Meet my sweet family.
Eric and I will be celebrating our 16th anniversary this month. He's my best friend. He's my rock. He inspires me. He supports me. And... not only does he put up with this silly little hobby of mine, he encourages me to be creative and is proud of my accomplishments with my blog and shop. If you've ever enjoyed a printable from me, freebie or purchased - you can thank him. He folds laundry while I design and he happily cleans up dinner or puts the kids to bed while I blog or fill orders. I'm lucky. I married a gem who lets me be who I am and who lets me chase my dreams.
This year, however, our anniversary will be quite different. In a way, it may be our hardest one to date - and in other ways, it may be the sweetest yet. This year, instead of a hot date and roses... it'll be IV's, hospitals and chemo. I know. Not what I expected either. I'd have gladly taken a night at the Marriot instead. In fact, I'd have taken a weekend at a local Super 8 and been thrilled. However, for as bad as chemo sounds, it is a gift I am grateful for. I'm glad that modern medicine saves lives. I know it will save his.
He has been ill for several weeks and after lots of tests and eventually surgery, we learned earlier this week that we will be battling Classical Hodgkin's Lymphoma with him. It's been a week of tears and despair, but also a week of love and hope. Angels are here. We feel them. We feel their strength. We feel the love and prayers of our family and friends from around the globe. Our church family is praying for us and has organized a special fast for us this Sunday. How humbling. How sweet. Friends and family from around the country of many faiths will be joining in and we know we will feel their love and power. We believe in miracles. We believe God blesses us and we are anxious to receive the blessings of peace and health.
Among many other decisions we've made this week... I've struggled with what to do with my shop and blog. Do I drop it? Do I keep going? Will it stress me out? Do we need the money I make from my shop? How long will he be able to keep working? How long will our savings last?
My answer came this morning (with the kind help of a friend) - and I've decided to keep going. I will probably slow down, I may disappear from time to time, but you all are my friends and I need you. I know I will draw strength from your comments and concern - and no matter the faith, I know we can feel your prayers too. Your continued patronage to my shop will also prove to be an amazing blessing financially to my family, so although I may not be able to churn out your order within hours of you placing it, I plan to keep it open as long as it remains beneficial to do so.
This morning I woke up with a sense of peace and was encouraged by my hubby to finish something I had started before our world changed. The hours I spent choosing the wording, playing with fonts and changing colors around were more therapeutic than you could imagine. So, I'm dedicating this one to my hubby - and thanking him for helping me see that I do need this blog. I do need my shop and designing might just be the distraction I need in the rough days ahead.
There are two ways to get this printable...
As a freebie
HERE or as a
special purchase in my shop
HERE.
Same file. You choose how to get it.
(JPEG only available from my shop)
If you have any encouragement or words of wisdom, please feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to come back on days that are rough and read through them to be reminded that I CAN DO THIS!
