In My Thoughts

Hi there!  So glad you could stop in today.  I have a cute card for you today.

I started with a 5x5 card base made from pink Colorbok card stock.  I added a piece of 4.75"x4.75" mint green card stock also from Colorbok.  I cut two pieces of DCWV Fabric paper to 2" x 4.5" strips and adhered them going different directions.  The little praying girl was sent to me by a friend and I used BIC Markers to color her in.  I used my Spellbinders Classic Circles Large die to cut her out.  I inked the edges and matted the image on a mint green Lacy Circles die cut.  I took a pink Lacey Circles die cut and offset it slightly to form the pattern you see.  I used my white gel pen to add faux stitches around the mint green card stock.  I made a pink and green flower and adhered it to the left side of the image, then added four pink pearls, two on top and two on the bottom of the flower.  The sentiment was sent to me by the same friend who sent the image.  I used an EK Success punch on the sentiment and inked it with Memento Lady Bug.

I am entering this card into  two different challenges.  Friday's Sketch Challenge and Crafts4eternity.   I am so happy that you took the time to stop in.  Thanks so much for the sweet comments that you guys are leaving.  I sure appreciate it.  Have a wonderful Saturday.  God bless you.

Blissful Day

Howdy!  Hope everyone had a great day today.  I did.  I had some quiet time this evening while my mother in law took my daughter and her cousin to Disney on Ice 100th Year Anniversary show.  I was able to do some card making while listening to a James Patterson book on CD.  I love my quiet time.

This card is a 6x6 square card.   The little mouse image is from Beary Wishes.  I colored it with my colored pencils and OMS.  I added some glitter gel pen to the roses and the little flower on the mouse and the swirls on the cup. I trimmed the image to slightly less than 4x4 and matted it on a 4.25x4.25  tan piece of card stock.  The background is made from strips of rose patterned paper cut to  1" and matted on strips of brown card stock cut to 1 1/8".  I staggered them according to a sketch from Feeling Sketchy.  I printed off the sentiment and trimmed it down, matted it on the tan card stock and placed it in the bottom right hand side.  I used pop dots for the focal image.  I inked the edges of the focal image and sentiment with Memento Rhubarb Stalk ink. I used a dark red card stock from Colorbok for the card base.  To finish off the card, I added some ruby red pearls to the top right and bottom left corners.

I am entering this card into the Feeling Sketchy #42 challenge for this week.  I just recently found this site and this is the first time I am entering one of my cards. I am also entering this one in the Through the Craft Room Door challenge for this week..Anything Goes.

Thank you for stopping in today.  I hope you have a great weekend.  God bless  you.

Penny's Paper Crafty #110

Howdy ya'll.  How is everyone today?  I am cruisin' right along with my card making.  Since I have been feeling better, I am able to sit longer which means I can craft longer.  I am still on limited duty, but the time is getting longer and I am loving being back in my crafting mode.

Today's card is for the Penny's Paper Crafty challenge #110.  The theme is Teddy Bears.  This cute image is Deacon and his teddy from Bugaboo Stamps.  Isn't it just the cutest?  I used BIC markers to color in this one.  I'm still learning how to use alcohol markers, so bear with me..no pun intended. :)  I used a red glitter pen on the two hearts.  I inked the edges of both the image and the sentiment, which was printed out on the computer, with DI Vintage Photo.  I then matted both on a very dark green card stock from Colorbok.  The Kraft card stock is from Recollections.  The plaid DP is from DCWV which is matted again on the dark green.  The card base is Old Olive from SU.  I decided to make this sort of CAS since it is for a boy.  I didn't want to make it too frilly or blingy.

This is a standard A2 size card, so all of the card stock pieces and DP piece are cut accordingly.   I hope you all have enjoyed the project for today.  I will be back over the weekend with more crafty cards.  Thanks so much for taking the time to stop in and check out my work.  Thanks in advance, too, for any comments that you choose to leave.  I love reading them, so please feel free.  God bless you.

Mojo Monday #276

Welcome back friends.  Today's card is for this week's sketch.  I turned the sketch and in order to fit my image, I enlarged the card a little bit.  It's an odd size card,  4" x 6.5".  The image is a Digi Darla stamp that I colored in with my colored pencils and OMS.  I used a glitter gel pen to color in the stars and curly Q's.

