booties!

My mother-in-law Does not knit. neither do I. My mother does i felt it too tough to do all that counting LOL.

So anyway, my MIL was out and about the day after We found out we were having a Boy and she came along these in a craft store, and just could not pass them up! I have to say I think they will look just great on Matt!

ONE year

356 days ago today I found a lump at my collarbone, it was a Monday.

Within a month I was hospitalized for Hodgkin’s disease. Today I get the results of MY PET scan. I am certain it will be fine.

I have seen too many warriors fall to this killer we call cancer in the past year. My heart weeps for their families. I hope/pray that soon we fill find the recipe to each and every cancer so that those cancers are as easily fixed as mine.

My heartfelt thanks go out to each and every single person who thought to send a card, or to pick up a phone and call to check on me or helped us out financially. You are the true heroes of my story.

I cry over each friend that I lost during this time. Many people found that my cancer was simply too much for them to bear, and those have drifted away from me. I wish for them blessings and good life.

My last and largest thank you goes out to God, for allowing me to have not only a cancer that can be treated and cured, but for having the wisdom to see that I needed this test to make me a stronger person. It showed me how to focus on living not just existing. It taught me to truly enjoy every day, and to appreciate those around me. For the first time in a long time I truly LOVE living.

OPI

Are you starting to think this is a nail blog? well it isnt... even thought today is yet another nail post....

This is OPI polish is to those of us that do our nails at home.. a PROFESSIONAL polish. sells higher than what I am willing to pay. but I gotta say I feel really special to add this to my collection! and I cant wait to try it out and see how it looks!

Dragons....

My sister -in-law Missy, Gave me this plaque for christmas. I had seen it at the mall the day I finished up my chemo. (Steve had talked me into a game of ski-ball) I wanted to get it to be the new "banner" of this blog. Once I became cancer free.

It just seemed so "fitting" that the dragon will eat you if you don't watch out for them. So its a beautiful reminder to take care of myself and even though I will have only a 5% chance of recurrence, I should not EVER ignore symptoms that severe AGAIN!

I may have been tasty. But he didn't get me did he?

In-case you don't have a clue why dragons are a "thing" with my blog read the story here

OH, if you like the plaque you can look for others here. It is a local artist and you can order from her website.

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

Back in July, I was given a wonderful gift from my friend Casey Well the very same day I Lost one of the earrings. and I was MIGHTY upset by it because I loved them so much!!

I found it in my pantry while i was resetting my sewing room. I dont know how it got on the floor in there way in the back. but i swept out the pantry and THERE IT WAS!!!

I am so happy I I must do "The Dance of Joy"! EVERYONE TOGETHER!

New Doo-rag

No I don't have walleye vision,




I was slipping this way cool doo-rag on my head and somehow caught my eyelids just as Michelle snapped this picture. Of course when I looked at it we both got to laughing so hard that we started to cry. that's when she snapped this one:

Oddly enough, it looks like I should be in a cheech and chong movie....

I swear not since my 20's!!

Finally The new Doo-rag that Andy gave me is on and I have a bit more composure! Thank you Andy!!

A DIFFRENT DONATION

I have a friend that lives away. He has been very supportive though out my illness with short encouraging letters. He feels badly that he cannot make the trip here for my benefit tonight. So in my email today I received a poem.

I have never been written a poem before and I would like to thank him for this, and share it with everyone.

Mirror of Autumn

On the river

when the rain

pours down

and gleans

in gray steel hue

the mirror of autumn

shines above

with branches

in shadow

in reflected overhang

damp

and lost

near

the bright

green shore

clouds

are the blanket

that warms

earth's

heart

for beneath that gray

beneath

the surface

held to account

by lofty premise

there is light beneath

and life

still that shines

in the heart

and peace

in the soul

that gives

mere love

-B. Berry

Used by permission~

Please do not use this without permission. thank you

My Saint

Have you met my Saint? This is my dearest husband who every week gives up working on Tuesday so he can spend his day off with me on my cancer day. He is up with me every night I am sick. even if it is no more than "stay awake while I hurl in case I need you. or if I just am scared or lonely. He will see me walk to the kitchen get out a glass pour a drink set it down so I can put the pitcher away, and go crawl into bed without my drink. and know in about five minuets I am going to say did I forget my drink? and he will gladly bring it to me.

Now lets make things perfectly clear to anyone who doesn't know me personally. I am crabby, cranky, whiny and basically just as pain in the butt to live with. If by some chance we have met and you find this hard to believe call my ex husband he will tell you that i can make you go from sane to insane in any short amount of time. but not my Steve. hes been a part of my life for 11 years and if he ever wanted to leave, i think i would vollenteer to have my tongue surgically removed to keep him here with me.

I have never loved anyone the way that I love Steve. on my downest days he figures out just what i need to make me happy, and he then makes it happen. (I hope one day he figures out that million dollar happiness thing LOL)

I would not be getting better if i did not have him by my side.

New header

I would like to thank my sister for making this great new header for my Blog. if you are wondering what the poke-a-dots are, they are a slide of the cells that diagnose Hodgkin's disease.

so a great big thank you!

God Provides

Well with the fair this week I managed quite well to spend nearly all the money we had stashed. but i knew we wouldn't be going to any amusement park this year so i guess I felt justified. Then i realized that i had made a promise to a friend to visit them over the weekend and they are a gas tank away.

