Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Trip to Iowa

I spent the second half of April in Iowa so that I could spend some quality time with my folks and visit my brother, sister, godparents, grandmothers and a couple of other friends of the family.

My Dad was in the hospital when I arrived home with pneumonia and needing more blood transfusions. We found out that we were going to spend part of my first weekend home up in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic. We spent Saturday afternoon and night at the Wild Rose Casino in northern Iowa and then drove up to Rochester on Sunday for what ended up being appointments and tests for 3 days.

I got a lot of work done on my April bead journal piece while sitting around in the clinic and hospital. Our hotel was within walking distance of some stores so I went shopping in the afternoons two days so that Dad could take a nap in quiet. I found some perfectly dark purple sheets as well as some other goodies including a knitting loom that I started making a red and purple throw on.

Unfortunately they could not find where he was bleeding and it looks like it is somewhere in the small intestines that they can't get to. Good news is that now that he has been off of Plavix longer that the bleeding is slowing down so that he can make blood almost as fast as he looses it. When I left he had gone almost 3 weeks without a transfusion which is much better than he has done for months.
The picture above is of (left-right) me, Mom, my sister Betsy, and my brother Chris. We are standing on the golf course that my brother is in charge of landscaping for. In the background you can see some of the flooding that happened due to some very heavy thunderstorms the day before. We didn't get to see Chris very long but it was good to see him. He keeps pretty busy this time of year. Betsy and David came home with Mom and I for a couple of days.
This picture is (l-r) Betsy, my maternal Grandma, me and David. I got two chances to visit my Grandma while I was home. She is 105 and will be 106 in the beginning of August. She has definitely slowed down but is doing better than a couple of her kids at this point.
This is me with my new much shorter haircut. I haven't had it this short since I was in second grade. Wayne thinks it is funny that I had to fly all the way to Iowa to get my hair cut. It took me awhile to get used to how it looked since it was so different but it is really growing on me. I don't have to put it back to keep the hair out of my eyes when I work and it doesn't blow in my eyes when I walk and is cooler. The magnolias behind me are from the tree that her kids planted outside of Grandma's window at the nursing home.

I also got to see my godparents who aren't really my godparents, they are technically Betsy and Chris' godparents, mine were from the other side of the family. Luckily they treated me like there godchild too since I saw my Godparents at my baptism and confirmation and that was it. Larry had a heart transplant 15-16 years ago and is now on dialysis. He was there when we saw him and Mary. Although I see them more often than Betsy or Chris it has been a while and I was glad to get the chance to see them.

As expected the trip was full of emotions for me. Seeing people I love in failing health isn't easy but it was good to be able to spend time with them. Mom, Dad and I spent time most days playing at least one game of Farkle (a dice game). It was fun. Mom and I also spent plenty of time driving to visit people, some time walking together and time shopping. I sent one box of clothes to Iowa so that I wouldn't need to check a bag and shipped 2 boxes back. Too many treasures.

When I flew back to Baltimore Wayne picked me up and we headed straight up to Philly so that I could go to Wire Fest. I will tell more about that in my next post including pictures of the 3 wire wrapped pendants that I made in my classes.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Anniversary Wishes

Sometimes it is hard to believe but today Wayne and I have been married 19 years. I decided to show two more photos of the box I made for Wayne which is his anniversary present. I really enjoyed all of the time I spent working on it and I thought of him and all of the things I love about him while I worked on it.

I am very lucky that I found my soul mate and best friend all of those years ago when we met. We both knew we were in love within a day and our love has only grown with time.


Wayne encourages me as a person and as an artist and understands me like no one else could. We have very different personalities but we complement each other nicely and have the same goals and priorities for our life together.

He is my hero, my strength, my comfort and the music that runs through my life. Even when we have been separated by deployments he is always with me. I wouldn't be the person I have become if he hadn't come into my life.

This is dedicated to the love of my life and since he loves music and lyrics so much I chose a song that says it all.




Jim Brickman “Your Love”

it's not the flowers, wrapped in fancy paper

it's not the ring, I wear around my finger

There's nothing in all the world I need

when I have you here beside me,

here beside me


Chorus

so you could give me wings to fly

and catch me if I fall

or pull the stars down from the sky

so I could wish on them all

but I couldn’t ask for more

cuz your love is the greatest gift of all


in your arms, I found a strength inside me

and in your eyes there's a light to guide me

I would be lost with out you

and all that my heart could ever want

has come true


so you could give me wings to fly

and catch me if I fall

or pull the stars down from the sky

so I could wish on them all

but I couldnt as for more

cuz your love is the greatest gift of all


you could offer me the sun, the moon

and I would still believe

you gave me everything

when you gave your heart to me


so you could give me wings to fly

and catch me if I fall

or pull the stars down from the sky

so I could wish on them all

but I couldn’t ask for more

cuz your love is the greatest gift of all