What a night it's been.  Yes, I'm aware it's morning, but I didn't really sleep last night.  I ended up making this card.  It's a frame card with multiple dimensions.  The scene is set in the back, while Tilda, the bird, and the sentiment are on the outer area of the card.  I made the flowers using coordinating scrap paper and my Tim Holtz Tattered Floral die.   This card was created for the Magnolia-licious Highlites Challenge.  I had an absolute blast making this card! :)

I feel so terrible for leaving my blog unattended for so long.

Last November my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Thyroid cancer to be exact. For most people they say, oh, that's not bad. Well, his was. His cancer had spread to his neck, glands, chest, shoulders, and possibly even further. On Dec. 31 he underwent a radical neck dissection. His surgery was 14 hours long. Over the next few weeks we had to work on just the basics like feeding himself. His nerves were bruised and honestly didn't even know if he'd be able to perform daily functions. I'm proud to say that my husband is a champ and within a few weeks he was doing EVERYTHING!

Then on Feb 4 he had to go back under the knife for thoracic surgery. This time the goal was to get the cancer from under the clavicle and under the breast bone. This surgery lastest for nearly 8 hours! He bounced back and did great!

As luck would have it, all these surgeries did a number on his back and from mid April-mid May he was bedridden. I have never seen him in so much pain. As you can imagine this was very difficult on the family.

At the beginning of May he had to go in for radioactive iodine. They gave him the maximum dosage and he had to be hospitalized for three days. When he came home he was allowed no contact from family. At this time his back was still in extreme pain.

Mid May brought the first epidural for his back. It took several weeks for him to feel the effects.

Now here we are in July and wow, what a whirlwind it's been! He's getting ready to go back to work!!! Yeah!!! What's been funny is how I've dealt with all of this. For 6 months straight I was the rock. I stood tall, I stood confident, I held my tears, I never once let my emotions get a hold of me. Now that everything is starting to get better, that's when I've had the hardest time.

My wonderful co-workers made dinners for us for the last three weeks of school and honestly I don't know what I would have done without them. I feel honored and privileged to work with such amazing people.

While all of this has been going on I've been crafting, but not with the same intensity as I was. I have created a few cards that I'd love to share with you.

This cute little card was created for i {heart} copics. I used Copics, Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Die, NEstabilities, Spica Pen, and My Minds Eye paper. I also use a sentiment from ki Memories. The stripe paper is from Sweetwater (from my stash, it's pretty old). If you're interested in playing along in the i{heart}copics challenge, you can find it here.

FAB FRIDAY CHALLENGE - RED, WHITE, & BLUE