Momma

Dear Friends,

     So sorry to have taken so long to post anything.  We lost my dear momma this past October.  She has been ill for the better part of 5-6 yrs. suffering from breast cancer twice, lung cancer once, 2-stomach surgeries, she fell and broke her leg TWICE (yes, the same leg!) and numerous other minor aches and illnesses.  This past October her sweet little body just couldn't take anymore and she went home to be with her Heavenly Father.

     We are still dealing with her death as well as all the legalities that come when someone passes away and has lots of stuff, including a house.

     Please be patient with me as I'm sure my posts will be few and far between, at least for a little while longer.

     Hoping everyone had a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!  'Talk' with you soon,

God Bless,
Pat, A Remade Life

Mom, my daughter Brittany and grandson Brayden-early 2014

Sunday Morning Quiet Time

     It's VERY early here at my home and even after the last two days of high energy craziness, I find myself awake and blogging to YOU!!  This seems to be happening alot lately (not the blogging part--my bad, I know I need to blog more!) I wake up before my alarm goes off and lay in my bed trying to solve the problems of the world---well, at least those in my own life!

   What thoughts are going through my head at 4:30am in the morning?-----"remember to pay the insurance bill today, it was due yesterday';     'what am I going to feed Brayden (my grandson and best baby in the WORLD) for breakfast this morning, I don't have any eggs';     'I need to sort through all the vintage clothes I just bought on Friday and get them ready to post in my new internet shop---www.mykitschycloset.etsy.com';     'can I stay in my pajama's all morning or will I have to get dressed at some point--I don't want to get dressed or go anywhere today!';  and my all-time favorite----'can I go back to sleep or should I just get up and get on with life?!?'  What---you were expecting me to have REALLY deep, earth-shattering thoughts?  Nah, not at 4:30am in the morning!!!!

   But seriously, I have found myself thinking more and more about my life, past, present and future, and I have been concerned with what I've found.  I think all this is probably brought on because I will be having a "BIG" birthday in a few months----the big 6-0!!!  Just typing it makes me shutter-uugghhh!!   Anyway, I've started to wonder what my life would have been like if I had made 'different' decisions in my younger days.  Maybe not have married so young or started a family so soon.  Perhaps if I had stayed in college and become a graphic designer as I had planned.  Or perhaps me and my best friend at that time, Jackie, would have traveled to foreign lands to absorb all we could of their artist cultures.  Or even have done some missionary work here in the states or overseas--perhaps.  But dwelling on 'what could have been' does no one any good!

     And then I begin to see the faces of my children, I see then as the little ones they once were and remember the precious adults they have become.  I remember all the pain and illness my mom has gone through the past few years and I cherish every moment I still have with her.  I feel the warm breathe of my grandson Brayden as he falls asleep on my shoulder, his sweet body cuddled in my arms, and I realize........I am blessed.

   There is a wonderful scripture in Psalms 90--"Teach us to make the most of our time....and make our efforts successful.  Yes, make our efforts successful!" (NLT)  I believe that's what everyone wants in life, no matter your religion, no matter your nationality, no matter your race, political leanings or life-preferences.  We all just want to matter, to have our efforts in life be successful!!

     And although success can be measured differently by different standards, in my own eyes I am successful!  Was this the life I planned for myself so many years ago--definitely NOT!!  But is this the life, with all it's struggles and hardships and pains, that is making me the person God intended me to be----absolutely!!

     And so this early morning 'thought session' becomes a time to thank my Heavenly Father for all that I have and all that I will become.  I'm not were I need to be but I'm on my way, and that's ok!!  And so I leave you with a few pictures to enjoy and I pray you are blessed as I have been blessed.......

 

Brayden showing me his banana--cheeky fellow!!

 

My son Jonathan and I at the beach

 

Brayden and I visiting my mom at the nursing home

My daughter Brittany (Brayden's mom) and momma

My grandson Tyler age 7 (Jonathan's son) who lives in Michigan--we haven't seen him since he was 3 yrs old

 

 

 

    I hear Brayden stirring and must fix breakfast---God Bless all and any who read this!!

Pat, A Remade Life
 
 

My Wonderful Mom

      It's been a while since I've posted pictures of my wonderful mom.  I took a day off work this past Friday and went to spend some time with her at the nursing home.  She was in a fine mood!!  It was 'Go Texan" day (for those who don't live in Texas, we have a 'Go Texan' day during rodeo season and everyone dresses up in their best western attire!)  and the residences were dressed in cute cowboy hats and bandannas.  Mom was soooooo cute in her green cowgirl hat and bandanna so I caught her with my phone camera and thought I would share the pictures with you.  She is doing very well right now, although she is still wheelchair bound and has been since she broke her leg again this past October.  She has had so many problems/issues over the past 5yrs.--numerous surgeries, 2- broken legs, breast cancer and so much more.  She is my hero and I love her very much.