The sentiment is a freebie that I found online.  One of these days I will remember to write down the designer when I print them out.  I have them all saved on my computer by illustrators, but do you think I could find it..nnnoooo.  When I do, I will come back and update this post to give proper credit.  I matted the sentiment on a piece of Gold card stock from Gina K.  The same Gold card stock is behind the focal image.  The blue star DP is from DCWV.  I used the Fiskar's Scalloped Border Punch to do the navy blue card stock and the white card stock, both by Colorbok.  I used a white gel pen to add faux stitched on the navy blue.  I used pop dots on both the sentiment and the image, which was cut using Spellbinders Classic Circles Large.  Both are also inked with TCP Silver ink.

Thanks for stopping in today.  I hope you all have a blessed day.

Digi Darla Challenge #45

Welcome back friends.  This week over on Digi Darla the theme is Anything Goes.  The cool thing about Darla's site is you don't have to use one of their images, but if you do, you get two entries.  The image I chose this week is a Digi Darla image.  This little girl is just a cutie patootie.

This is a standard A2 size card made from black card stock.  I found a piece of Holstein cow DP in my stash and just had to use it since it matched her skirt.  I cut the DP to 5.25" x 4".  I then chose a piece of black, red and white striped DP and cut it to 4" x 1.5" and adhered it to the center of the card.  I used Spellbinders Label 10 dies to cut out the image and used DI Wild Honey to shade.  I colored in the image with my colored pencils and OMS.  After adhering the image with pop dots, I added six clear rhinestones to the image and three red ones to the bottom right corner.  I hand wrote the greeting,  inked it with DI Vintage Photo and used pop dots to adhere it.

Thanks for stopping in today and I look forward to reading your comments.  God bless ya'll.

Created with Love Challenge

Hello there.  Hope all of you are having a great day.  First off, I have some great news.  I had my first x-ray since my surgery and met with the surgeon today.  Everything is going perfect.  The doctor said my neck is healing perfectly.  The bone is growing around the screws and cage.  The natural curve of my neck is perfect.  Whatever I am doing, he said to keep doing because it's working.  YIPPEE!!  I was doing the happy dance on the way out of the office.   Starting February 17th I can start taking off the collar for one hour a day for two days.  Then I move to two hours a day for two days, then three hours for two days, etc.  I have to go back around the 17th of March for another x-ray.  So far so good.  Can  you say Praise the Lord??  I sure can.

So, onto today's card.  Created with Love #24 challenge is Critter Birthday.  I chose this adorable digi stamp that I received from a friend of mine and unfortunately I don't know who designed it.  I colored the image with my colored pencils and OMS.  I added some glitter pen on the roses and on the little mouse's bow.  I inked the edges of the image with Memento London Fog and matted it on Colorbok Pink and then Stampin' Up Gray. I tilted it just a little wonky for interest. The DP is from my stash and the card base is made from SU Gray.  The card is 5x5.  I printed out the sentiment from the computer and used the same matting sequence.  I used pop dots on the sentiment.  I added  a triple layer paper flower with two mint green leaf sprays and a mint brad to finish it off.

I sure hope you all enjoyed today's card.  Stop on over to the Created with Love blog and check out some of the beautiful work as well as the fun challenges.  God bless ya'll and have a wonderful weekend.

Saturday Sketch

Hello peeps.  How is everyone this snow covered morn?  I woke up this morning to about 3 inches of snow.  Granted it's not alot compared to what Utah just received last week, but for me, it's plenty.  

Today's card was made to enter the Sketch Saturday Challenge.  I used an image from the internet for free.  I colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers.  I used Spellbinders to cut out the image.  The sentiment is from a new stamp set I just bought from Gina K Designs called Heartily Yours.  The background paper is from my stash and the card base is Gina K's 120#: base weight white.  I added some sparkle twine for accent.  The image is inked in DI Vintage Photo and the sentiment is inked in Lady Bug from Memento.

I think it turned out pretty cute.  If any of you know who designed this digi stamp, I would love to know.  I cannot remember where I got it from so I can't give proper credit.  Thanks for stopping in today to see my latest creation.  Have a blessed day!

