Back to Writing on My Bog

Wow what a hectic couple of months!  Has it really been almost two months since I posted?  Time sure flies when you're having fun!  Well . . . we haven't really been having THAT much fun.

Since my last post, many things have happened in the life of the Brown family!  After getting the results on Ron's tests, he had open heart surgery on May 23.  The plan was to do one by-pass on a 70% blockage and to go ahead and replace his aortic valve with a mechanical one.

Once inside, the doctor found that he would need a double by-pass because there was a branching off and both branches were clogged.  The aortic valve was worse than they thought, but they were able to replace that just fine.  Because the top and bottom chambers of Ron's heart weren't "talking" to each other, a temporary pacemaker was put in during surgery with a permanent one going in to his upper left chest on the next Tuesday.  The bottom part of his heart was not beating fast enough.  Ron came home on June 1.

Things were going fairly well until early in the morning on Friday, June 28, when Ron developed a fever of 102.  So . . .  back to the hospital.  In the ER they found he had developed pneumonia so they sent us home with prescriptions for antibiotics and told Ron to take Tylenol for the fever.  They also took blood to do some tests.

To make a long story shorter, we were back at the hospital on Sunday afternoon because the fever was back, and one of Ron's harvest sites in his upper thigh had become red and hard.  From the time we left the house until the time we finally got seen by a doctor in the ER, Ron's reddened site and swelled to at least three times what it was when we left the house.  The red area was at that point halfway to his thigh!

Thus . . . more blood tests, another stay in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics, a wound vac placed on Ron's thigh, and home on Thursday the 28th but not before a trip to a couple more doctor's offices for wound vac supplies and intravenous antibiotic supplies (with a lesson on how to use the antibiotics at home).

Since Ron has been home this time we have been back and forth to doctor's offices a couple times a week between our twice daily intravenous antibiotic applications which we are doing ourselves at home!

Ron is doing much better now.  The wound is shrinking, is no longer red and swollen, and is not painful for him to do a little walking.  We are walking first thing in the morning before it gets too warm.  He is getting stronger every day, and we even took in a movie yesterday . . . The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel . . . a great movie for people our age!

Ron's daughter and her two girls are in town visiting which is a nice distraction for Ron.  We have enjoyed having them come visit as it makes the days go faster for both of us.  We will be celebrating one of their birthdays today . . .her sweet sixteen!  Now you are all caught up with our lives to this point.

Lord willing I plan to write posts for this blog two to three times a week from here on.  Here's hoping your life has been less eventful than ours has been the last two months!

Happy Scrapbooking!

Page Layout Picture-taking Put on Hold!

My picture taking is going to have to be put off for a little longer as my husband is going in to have another heart cath and a procedure that will allow the doctor to see his aortic valve.  So photographing page layouts will have to wait a few more days.

I hope you are all planning lots of scrapbooking time this weekend.  If you are in the Wichita area, stop by and see the girls at Across Time and Page Scrapbook Emporium at 21st and Webb.  It's a pretty store with friendly staff!  I know, because I'm one of them!  I won't be there because I will be standing by at the hospital for Ron's results.

Happy Scrapbooking!

My Camera is Fixed!! Time to Photograph More Layouts!

My camera is back from the shop and working as good as new!  Yay!!  I can't wait to start taking more pics of layouts.  I hope to have some new ones up by the end of the week.

Send me your ideas on Mother's Day page layouts you are planning or have done in the past.  I'd love to see them.

Do you need an idea for a great Mother's Day treat?  You can get personalized M&Ms chocolate candies for your celebration at http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-5571210-11043159.

Thank You Card

See the Thank You card below.

Celebrate Mother's Day with a Special Crop!

Hold a Mother/Daughter scrapbooking crop for your friends to celebrate Mother's Day!

Each mother/daughter pair could bring with them photos of a special event or trip they took together to create a special album together.  Another idea would be to create layouts for an album for another family member.  If working together on the same album doesn't suit, separate scrapbooks made by each would work.

Make sure to take pictures of your friends and their mothers and/or daughters as they make this special memory together.

Share Your Ideas

I am sorry to say that my camera is in the shop, so I won't be able to upload any pictures of my projects for awhile.

In the mean time, I'd love to see some of your ideas.  Cards, scrapbooking, paper decorating type projects, or other things you have been working on.

How many hours have you used your Cricut this week?  Join my blog and leave a comment.