Scrap Tiffany Self Portrait

This was a fun layout for me, because it's been awhile since I have created.
With all the changes going on in our lives,
creating had to move a little lower on my list of "to do's".
However, that can last only so long.
I have been missing my creative therapy.

This week's challenge for Scrap Tiffany is "Self-Portrait".
This made me think about who I really am.
The "me" words are some descriptive words that some friends recently said to describe me on my special birthday surprise(that's another post for later).
Of course, I had to add a few as well.
Their words for me were positive, mine were the not so positive.
Cause like 'em or not we all have those not so fun,
not so positive descriptive words that make us who we are.

Here's my layout for this week...

A close-up of the flower.
This flower was hand drawn and cut out, not so perfectly,
on purpose in different sizes and layered with a regular flower.
An over-sized brad in the center holds it all together.

Supplies used:
Patterned paper-We R Memory Keepers/White Out Collection/Nonsense-Bling, Blang.
Cardstock- Bazzil/Craft
Large Brad-American Crafts Elements/Cricket
Misc-trim, acrylic letters, sewing machine, distressing tool.

Take a stroll over to Scrap Tiffany to check out the
remaining design team's "Self Portrait".

Til next Time with T!!!

Our Little Coco

Where have I been? Well, we've had quite a few things going on since I last posted. Things I would have never imagined I would ever be dealing with.
So I am back and will be posting more in the near future.

One situation we had to deal with while I missing recently was this....

Our little Coco is not dressed like normal in these pictures.
But for good reason.
She was admitted to Children's Hospital and we were
told we would be there for at least a few days with her.

Here's the story...

This all started with an ear infection. She had some drainage in her right ear, then the onset of a fever, 102.3 at it's highest.
Late that night I called the on-call doctor, he explained to continue to give her Tylenol (which are all pulled off the shelves here, I must live under a rock and didn't know there was some sort of recall), then bring her in the next day.

We followed his instructions.
However, the Tylenol(off-brand) would not bring her fever down. So we resorted to baths to cool her off faster.
I hate doing these but it was necessary.
She SCREAMED during these baths, by the way.
My hot hands made her shiver with the chills.
I cried and cried as I poured the water over her head to cool her off.

The next day at the doctor, they give her a perscription antibiotic to fight off the ear infection and although they do not normally recommend giving a 3 month old Motrin, the doctor said to give her a small amount as it would assist in getting the fever down until the antibiotic kicked in...
sounds pretty normal so far right?

Well, it did to us. After 4 children and the average number of ear infections, there was nothing different about this one, except for one thing,
her young age.

None of my other children had ear infections at 3 mo. old,
that was new to me.
That was also the concern for the doctor. Due to that concern, she sent us to do labs at Children's Hospital because they were so good at getting needles into the tiny veins of an almost newborn.

By the time we got out of the doctor that night, it was too late for us to go to the hospital for the labs that evening, so we decided we would go first thing Monday, especially because the doctor said the labs were only
precautionary, nothing urgent.

So, we went home with our trusty antibiotic and Motrin in hand. We gave her the doses recommended and prayed for her.
We did not sleep well that night because if it wasn't me checking on her one minute, it was Hugo who was up checking on her.

The next morning, although she seemed better, she was still hot.
We took her out that night to a party, but I could tell she still didn't feel well. So my mind was pretty much distracted and on her all night.

Sunday we wake up and she's pretty normal in temp, still warm but much better.
We're happy that she's feeling better, she's cooler and we're getting ready for the 4th of July party out in the country with our friends/family.

I feed her normally in the am, she naps for quite a long nap,
her normal schedule.
I get her up from her nap to feed her again, although this feeding is different.

She is fussy and not really interested. Hmm? A little strange because she hasn't eaten since morning and she slept longer than normal.

