All That Was Missing Was The Reading of The Declaration of Independence

I had such a great time this weekend. My Uncle Jim Bob (yes, his real name) threw a party. He had a shelter built down by the lake (his massive house is lakefront), had a bulldozer come and make trails so he could take all the kids for a ride through the woods on his Rhino, and spent almost $10K on fireworks. It was so much fun! It was kinda weird though; no one knows what to say to me since I got sick except offer me their chairs and make me eat.

My BF Laura directed me here. You have to check out Scrapbuck! About 90% of their stuff is just $1.

Here is a couple layouts I created with their amazing products:







Anyway, here are some pictures:

This is my cousin Jeremy packing my other cousin Tracy around in the wagon.







My nephew Braden. He is TOO cute!




and I took Bryce and Connor to the lake:





This is my new baby nephew Will. I made them turn off the flash because he was sleeping. Anyway, he weighs only 6 lbs and he's two weeks old, so I was a nervous wreck around him. When Bryce was born he was toddler sized.





I think this is Kaleb's impersonation of "The Rock":







Yeah, yeah....I look like hell. But it's been awhile since I gave Laura some pictures of Kaleb so she can drool over him.

XoXoXo,
Kristie

OH! To be sleeping!

The CSX dudes like to drive their little mini trains down the tracks and honk the freakin' horn 15 consecutive times at 4:30am for sh!ts and giggles. So here I am! Blogging again, and missing my friends on sb.com.

Hmmmmmmmmm....................it's been a LONG time since I blogged. Lotsa things have happened. The bad news, I found out I have cancer. I did, however, get some way cool painkillers (drawback to said painkillers? VOMIT), radiation, and major surgery. I was SO thankful that my friends called me and checked on me in the hospital, my cell, texts, etc. So, I am going bald and getting radiation burns on my vag. Which, by the way, I lost part of. So someone tell me: WHERE IS MY FREE T-SHIRT!?

Before I get going (you know me!), I must mention I just realized my last entry was a LONG time ago. You would think I could, at the very least, pull something out of my $#@ every five or six days. I mean seriously, what does it take? Five minutes and a keyboard? I have so many things to write about: Bryce, Mark, my renewed relationship with Dad and Lisa, worrying about my Grandma Dear, Kaleb, Jordan, missing my SS friends.....but I don't think it will be possible for me to go through an entire blog entry without talking about radiation and the fact that I have half a vag now, or why the dudes on Monster Quest NEVER capture anything.
Yes, I have been watching a LOT of TV.

So....to the gore: Onto the vag....

The surgery? Exploratory laparotomy, upper VAGINECTOMY (you can figure that one out), cystoscopy, bilateral stents placed in my ureters, ureterolysis of my right ureter, and excision of (((12))) tumors, two of which are malignant. I had the surgery on April 27th at Central Baptist Hospital. Kaleb took a TON of photos of me still sleeping after surgery with his cell, then captured a pic of Connor, my eleven year old brother, with HIS phone in my face to use as blackmail. Kaleb has been threatening to blow up the pics and put them on the corkboard at Walmart. Or his MySpace. We'll see about that!

Anyway, a "ureterolysis" was necessary to remove a section of my right ureter because it had adhered to an ovarian remnant attached to the pelvic wall - which also had a malignant tumor attached to it. As freakish as it sounds, I had ovarian cancer without any ovaries. I had a cystoscopy so the doc could look at my bladder. Bilateral stents were placed in my ureters, which caused me to pee RED for days and days. And the kicker? Besides the excision of (((12))) tumors, I had an upper vaginectomy. Google it - it's too horrible to type. I have had radiation, Tamofloxin (sp?) which is a type of chemo. I have been vomiting, had diarrhea, a fever, and a disgusting metallic taste in my mouth. So, I can't eat anything. The doctor (I just got back today) gave me medication called Marinol, which is a man-made form of cannabis. Where's the Doritos! But I am a bit scared to try it out. I haven't taken any yet, as I just got pot in a pill today. I want to make sure I don't freak out on it, like the other medications. Oxycodone makes me sick, so I have to take Phenegran. I also take Klonophin, but it knocks me out. I am in a lot of pain as well.


Anyway, I woke up from surgery with a morphine pump. Morphine makes me talk out of my head, so I discussed "Pegasus horses" and the fact that "Laura will shave my head and make me a black wig before my hair falls out" in detail with the male nurse they gave me. Poor sap! I also told him "I have a friend whose REAL NAME is "Retro Julie" and that her mom named her that to make us all laugh at her". Sorry Julie. I also spoke fluent Spanish to one of my nurses, named Joyce, who understood every word (she was Hispanic). I don't remember a thing about it. Then they wouldn't take my cathadar out, so I pitched a fit. Now I will forever be dubbed as "The Holy Foley Terror".

