Announcing.....

Ethan Michael! Weighing in at a nice 7lbs 15 ounces and 20" long. He has lots of dark brown hair under that cap. Jess did an amazing job bringing this little gift into the world at 5:48 am today! We kind of thought he wanted to be here for Thanksgiving and thankfully he is! Almost all day Monday Jess was having pretty regular cramping or mild contractions, but after hours of this they stopped and she went to work that night. Then Jess and Mike were at my house last night helping me cook for Thanksgiving, when about 8:15 Jess started what she thought was more cramping. By about 8:30 we knew this was the real deal. When she went to the hospital she was already 4cm dilated. She was already having contractions 1-2 minutes apart. I am so proud of how Jess and Mike handled themselves during the birth process. My heart is just bursting with love and admiration for Jess! I am so proud of you hon! You really worked hard bringing this beautiful baby boy into the world and adding yet another gift to be thankful for today and everyday.

Late Merry Christmas!!

Sometimes things just plain dont work out as planned! We had a wonderful time at my daughter Jessica's house on Christmas Eve. She really went all out, trying to make it memorable for everyone, and she succeeded. Great food, beautiful house and good company. It doesn't get any better than that! We then went to a candlelit church service as we do every year. I got completely spoiled by Jess and her husband. They gave me several lovely gifts, the most amazing thing was the 2008 annual Swarovski Crystal Snowflake! It is breath-taking. I was shocked. I don't know if I have told this before, but the only ornaments I have on my tree are snowflakes. I have white lights and snowflakes on the whole tree! Its really pretty.
Anyway, we went to my step moms house on Christmas day and had another wonderful time with her. It was hard being the first Christmas without my Dad, but we all spent some nice quality time with each other. Then, the part that didn't go as planned. We got home to find Maddux on the couch in the midst of another fever. He went up to 105.3 but with wet towels, rimadyl, aspirin and much babying by mama, he went down to 101 in about 3 hours. Hes still running a low-grade temp today. The normal time span for these fevers is 36-48 hours. I am hoping that since it went only to 105, maybe he will be spared the strep and staph infection this time! Wish us luck! Late Happy Holidays!

WHEW!!!

I am DONE finally with special orders! No more for this year. As you can see, I have been beading my fingers to the bone...lol. I could have done many more, but I just don't have the time, nor the physical stamina to do so. My poor back has been screaming at me to stop. Now I can! Maybe Mr Buck can get some work done to him. Then I am way behind on Decembers page, so I will have to play catch-up. I am proud to say that I made enough just with my beady orders to pay for ALL of Christmas! That's no small accomplishment for sure. On my minimal pension from GM, its hard to come up with the extra money for Christmas. I hope everyone who receives one of my beady gifts will appreciate not only the gift, but the creativity and time behind it too. So many people underestimate the work involved. Each of these Ornaments took 4 hours to make X 14! That doesn't even include the pins which take another 3+ hours. I hope everyone else has there shopping done! Now I am off to do some of that! Hugs Everyone!

Wishing you a...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This time of year, I have to stop and think of all the blessings in my life. My family, my husband, my dogs, my friends and just living this life! Even though I have some rather severe back and neck issues, I still am in relatively good health compared to a lot of people out there. I am thankful for that! This year I have added 2 son in laws AND a grand baby to my family. I love how our family continues to grow. The circle of life goes on! I hope everyone out there has many things to be thankful for. I want to thank all of you, too! Have a wonderful day, enjoy whatever it is you do. Huge Hugs to you all!
PS. Maddux is doing pretty well considering what he has gone through. He has a long way to go, but he is better. Thanks everyone.