I put her in her bouncy and wait awhile to feed her again. So about an hour later I try again. This time she not only doesn't want to eat but she is screaming a hurting cry.
Her fists are tight and next to her head, her face is bright red with anger and pain. Our thoughts are, its her ears. They are probably sore, so I give her a dose of Motrin for pain.
We wait 20 minutes for the Motrin to take effect.
She is screaming the entire time, still in pain.
So we start to have red flags and concern and continue to pray.

That's it!!
She's hurting and we can't stand it anymore.
We make the decision to take her to emergency to have her checked. After all, she is just 3 months, not eating, and screaming a cry that is not, I'm hungry or tired, but I am in pain.

To make a longer story shorter..we drop the kids off with Bernie so they can enjoy the 4th, just in case we don't get back in time(so glad now, we did this and didn't take them with us) and the 3 of us head to Children's Hospital.

On the way, she stops her crying and screaming. We get there and stop the car(as stopping makes babies cry) in the parking lot and she's still quiet. We're sitting in the parking lot trying to decide to take her in or not, cause we know exactly what they're going to do, their job of poking and pricking her and we just didn't want that to happen unnecessarily
(this is one of the hardest call to make for parents).

I take her out of the car seat and she starts screaming.
So no more considering, we of course, take her inside.
We walk in with a screaming tiny, 3 mo old, and you guessed it, they take us right back, not asking our names, insurance nothing except
Addi's name, birth date and the problem.

Well, within about 15 min. we were standing looking
face to face with the 2nd doctor in charge at the hospital.

In all our years of child rearing, this was the
fastest emergency visit we had ever had.
However, it was the worst emergency visit due to the news we received.

In that short whirlwind of time, we had the doctor standing in front of us looking us in the eye telling us our sweet baby girl Coco had
Spinal Meningitis, they were admitting her and we would be there for at least a few days so they could treat her.
WHAT???!!! Are you kidding me?
My mind is spinning...how did we get HERE??

I just about fell to the floor and could not believe what he was saying.
I didn't know exactly what that diagnosis was but over the years I remember seeing a couple times a note coming home from the school saying one of the children on campus had it and it was very dangerous to the child, so watch your kids for signs of symptoms.

The doctor proceeds to tell us that he is 90% sure Coco has this infection with her age, symptoms, and she is stiff in her back and neck
(as he proceeds to try and fold her in half).
It is an infection that spreads around the brain.
The usual results of this infection are mental retardation and/or death.

However, they wanted to be sure, so we are going to do a spinal tap (taking fluid from the base of her spine, that flows from the top of the head to the bottom of the spine to check for bacteria, ouch!), a Cat Scan to be sure the infection is not around the brain(however, if she doesn't stay still for that scan, we will have to put her out), a catheter (to be sure the infection wasn't a urinary tract instead), however we will also give her a dose of Morphine to relax her and to help with the pain of her ear infection and the procedures. They also decided to give her two different very strong antibiotics to kill the infection wherever it was.
They had tried to take blood for the labs in both arms, both hands and one foot, in addition to the IV they put in her hand
and the needle in the spine for the fluid.
This is 20 min after we walk into the emergency room.

I am frantic at this point as they are moving us through these procedures very quickly because they want results NOW.
At this point, we have seen 3 doctors, about 6 nurses and a number of technicians. Everyone was interested in this
little 3 month old with this serious diagnosis.

Our heads are spinning.
We wait and pray while we hold our little girl in
between all these procedures and people. She hasn't eaten since a partial feeding at 1:30. They are now concerned with dehydration,
so they pump up the IV fluids.
We call for our very close family and friends to begin to pray with us for her.

Thank goodness these people know how to talk to me to get my head straight cause it helped me handle this from a different angle.
All of us spoke faith over her as to what the Word of God says about our covenant of health and healing.
We were hearing so much negative,
we needed to push those negative
words away with the truth of His Word.

So they prepare to take us to a room. Think back to 30-45 min earlier, when we were in the parking lot trying to decide to take her in or not.

