At last....

.....today is actually the first time that I heard my Mom say that she is feeling better...and oh what a relief it was to hear that.  Of course, it was on the phone this morning, when she was calling me to tell me to stay home today and NOT drive in the snow!!  Yes, we did get snow, despite the fact that as of last night, they said the coast would be spared?  Wrong?  I would say we had about 5" as of about 11 am, when I took Scout out for a little walk....but now the temps have come up a bit and it's more like drizzle and thankfully it's melting the snow.

   I have to admit, that staying home another day did NOT break my heart...and I actually feel pretty good today, so I have taken full advantage of it and spend almost EVERY minute in my craft room.   I have also concluded what I have known for a long time -- for me 'creating' is truly a form of therpay.  It helps me to relax, it keeps my mind off of pain, it makes the day go by quickly and also is really fun!!

   Before I share all my newest cards, I also want to thank you ALL again for all the wonderful kind and supportive comments you continue to share -- they help so much and it really means the world to me.  My Mom will indeed be going to Rehab, and I'm waiting now to hear back from her Case Worker to find out exactly when.  There was a good chance she would move today, but exactly where is not known.  As much as we ALL agreed and wanted her in the Cardiac Rehab next door to the hospital, they have NO available beds as of now and her second choice, would bring her back to our local community, and while that is NOT my favorite idea, after having more time to research, I do feel better about that than I did yesterday.  Right now I'm a bit torn and will just have to see how it plays out.   If she is closer to home, it truly will be it's own blessing on everyone, as it's a 10 minute drive, versus a 45 minute drive -- but it's also a Nursing Home/Rehab, which was never what I wanted.   But, since we ultimately can't create a bed, we just have to see how it all works out.

     Feeling much better has also made my spirits better and then to hear her be anxious to eat breakfast today and actually say she's better....was almost beyond belief, after the past several days.  I've also made it very clear to her that I did not appreciate being left OUT of the loop yesterday and that I will be making calls daily to her Case Manager, her and the hopsital/rehab to be sure I'm getting the absolute best and accurate info.  If she has been me yesterday, she would have felt the exact same way and she realized that today too!!

    And now I'm very pleased and happy to share all these fun new cards that I have made.  All of which are in a theme of Love, Hearts, Flowers and me thinking of SPRING, as I look at all the cold wet and yukky now out in my yard.

    First, I am sharing my latest challenge card and this one was made with a brand new digi image I bought yesterday, from By Lori Designs.  As you know I love these cuties and really thought this one was a new must for my collection.  This is Puddle Jumper Valentine Ella and she's all decked out in Pink and White and created especially for the brand new "Pink" themed challenge over at By Lori Designs.

  I started out by printing her out on white cardstock and and then printed a second "Ella" on top of some pretty pink "digi papers" that I bought from Shery K Designs.  I cut the heart out of the second image and paper-pieced it on top.  I also used some of the same paper as one of the background layers on my cards.  Little Ella herself was colored all in Pink and Violet Pink shades with my Copics.   My image is a digi image from my stash and my card-based with created with Pink and White Polka Dot Cardstock by Memory Box.

  In addition to the BLD Challenge, little Miss Ella is also being submitted to these challenges, where everyone is welcome to join the fun:

• Crafting By Designs - Coloring with Alcohol Markers
• Divas by Design - Make it Girlie

      UPDATE:   I had a phone call from my Mom and now there is more "sucky" news as they found a blood clot today in her lung, after another series of Chest X-rays and a CT Scan.  She is NOW back on the floor and awaiting IV therapy to come in and start her back on Heparin.  Her veins are so beat up that the floor nurse, could not start the IV.  This has been an issue on and off for her throughout her stay and it's never fun to be poked over and over as they struggle to get the IV's in.   It's happened to me in the past too.....I guess we are alike in that way and I feel for her.  .   From what she told me, the clot is small and the Heparin should resolve it quickly.   The prognosis is very good and that is nice to hear.   On the upside....if there is one, she STILL says she is feeling better, but is now again exhausted because of being taken down for these two 'tests' and was out of her room for almost 3 hours.  She also NOW will NOT be going anywhere today, she's now back to being in a more acute status?  UgH!   I think she really wanted a change of scenery and if all goes well, they still HOPE, she may go to Rehab tomorrow.  Now, I just want this clot issue to resolve, before she lets it get her down.  She is hungry too, which is another blessing.  

   Trying to think happy things, I'm sharing all the rest of my cards, without a lot of details.  Now, I am too tired to keep typing, but I did really have a good day.  I have a dental appointment with my new dentist in the morning, and then will check on where my Mom is and head there to see her.  If she is better and the clot is resolved, she could move and that may be a good thing.   Please thing good thoughts and continue to say prayers, the last thing she need is any more set backs!

   Here are the rest of the Love/Heart Cards that I made today!   The first is a repeat, something I really do and the next two are all pretty clean and simple and all were created with some of my favorite dies from Memory Box and My Favorite things:

The card above is being submitted to the current "Red, White and Pink" challenge being hosted this week over at The Pink Elephant!!

   ...and after having so much fun with die cuts, I went back to coloring with my Copics...which is so relaxing...! These are the cards I made from my colored images -

   And one last card, which is a Hero Art Digital image, that is a pretty bunch of "Garden Flowers" designed to have the look of watercolors.  I love them and they are quite a few more in this style from Hero!  , done in a "Watercolor" like effect.  You can find a wonderful selection of Hero's Digital Images over at Two Peas.  They are the perfect for creating quick and easy Hybrid cards.   To created this quick card, I picked out a piece of Pink Satin Cardstock, cut it down to A2 size.  I then printed out my Flower images, and used a Nestie die to cut it out.  I layered it onto some contrasting cardstock and adhered that to a white doily.  I added another blue strip of paper down the center, added my image and then finished it off by adding white ultra fine glitter to the flower stems.   

   UPDATE # 2 -- My Mom just called again after her Surgeon came in to see her and informed her she has a blood clot (? clots) in her leg, as well.   UGH!!!   And that she still has NOT started the Heparin as the IV staff has not come yet?  GRRR!!   He also told her that she will NOW be staying in a hospital for a FEW more days, until this is fully resolved, which I think is good to hear, as LONG as they get moving on treating it.  Now, I HOPE that because she is still overall feeling better, that she will gain more energy and strength again from eating and will be up more, making this risk lower!    PLEASE continue to HOPE that she will soon be HOME and we can close this door for a LONG time!!
  
   Later Update:   It's now Saturday and after more time, we've learned that the initial blood clots in her Right Leg, was from Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and a piece of that clot, is what broke off and went to her lung.   Again, this could have been so much worse or even fatal if, God forbid, the clot had gone to her heart/brain.   She is one lucky lady and I'm very very pleased with the fact that her doctor suspected something was not quite right...which is WHY the Xray/CT was ordered. Her oxygen levels were going down and that meant something was up...that we know now was the clot.   Now, she is OFF of IV meds and now taking Warfarin (Coumadin) by mouth and will do so for the next several months.   She's also feeling better every day and her oxygen levels are MUCJ better.  She and I walked today without her oxygen and she was resting without it later in the day before I left.  She'll slowly taper off and is expected to be ready to transfer to Rehab on Monday!   

   Time for me to say goodbye for today and hope that tomorrow, when I get back from the hospital, things will be even better!!   Hugs to all!