Roses for a Rose

Hello friends.  Today I have a card for you that just popped into my head and I knew I had to make it for my Aunt Linda.  Today is her birthday and she lives back in my home state of Virginia.  Believe it or not, her husband's name is Red and her name is Linda.  Take a guess what their last name is?  Give up?  It's Rose.  Honestly.  So, when I received this image in a swap, I knew I had to use it.  I am also going to enter this into the weekly challenge over at Through the Craftroom Door.

It's a little blurry, but for some reason my camera wouldn't focus very well, but you can get the gist of it.  The green is a mint green from Colorbook. I ran it through the Swiss Dot embossing folder from Sizzix.  The white part under the green was run through the Divine Swirls EF.  I colored the image with colored pencils and OMS.  I added some sparkle to the roses with a glitter gel pen.  The ribbon roses are from Jo Ann Fabrics and the green fronds are from my friend Jan.  I added a holographic acetate sprig and tied a ribbon on the side.  The card base is Basic Black from SU.  I inked the edges of all the card stock with DI Vintage Photo.  I used pop dots to raise the frame up off of the rose image.

Thank you for stopping by to check out my latest work.  I have a check up appt on the 17th with the surgeon about my neck.  I am doing really well.  I don't have to keep the incision covered anymore and it's healing nicely.  There is still a knot of scar tissue that is pushing on my esophagus making it hard to eat certain foods, especially bread.  Other than that, I feel fantastic.  I still have to take it easy, but can do more each day.  Thanks again for the continued thoughts and prayers.  God bless you.

Beautiful Girl

Good evening everyone.  I hope your weekend was great and that your Monday was all you hoped it to be. I know most people don't like Monday's but I don't mind them too much.  I was able to get some crafting done over the weekend and wanted to share it with you.

One of my daughter's friends had her 9th birthday party on Sunday and I made this sweet card for her.

 The image is called Rose Girl and can be found HERE.  I love the digis on this site.  They are all free and there are some cute ones.  I colored her with colored pencils and OMS.  I added some glitter glue pen to the rose in her hand, the rose on her headband and the bands of her shoes.  Here is a close up of the image.

I made this card into an easel card so that Mia could display her card in her bedroom if she wanted.  I used SU Basic Black cardstock for the base.  The pattern papers are all from DCWV, except for the dark pink print which is American Crafts.  I rounded all the edges and inked with Memento Rhubarb Stalk.  I added a piece of gathered white sheer ribbon from my stash, three small pink flowers from Studio G and Pink and black rhinestones to the corners and they are from Queen and Co.  The pink ribbon on the inside of the card is from AC Moore.  

I didn't want to ruin the look of the card so the message is written on a piece of white cardstock and adhered to the inside back of the card.

I am entering this card into the Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge for this week.  It's anything goes, and I do think this qualifies.  It is also going to enter the Through the Craftroom Door weekly challenge.

Thanks for stopping in today and I hope you all have a blessed night.  God bless you all.

Designed 2 Delight Progressive Challenge

Good Morning.  Today's card is the Designed2Delight's Challenge.  This is what's called a Progressive Challenge.  It works the same was as the Creative Freebie Challenge over on the Outlawz.  This challenge actually started in September, but I just found the blog this month.  I had to buy the image (first digi I ever bought) in order to play.  I love the cute image, so I didn't mind.  I will enter my card for this month and then I will receive the next month's image for free.  As long as I continue to play, I will receive one free image each month.  If you want to play along, but have missed the free image there are two ways to get it.  1. You can buy it and print it out or 2. If you spend $10 in the store you will be emailed the image for free.  You just have to send an email Faith and let her know you spent the $10.

I used colored pencils to color in the image.  I added some glitter pens for highlights.  I chalked the sky background and for some reason it came out looking like she is standing beside water.  It works though. :)  I ran the yellow cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the Divine Swirls embossing folder then inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I cut a strip of blue card stock, adhered it and used a white gel pen for the stitching.  I added blue gemstones to each corner and stamped the greeting with Danube Blue Memento Ink.

I think it turned out pretty cute.  Thanks for stopping in and I pray you all have a wonderful day.  God bless you.

Sweet Angel

Hello there.  Today's challenge is for Digi Darla #44 Angels/Fairies Challenge.  I used one of Darla's images, so I get two entries.  I am also applying for her design team, so I will let you know if I get a spot.  How cool would that be, right?