After they remove the fluid from her spine,
they tell us it looks very clear and clean
That's a good sign.

So we go to our room and wait.
We decide to send Hugo home to get a few necessary items: Bible, Cd player with healing scriptures, Coco's blanket, some sweat pants, cell phone chargers, and a few other necessities.

We have visitors through the night, checking her vitals, taking blood, etc.
The next morning we see 3 additional doctors and they tell us so far some of the tests that have come back look normal.
Although that is good news, we are still waiting for some other results to come back.
So we wait and pray some more. Give our updates to family.
The doctors come in a couple more times and
finally tell us the good news we were waiting for....

We can't believe it but the tests are all NORMAL, she is fine and we're letting you go home in a couple hours.

WhooHoo! Thank you God!! He healed her!!!
Don't forget...the doctors told me they were 90% sure
she had this infection, without a doubt. It wasn't said like, "Well, we think she MAY have this" or "just as a precaution we're checking her for..."

We know our God had a different plan for my
Coco's life than that diagnosis they were telling us.

So after we got the good news(I was not up to it before that),
then and only then,
did I take pictures of this experience.

So here are pictures of our 4th of July night....

Dad went home to get her special blanket.

Love this little face more than ever.

Ankles this size should never have to ever have these types of
bracelets on other than at birth.

This was horrible! She sleeps and eats with her arm over her eyes. So every time she did she would scratch her eye with all those hookups.
So we tried to keep it covered with the blanket.
Look at those little fingers sticking out of that contraption.
"Mom, what is this on my arm?", "Could you please help me take it off?"
That was all I kept seeing in those eyes when I looked at her.
She was such a trooper through all this.

Dad catching some Zzzz's after getting the good
news and no sleep the night before.

My two life lines during our stay...my Bible and my phone.

These are two little books the hospital gave me to read to Coco(they have a library inside the hospital). They told me she could take them home.
She loves to be read to. She reaches out to touch the pages now.

The CD player with music and scripture readings.
This played every minute we were in the room.

Our little Addi with her baby.

She loves her baby. She's just the right size for those little hands.
Thanks Bernie!! "I love you, I love you!"
That's what her baby says.

This is our Coco LESS than 24 hours after we received the horrid news.
COMPLETE opposite of what the doctors told us how it would turn out.
COMPLETE healing!
God had a different diagnosis.

Once again, Thank you God for your faithfulness to us.
We know when we let you be in charge, everything will be just fine.
You take far better care of your children than we can ever
think of taking care of them.
Rightfully so, you created us and our children.

Thanks to all those who helped us pray, encouraged us and took care of our children while we were away.
Your support is AMAZING!!!

Last but not least...
We Love you AddiBug. Our little Coco!!

ps...Sorry this was such a long post but I had to come back with a bang!!!

Til next Time with T!!

Happy 6th Birthday Brooklin!!

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Brooklin!!
You are now 6 years old.

You are one amazing little girl. Boy, do we have stories to tell you when you get older. We always knew you were a special little girl, even before you came out of my tummy. God shared a story with us about you.
It is a story that we are watching to be confirmed to be very true. My prayer has always been to raise you in the way He wanted us to, so God could continue with His plan for your life.
Some days I'm not sure if I have hit the mark with my part or not, but other days I realize that I am here to guide you and He is the One that will finish His plan for your life with His grace from our mistakes.
I love you more than words can say and I know you will always be yourself, a leader not a follower. That is you from the day you were born, I saw it in you and still watch it daily.
Then I realized that although that is a great quality, it very well could be one of the most painful things I deal with in you because one day I will have to "let go of you" to pursue the purpose God has planned for your life.
So until then, I love you each day the best way I know how and pray for you every day to continue in the things of God through out your life.

Out of the many things I love about your personality there is one that stands out to me...You are happy no matter where you are and what you are doing. Your Kindergarten teacher said "I love her, she smiles and is happy no matter what is happening". It is very true. You really are low maintenance, and will play alone for hours if you need to. You just entertain yourself.

