A Crazy Week & A Pretty Link

This week has been, well, crazy. It is a good thing that my previous blogs were done on Sunday or I would have gotten nothing but a thought or two in my head about it this week as today is the first quiet moment to sit and type!

Let me start with my Niece, Linda. She is doing pretty well, but is quite down and is dealing with the feeling that she is either "having a nervous break down" or "dying alone". With all that her brain and body have been through and yet to go through, this is very common but quite heart breaking for me. She had the rehab center call me yesterday to ask me to call her. I did and she is just a very scared young lady. Not all brain function is back and that is adding to her fears. Please remember to pray for her if you will.

Yesterday morning, early, I received a call from my son who lives in Austin Tx. He had been involved in a multi car accident BUT he was not in a car. He was on his Harley. When it went down, he slid into the back of a truck. His hip and leg were injured and he is VERY sore! But God is good and he is working (slowly) and did go to church last night.

Life, for me, is never dull....I WANT dull!!! At least for a while please!

I will spare you all else, but will share with you a pretty fall idea that you can do quite simply if you wish!

Isn't it pretty! And you can use this in so many different place in your home, not the least of which, it would make a wonderful center piece for your Thanksgiving table!

Thank you It's Over Flowing for such a cool idea!

http://www.itsoverflowing.com/2013/09/fall-ideas-for-the-mantel/

Have a wonderful Thursday all!

Black Table

This is the black side table that I showed you yesterday. (dust, cobwebs and all!)

I had originally given it a place of honor in my kitchen, it had a long and useful life there.

Since we remodeled the kitchen, it just does not belong any more. (pouty lip) So I put it in the living room next to a lonely chair. However, the chair sits next to our desk, which is a very dark walnut (almost ebony) and a black framed mirror hangs above the chair. tooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much black!

I also did not like the scalloped band around the top of the table. Outdated for sure.

I took my table to the operating room, also known as the work shop in the basement and started to dismantle the sweet little table.

Scalloped back is gone. Color is a true turquoise! Shocked? Me either. Does that mean that I am predictable? Probably.

Once the table was painted and dried and put back into place, I just could not handle the "one note" look of the paint.
So I took it out on the deck and did an aged look with dark stain.

Now that's better!

As you can see, it gives it a two dimensional paint layer and takes away that stark, almost shockingly plain look of a solid paint finish. There are times when the solid finish is defiantly what is needed but this just was not the time.

I love the color now and the way that it brightens the corner of the room.

Color is a great thing!   

 

 

What Will....

I do with this?

What will I do to this?

What will I tell you about my Niece?

The first two you will find out about this week.....

My Niece? Has her trach out!!!!!!!!
Is talking and the first thing she said to me?
Drum roll please.....


"Paula, I NEED a pepsi" Yes indeed, that is what she asked me for.

She stutters at times, that is a part of the brain injuries. She has very little short term memory and has asked my several times in a day "what is wrong with me"?
At times she is like a small child, doing things like brushing her stuffed dog's teeth and saying things like "I might cry if you don't".
But she is still as feisty as before and sassy to boot.
Her right side leg does not work as of yet, but the right side was by far the worst of the pelvic injuries, so we may not see that leg ever work. That is ok, as 6 1/2 weeks ago she was not expected to even live.

Baby Cedar has finished her 3rd round of Chemo. She is such a fighter, happy and keeping those around her smiling. Her tumor has shrunk and things are going in the best direction. Please keep praying for her and her family as this fight continues.

I Am So Going To Do This!!!!!

From This.....

 

To This!! Amazing!!

 

If you go over the Apartment Therapy they will give you all the details...you know I have already been there!!!!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/before-after-a-new-side-to-ikeas-expedit-194794?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DAILY+91713+-+A+Secret+Kids+Room+Through+the+Closet&utm_content=DAILY+91713+-+A+Secret+Kids+Room+Through+the+Closet+CID_d56bbdef31395db00f12221c7e5bfb50&utm_source=email_newsletter&utm_term=Go%20to%20full%20post
.
 

And The Verdict Is....

My Niece is back!!!
Yes, that is correct...her brain is in tact, working and knowing us all!! I cannot help but weep while writing this.
As I visited with her last night, she asked me (through lip reading and her pointing at letters to spell a word) to get her an over the counter ointment for an itch that she could not endure any longer. It took me all of 1.2 seconds to get to my car and drive to the pharmacy to get it for her!!

She communicates through "mouthing" words (which I am terrible at reading) and trying to write. Her right side is not completely awake yet, so her ability to write is very poor, but it will come.

Today (9-17-13) she will be moved by ambulance to a rehab facility about 2 hours south of where she is now. She will remain there for 8-10 weeks until she can put weight on her very injured legs and begin physical therapy. At that point, she will be moved again to another phy therapy facility for intense treatment.

Sometime in the next few weeks, the work to get the tracheotomy out of her throat will be done. We cannot wait to hear her voice again!