     I have, of course, included pictures of my little 'pooterman'!!  He will be 2-yrs old this Wednesday and I must say I love every minute of every day since he came into my life--yes, even the smelly diapers and the temper tantrums (well, maybe NOT the smelly diapers so much!).  He is the love of my life and I thank God without ceasing for making me his 'Gigi'.

     God is good and has blessed me so much and so many good things are coming--I'll share with you as things happen!!

 God Bless all and any who read this!
Pat, A Remade Life
be sure to 'like' us on facebook - 'A Remade Life Emporium'

'Aren't I cute?!?'

Momma having fun

Brayden showing off his '6-pack'!!

Me with an attitude!!

Brayden loves his food!

Working hard in the back yard!

My beautiful mom!

"As the World Turns"

     Some of you may not remember that phase "As The World Turns"!  It was an old soap opera way back in the day, very popular from what I remember.  And very poetic/true.  No matter what may occur in our lifes, the world keeps on 'a-going'!  And so do we.

     Our Christmas holidays were marked with my mom going back into the hospital for breathing troubles on Christmas Day.  She is going back to the hospital more and more often and staying for longer 'visits'.  She just got out this past Monday and went back to the nursing home.  Her little body is holding on but each episode takes more and more away from her mind.  She rarely lives in reality anymore, often forgetting where she is, why she's not at her own home, who's alive and who's not (this one is very hard on her--she keeps believing my dad is still here) and she is always very disoriented.  It's hard to see my mom that way---she has always been so together and snappy.  My older sister is retired and taking care of all the issues that come with an aging parent.  I feel bad for Barbara since she must fight her own battles as well.  Please say a prayer for my mom 'Goldie Marie' and for our Heavenly Father's loving arms to be wrapped around her.

     On a different note, I had foot surgery on my right foot 4-days ago.  I knew it was going soon---I taught water aerobics for over 18 yrs---that's 18yrs of jumping on the side of the pool like a crazy person--something had to give and I guess it's my feet!!  Bone spurs, bunions and a bone that needed to be repositioned are just no fun, but I got it done and I'm at home recovering.  Wish I could say I've been able to work on lots of new projects, but the truth is, the pain drugs have better much kept me 'out of the loop' until today.  I do have some ideas a-brewin' that I'll share as they develop!

   So, that's it for now, foot is starting to complain so guess I better elevate it and make it smile!!

                          Yes, those are frozen veggies on my foot---couldn't find anything else!!


God Bless all and any who read this!
Pat, A Remade Life

Saying Good-Bye to a Wonderful Woman

     We experienced the loss of a wonderful woman the day before Thanksgiving, my precious mother-in-law passed away.  In truth, she was actually my 'ex' mother-in-law since I've been divorced for over 20 yrs, but she has always been "Mom Gill" to me.  She had been ill for several years now, including a recent pace-maker operation and Alzheimer's.   She had become confined to a wheelchair, mainly due to her loss of balance which had caused several broken bones from falls.  Her little 90-yr old body just could not take anymore! 

     She was an amazing woman, raising 9, yes 9, children while moving from base to base---my father-in-law was in the air force.  I believe it was the loss of her husband, my ex-father-in-law, just 1yr ago, that took a major tole on her.  She and "Big Morris" as she called him, had been married for 76 yrs!!  She told me stories of moving to Panama and arriving at the base in the middle of the night.  She turned on the lights to their base home and found........it was FULL of giant roaches!!!  Not one to get discouraged, she cleaned one of the rooms, placed all 6-young children in there to sleep and then spent the rest of the night 'de-bugging' her new home-----and she was pregnant with her 7th child at that time!!!  AMAZING!!

     I was very fortunate to have her in my life.  She was a wonderful example of the Proverbs 31 woman:
                                "She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
                      She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
                      Her children rise up and call her blessed, Her husband also and he praises her:"
                                                                                                          Proverbs 31:26-28

     I could say soooooooo much more about this wonderful woman, her creativity, her stamina, her LOVE for all those she came in contact with.  She was a constant inspiration to me and I will miss her greatly.

     And so I say, "Good-bye, Mom Gill--rest well in the arms of Jesus.  I will see again someday"

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Lots of Things a-happen'

     You ever notice how just when you think you can sit down and take a break all sorts of 'hoop-la' starts happening!?  Well, there is hoop-la galore happening around here!!

     Firstly, as I relayed in an earlier post, my mom fell again last month and broke the femur on her right leg---for the second time.  I'm happy to report that she is doing very well, came through the surgery fine and is currently at rehab were she will be for an undetermined amount of time.