Here's some pictures of Brooklin. I took them this morning before she left for her last day of school and others are from the last few days of school.
These really show what Brooklin loves most...
playing in the water with her friends.

Brooklin and some of her friends at school on water day.

Brooklin on her favorite towel.
I think she seriously will keep this towel til she is old.
Nemo is her friend.

Her good friend Aubrey.

Trevor and Brooklin. The two of them play so well together. They never fight. Me and Trevor's mom laugh at them because if one says "hey lets do this, the other one says ok". We may not like that in later years. lol!
It's probably due to the fact that their older brothers are good friends and were in the same Kinder class two years ago. Brooklin is such a tomboy, she plays good with boys, probably even better than girls.

Well, Happy 6th Birthday Brooklin!!
I know we will have an amazing day together.
We have lots planned even before your party gets here.
I love you!!

Til next Time with T!!!

Blog Post Winner!!

Thank you to each of you that joined us for the Recycle Blog Hop!!
I had a great time creating with throw away items.
I hope all the creativity sparked some inspiration for you to
create your own recycled craft.

Ok, ok, ok on to the important stuff..
The winner!!!!
(Chosen by Random number generator)

And the winner is......

Congratulations Katie!
Send me an email at kregle@yahoo.com with your info so I can get your prize out to you right away!

Thanks to each of you that stopped by and took the time to leave a comment.
I read every single one.

Til next Time with T!!!

ScrapTiffany Blog Hop!!!

Yay!! You made it to the next stop in the Scrap Tiffany Recycled Blog Hop!!!
If you did not start at the beginning, please make sure you do so you don't miss a thing!!!

I decided to create a paper bag mini book with a
few extra recycled items to add.

So, I took the items below and created a cute little mini book.
I had a blast doing it mostly because I got out of my box of normal scrap supplies to create something I wouldn't have otherwise.
That is good for the creative soul.
I love that!

Anyway, here is what I created....



and this is what i used to create it....

How many of these do you have laying around your house??
Too many like me?? I can't even count them all.

Now they are an item in my scrap room.
You cut the handles, fold them about 6-8x's, lay them between two sheets of paper or a paper bag, then iron them until they are meshed together.
Then I painted and inked them to decorate.
It's an amazing texture. You will see the completed plastic sheet further in the post.

Then I took these paper lunch sacks and created the mini book.

These flowers are also made from paper bags,
however, these are the ones you get a the grocery store .
I used these for the flower because they were thicker.
You will notice on the book I left the print showing.

I then used these to decorate the book with. You will see...just make sure you use a can opener that does not leave the sharp edge.

This is what they became.

Again, the front cover...I created these inserts from manila folders.
Cut them and inked them of course.
They insert inside the paper bags.
I attached the can lids to the side as a pull.
I also attached some patterned paper as a
pocket for another picture to slide into.

The piece to the right with the quote on it is the plastic bag page.
There is a close up picture further in this post.

The second pull out page.

In addition to adhesive to hold the binding closed,
I also used twist ties and gaffer tape.

The paper bag rose, I painted and is only attached with this binder clip.
No glue at all holding it together.

A close-up of the plastic bag sheet.

The second plastic bag sheet. Look at that texture.
There are so many uses for this technique.

Again, the front cover.

This was such a fun project. I really enjoyed getting out of my normal scrap supplies to create something completely different.

I will be giving away a nice surprise for the blog hop this weekend.
All you have to do is become a follower of my blog and leave a comment. Monday a winner will be selected via random number generator.

Thanks for jumping in on our Scrap Tiffany Recycled Blog Hop!

HOPe you had a HOPpin good time and are ready to HOP into some HOPefully creative time!!
HOP on over to your next stop...
let's see what Summer has recycled for the HOP!!!

Don't forget to check back Monday for a winner!!!

Til next Time with T!!!