New Beginnings

Don't faint, I'm actually posting.  Sorry about the void, I usually love the week between Christmas and New Year's because I can finally relax and play with crafty goodies and look forward to hubbie's birthday on New Year's Eve.  Not this year.  My mother-in-law died, totally unexpectedly on Christmas Day.  She would have been 92 on December 29th, but aside from some osteoporosis, she was perfectly healthy with no medical conditions or need for prescription medication.  She still mowed the lawn and planted a garden, drove a car, and lived alone (although her youngest son and family lived next door).   She had recently gotten a new computer and my hubby had been on the phone with her daily for about a week, trying to iron out a few glitches. She had fallen in the night, thinking perhaps she had passed out, and woke up with back pain, presumably from the fall.  The took some OTC medication but it persisted and she called next door to see if they thought it was too soon to take some more.  That was 11:00 am.  Jonathon went out to shovel his driveway and hers a bit later and went to check on her about 1:00pm.  She had passed away peacefully in her chair.  The ME said it was probably a heart attack and that back pain is a symptom in women.  The whole family was, and still is, in shock.  We assumed she would live to be 100.  She was a missionary and minister's wife, a loving mother of 6 children, 15 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren, a strong, determined, hard working Christian woman of passionate faith and will be missed by family, friends and the church she served her entire life.

We're still recovering here at home from the trip to Michigan.  David has been sick and I've not been able to craft.  I finally looked at a few of the challenges and decided that the Outlawz CAS New Beginnings challenge would be one I could handle.  I chose the adorable Sleepy Bunny Elf from Aurora Wings.  Mitzi's fabulous fantasy art is beyond gorgeous and this little guy was an easy one to color with my Copics.  I'm also taking baby steps on shoveling out my craft room and was organizing my Spellbinders dies when I found this ancient baby border.  I trimmed it to fit this A2 card and added a Cuttlebug sentiment and embossed background.

I'm also adding this to the Creative Romance Something New Challenge, Suzy B's Bloomin' Cute and Sweet Challenge, Scrapping4fun Baby Challenge, Corrosive Challenge New Beginnings and Moving Along With The Times New Beginnings.