LITTLE TREASURES EVERYWHERE!

The other day I was reading Cindy's blog at Romantic Homes. She had found some pretty plates and a tea pot at Marshall's. So I went the next day to see if my local Marshall's had them too.

No luck. At least not with that pattern. But I did go to the clearance area and I found these three blue plates. I am going to hang them in my bedroom once I get it painted.

I also found this picture frame. Of course I will give it a coat of nice fresh white paint and it will darling.

I then went to Michaels to pick up a glue gun in order to finish my white button picture frame.

As I walked towards the back I passed their collection of Cottage items. I noticed everything was 1/2 off. Now we all love 1/2 off! I spotted this candle holder and I just had get it since it was only $9.99. Of course it will get the spray of white paint too.

I noticed in the photo the right top was pulling away. I'll use a little hot glue on it and then it will be good as new! Oh wait, it is new. It will be better then new.

Now that I have the glue gun I'll be working on the vintage button frame.

Maybe you will get to see that tomorrow.

Hugs to everyone.

Joanne

CARDS, CARDS AND MORE CARDS

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who emailed me asking for my brothers address so they could send a Get Well or Thinking of you card.

I know it will make him happy to know that all over the world people are thinking of him, praying for him and sending him get well wishes.

I know it has touched my heart to see so many people reach out in kindness.

You guys are the best!

Hugs and may God bless you and yours.

Joanne

SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND

The above photo is of the little Chapel at the hospital where my brother is at. I went in there today and prayed. I prayed for God to heal my brother Gene and to continue to let him improve everyday. I thanked God for His love and mercy.

Today I was there while my brother had his rehab PT. I got to see him sit up, stand, move himself from the bed to the wheelchair and even push himself around once in the wheelchair. All simple things, I know, but hard, so very hard, for my brother to do these things right now.

Part of me wanted to cry, as it is heartbreaking to see this man, I've known all my life, struggle with such simple everyday tasks. But, the other part of me wanted to cry with such joy that he is getting a little bit stronger everyday and can do these things.

I was proud of him and how hard he is trying to get better. I've always been proud of him. He is not a quitter. He is a fighter. His will is strong and his desire is great.

I know he will get better. Day by day.

Today he showed the therapist that he could use the muscle in the front and back of his thigh. Even the therapist was beaming with joy over this. He knew that was good news.

My brother is still having problems with his vision. He has double vision if things are more then about 4 feet from him. His right arm still has no movement. He still has trouble talking and he is very weak.

He still has a long way to go but he has continued to take steps forward with each day.

He says he doesn't notice he is getting any better. Everyone else tells him they can see a big difference. So I brought my camera today and told him I was going to document his recovery so he could one day look back and see how far he has come.

When I pointed out different things he has done he would say "Yes, I guess I'm doing a little bit better". I told him if you look, you will find many areas you have gotten better.

I have been so touched by all the love, prayers and well wishes from everyone here in blog land. I tell him about everyone and he is happy to hear what everyone says.

I thought it may be nice, if anyone would be so kind, to have people send him a Get Well card, or thinking of you card. Letting him know that even people who have never met him is sending prayers and good vibes his way.

If you would like to send a card, please email me and I can give you the address. If you don't feel comfortable sending a card, please keep up the prayers and good thoughts. God is hearing them and seems to be answering them. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.

Hugs,

Joanne

A LITTLE WHITE PAINT GOES A LONG WAY

I found this cute little guy at Debra's Cottage near where I live. I thought he was darling but wished he was white. But for $5.00 I couldn't pass him up as I knew right where I wanted him to be.

So once home I got out the spray paint and just like magic he was white. I put him in a pot of flowers near my pool in the back yard. I think he looks sweet there. Almost as if he is watching everyone when they swim in the pool.

I also found this little bird and picture frames at the thrift store.

Again I took the can of spray paint to all of them. I like them much better. One the plain frame I'm going to put vintage buttons on it. I saw one I loved that Cindy at Romantic Home made and I knew I wanted to make one.

I couldn't find my glue gun so I may have to buy a new one. I have all the buttons ready to go though.

I didn't get a chance to do much today as I was busy but at least I got a little fun in. I hope you did too.

Hugs to everyone,
Joanne

IT MAY BE DISNEYLAND!

I went to see my brother today. When I walked in I know I had a shocked look on my face. He was sitting up in bed, was dressed and was very alert! When he spoke I understood every word he said. I almost started to cry because he seemed so much better then the last time I saw him, just two days ago.

We had a nice visit and his spirits were up. He was making jokes. The Kentucky Derby was on the TV. He even told me he wanted to bet $100 on #6. Good thing he didn't as #6 lost.

The real good news was that durning his therapy he was able to stand. Plus he can move his shoulder and lift his leg a little bit. These are all great signs! I've read and read all about strokes and if you are able to do these two things, within three weeks of the stroke, it's more likely then not you will regain movement in your arm and leg again.

His vision is bad though and driving him crazy as he sees double unless he closes one eye. So the eyes are not working together to focus right but that should get better too, in time.

As he got tired his speech became harder and harder to understand as he didn't want to put in the effort of talking slowly and louder. But that is to be expected.

As I left I had a great feeling about his recovery. I know stroke patients have good days and bad days but this was all real good.

