The Great Pumpkin

I hope everyone remembers to watch Charlie Brown tonight. It's a fun tradition I'm glad my children have been able to continue. We had a nice afternoon carving pumpkins and enjoying perfect fall weather.

Back in the Saddle Again (Literally & Figuratively)

I have been voluntarily benched for the past 6 days due to back pain. I think I was a bit over-zealous in some dead lifts last week at the gym. Today as I was back on my bike again for the first time I was pondering the triathlon. The truth is I'm a bit scared of this concept. I find myself thinking of worst case scenarios like 1. I pass out from fear (not likely), 2. I come in last (possible, but not likely),and 3. I look stupid (likely).

On another note, I found some great trouser jeans at the Gap today. YUM. I'm very excited about dressy denim.

Trampoline Trumps Modeling

Little Miss k was so thrilled to be modeling this outfit...until we arrived at our destination and spotted the trampoline. I think we still managed some cute shots, the perfect periwinkle backdrop was a treat!

New Photo Necklace & Stamped Bangle

Now available on ebay is this new photo necklace with a sterling bar charm and the BE STILL bangle bracelet. Click here to view the auctions.

What Not to Wear...Part Deux

My sister and I had planned a second shopping trip for this afternoon to find a skirt, pair of boots and a top. (at least...LOL) I think I must be having an effect because when I arrived at her house, look what she was wearing! We had on the same tshirt, red shoes, and even the same Circle Necklace! Needless to say, she changed before we left. We had a successful trip and found a great top, black wash denim pencil skirt and black knee boots. Hello Fall!

Autumn Inspired Poetry Jewels

I have been wanting to do another poetry inspired piece for some time, and after reading Paige's blog yesterday I knew just what I wanted to do! You can see this necklace by clicking the title to this post.

Conquering the Beast

My little Man has conquered the beast; he is back in school today after nearly two weeks. It was a funny feeling sending him to school today. I almost had a pit in my stomach like sending him to kindergarten or a similar feeling. He went through so much last week and it was so nice to see him ready to go back to school.

Many people have emailed me and I thank you for your kind words of support. He had what is called C diff, or C difficile. (click the title to read about it) It is a nasty bacteria.
He had just finished a round of anti-biotics and thus was susceptible to this kind of germ. It was quite a severe case, we were concerned about the blood loss and possibility that he had perforated his bowel or something equally horrific.

The interesting thing about this illness is it was most likely caused by anti-biotic use, and is treated with anti-biotics! I can tell you from here on when one of us needs an anti-biotic we will take probiotics. It likely could have prevented this from happening.

We did have a nice visit from Caden's mom Shannon, who was in another ward of the hospital. (Not necessarily where we want to meet!)You can read more about them and their journey at www.cadenwhite.com. I will post more about them in a later post. You can see this Caden's Hope necklace on my website now.

Prodigal Kitty

This is Lyla. She is a stray kitty that we have been caring for for about a year now. She turned up on our street last autumn and we gave her some food. Before too long she would let me pet her, but she made it clear from the beginning that she did not want to come inside and join our family. Over the winter on particularly cold mornings she would come in for a few minutes to warm up, but never would let her guard down.

Last week while we were in the hospital I made sure she was still fed,(by my mom or dh) but from Friday on no one had seen her. By Monday I was getting very worried that a coyote had gotten her. I so missed her cute little face by my back door in the morning. Then on Tuesday I look out the back window and there she is, right as rain in our play cube. I went out and she let me pet her. I'm convinced that she was mad at us for being gone for a few days; even though she was still being fed. She has still not met me at the back door yet in the morning. Perhaps she has to build up trust again. No matter though, I'm just happy she's back.

Soldered Christmas Ornaments

It's that time of year again! This is my fourth Christmas making heirloom ornaments. I love following customers' families and how they have grown. These make an excellent gift for anyone~even yourself. They are now available at a season opening price on ebay, as well as etsy , and my website.

How I knew We Were On the Mend

Yesterday morning in the hospital:
Little Man to Mommy: Why is there an "X" on my heart monitor?
Mommy: Your cord is probably pulled out of the lead.
Little Man: That's what I thought. I mean, I know I'm not dead so I figured it must be unplugged.

Thank you for your prayers. Little Man made an astonishing recovery yesterday and we were released about 7 p.m. last night. :)

At a Loss For Words

Not something I experience often, but how it is today. My son is in the children's hospital fighting a nasty bug. Hopefully we'll be back in action soon. Thank you for your prayers.