Update...

Hello all,

I do have an update to share on my Dad - and on my little niece Alaina.

Dad was transported down to Riverside yesterday - which is here in Columbus. Riverside is a HUGE hospital here in town and they specialize in cardiac care. Dad will be having open heart surgery hopefully before the week is out. I do not have a date or time for it yet as he has popped a fever and they will need to treat that first before they do surgery. His dialysis schedule may also affect when he has surgery as well.

Alaina will also be having surgery this week to put a feeding tube in place so that she can come home from the hospital for good. Colette and Sherman are literally going from one hospital to the next right now - so they are under a great deal of stress.

I want to thank everyone who has sent prayers, good thoughts and vibes our way. If you have left a comment here on my blog - or through one of my Yahoo groups, I thank you. I have read each and every one of them but simply have not had either the time or energy to reply. Just know that I have read them all - and the outpouring of love I have received has been truly overwhelming. Please keep those prayers and good thoughts coming as we do need them.

Family Emergency

I will keep this brief, but here we go again...

I need prayers, good thoughts, vibes from all of you yet again. My Dad suffered a heart attack today and although he is stable, he will be having surgery sometime soon. I do not have a date - or know what kind of surgery that he will be having at this point as they have not yet determined the extent of the damage.

He is not a great candidate for surgery right now because of all of his other medical issues. For those of you who don't know - he has multiple myleoma - A bone marrow cancer that manifests itself by destroying the kidneys. So in addition to chemo, he is on dialysis. He also has a colostemy which is a result of another condition called diverticulitis.

I love my Dad as much as any child can love a parent. We are very close. His good, sweet nature and oddball sense of humor truly endear him to everyone he meets. Seriously - nearly everyone in my hometown knows my Dad - and when they hear I am his daughter, the first words I hear, are "Oh - your Paul's daughter. I just LOVE him." Or "He's a great guy - truly one of a kind." I thank God every single day for him - and sometimes I have wondered how I got so lucky to have him as my Dad.

I will be posting updates as I have more information. I am off to bed shortly as it was a very long day at the hospital - and I know that there will be several more of them ahead.

Thanks for any prayers, thoughts, good wishes, vibes you care to send our way.

Time for the Juleseys again...

Wow - Two posts in one day - what IS the world coming too??? The EBW team has been up to being fabulous again as it is time for their monthly challenge. The theme for this month was HUMOR and there were some absolutely hysterical entries.

So - without further ado here are my monthly awards - otherwise known as the Juleseys:

Best use of toilet paper: Curiosity Killed the Toilet Paper by Licia Beads. Anyone who has ever owned a cat can totally relate to this piece.

Best story line: Punch-Line Bracelet by Francesca's Fancy. Who ever said you have to have words to get your point across???

Best reason to go to court: Jolly Jester by ArtfulAr. No, no - not the court that you go to for a speeding ticket.

Best immoratilization of a weed: WEED by Haute Ice Beadwork. Don't think you can blow this dandelion in the wind.

Best reason to move to a new location: HOUSE for RENT with Garden View by Enchanted Beads. If the spiders in my house were this pretty, I probably wouldn't be scared of them.

As always, the Juleseys are a fun way for me to promote the fabulous bead work that is constantly being created by this team. If you were not chosen - there is always next month!

If you have not already voted - please go to the EBW blog to cast your vote!!! Voting ends on June 15th at midnight - so hurry!!

Introducing our little Alaina

Howdy all - this is a long overdue post as is normal for me nowadays. Many of you will remember requests for prayers that I sent out a few months ago for our little Alaina. And here she is in all of her adorable glory. (This picture was taen in April - but it has taken me this long to figure out how to post her picture to my blog.)

Now seriously - isn't that one of the cutest baby pictures you have ever seen???? I know I am her biased Aunt, but if you look at this picture and don't go "Awwwww" something is seriously wrong with you ;-).

Here is her update - she is currently around 7 pounds. She came home from the hospital for a couple of weeks in April - and had to go back into the hospital where she still is at this time. She is not eating very well at this point - so she has to have a feeding tube to keep her going. The docs can't quite figure out what is going with her - we do know that she has terrible acid reflux. She is doing very well otherwise with all things considered.

For all of you that send prayers, good vibes and well wishes to us - I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I believe that all of those wonderful things that you did for us helped her get to where she is. As you can see - she is a little fighter and has done well with the overwhelming odds that were stacked against her from the get-go. Please keep them coming that the doctors can figure out why she is not eating so they can fix it - so she can come home for good!!!