Hello again

Well, I decided to keep this blog up and see how it goes. I probably won't be posting very often - at least not for a while. I've taken down a lot of the more personal posts and won't be blogging about that anymore.

So...Moving on! We've been super busy getting moved into the house, which ended up happening the same weekend I had gallbladder surgery. Yuck! But Dave has been a trooper and did ALL.THE.WORK. while I recovered (thanks, honey!). We are almost settled and looking forward to having a little more free-time.

We got a duck! Her name is Bebe and she was rescued by our friend, Missy. She had been attacked my something and was in shock when Missy found her. The vet thinks she will make a full recovery and we are really hopeful that will be the case. She is getting really strong and could start walking again anytime! She's such a sweetie and the dogs get along with her really well. I posted a couple photos on Flickr if you are interested. :)

We are enjoying some lovely, warm weather and so glad summer is almost here!

Thank you

I'm doing OK. Getting a grip. Thank you so much for all of your warm comments. You guys made me cry more than once! In a good way. :)



We'll be spending the weekend with family. And celebrating my birthday, which isn't actually until Tuesday. It's been nice to have them around and I'm looking forward to the next couple days.

Love.

Perspective

There have been a few things lately that I've been really struggling with. Last week an online friend lost her baby at 25 weeks. It's her 3rd loss, but the furthest along. I am so sad for her and for her family. I just can't believe how cruel life can be sometimes. They've been trying for several years and dealing with IF. Then to get so close. It's just not fair.

Yesterday we had some more really bad news. A dear family friend who's been dealing with cancer just found out that the aggressive chemo and radiation, and surgery last week did not eliminate all the cancer from her body. It has spread to her lymph nodes. Apparently, they did the most aggressive treatment and only got 30% of the cancer. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the likelihood of her not being around much longer. She is so young and vital, and she is one of the most beautiful people (inside & out) that I know. It's just unbelievable.

I don't know how to reconcile these situations in my heart. They go against every belief that I have about being a good person and finding meaning in life. I don't even know where to begin. And I guess that I've been here for a while with our IF. But this certainly gives me a little perspective on what I am dealing with. I am holding my family a little closer today. And my heart is just broken.

Share

I make things. At least I dream about making things. Usually that's about as far as it goes. But I've been meaning to share a couple mixed media pieces I made for loved ones this Christmas.

This one is for a family friend that is currently going through chemo and radiation treatments and soon, surgery to remove cancer on her lung. It's very serious and I just keep thinking about how scary that would be. How I would feel and what I would need to hear during such a difficult time. I keep coming back to one thing. Something that I struggle with on a daily basis... Hope. So, this was my gift to her. Hoping that it would comfort her just a little.



And this one I made for my Momma just because she's cute. :)



Hope you all have a lovely weekend. We are off to our foster parent class tomorrow. I'll give you a little more details on how all that is going, maybe next week.

Goodbye and Hello

I can't say that I'm sad to say goodbye to 2008. It's been a hell of a year. After many months of thinking I would end the year the same way it began - in limbo, I am so relieved to be moving forward. Many disappointments this year, mostly relating to infertility. But there have been many good things too. I am married to the most wonderful person I have ever known. In November our country made a choice to believe in hope and change and in itself. I am comforted by the many connections I've made in blogland.

I have hope. And that is the best gift I can think of. Bring it on 2009. We are so ready.

Happy New Year! Thank goodness for new days, new years, and new chances.

What's next?

That's what I'm wondering today. Yesterday turned out to be a strange day indeed. On the high of the election I thought I would have a great day, but life has a way of balancing out the good with the bad I guess. Here's the list, so far (please let this be it!):

* A dear friend of the family was told she has cancer and is to start Chemo immediately. My thoughts are with you L.

* Dave's neice was layed off. What a time to be looking for a job! I have my finger's crossed for her.

* And just before bed, a call from the same neice that her mom, my SIL, is in the emergency room and has to have surgery today on her finger. Apparently, her dog bit it while playing. Not sure of all the details yet.

