HI!

Where have I been?

Well, to make a long story short....

OK.  First let me clear up a few things.  I am as healthy as a horse (are horses really healthy?) and so is everyone in my family.  Thank goodness.  So no major illness here.

Second, I am not getting a divorce :)  I still love my hubby and my hubby still loves me.  Again, thank goodness.

So what could have kept me away from my beloved blog and scrapbooking in general for so long?  Well, this is where that long story starts.  I am going to try to make it as short as possible but it really is one of those long ones.

It started when I left the last GASC in Grand Rapids.  I had known the whole weekend that something wasn't right with my hubby since he seemed so quiet whenever I talked to him on the phone but it wasn't until I was on my way home that I managed to drag it out of him.  I was not prepared for it.  It was bad.

You see, my husbands family owns a large printing ink company.  It has been in their family for over 65 years.  Everyone in the family in some form works there.  My husband was to take over it when his father retired.  And if you have ever owned your own business then you will know it always will have ups and downs.  We have been through lots before but we were not prepared for what was to come.

Though it is very complicated this is the gist of it - the CFO fixed the books and ruined the company.  Every little bit of hard work gone.  Just like that.  Everything and every sacrifice that they put in it over their lifetime gone in the blink of an eye.  You can imagine the stress.  And we only could see the tip of the iceburg.  We had no idea what was to come.  As more and more was discovered it just got worse and worse.  It got to the point where there was no saving the company.  Which meant not only losses of jobs for us and our families but the hundreds of people employed all over the world lost their jobs too.  Suppliers who supported the company were in trouble too.  So not only did out company fall but so did a few others which is just heartbreaking.  People with new babies and elderly parents and other responsibilites were out of a job.  Lots of these people had become family friends as they had worked for the company for so many years.  Lots knew my husband from when he was a tiny baby.  The material loss was great but the emotional loss was enormous.

And all because of one person's actions.  A person who had worked for the company for over 20 years.  A family friend.  Someone who attended my wedding.  Now you may be wondering why would a person do something like this?  That is a question that has been asked over and over and there is no answer.  I doubt there will ever be a satisfying answer.  It is just something we have to let go.  Investigations are happening and the law is involved but I am sure the "why" will never be answered.

So over the last 6+ weeks our lives have been turned completely upside down.  Again, it is for complicated reasons but we have sold our house, we have no cars, no jobs and are technically homeless.  Now don't go feeling sorry for me.  I am not writing this to have a pity party.  I haven't blogged this until I was able to do it with a smile on my face.  I have an amazing family who has rallied around us.  We are temporarily living with my mom.  My kids think if it as an adventure to get to live with Nana.  It is very tight in her place so we are on the lookout for something bigger.  We finally had something in line last week but while I was away this past weekend it fell through.  So back to the search.  

So you can see why I haven't been around.  Major changes for us.  I have spent every waking moment worrying and planning and worrying some more.  As a parent your first instinct is always to make things better for your kidlets so that is where my focus has been. No time for much else right now. The kidlets have had to change schools but now they get to walk to school which is a fun adventure for them.  We have always lived in the country so to visit friends it took planning.  Now that we are in the city Harper is thrilled that there is a little girl her age right around the corner.  This is the thing I am probably most grateful right now.  Harper has never made friends really and to have an actual friend is a gift like no other.  So so so grateful for this.

So now for us life is wide open.  An adventure waiting to happen.  Who knows what is in store for us.  Yes, having our life canvas so blank right now is rather scary at times but I hold on to the fact that something really amazing has got to be in store for us.  I feel it in my heart.  It is something that I cannot even fathom right now but I know it will be great.  I just have to wait. :)

So that is it.  Blogging is probably going to be a bit sporatic for a bit more.  Our focus is jobs and a house right now.  You know, the basics, lol!  Oh and sleep.  My hubby and I have to share a double bed right now (we have always had a king) so sleeping has been a bit of a challenge but that is what couches are for!

Just know that we are ok and keeping our heads up.  We are a strong family and we will get past this bump in our lives.  I have only read a few emails that you have sent but I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been checking in.  It is nice to feel loved and missed.

Be back soon. :) 

cjr

Just when I thought I could not possibly handle anymore stress life decided that more was needed.  I am pretty sure this is a test of my character.  Hopefully I pass.

I just wanted to say that I am under a great deal of personal stress that I thought was letting up but is not.  This is the reason I have not been around much.  And probably won't be around for another week or so.

Don't give up on me yet. :)

I have will pass this test. No. Matter. What.  Come h*ll or high water I will be back to scrapping LIFE - both the good and the bad.

****

See this little box down to the left?  (Well...you would have to visit my other blog to see it... )

Choose one of these options (on the other blog) and you can be notified when I am back to blogging.

C'mon.  I know you hang off my every word....

[ Obviously my ego has not suffered any type of blow with all this life stuff going on ;) ;) ;)  ]

Remember this tutorial on how to make your own decorative edge paper?  Well, look what Kathie made with the idea.

