Normal Service Resumed

Life during September and most of October appears to have been consumed by the aftermath of Hubs unfortunate accident. His recovery is going to be a gradual process and slowly things are settling down here at home - Mom has returned home for a while, the guys are on their half term jollies, Hubs is resting up and I'm getting back in to the swing of things.
Scrapping really has taken a bit of a back burner - however I have managed to grab a few sessions in my scrap room as and when time (and my Mojo) has allowed.

At the beginning of October I attended The Fairytale event in Amsterdam. My decision to attend was made after lots of careful thought and consideration.....Hubs was in the hospital being cared for - my family were all visiting to help out with the guys etc - so with their blessing I took myself off for a couple of days - it was really difficult to leave the family, but I needed to have a break away from the upheaval at home.
The event took place in an old Dutch castle - which was the most amazing setting. It was fun to meet up with some of my Dutch pals and spend time with them - however my mind was elsewhere and I will confess to having to disappear a few times to go and have a little cry.

I cant thank the event organiser, Truike, enough for her amazing hospitality and her words of support when I began to feel emotional and was missing being home.
Details of next years event will be available soon - if you fancy a scrapbooking weekend away I would highly recommend checking out The FairyTale Event - the classes were all amazing with kits filled to overflowing......plus the Dutch scrappers are such a friendly and welcoming bunch of girls - you'd have a great time - guaranteed!

We have had lots of family visiting - all wanting to spend time with his Nibs.
My Sis and her clan came to stay for a few days and then my Lil Sis and her family followed. (I'm extremely proud of my Lil Sis as she recently won The 2010 Pixel Awards for The UK's BEST Independent Photographic Mini Lab.)
Bobs has been busy surfing lots and J - well as if Hubs injuries haven't been enough to cope with - J decided to come off his bike and fall head first into a bramble bush! OUCH!We were picking thorns out of his face for days!

Normal service resumed :D
T.x.

*happy dances*

He's HOME and has been since Friday.

Surgery went fine - after 4.5hrs of working his magic the surgeon managed to save Hubs foot.
I was more than relieved to see all five, rather swollen, toes peeping out from his plaster cast.....which is when I crumbled and allowed myself a jolly good cry.

The past few weeks have certainly seen me on an emotional roller coaster ride.....but now it time to stop the ride and get off.....its time to fix and mend and take things s....l.....o.....w....l.....y for a while - for those who know my Hubs well, thats going to be a mission in its self - he is always on the go, always keeping busy and never sits still.
He goes back to the surgeon on 1st Nov for a minor op - then stays in plaster until mid Jan when he will have more surgery......6 weeks  in plaster and then more surgery to fix his knee.....which will leave him in a cast for a further 6 months!
Its going to be at least a year before he will be able to weight bear through his leg and 18 months before he will be almost back to normal.

Ive taken the weekend to get some sense of normality back in our lives and will be going back to my scrap room tomorrow - I CAN NOT WAIT!

T.x.

Rescheduled

Hubs was due to have surgery today but due to a heavy workload the surgeon has cancelled his operation - he wants to dedicate as much time as he can to fixing Hubs - so surgery is rescheduled for first thing tomorrow morning.
The nursing staff are amazing and have been very supportive - so much so that they have spied just how exhausted I am - the drive back and forth from the hospital is a nightmare - Ive been leaving home at midday each day and not arriving home till past 9pm.....so the staff have found us a family room at the hospital and Im heading down there shortly to stay for the duration - if all goes to plan then Hubs will be home at some point over the weekend or early next week :D
He'll be in cast for 3 months - the next round of surgeries are planned for mid January and then in March he will have, what we hope will be, the final op to fix his badly damaged knee - once the final surgery takes place he will be in a full leg plaster cast for 6 months!!!!!!!

Im craving for a sense of normality in my life - I so wanna get back to my scrapping and playing with pretty paper!

Thanks for the messages of support - I really have appreciated each and every one.

T.x.

Happy Birthday

Can you believe that tomorrow Pencil Lines will be celebrating 4 years of inspiration and creating new sketches for you!

The design team has gone from strength to strength and have had over 200 amazing guest designers, and over 40 gorgeous RAKS have been sent out to you, our readers and fans! Pretty impressive dont you think?

Tomorrow we are celebrating with sketches past and present. Our design team have chosen a sketch from the archives, and will be sharing with you why they love sketches so much.

On the hour, every hour from 8am GMT, a sketch will be posted along with a RAK from one of our sponsors. That is a lot of prizes and a lot of inspiration! At 8pm GMT we will post a brand new sketch as normal.

To start the celebrations off, go spread the word and pop our blinkie on your blog, grab your blinkie below and be sure to GO TO THE PENCIL LINES BLOG and add your link. 

Anna will draw a winner on Sunday at 8pm GMT!

Good Luck.

T.x.

We WILL get through this...

A quick update -

Hubs took a turn for the worse yesterday afternoon and was dashed down to Exeter - he now has a bed in what is reported to be the best Orthopaedic Hospital in Europe - this will become his home for the next few weeks  - Round one of many surgeries is planned for tomorrow - The KWire in his foot needs to be removed as it is causing damage to what little bone he has left - The Doc is going to do all he can to enable Hubs to walk again - I'm praying harder than ever that the surgeons hands are blessed and enabled to perform miracles - My heart is breaking - My head is hurting - I'm tired - I'm emotional - I feel lost when Hubs isn't around - The distance between here and the hospital is just too far - The drive back and forth takes 90 minutes each way (so long as you don't get caught up behind a tractor!!) - I arrived home at 3.30am this morning to find J curled up in our bed (he is missing his partner in grime more than we ever anticipated possible for a kid who suffers from attachment difficulties)

The bed is too big without Hubs in it and our house doesn't feel like home when one of us is missing.

Feeling totally bleurgh today but also thankful that my Mom is here to hold my hand and wipe away my tears - and to tell me that in time, its all going to be OK.....I know she's right - I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed by the events of the past few weeks and the reality of it all seems to have hit me hard over the past 24 hours.....I NEED to continually tell myself to stay POSITIVE......WE WILL get through this.....I KNOW we will.

T.x.

Killing Time

I'm killing time, so thought as Ive badly neglected my blog I'd share a quick update - emotions are running high here as this afternoon we will be told the plan of action to rescue Hubs foot.
He needs lots more surgery - that we know - surgery which cant be performed at our local hospital - so its a trip away from home, to where, we aren't sure?? Maybe Exeter...maybe Plymouth....maybe Bristol - but even if its to Outer Mongolia, we will be there - we will travel to the Moon and back if needs be, just to get him fixed.
We will find out at 2.30pm today what the next stage of his recovery will be - things haven't gone to plan - things that shouldn't move, have - metal work has slipped - his body isn't happy to have foreign objects protruding from it - we have battled blood clots, infections, pain and bed sores - but despite everything - he's still smiling.

I'll update more as soon as I can, but wanted to say THANKS to everyone who has sent messages of support, THANKS to all those who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers, THANKS to those who have called to listen to me as Ive blubbed and screamed that life just isn't fair.....your actions have been deeply appreciated.

T.x.