For the love of &*%@!. Can't I just have ONE GOOD DAY?

It's all eights

Happy Birthday, Annie! I know I say it every year, but I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW OLD WE ARE GETTING. I hope it's a good one.

Date night, farewell and other random stuff

Tonight we are heading up to Seattle to see the Fratellis. This is a long overdue date…We had tickets to see them over a year ago and they cancelled at the last minute. At the time, they weren’t the headliners, so we couldn’t get a refund on our ticket. It turned out that we really enjoyed the two other bands that we saw that night – BRMC & the Black Angels. But the Fratellis are the first band that Dave and I found together. We are lucky to have similar music taste! So, this is kind of a special concert for us. It will be a long night as the concert doesn’t start until 9pm (and we have to work tomorrow), but we are really looking forward to it!

Our good friends, Doug & Shelly (and baby Harper) have moved out of town. I drove the girls to the airport on Tuesday morning – Doug had left a few weeks earlier to start work. We miss you already! Things just won’t be the same around here without them. But we wish lots of luck and happiness in their new home. We have been very fortunate to get to know them and be part of the journey to and the birth of their sweet girl. Thank you, Shelly, for sharing so much of yourself. Love you!

Anyway…trying not to be too sappy. :)

In other news, I may have located a place in Olympia that does letterpress workshops and you can rent time on their machines. I just sent off an email to see if they are still doing that and find out how I can participate. That would be SO AWESOME. I’ll keep you posted.

We’ll be spending most of the weekend finishing up the LAST ROOM IN THE REMODEL. Yes, you heard me. I can hardly contain my excitement! We’re trying to wrap it up before Dave’s Dad comes to visit in a couple weeks. Really looking forward to seeing him (I adore him!) and showing him all the work we’ve done since he was up last. Plus when we get that room done, we can set the office up, which includes all my craft stuff. Very cool. Maybe I’ll actually get to make stuff pretty soon!

So thankful that scooter weather is finally upon us. Yay summer!
Love.

Cinco de Mayo

Not only is it the 5th of May, but it is also the day baby Massey is scheduled to arrive. I am getting ready to head over to the hospital right now! I'm so excited, I could hardly sleep last night. I'm sure it will be a long day (especially for Shelly!). But oh my gosh. I can't wait to meet that new little person. I am so grateful that they have allowed me to be part of this process with them. It is truly a gift.

I'll post a photo of the baby as soon as I get one - as long as they don't mind.

Love.

365/81

365/81, originally uploaded by eklektic*photos.

This was from Saturday night. We went to a wedding on Saturday for one of Dave's childhood friends. I got to meet almost everyone from his group of friends, and he reconnected with people he hasn't seen in 20 years. We all went out after the reception for drinks. They were all really neat people & we had the best time!

Things are coming along on the kitchen. We had a few issues with plumbing, but it's all coming together. I believe this weekend will be the magic kitchen move weekend. It's like a dream. :)

Things are good. I hope the same for you.
Love.

I think you can tell

What we've been up to:

Sorry for the long delay. Makes for a boring blog! We've just been so busy lately getting this darn remodel closer to done. We are VERY excited to be at the grouting countertop stage, which we should have done tonight. Yay! I'll post some photos of the finished project as soon as I can.



My dear friend, Shelly is at 34 [edit: 35!] weeks today (holy cow) and we celebrated with a baby shower last weekend. She is the cutest pregnant girl ever. I can't believe how fast it's gone. Seems like just a month or two ago when they first told us the news! Well, I am very excited to meet the new little member of the Massey family. But no hurry! ;)



This weekend we are heading North to a wedding for one of Dave's childhood friends. That should be fun. Then we are back to work on the remodel. No rest for the weary.

These girls

the*girls, originally uploaded by eklektic*photos.

are the greatest! Happy Valentine's Day you two. So glad we get to share life stuff. I {heart} you.