Did you miss me?

Those of you who know me well, know just how unnaturally attached I am to my Mother.  Well, now that we've gone through the worst of it and come out the other side relatively intact, I feel I can let the world in again.  

The beginning of June my Father called me from the hospital with the news that my Mother had to go in for emergency surgery on a strangulated hernia.  I immediately dropped everything in order to be the best daughter I know how to be.  What should have been a reasonably short healing process became a little more drawn out than any of us could have dreamed.  Weeks in the hospital and a few more in a physical therapy facility.  Dad and I worked hard to make the house a little friendlier for her transition home. My sister came down from Idaho to help, and (as luck would have it) my brother had scheduled a vacation to come down from Alaska, so the whole family gathered to help her through a rough spot.  She got to go home Sunday, and I'm happy to report that she's doing really well.  Maybe even better than when she went in.  I truly believe that Mom's guardian angel was walking beside her from the moment she stepped foot in the hospital. 

Our experience this time around (some of you remember the ruptured duodenum of 2009) was

entirely different than the last.  From the keen eye of Dr. Nadia Wayment who recognized the necessity for rapid response, the care that she received at Ogden Regional Medical Center from the skilled and talented surgeon Dr. Megan Grunander (who operated at almost a full 9 months pregnant) nurses (too many to name but all just as nurturing and professional as could be hoped for), to the caring and diligent staff at Pine View Transitional Rehab.  Thank you and bless you all for giving me more precious time with my Mommy.

Those of you who know me well also know that I've developed some annoying coping skills when I'm overwhelmed with stress in my life.  I tend to hibernate.  As luck would have it, Amber is so much like me that she does the same.  So, while we haven't been very good about communicating with you all and showing you what we've accomplished in the last few months,  rest assured that we're working our little fingers to the bone.

While I've been spreading myself a little thinner than usual, my amazing crew has been keeping the creativity flying out of here.  So, even though we've neglected to post to the blog in the last few months, we've been doing some of our most creative work.  I'm reminded of the analogy about a little grain of sand...with little heat and pressure...

Here is a lovely series Amber and I (Amber did the designing, and embellishing - I only carved) completed last month.  Aren't they charming?

And here are a few under sea delights that we created for our very special friend, Emily.

Enjoy and stay tuned!

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