This sweet image is one of the angel images from her store. I used Spectrum Noir pens to color in the image.  I'm still not very good using them, but I've heard that practice makes perfect.  I used three shades of blue for her dress and shoes.  I then added clear star glitter pen on her shoes.  I used a light tan to color in the wings and used the clear star glitter on them too.  I inked the edges in Distress Ink Vintage Photo.  The patterned paper is from my stash (I think it's DCWV) and matted that on a light blue card stock from Colorbok.  The entire card is an easel card, but my camera isn't working so I had to lay it down and scan it.  I picked a sentiment from Dee's Bugaboo Boutique.  I made this card for a friend of mine who lost her mother on January 4th.  She turned 100 that day and passed away about 5:30pm.  Ms. Nora said she was going to live to see 100 and she did.  Adding some deep blue pearls in the corner finished off this sympathy card.

I am also entering this into the Outlawz Tuesday's Color Challenge for this week the Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge and Crafts 4 Eternity #106.  Thank you for stopping by to check out my work.  I truly appreciate any comments that you would like to leave.  God bless you.

Some New Work

Howdy everyone.  It's been a long time since I have posted any new cards.  I have truly missed blogging and showing my work.  I have also missed crafting.  I wasn't able to craft for the whole month of November and most of December.  I have been doing a little at the time.  I still have to take it easy because of my neck, but it's getting easier to sit for longer periods of time.  I go  back to the surgeon on the 17th for a check up and an x-ray to see how I am healing.  I'm believing for a complete healing that confounds the doctor.  Thank You, Jesus!

For my first card, I made it for the Mojo Monday Challenge and Through the Craftroom Door weekly challenge.  I made it for my dad who had a knee replacement on October 29th.  He had some major issues after surgery and I have been keeping up with him by phone, but thought he might like a little cheering up.  I thought the card was appropriate considering.

Isn't this little turtle too cute?  I am not sure who is from.  I spent 30 minutes looking through my computer to find him and I can't.  I know he's on there somewhere.  Anyways,  I colored him with colored pencils and OMS.  I fussy cut the grass and put the little guy behind it.  I chalked the background before adding the turtle and grass.  I stamped the butterfly (Recollections Garden Gnome set) and used my BIC markers to color it in.  I added a little bit of Sakura Clear Star glitter pen on the butterfly trail.  I printed out the sentiment, inked the edges and pop dotted it onto the image.  The patterned paper is from Gina K's Wisteria Lane paper pack.  The card base and the strip of cs are from my stash.  I inked the edges in Distress Ink Vintage Photo.

I really like this card and I hope my dad does too.  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you guys haven't forgotten me since I have been gone for so long.  God bless you and have a wonderful weekend.

Happy New Year

Happy 2013 everyone.  I hope that all my friends had a wonderful Christmas and a safe and blessed New Year.  We were bombarded with about 8 inches of snow right around Christmas so we had a White Christmas.  My mother was afraid she was going to be trapped up here in NE PA until the Spring Thaw.  She went home on the 28th.  I am so thankful for her visit because it sure was a big help.  Being unable to lift over 5 pounds, no stretching, bending, reaching, and having to wear this neck brace sure puts a damper on things.  

I was a little depressed when I had to send out, "gulp", store bought cards this year.  Everyone totally understands the situation, but for the past four years I have made my cards for friends and family.  But, I was able to focus more on my family and the true meaning of Christmas this year instead of how many cards I needed to get done.  So, all in all,  it was good.

I have been able to get a card done for the first Teapot Tuesday of the new year.  I have to be careful about how long I sit at my scrap desk and the movements I make, but I finished it and I thought I would share it with you. 

This card is going to Erik and Andrea who, after 19 years of marriage and some miscarriages, welcomed their baby twins, Theo and Sopris, into this world on December 19.  What a blessing and a Christmas miracle this family experienced just a few short weeks ago.  Their story touched my heart and I knew I had to try to complete this card for them.

I made a gate fold card which I thought was appropriate considering we have two babies.  I used all DP from my stash.  The ribbon was white and I used Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks to color one blue and one pink.  I attached little diaper pins to the bottoms of the ribbon.  The embellishments are from Recollections and the pink one says BABY GIRL and the blue one says BABY BOY.  I added blue and pink pearls for a little bling.