[page by Katie - Crafters R Us]

Isn't it gorgeous?  I love all the details she put into the page and I love how she highlighted her shaped paper by edging it in lace.  Thanks for sharing it with me Kathie. :)

Next, I got tagged.  This is a first for me.  The lovely and amazing Michele tagged me.  So here is the deal.  I am to link up seven other blogs that I love.

So here goes...

Anilu Magloire - a contributer to my book and all around amazing scrappbooker.  Love her clean lines as well as the beautiful jewelry she makes!

Janine Langer - another contributer and a gorgeously detailed scrapper.  She lives far away from me in Germany but that is the beauty of blogs!  No distance what so ever!

Jeniece Tackett - a book contributor and a versatile scrapbooker.  This girl can work a 8.5x11 like nobody's business!

Michelle Guray - book contributor and talented scrapper.  A girl who loves color and can use a flower embellishment like no one else!

MM Book Editors - always something fun going on here.  Lots of giveaways and inside scoop on new MM books that are coming out.

MM Mag Editors - love all of these ladies who regularly contribute to this group blog.  In one blog you get a nice variety of styles plus you get to see what is going on at Memory Makers magazine!

Print & Pattern - I love to go here just for the eye candy.  I can just soak up tons of daily inspiration here.

I have 2 more book contributors that I want to link up here - Ronee Parsons but she is not blogging right now and Erin Derkatz.  I need to find a linky loo for her.

:)

Does catching a mouse that was running through my house with my bare hands make me a county girl???? 

Let me start by saying that I grew up a city girl. When I first moved to the country side with my hubby I was horrified by the though of a mouse in my house.  They try to move in every winter - can't really blame them since our house is warm and outside not so much - but there is just no room in my house for them!  I hated it but I slowly got used to every fall/winter having to trap anything that was trying to mouch some warmth from our house. 

Now flash foward to this morning.  I hear a scream from Magnus.  Blood curdling. Of course I go running only to find him not near death as I expected but to hear him exclaiming he saw a mouse. (After the inital scream he was excited.) I have to admit to casually thinking - kinda of early for a mouse to be moving in.  By this point the mouse was long gone and to be honest there would be no way for me catch him (or her, not really sure!) so I walked way.  Told the kidlets it would probably go back out the way it came in.  That makes me a county girl right?  Casual about mice has got to a sign that you have lost all touch with city life!  ;)

45 minutes later I hear more blood curdling screams.  This time from both kidlets (who would have thought they grew up on a farm??).  Of course I was on the phone.  (I am sure the person thought my kidlets were being murdered!)  Apparently the mouse was back.  The poor mouse is so petrified by this point it is running and hopping in circles and just trying to find a place to hide.  It was pretty small so my guess it was a young one.  Not enough human hiding experience yet.  The kidlets decide to try to catch it with a bucket but of course it was much too fast.  It hides once more but this time I know it is behind the book cases.  So we leave it and maybe twenty minutes later I walk through the room and there he/she is - right out in the open, crouched down and shaking.  I am pretty is was in shock.  My kidlets have nearly frightened it to death.  Nice.

So this is how I ended up with a mouse in my hands.  He/she was frozen in fear.  I scooped him/her up and we brought him/her outside.  Of course Harper, being my daughter, took some photos.  She was running for the camera before I even had it picked up.  :)

We put it in the garden.

I know that any county person will tell that it was stupid of me to let it go outside of my house.  It is just going to move right back in, start a family and host bbq's for all the neighborhood mice but just look at that face.  I maybe a county girl but I am not that tough yet!  I leave the trapping for my hubby...

So I am still muddling through :).  I just wanted to say thanks for all the warm hearted wishes of the past few days.  I really appreciate every one of you.  Each message has made me smile and helped me remember that this world is filled with many, many kind people.  I promise to share more when things start to settle.  It is just too long of a story for right now.  I want to be able share it when there is a happy ending.  I know my happy ending is out there - I'm just waiting for it to show up!!!  *waving* Hello, I'm over here....

I have been scrapbooking.  Mainly assignments but it is comforting to be at my table with my supplies and to be cutting and gluing.  I am much better at dealing with things if  I am busy and having assignments (which technically is work but never feels that way!!) gets me scrapping when I am not sure I would otherwise make time for it right now.

But that means I cannot show you what I am working on (and it is turning out really well so it is killing me not to share).  So today will have to be a linky-loo day.

First linky-loo - remember my Kindness layout last week?  Look what Eve made.  She made my day when she emailed and showed how she used the idea of my page and created a double pager for herself.  Love, love, love it.  Thanks for sharing Eve.

Second linky-loo - want to read how a 20-something-man who had never been to a scrapbook convention saw the GASC in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago?  Poor guy was totally out of his league.  He was super sweet and sat in one of my classes and made a valiant effort to participate in the class but quickly realized that me shouting cut this and cut that was not as easy as it seemed.  The ladies all around him tried to help but he eventually just laughed and gave up.  It is funny to see scrapbooking through the eyes of a complete newbie - I think he might have been just a wee bit shocked over all the scrapbooking gear we tote to these shows! lol  Doesn't he know we might need it????

And that is it for today.  Hope everyone is having a great day! :) :) :)  Love ya all!