The sad thing in this major hurdle is that now that her brain is awakened enough to know who she is and we are....there is knowledge of extreme pain in her body. My heart breaks for her. As I helped the nursing staff last night to roll her and move her I trembled at the look of pain on her face.

Linda loves her Aunt Paula and held my hand sooo tight, kissed my cheek twice! and it makes me cry to be privileged to walk through this very, very hard time with her. To kiss her back. To love on her and to see what a Mighty God we serve to have brought her back to us.

I stand amazed.

Missing Photo...

It occurred to me last night as I was teaching a group of girls about inner beauty that I have had you praying for my Niece, Linda, and you have not even seen a photo of her!
It is for me, a lot easier to comprehend a situation if I have a face to put with it.
So here is a photo of my Niece. (pre accident of course) She is in the middle, being kissed by her Grandma and Great Aunt.

I am headed back up to Rockford this afternoon to visit her in the hospital, I will update you soon.

Today

Today, 12 years ago our country saw the most devastating event ever within our boarders. Praying for all the families that are left with such a devastating hole in their lives.

Today, 5 years ago our family had a most blessed event. Our little "Terminator" was born. He is so funny, smart and handsome and I cannot imagine life without him.

Today, we all pray and wait for Baby Cedar's results from her MRI. Her little arms are swelling and turning purple. This is what happened to her legs just before they found the cancerous tumor.

Today, my Niece is awake a lot more, moving BOTH sides of her body! She has a little stuffed dog that she holds on to all the time. She still has a trachea tube, and is on c-pap but breathing all on her own, no ventilator. Sadly, she does not yet recognize people as loved ones, she sees us as people. But this is something that can pass at any day and that is what we hope and pray for.

Today, I will teach a group of young ladies that beauty is on the inside, that the outside is not important enough to spend all of our time working on, but the heart is where we should focus. As I think of my Niece and the unmistakable change in her outward appearance these days, I am even more convinced that she is beautiful. She has no hair on her head, tubes coming out of her neck and arms, an ugly green hospital gown covering her, and does not smile or talk....but she is beautiful to me. She is beautiful to a great many people.

How will you show your beauty today?

Favorite Quote Day

This quote, so small in wording yet so HUGE in it's voice.
I know that what ever anyone is going through today - joy or sorrowful  -  tomorrow you will be able to help another who is going through something similar.

Be a great and helpful voice!!

Solar Jar Lights



 

Remember These???

 

 

Well, let me show you how to make them!

First, go down to the depths of your basement and pick out the jars that you can live without. I can with wide mouth, so these small mouth jars were my pick.

Go to the store and find the least expensive stake solar lights....mine are 97 cents each from Wal-Mart.

Please note that there is a tab on the inside of the light that you MUST pull out to enable the light to charge and ultimately work! I had NO idea and thought that my jar lights were a complete "fail" until my hubby pulled the tab..... ReallY!!! Who knew!!??!?

Take the seal out of the lid, I chose "used" lids to keep from having to buy seals. (p.s. you can spray paint the lids and seal any color you would like!)
Mark out the appropriate size of the solar panel located on the top of the light. Mine, 1 1/4 inch square.

I next used an all (no clue about the correct spelling of this tool) and pierced a whole (on top of a scrap piece of wood) in the center of the marked out square. I then used a pair of ancient kitchen shears to cut the square out.

Next, measure from the bottom of the jar to the lid.
Take the post off of the bottom of the light and mark it to be cut at a point that when re-attached to the light, it will gently rest on the bottom of the jar after the light has been attached to the seal.

I used a band saw to do the cutting, but a small hack saw would work just fine too!

To attach and SEAL the light top I used silicon calk.

I used the silicon to prevent rain from filling the jar while outside.

Once the silicon has dried, place the jar outside, anywhere your heart desires!!!

This is an easy project that apart from the drying time, takes no more than 20 minutes to complete.

Update and Uplight!

A quick update on my Niece:
She is still in the step-down ICU, just had a 5 hour surgery last Thursday to repair her crushed pelvis, is being tested for the exact infection that she has somewhere in her body and that requires all who go in to gown and glove to visit her.
Linda still has a trach which is part-time ventilator help and part time c-pap help. She moves her left side well, her right very slightly, but all this is positive. She is not fully awake or even knowledgeable about where or who she is, but as the brain "wakes up" we are praying for all that to change. It may never change, but it very well could, so we are asking for prayer for the best outcome!

AND, before all that has happened in the last month, I actually did accomplish a small DIY.

See! I love them, as I can put them any where I want! On a table, on the deck steps, in front of the house or the back!
I had seen this creation done before, so please know that it is not my brain child....since I did not make note of where I saw it, I cannot tell you how it was done other than the way that I went about it.
And that, my dear friends will be tomorrow.
Have a phenomenal Labor Day!