 The inside is done with the colors on the opposite flap just for a little variations.  I fussy cut the bows and the stuffed animal border from a baby paper pack I got a few years ago on clearance at AC Moore.  I used Memento Inks to stamp the sentiments which are from SU and Recollections.  I inked all the DP and Card stock with DI Vintage Photo.  The middle DP background paper has both pink and blue letters to tie both colors together.  I sure hope is brings joy to Erik and Andrea when they open it.

I hope to try and post at least once a week until I am free of this collar.  I am going to try my best to try and make some cards to encourage and bring joy to people.  I did go through the stash of cards I already have from my own creating as well as swaps and I think I could get away with not crafting for a couple of months, but it's like breathing.  I have to do it.  It's in my blood and my soul and I consider the cards I make a talent that God has given me to bless other people.  When I am not able to do so, I feel like I am missing out on my own blessing.

Thank you so much for stopping in and taking a gander.  I hope that you will continue to keep up with me as I plug along.  Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers that have been said on my behalf.  I will also keep you posted on my progress.  God bless you all.

Merry Christmas

Man, has it been a while since I have posted here on my blog.  But, at least this time  I have a good excuse. :).  I'm recovery pretty well.  I am still having a little problem with the choking thing.  In my last post I mentioned having some complications at the hospital that caused me to have to stay a few extra days.  Well, one of those complications was a choking experience.  My surgeon had warned me that I would have a hard time eating for a few days so I was prepared for that.  What I wasn't prepared for was almost dying trying to eat an English muffin.  Sunday morning, December 9th, I was eating my breakfast and took a small bite of the English muffin.  For some reason it became stuck in my throat.  I couldn't get any air.  Usually I could pull in enough air to cough whatever was stuck up, but not this time.  The little bit of air I was able to inhale caused the English muffin to move slightly and completely block my airway.  I knew I was choking.  I began to get light headed from lack of oxygen.  Amazingly, I was very calm.  I pushed the nurses button and the aid came in the room and I held my hands up to my throat in the sign of choking.  She yelled into the hallway that I was choking and nurses came from everywhere.  They ripped my neck brace off to try and get some air into my lungs but that didn't help.  They were afraid to try the Heimlich  or whack me on the back because of the neck surgery.  I remember beginning to see millions of little stars exploding and asking God to please take care of Kierstynne for me.  I knew I was going to die.  But still, I was strangely calm.  I knew that many people had been praying for me.  I also knew that God had me in the palm of His hand and that no matter what happened, I was going to be ok and so would my daughter.  Finally one of the nurses, one of my favorites, said, "Forget this crap! She isn't going to die today."  She then whacked me in the middle of my back twice and dislodged the muffin.  Air rushed into my lungs and tears rolled down my face.  I was so thankful to be alive, yet strangely disappointed.  I really thought I was going to meet my maker face to face that day and I was looking forward to seeing Jesus.  But, I was happy to have more time with my family and friends.  It was very strange.  The whole incident from beginning to end took about a minute and a half although it felt much longer.   So, because of that incident, I had to have two more tests so that they could make sure that nothing was blocking my airway or esophagus.  I was able to actually see myself eating food and swallowing it on the x-ray.  That was very cool.  I watched myself eat a couple pieces of a peach from when I chewed it up until it went down my esophagus and into my stomach.  I also had a chance to see the plate and screws that now support my neck.  Pretty neat I must say.

When you have an experience like that, it makes you rethink your priorities.  It also causes you to see life in a different way.  I am thankful for every minute I have here on this earth.  I still can't do a whole lot of anything...no lifting, no bending, no stretching, no lifting my hands above my head, no laundry, no pushing a vacuum, no washing dishes.. the list goes on.  I have to be careful how much walking I do.  I over did it this past weekend trying to get ready for Christmas.  I am paying for it now.  My shoulders are very sore and my  lower back is killing me, but I'm ready for Christmas.  I have been able to do a little cooking and my mom, Kierstynne and I made some Christmas cookies last week.  I do have a prescription for Percocet that helps a little bit and a muscle relaxer, but I try not to take them unless absolutely necessary.  After being on Morphine and Oxycontin in the hospital, I've had enough drugs to last a while.  The Oxycontin scared me.  I can see why and how people become addicted to it so easily.  I can also understand why they would break into pharmacies to steal it.  It makes you feel wonderful.  I didn't know if it took the pain away or just made me so high I didn't care about the pain.  It is a wonderful pain killer, but not something I want to take again.  I do not remember alot from the first three days of my stay.  I didn't remember Kierstynne coming to visit, I knew that my cousin Michael was there, but for the life of me I can't remember our conversation.  My mom has filled me in on some of what happened, but there are still blanks.  She said that my uncle, husband and herself had some good laughs at my expense those three days.  So, I would prefer not to have Oxycontin again.

