Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are set to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how terribly rude of it to say I wouldn't share!
So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare you the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly decked the gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN person!) We were pretty strapped for money around then, so I was trading my jewelry for baby stuff, with other RCBers:) Almost all of Elijah's newborn layette came from trading, or the virtual baby shower that a group of my beading friends from RCB threw for us. The beautiful outfit made by Shirley has since gone into his Keepsakes Box:)
That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we could find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able to get not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all five of us and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the surrounding towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got put on hold when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a condition called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it means that the spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also cutting off precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough, I have a mini stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke within the next few days.
The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head hurt, and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning over me, holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out cold while trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that something was wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it two steps from the bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing I knew, Adam was trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the
*thump* of my hitting the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my mind righted itself--I was just exhausted.
Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,) and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting effect, thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your kid and think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or to try and try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do something I normally do 10 times a day.
But enough about that.
Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted fairly quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is good. Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than where we were living. We miss city life, so this is a constant struggle, this small town life. The hardest part is that we live in a very narrow minded, bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.
With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see it here:
I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on Etsy.com.
I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news:) 3 days ago, we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about two months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the little HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter has shot through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner beads, and will work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam is a natural--he had never even seen a video of someone lampworking until two days ago, and yet he's whipping out perfectly round and centered doughnuts like an old pro. I, on the other hand, will need some time to catch up to his natural aptitude for the glass;)
The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted??? and we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine and we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day weekend, so we'll split the time between chores and glass, and hopefully come out for the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly for his ten days off in July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think its great! I just hope that some day in the not too distant future, I'll be able to send him to a class--there are none in our area, so this will take some time, planning, and of course, money.
(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find good used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair of glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very basic* and we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)
So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism spectrum, but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his bedroom, so Momma time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1 starts at 6 am, round 2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)
If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and check out the various albums:)
Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole:) I love you muchly, dear lady.
~Candace~