Update

We wanted to thank everyone that stops by blog and try to explain a little bit about why we have not  posted on a regular basis.  It seems like this summer was a blur for our family.  It actually has really been since April.  Todd's mom had been ill since Spring of 2010.  Although at first it was the little changes we would notice.  She lived 2 hours away, so each time we would visit we noticed a slow change in her physically.  We had a wonderful family trip with her, my brother in law, and Todd's niece, Todd, me and our daughter.  We spent Christmas in Florida and actually went to Disney Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day.  We were gone for almost two weeks.  It was fantastic.  My mother in law was really pushing to have this trip take place and we are so glad that we were able to make it happen.

I will fast forward to the end of February.  My mother in law and brother in law came to our house to attend our daughter's dance performance.  My mother in law was doing a little worse.  She was having more problems catching her breath and her cough had worsened.  About two weeks later she was put on 24 hours a day oxygen.  At first it did seem to provide her a little comfort.  It unfortunately did not last long.  By April she would not be able to do much of anything.  Even sitting on the couch resting she would not be able to catch her breathe.  We would notice her struggling to be able to talk on the phone with us.  It was very difficult to watch a women who was so active , struggle with doing the minimum daily tasks.  We began to travel back and forth to visit as much as possible and be able to help with what we were able to do.  She had a biopsy mid April to try to get a final diagnose for her illness.  A week later she went to the hospital with congestive heart failure.  That was on a Wednesday.  That Friday, she got the diagnose.  We were told that she had Pulmonary Fibrosis.   Basically it is a hardening of the lungs.  Neither Todd or me had any idea what would lie ahead until we got back home that evening and we were able to research.  We quickly realized that the diagnose was not good.  Not only did she have a disease that had no cure and only a few options for treatment to help deal with the symptoms, but she was also diagnosed in the very, very late stages.  We spent the next week and half spending what I think might be the best quality time I have ever really got to spend with someone.  We had many visitors and family members come from all over to spend time with "Mom".  We (Todd, me, Marissa and my brother-in-law, Chris) were able to tell her everything we wanted her to know.  It was so wonderful to see how loved she was.  And even better she was awake and able to visit with everyone.    So, 11 days after she received her diagnose she woke up briefly that Monday morning, said a few words, and in a matter of a few minutes, she was gone.
Shortly after my mother in law passed away, we made the decision to sell our home and move up to her house.  So we did a little work to our house and got it up on the market at the middle of June.  We would travel back and forth working to clean out my mother in law's house and getting it ready to move in to.  We sold our house in 25 days, packed up, and moved 2 hours away.



Here we are at the end of September, Marissa is settled into a new school and new dance studio.  Everything is unpacked and almost put away.  We have made some changes to our new house.  The biggest change would be the finishing of our basement.  What once was a large area for storage of "junk" has now become our craft studio and a family rec room.  I can actually say that all the work is done in the craft studio.  Finally.....I am so happy to be able to be creative again.  It is a bright colorful room, full of wonderful custom made storage for all our supplies.  Thanks to my wonderful husband, Todd and his brother Chris.  We have to craft studio I have always dreamed of.  Pictures will be posted this weekend.

 The rec room is almost done just a few finishing touches and it will be complete.  Unfortunately they (mainly Chris) has removed our flooring off the basement stairs and now the walls from the stairwell.  I guess we will be continuing to live in a construction zone for a while.  Well at least I have a place to go now.

So I hope that helps to explain why we have been a little quiet for a few months.  Hopefully our life will return to normal now....or at least our new normal...whatever that is.  Thanks for your patience and understanding and we look forward to sharing with you our new creations.