LOUNGE

Congrats...Joy, Kim, Cami & all the people behind the scenes on your first anniversary.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Miss you Dad

MY DAD............ 3 years ago today was one of the worst days of my life. I lost the man of my life from a combination of old age and a tired body. Ray McKinley passed away today in 2006..I miss the fun times we had, the support he always willingly gave, and the strong love his family always felt from him. Ray had the biggest heart and was truely loved by all his friends and family. Dear POPS you are missed!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

I am not longer attached to an IV

I got the IV out today and now I go on Oral antibiotics for 1-3 months depending on blood tests. I can finally take a long hot shower and not be afraid of getting the IV site wet. I do not have to go back to the doctors for a month. We will do x-rays and more blood tests @ that time.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

And the saga continues...

Hello to all...
I am really wishing I was feeling better than I am. I have made marked improvement in the last couple of weeks. I am still on antibiotic, but the SED rate is still over 100, which indicates some sort of inflammation somewhere. I have not been making cards as I am still too weak to sit in the craft room...maybe next week.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Back to the doctor today...

I go see the Infectious disease doctors today. Yes I am still on antibiotics, but I do feel better and slightly stronger than I did. Here's hoping all goes well....

Friday, September 25, 2009

Just a few more New Zealand pictures

My Buddy Buddha

Sunrise from the top of the hill

Me and my brother in his kitchen in New Zealand

The view from my bench on the hill. This is the Pacific Ocean.

My brother Mike and his brother in law, Wayne

2009

The beginning of this year continued to be quite chilly. We had a rough winter with lots of snow and tons of rain.

March found Rick going back to work as a night watchman, security at The Pearl Court Apartments in Portland. He really enjoys the job and it gets him out of the house. After being home for 5 months I know he was glad to interact with other people again.

Spring was wet...but hey we live in Oregon. As I looked forward to the one year anniversary of my moms death, I knew I wanted to spend the time with my brother in New Zealand. With my hubbys blessing, I planned for a great trip that took me first to visit my oldest son in Australia and then on to see my brother.

I left in mid-July for the trip of a lifetime....I went boating on the Indian Ocean, flew over the Pacific Ocean, Tazman Sea, and lots of land. I had absolutely the best time of my life. Family is so important. My brother and I planted a wonderful tree on his place in memory of our parents. I got to meet the neatest dog in the world...a huge yellow lab named buddah...he became my buddy.

I returned home in September and almost immediately got extremely sick with a systemic strept infection....hospital time, at home IV's and after 3 months I am still on oral antibiotics. I am doing much better.

In November, Rick was attacked at work, assaulted by some thieves and left laying on the sidewalk. He was knocked unconscious and when he came to, he was taken to the hospital. He did have a traumatic brain injury and is still off work. The prognosis is good, but the doctors are saying it will take at least 2-3 more months for his brain to fully heal.

2008

As this year comes to an end it is time to reflect on the changes that have occurred, both good and bad.

The beginning of the year was really interesting. My youngest son and his wife moved back to Oregon from California. That was a great thing...the reasons were not that great. Roger had open-heart surgery for the second time in his 34 years. It went really well and he is now doing great. Due to the surgery, he was unable to return to construction work. That is what promped the move back here.

In April, Rick returned to the local Ford dealership and was happy to be working close to home again.

In June I traveled to Oklahoma to visit with family and celebrated my birthday with cousins that I had not see in 43 years. The reason for the trip is my Aunt was ill and not doing well at all. It was a great time for me. I got to spend time with family that I had not seen in so long, met people who were not born the last time I was there and just spent 10 days catching up. I took lots of pictures and was able to share them with my mom when I returned.

My mother continued to deteriorate to the point she was falling a lot and was no longer able to walk. (severe dementia)
It became very obvious that she may not be with us much longer. Her speech was almost non existent. The level of communication was slowly leaving completely.

We had put our house on the market due to the decreasing economy. Ricks car sales were so poor we decided we needed to move to a smaller house and a smaller house payment. We found a cute 1700 sq ft manufactured place out in Canby and set to move on August 1.

August was pretty much a blur. Shortly after the move, mom was continuing to decline. I had called my brother (who lives in New Zealand) and after he talked to the staff at the care center and me he decided he needed to come home. He got here on the 13th of August. We had a meeting with the hospice staff on the 26th of August and Mom passed away August 29th at 5:20 PM.
Mom had met dad on his 16th birthday and she died on what would have been his 82nd birthday.
May they both rest in peace.

My brother returned to New Zealand on September 10. I was so blessed to have him here during this time.

Rick got laid off on the 19th of September just after turning 62. The auto industry really sucks and the dealership let some of them go, and 2 months later the dealership closed its doors.

December of 08 has been very interesting..We have had more snow this month that we have had in 50 years. We were snowed in for 10 days..I can say I am glad it warmed up to about 40 degrees.