I really appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts that have gone up for me.  I have an appointment with the surgeon on January 3rd to get an x-ray to see how I am healing.  I am anxious to see how well I am doing.  I still have to wear this neck brace for a little over 9 more weeks.  Boy, I can't wait for it to be over so that I can sleep in my own bed and get back to crafting.  I really miss my crafting and seeing all the amazing creations that you, my crafty friends, have been creating.  I hope all of you have the merriest of Christmases and a very blessed New Year.  God bless you all.

Surgery..done..Recovery..on it's Way

Good morning friends.  How is everyone on this wonderful Tuesday Morning?  I just wanted to post a little here about my surgery and how things went.

Tuesday Morning, 12/4, we had to be at the hospital at 10 am.    My surgery was to take place at 12 noon.  After a three and a half hour wait, I finally got into surgery around 3:30pm.  I ended up coming out of surgery at around 9 PM.   I spent from then until around 3pm the next afternoon in recovery waiting for a bed so that I be moved  to a room.  Originally I was to be moved to ICU, but I was doing so well, I ended up not having to go the ICU.   My incision is about 4" long and goes horizontal across the bottom of my neck in the front.  Dr. Campos went in and moved aside my trachea, esophagus, and voice box to get to the vertebrae in my  neck.   My throat is really sore and swollen, but, that is to be expected and is perfectly normal.  The surgery took about 6 hours to complete.

I  moved to Room 640 B which was right next to the nurses' desk.  I have come to the conclusion that having a wonderful  nursing staff is half of the battle when in the hospital.  I had some of the most wonderful nurses imaginable.  Christine was my night nurse n Recovery Tuesday night.  She was really nice and helpful.  Then  the 7am nurse was Rose.  She was a very nice woman.  She took really good care of me that day.  She worked really hard to get me some lunch and into a room.  I hadn't eaten since 8:30pm on Monday and she made sure I had some lunch on Wednesday.  I hated to leave her and the second shift staff in Recovery, but I was really  happy to get a room.

I wasn't allowed to eat anything hard and solid because my throat is so sore.  I ate some pudding, applesauce, milk, and soggy cornflakes.  I had to let them sit in the milk so that they got soft so I could eat them.  I added a couple packs of Splenda and a banana and it was actually pretty good.  After that first morning, the "lunch lady" would come around and get our menu for lunch, then again after lunch to plan our meals for dinner and breakfast the next morning.  Shockingly enough, the food was pretty good.  The only thing that I really didn't like was the meatloaf because it tasted kinda like dog food.  :)

I want to give a shout out to some of the nurses that I had:  Christine-night Recovery nurse.  What a phenomenal  nurse.  She was very attentive to my needs.  She never once got frustrated with any question that I had or aggravated with me.

Rose: First shift Recovery Nurse (Wednesday, 12-5-12)  Rose is from the "old school" nurses league.   I really enjoyed having her as my nurse.  She pushed for patients rights as wells as for what they need.  Rose is one who kept fighting to get me something to eat and a bed.  Thanks, Rose.  You rock!!

Liz and Rachel: MRS 6 floor nurses;  These two sweethearts are roommates here in Wilkes-Barre.  One is from Quaker-town and one is from the Phili area.  These two chicks rocked.  They were very attentive and careful.

Kevin: MRS6 overnight nurse.  Man, for a guy, Kevin was a wonderful nurse.  He made sure I had the things I needed like my pain meds and food for snacks.  It was great.

Nayda, Kim, and all the other nurses I had his past week:  Thank you guys for all the hard work and dedication to your profession.

So, having a good nursing staff is already half of the battle you will face  while having surgery and then afterwards during recovery.

I was supposed to come home on Friday, Saturday morning at the latest, but ran into a few complications which prevented me from leaving until Monday evening..more about that to come.   just wanted to let you guys know that I am home and beginning my recovery.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts that you guys sent my way.  I truly appreciate them.  I love you guys.