Umm that makes a problem. no milk no bread no eggs in the house.... Now don't go and think we are hungry! we have a full cupboard, and flour and sugar, meat etc. etc.... Just out of milk till we get paid on Wednesday... nothing anyone was really worried about.

But with my devotions this am i prayed "you know God, we're out of bread milk and Eggs.... I would really like to have those things today if you could swing it" then having God worry about it i left it alone.

I had it in mind to finish one of the rooms "spring" housecleaning that i did not get done Due to getting sick...

Steve's side of the Bedroom wasn't finished so thats what we tackled. and look what we found $12.25 tucked away in an envelope on his dresser. I remember him putting it there as he does as well. but we cant remember what for. never would have found it if we hadnt gone to cleaning his dresser.

Thanks God for the Milk Bread and Eggs!

German Chocolate Cake

My Daughters friends all call me Mom. Once I found out i was sick many of them have been great at supporting me and what not.

Last night I had two of them bring dinner and desert. I have not had anything so scrumptious as the desert in almost forever!

I love German chocolate cake. but even if i make it, it comes out of a box. She made this from scratch. And let me tell you , you could really taste the difference! When you find a good recipe you hang on it it. I need to get his recipe from her because i have to make this for myself!

Thank you to Lyssie and Shoe for a wonderful dinner and an excellent desert!

Prayer Shawl

This is a beautiful prayer shawl that was made for me by a woman in my mothers church. This should help to keep me warm during my chemo treatments.

I have been trying to find a shawl pattern much like this one for quite some time. I was quite surprised to find out that there was no real pattern to this. The woman who made it for me just sat down and started doing it.

I also have this shawl featured today on my craft blog

Cards of encouragement

I recently received a card from my niece & nephew with a picture of the newest addition glued into the inside of the card. If you cannot make out what she has written it says simply "Aunt Krista have you smiled today?"

What a great Idea! I smiled when i read it. I loved it so much i cut that part of the card off and put it in a frame on my desk so that every day i can look at this little one and remember I need to smile today.

Smiles and laughter is something that everyone needs a good diet of, can you make someone smile today?

Gift from Casey

My daughter has a friend that, in my honest opinion, I never got to know well. Well enough to know who she was and her personal beliefs. So i guess i know her well enough, but she wasn't the constant teenager eating out of your fridge. (wouldn't have minded is she was) But her family moved to Texas a few years back and we were all sad to see her go.

We knew she still had family here so she would come back for visits. But hearing her name in day to day conversation and what was going on would be limited.

When My daugher told her that i was sick, she asked to be put on my mailer list. I didn't think much of it i has requests from alot of people so i just added her and went on with things.

Yesterday, she showed up at my house bearing this wonderful gift box that she had made herself! A blanket to take to Chemo (the air conditioners there can be bad depending on where they sit you) One of her personal teddy bears (that was so cool) a new bandanna for my head, a pear of big chunky earrings (the bear is wearing both of them) a pink and purple feather boa (which a crafter that is a bit excentric will go nuts for!) And a whole lot of little stuff you would find in a christmas stocking.

I know how much $$ teens have these days. and this really isnt about the money I know she spent like $20 on it or so and like I said it sint what she spent it was the thought she went into about it. She had to bring the bear from home, then take the time to go to the store, wrap it all up, and take taime out of her visit with her friends here and her family to spend a half hour or so with me.

I could not have been more touched by this kindness.

I was always told that it isnt the gift, or the cost of a gift, it was the thought that counted. I understood the meaning, but today I understand the truth to the meaning.

I cannot thank her enough for being another person to restore my faith in the humanity of this world, and what it could be. Keep it up Casey! You are on the right track!

Blueberries

Yep these are blueberries. a whole mess of them.

I have my mother - in - law to thank for these. she ordered a case of them to split with me. she told me the day my white count went down and i couldnt eat them.

Who would have guessed they would come in AFTER my white count went back up??

Whee ha! blue berries on my frosted flakes!

A big thank you going out to Mary for Getting them for me and Praying that my white count would be up in time for this!

Hair on its way

Well, after so much of my hair just falling out everywhere I went and had my beautician shave off what was left. Oddly there still is a lot of stubble to fall out, but now I can adjust to the "no hair" state.

After 2 days I can tell you I wont adjust in public. I just need hair to feel like myself. I am ok here at the house, but not out and about.

So my dear Husband has ordered me a wig. I think it will look much the way I wear my hair and will be very close to one of the many colors I dye my hair....

A big thank you Going out to my sister in law for funding this purchase!

The prices were very reasonable. If you need a wig this is the site I used.

Flowers and candy

While I was in the hospital , I was sent this wonderful bouquet of flowers from my niece and my nephew. They were all purple in a purple glass vase. It was wonderful to receive them. I meant to blog about them much earlier than this, but I lost the picture on my PC. I did not have my regular camera with me and without my camera card, I'm a bit lost on how to get pictures from phone to PC. A very big thank you to the kids for thinking of me. you have no idea how nice it was to have them. when i checked out of the hospital they were still very nice and we forgot them. when we realized it I insisted we go back and get them! I wasn't going to be without that purple glass vase!

Mom sent me the teddy bear and balloon sitting on a box of hard candies. Also a wonderful gift that was most appreciated! and that one doesnt die. Mom traditionally gets me a bear when i am sick. so this really did not suprise me it arrived on my second day. very nice to have.