Apart from the wonderful support I have received from my family and friends, unfortunately need more support for my son, who is not handling this well. I am very, very worried about how he is handling this.

Here are some photos from last weekend. I spent the weekend with at Dad's to give Mark a break, and Lisa and I had a blast. Sorry about the dark circles - no master photoshop guru could fix THOSE.

This is Dimple (yes, her real name), who was BFF and next door neighbors with my Granny who just passed away. She is like a surrogate granny to me:



My nephew Braden, who was TERRIFIED on me. He said I look like "a zombie".





My STUNNING stepmother, Lisa:



My SIL Sarah. I don't think she likes me very much, but she did give me some way cool Dr. Seuss pajama bottoms:




My Daddy and I:





Kaleb and I.....sorry girls, I don't have any more recent ones:



I saved my favs for last. I WAS able to photoshop these, along with the help of two different colors of concealer, pancake makeup, and loads of Merle Norman:





Also, I MUST thank all the girls that called me and sent me cards. Thanks Kimberly for calling and helping me feel better about this hematoma. I feel like I have known her forever, and we have A LOT in common. I was SO HAPPY and it made my day when Debra (Mumsie) called me from Australia. Her accent is ADORABLE. I wanted to keep saying "Huh?" and "What" just to make her repeat herself so I could hear more of her accent. Chue (Lisa) made me laugh a lot on the phone, so I had to get off the phone with the Hooch so my belly didn't kill me from the pain of laughing. Debbie, who needs "Texting for Dummies" has made my day with her calls, Christine is the BEST to talk to about anything, Paula is so sweet and helped me with different suggestions to feel better, and my Rosita has been checking on me almost everyday. Love you girls!!!!

Here's some older layouts I haven't been able to post yet.

My Rosita:


My Hooch:



Love ya Gals!
XoXoXo
Kristie

Long time, no see....

It's been FOREVER and a day since I have blogged. I have so much to update on!!

My grandmother, Mary Jane, just passed away on Dec. 13th. It was so sudden! She did have Alzheimer's disease, however physically she was in better health than most 75 year olds (or 50 year olds, for that matter). I lived with her from the time I was seven until I was fourteen. I used to sit with her during the day before she went into the nursing home. I would haul scrap supplies down to her house, and scrap in the floor beside her recliner. She loved to watch me make pages! She would ask me "Now, what are you making?"

Dad had to admit her into a nursing home, and my stepmother got a call that she had fallen. They did not divulge how serious her injury was, but simply told Lisa, "She just cut her forehead." We later got a phone call from the hospital, whose purpose of calling was to "gather the family". When Kaleb and I got there, there was no hope of recovery. They were "keeping her comfortable". When I saw that there was not even stitches in her forehead, I knew there was no hope. She had a "midline shift" and a very severe brain bleed. She died a couple hours later, and I am glad she didn't have any pain. And of course, the nursing home is giving us no answers....

Here is a pic of my little Granny. This was taken at Christmas of 2007. Needless to say, it was a sad time at Christmas without her.



I guess I have been in a scrappin' funk for awhile because of the sadness. I think I am finally getting my mojo back however. I am also busy with the new Secret Sister's Swap, and we have had a great turnout this time around. Hopefully we will be doing another circle journal. Here are some pages from my first one:

Amy Eutsler's:


Cindy


Debbie



Delaina



Faithscrapper


Granny Teetee


I Heart Scrapping



KellMorris


MelissaW



Mumsie23


Heidi



Steph



Sue (a.k.a Chipmunk Master)


and here are some random digi pages. I have been a digi/hybrid MACHINE in the past couple of days:









Thanks so much for taking a peek!

XoXoXo,
Kristie

Scrappies

I had such a blast with Cami at the park a few days ago, and I thought I would share some photos of her antics. She is definitely precocious! She couldn't wait to inform me of this story.

"Aunt Kiki, my mommy and me saw a boy in Wal-mart and he would have been the PERFECT boyfriend. ((Inserting *SIGH* here)). But my Mommy won't let me have a boyfriend, they are just too difficult."


She thinks my little brother, Connor, and Bryce are her boyfriends. She also thinks Kaleb's son, Braden, is her fiancee. I think we are gonna have our hands full with this one!!!








