2011 In Review

I can't believe that 2011 is finally about to become 2012!  I just don't know where the year has gone.  I had so many ambitions for this year and I have fallen quite short of where I had planned on being.  But, you know what they say about the best laid plans........."We plan, God laughs!".

So many things have gone on this year.  I joined the Crazy January Challenge and the Friends Stitching Through the Seasons Exchange.  I went on a mini one day vacation to Chincoteague Island, VA and we took a couple of trips to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I bought a new sewing machine and began my adventure into the wide world of fabric stash enhancement quilting/sewing.  I even began a Traveling Pattern with Kentucky Samplar (which is still whisking it's way around the world)!

There have been a few sad things too......like the passing of my Great Aunt in September and my (second) miscarriage earlier this month.

In regards to my stitching, I didn't manage as many finishes as I have had in recent years.  In fact, I think that my number went down by nearly half!  Still, I did manage to finish 11 pieces in the Crazy January Challenge (I think my eyes were faster than my needle when it came to those projects!) and I am proud of everything I've finished as part of the Challenge.

After my miscarriage, I knew I had to stitch another remembrance sampler, but I have yet to start on it.  I've picked two out, but I'm waiting on some test results that will hopefully tell me not only the sex of our little one, but what might have been the reason for his/her heart to stop beating.  Then I will make my final decision on what to stitch.

In the meantime, I have been keeping my stitching mojo in top form.  I've been working on the first piece of the 2011 Challenge (Mouline Rouge) and I have managed to finish the right third of the design.  I'm now into the middle area, but my stitching on this piece has come to a halt.  I've been contracted to do some model stitching and I need to get it done before tax season hits full swing.  So, I've been concentrating on that.  It is coming along nicely and I can say that if you are a fan of this particular designer (like I am) and if you love working with a particular brand of threads (like I do) then you will not be disappointed.

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I was talking to a coworker yesterday and we both agreed that we are going to have a positive attitude about 2012 (she is having issues with pregnancy as well), so here is to a Happy, Healthy, Joyous New Year!

Happy almost 2012!

Christmas Wishes

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah

From our house to yours........

Wishing you and yours a blessed Hanukkah.

With love,

Another Tough Goodbye

It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I come to my blog today.  It wasn't supposed to be this way....

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There was a reason that I haven't been blogging lately.  I have been so tired and worn out since my trip to Myrtle Beach for the PALS Retreat.  It was on that trip that I found out that I was pregnant again.  We were so very excited to finally get that positive pregnancy test, especially after a whole year of trying to conceive since the blighted ovium in October 2010.  I was just so tired by the end of the day and I didn't have the energy to blog, much less stitch.

We dubbed the little one "Aunt Millie's Miracle".  If you remember from a previous post, I got to see my Aunt two days before she passed away.  While I was there, we talked of the pregnancy struggles.  This sick and dying woman put her pain aside and told me that she was going to pray for "a big miracle".  Lo and behold, one month to the day of her passing we got our positive pregnancy test.

I had several appointments with my doctor and things were looking good.  On my confirmation appointment at 6 weeks the doctor did a vaginal ultrasound and my mom and I got to see the little bean with the beating heart.  It was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen in my life!  A little over a week and a half later we went back for the next routine appointment and this time Hubby got to see the miracle of our little one.

At Thanksgiving we told our Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents. (Our parents already knew.)  We thought it would be okay to share the surprise with the close family and then we would let everyone else know at Christmas.

It seemed that everything was going well.  That is until a few days early last week.  I felt fine, but I was having a few minor cramps that I just chalked up to uterine stretching.  Then I noticed that my nausea seemed to be going away.  I tried not to think anything of it and I tried to chalk it up to the fact that I was headed towards the end of the first trimester.  After all, that is when the nausea is supposed to subside.

On Thursday we went for the next routine ultrasound.  Instead of being 10 weeks and 1 day, the little one was measuring 9 weeks 3 days.  Best guess by the doctor is that our little one had passed five days earlier.  The doctor scheduled a follow up ultrasound followed by a D&C.

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Today we said goodbye to our little one.

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Needless to say I am an angry, upset mess.  THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!  Everything was falling into place.  I should be here telling you about the new little bundle of joy who will be arriving June 27, 2012 instead of telling you about our bundle's passing.  Hopefully our doctor will be able to get some tangible results and may even be able to tell us what or why this happened this time.

I know that God won't give me more than I can handle, but I didn't think I would to have to handle this again.

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So, understandably, I will be taking a break from blogging for awhile, but I will still be following the Traveling Pattern progress.  While I'm away I hope to pour my grief into another sampler to honor our little bean.