I ended up stopping at church on my way home. I wasn't planning on it but I know God wanted me there. I couldn't believe it when the Pastor started to talk about someone was so upset because because their little baby had a stroke. The mother was was having a hard time dealing with it. She didn't know if she had enough faith to trust that God would give her a miracle.

He went on to say that God would give a miracle to her. It may not be the one she wanted. But it could be. God may grant a miracle so the baby could walk or talk one day or the miracle could be that He provides the strength to coop with the baby's disabilities. You see, God doesn't promise a Happy Ever After here on Earth. Only a Happy Ever After in Heaven with Him. He also never gives us more then we can handle.

We must always trust in Him and know He has the best for us in store. Sometimes he doesn't give us what we ask for because He has something much better in store for us down the line.

Like the little girl who was at the park and the daddy told her she had to get off the swing now so they could leave. The little girl begged and cried for her daddy to let her stay and play on the swing but he said no. They left and in the car the little girl thought to herself that her daddy must not love her anymore because he wouldn't let her stay and enjoy what she was doing. She thought maybe she did something bad and was being punished.

The truth was Daddy made her leave the fun on the swing only so he could surprise her and take her Disneyland. Of course once there the little girl knew she had the best Daddy in the world and even though she thought she wanted to stay and play on the swing her Daddy knew she would have much much more fun at Disneyland.

I wanted to thank everyone who posts and emails me and prays for my brother, Gene. It means the world to me and I told him about all the prayers and well wishes all over the world going out for him. He said to say thanks, he needs all the help he can get.

Tomorrow I'll be home as my sister Maureen and her son, John is going to go visit my brother. I plan on working on some of my projects I have so I'll be posting about them tomorrow.

It will be nice to just relax and have a fun day.

Hugs,

Joanne

EVERYTHING IS SO DIFFERENT NOW

I didn't go down to see my brother today. He is being moved from ICU to the Rehab unit. That's a good sign.

I did talk to him on the phone today. I could only understand bits of what he said but his spirits were up and he was making jokes. He is trying real hard to be brave and push on to get better.

I know the prayers are working. I've added him to several prayer chains and if any of you reading belong to a church and could add him to your prayer chains I would be forever grateful.

I think I'm going through a big learning process these days. When I first started to blog I noticed things in different ways. Small things that were normally over looked I would think "Hey that could be the topic of my blog today" or as I passed flowers I thought "What a pretty picture to share on my blog". I started to notice the simple pleasures in life.

Then when my brother had his stroke it's as if life stopped all at once. All the things like redoing my bedroom, going on vacation, shopping and life in general seemed not to matter. After all, my brother is fighting to stay alive. How can those others thing compare? They don't. Not right now.

So I sat here today thinking and what I've learned is family and the people in our life is what is important. Love is important. Letting our loved ones know we love them is important. Spending time with them is important.

I will no longer let a day go by that I don't tell the people I love how much I love them. We never know if we will get another chance to do so. So please the next time you talk on the phone or see your family and friends tell them. Don't just assume they know. Most likely they do but tell them anyway. I know I will.

God has given us so many gifts in this life. Take a look around and then take a minute to thank Him for everything you have. Thank him for the people in your life. Without them everything else you have would mean nothing.

When everything seems so dark and lonely keep searching. God is always there with you. He never fails us. He knows what is best, even durning those times we think He doesn't.

To all my family, I just wanted to say, I love you with all my heart. You mean the world to me and I will always be here for you until the day I die.

Joanne

EVEN HEROS FALL

I thought I was going to keep my blog to only my decorating, cake making and party planning but now I've decided to open up a part of my life I don't normally share. But I feel like you guys have become friends and I wanted to let you know why I may not be on line all the time.

Growing up wasn't easy in my household. I had an alcoholic father and there was always upset in my family because of that.

When I was 12 my one brother was killed in a car accident and then three months later my dad died.

My mom turned into an alcoholic herself and hooked up with my step dad who used to treat her like dirt. One day he beat her up pretty badly. She called my oldest brother and he came to her defense. He end up beating my step dad and putting him in the hospital. He moved my mom and me out of the house and away from this evil man. That's when my big brother became my hero. He saved us!

Then my mom ended up going back with my step dad. My brother came over and told my mom it was her choice and he would respect that but to never call him to come to her defense again as he almost killed my step dad and could have ended up in prison for life.

He then looked my step dad in the eyes and said "If you EVER hurt my little sister have no doubt I will kill you!" Once again my hero, my big brother stood up for me.

Because of that talk my step dad never laid a hand on me and I really believe I'm alive today because of my brother, my hero, standing up for me. I love my brother more then words can ever say.

Sadly my hero is now in the hospital. He had a stroke. He is paralyzed on his right side and has a really hard time talking.

Thankfully the stroke did not effect his memory or his intelligence though and he is very positive about getting better. He has a long hard road ahead of him.

It's so heartbreaking to see my strong hero laying in bed fighting for his life. But as long as it takes I will be there for him. I will do everything and anything I can to help him out.

So if I'm gone for awhile it's because my hero, my brother, needs me now to be strong for him. It is now my turn to reach out, take his hand and help save him.

If I could be so bold to ask, I would love for anyone out there to lift him up in prayer. I truly believe that with the grace of God he will get better. Thank you everyone.

Joanne