And here are some of my most recent pages. I had a late night, power scrapping fest:

News....

There are amazing changes coming up in the future at ScrapFaith.
Including.... Gigi Kennedy and Kim Hughes as Guest Artists this month.

We'll be having:

- Slideshows of all submitted challenge layouts.

- Monthly prizes. But NOT for a chosen layout, because art is subjective. Instead we will be giving away a large prize pack each month from a winner of our comment draw. That's right...starting in NOVEMBER, each time you leave a comment in a certain month you are eligible for the prize. Only one comment per post please. So if you leave a comment on every post you have the best chance at winning.

- A ScrapFaith Flickr group where you can post any faith based layout you choose.

- A re-design of some of the features on our site.

- Even more inspiration from our amazing team.

- More amazing Guest Artists. Check out our amazing Guest Designers!

Come and visit us and get ready to Scrap FAITH!

XoXoXo,
Kristie

Tactics- How to Do It Without The Spreadsheet

Lot's of love to my girl, Vel, who tagged me. That means I get to have this!






So, here are the rules:
1. If you've been tagged, you can put the logo on your blog.
2. Link the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.

I am nominating:

Amy
Laura
Stephanie
Susan Dupre
Tessa
Robbie
Nikki

Whew...that took awhile. But it's definitely worth it if it means I get to tag Susan.


********** ********** ************ **********

I am in such a mess trying to get organized. I mean, is it really impossible to organize scraps and leftovers? I horde everything; you would not believe the minute pieces of pp that I have found, which makes me scratch my head and wonder, "Why am I keeping a 1x3 inch piece of paper?" Laura would be so disappointed. Maybe if ((I)) were the "Jedi Knight", it would be easier. **SNORT**

Hopefully, this will help me

And check this out OMG the girl is so talented. Charity, you are amazing.

So is Stephanie Garbett. Wow...This knocked my socks off.

Have you gals seen this... I love Beggahuna's sketches. They are fabulous! I'm working on this one now.



I've been reading Digital Artist Magazine. They have some fabulous artists, as well as digital freebies within the actual ezine. It's a very professional and informative ezine, with great tutorials. There is nothing so unprofessional as trying to scour through the "heehees" and "teetees" in a "professional publication". Not the case here. It covers anything and everything a digi scrapper would want to know. They even had a great section on hybrid layouts, which is one of my passions. I would definitely recommend checking it out!!

I've been having a blast in my two new COFs. They are my first ever, and we are having a blast with all the chatter. Perez Hilton would be proud.

Here are some random photos I found of my baby boy.




It's wild how fast he is growing up. He had us all fooled with the dark hair and a dark complection. I love digging into the baby pics. It makes me sort of sad because he's getting older so quick!

Oh, and I made this...but can't figure out a title. It's my niece, Cami.



Here's another one for Steph:


It's in the mail baby!

OH! How could I forget? Here's something fun: Are you a drama queen? My test said:


You're a drama peasant, also known as a Cool Customer. Nothing bothers you too much because you've got your priorities straight. Sure, your friends secretly call you an ice queen behind your back, but even that doesn't bother you!

I love taking those little tests, even in magazines. Let's me know that I am not a flake. "HEEHEE"

Lots going on this week. Kaleb and Sarah are having a yard sale, then I am back to taking care of my grandmother on Monday. After having her aortic aneurysm removed, her blood has been abnormally thin. She took all the cards that the gals on sb.com made for her to the hospital. Anyway, she is staying with her sister this weekend, then I get to start keeping her with me on Monday. She's still speaking in a very faint whisper due to the ventilator. Hopefully, everything will work itself out!

Oh, Heidi, your RAK is on it's way. Enjoy! I have another giveaway!!! Leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for each one of these, along with the frames.

XoXoXo,
Kristie

I've been a busy girl.....

Well, I went mental waiting for my big box of fun from JLMS, and decided to make lots of digi pages. See, I can be productive!





Oh, and I bet you want to know who won the $50 bucks worth of scrap stuff, huh? Stay tuned, I might tell you later....Be patient.

Well, Kaleb and Sarah abruptly changed their wedding plans. Not only are they not getting married in TN, but they are doing it HERE at home. That means no trip to G-burg for their Christmas parade. Maybe I can, umm, persuade Mark into taking Bryce and I anyway.

I'm trying to learn to operate my new typepad acct. If anyone can help me out here, let me know PLEASE!

Ok, ok, here is the winner.....Heidi (seesterk)!!! Wooohooo! Can't wait til you get THIS!

((HUGS))
Kristie