Caitlin & ~

Hello!  It feels like early Spring this week.   I am welcoming the slow transition into Summer.

It is much like an easy shift into life again for Caitlin also!  She is looking AMAZING!  The water weight and puffiness,
to put it lightly, is gone and in fact I now see that she was puffy in her face during dialysis. This I did not realize at the time.
The Port into her heart for dialysis came out after the transplant, just before she left the RUSH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL...
It all adds up to a MIRACLE.
She is feeling better and better each day.  Sure, she has some changes in medicine/anti-rejection meds, but is doing well!  We are
so grateful to Bridget's willingness to give such an AMAZING GIFT of a KIDNEY!  Bridget has not yet received the OK to
head on out to New Zealand, but it is anticipated shortly.  I am sure she is anxiously waiting to be re-united with Myles.

Other news ~ We have two nieces in the same family who are expecting babies this Spring.  Actually, Jessica (& Ryan) has
already delivered a handsome baby boy and her sister Lacey and husband Glen are due in early June!   Their older sister Anna
and husband Mike already started the grandchildren rolling in for their parent's with Charlotte, who is to be three this year!
Sadly they all live out of my state.  But hey!  We will be able to get out more now that Caitlin is on her way back to life!!!

Now that I am better at crocheting, I decided make up my own Modern Crochet Baby Blanket ~ as I like to call it.  It is
not the typical baby blanket, I wanted something special for them.  So I used a modern twist on a French pattern.

This was so very enjoyable to figure out a pattern for.  Once the 

half-way point was reached it was a breeze.  I used metallic gold 

for Lacey who is told she may have a girl.  The metallic yarn is 

very soft and should be nice for a baby.   I love it.

 Metalic Silver 

Some lavender sachets with petit poms & flannel receiving blankets with crochet edging.

Adorable wooden petit hangers, poms added for fun.

Special Delivery on it's way!

*My Plan is to get back into the creativity mode = start designing again!

Links
Flannel Receiving Blanket

Update & Snow ~ And Another UPDATE!!!

Hello and Happy New Year! 
*yes it is SPRING!  I am going to start posting more ~ Thank You for your Patience.
February :
I know it has been a very long time since you have heard from me.  I had hoped to have some wonderful news to share,
a transplant for Caitlin.  It went down to the wire pretty much.  In fact it was the last appointment for our donor,
Caitlin's cousin Jenny!  A wonderful young lady!!!  She decided to donate even though she was to be married one year
from the transplant!  WOW!  Amazing gift.  She came in from Denver for her very last appointment, easy peasy,
to see which kidney to leave in her and which one to take out for Caitlin!

We all laughed when we read in the brochure that ONE in 750 people are born with one kidney.  Ha!  That turned out to be
our Jenny.  I was with her when we were told she had only one kidney.  I fought back my tears.  Would her future be
the same as Caitlin's now is?  Thankfully they told us that she is strong and healthy, gee, she was approved to donate a kidney!
That is now changed.  She continues on her healthy life and I Thank God.

We still had to tell Caitlin, who had left us earlier to get to dialysis.  Everyone at the center was so happy for her.  Now
to  have to tell her this extremely sad news.  For Jenny to realize she could not help her cousin after all.   Immense pain for us all.

So that is it.  We go on looking for a donor.  I contemplate how God must be saying,  "I got this", for we have had quit a number
of donors match and make it to near a transplant date only to be turned away after all.

I like this quote that goes something like this: PRAY, PRAY and keep rowing the boat.

NOW ~  In our neighborhood I have seen a number of snowmen but no snow forts, which are a personal favorite of mine.
We had a snow fort every year in our parents front yard.   Once we had two forts at one time.  That would have been when
my brother was involved with his friends.  We always tried to use the big chunks of snow from the snowplow coming through.
We filled up our snow saucer (remember those?) with them, some taking up the entire saucer!  We had many a good snowball fights!
No ice balls etc.  We governed ourselves in snowball fighting etiquette and no one was ever hurt.

Caitlin and her brother Doug made "snow houses" complete with snow chairs and tables and roads... ROADS courtesy of Doug!
They made the fort around our light post in the yard so they could enjoy it in the evening dusk.  They made them the only way
a snow fort can be made, entirely by themselves each year.  Great Fun and Great Memories!

What where you or your children able to make in the snow through the years?

Thank you for keeping up with me, I see you have been checking in, apologize but I had to wrap my mind around things.
I also know that we are not the only ones with challenges, so many others are in my prayers.

 *images from Pinterest

I believe I have not even wished you all a Happy New Year~

The new year broke with lots of hope for us.  We are
still hoping & praying.  I know that God will bring
us through this stronger.
He knows how to strengthen us, even though we do
not like the process many times and it is way too long
to get to the finish line ~ His time not ours.