     Secondly, things have changed for the better at Winnie Trade Days and they have found us another, smaller shop!  We are very excited about this as we truly love being at the Winnie show and have developed good relations with many wonderful customers.  And the fun part of all this is that our shop is actually a little house!!  It is soooo cute and we have great plans to fix it up--we will be in it by the January show.  More on that as it occurs.

     Thirdly, I have decided to specialize in vintage/retro clothing and will be opening an ecommerce website soon!  I am really, really excited about this adventure since I LOVE vintage/retro clothing and actually already have quite a collection.  I hope to have this website up and running within the next few weeks and will be sure to notify EVERYONE when it is.

     I do have one more adventure in the works, but 'mums' is the word on this one for now.  Just know that this one is like 'slap yo' mamma' exciting and could be the next step to a free-range life!!

     On another note, sure would like to hear from you guys.  A little comment here, a little 'word' there, would be nice.  Let me know what you are thinking, how your life is going and what I can do to help make your life pleasant!
Until next time, God bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Back to Canton Trade Days!...........and an emergency trip home

     I think the title pretty well covers what this blog will be about.  Last Thursday my son Jonathan, my grandson Brayden and I loaded up my van with all the necessities of life and began the 4.5 hour trip to Canton Trade Days, reportedly the largest flea market in the United States!

     We've been planning this return trip for several months.  Our first visit this past spring was amazing, even though I had been very ill the week before and couldn't walk around much.  Anyway, away we went, Brayden singing and happy, Jonathan talking non-stop (as usual) and me just thankful to be able to take a mini-vacation from all the stress and strains of life.

    We stopped for a little break for Brayden (and me, I had to go to the restroom!) at a McDonald's in Huntsville which was only about 1.5 hrs. into our drive.  Here's Brayden enjoying himself at Mickey D's:

McDonald's is one of his favorite places.  We try to take him there as often as possible but I honestly get a little nervous about the play area......have you seen how, uh, unclean those places are!?  Sorry, McDonald's but truth is truth.

     We finally made our way to Canton with only one more stop.  The drive had been enjoyable, Brayden had stayed happy, Jonathan had kept talking and I was again, just enjoying the day!

     We began shopping with purpose!  Armed with our wire cart (you know, the ones you see EVERYWHERE at these kinda places), Brayden in his stroller, diaper bag with drink and snacks in hand, we were off and running!!!  It didn't take us long to begin finding stuff we liked, me for the shop and Jonathan for himself.   We bought a little of this and a little of that, but my favorite purchase was these 2-wonderful mannequins:

     The female one is wonderful cause it's smaller than most of the mannequins I have--about the size of a teenage girl.  This will work wonderfully for my vintage clothing.   Seems like women were much smaller 'back in the day'.  The little boy mannequin is actually about the size of Brayden!  I HAD to have it because it has such a cute face!  I will probably use him in the shop and the female will be used for my ebay stuff.

    The evening was very tiring due to Brayden NOT wanting to go to sleep:

   

     Yes, those are his pajama bottoms on his head!!   He had so much fun that day, I guess he just wanted to keep going!!!!

   

     And then, the fun stopped..........The next morning I got an emergency phone call from my sister.  Seems my sweet mom had fallen AGAIN and she shattered the femor on her right leg!.  This is the same leg she broke about 2.5 yrs ago.  The first time she broke it just below her hip.  This time it shattered the bone right above her knee.

     We loaded up and started the long trip back.  Thankfully Brayden was happy and then fell asleep cause I really didn't want to make too many stops.  I needed to get home to mom.

     We made it home and waited to hear from my sister as to what and how mom was doing.  The doctors said it was a VERY bad break, her femor shattered (their words) and that she must have surgery.  My sweet mom has had soooooo many surgeries over the past 5 yrs and her little body was weak, but there was just no way around it.  Surgery was set for the next day at 3pm and thus begins my mom's next journey in life.

     The surgery went well, mom is now bionic in that leg and the doctor was as pleased as he could be with a 88 yr old woman with brittle bones and numerous medical conditions.

     That was just 5 days ago and mom has had several ups and downs.  Her kidney function is at 50% and she is only lucid moments at a time---that could partially be due to the anesthics from surgery and after.  The big news is that her heart is only functioning at about 30% and of course, that is causing a lot of concern.  She's not hurting and they are watching her very closely but this is not the news we wanted.

     As a child we think our parents will be around forever......as an adult, we realize how limited our time with them really is.  Here are a few pictures of my mom and my kids:

Christmas 2012

My mom cuddling Brayden as an infant--they were watching TV together!

     Well, that's it for now.  I will give updates on my mom (and life) as I get them.  Please pray for my mom, Goldie Marie, and if your parents are still around, go hug them for me!!!

God bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

"Cleaning House"

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted but I do have a good excuse---I've been on vacation!!  And where, you might ask, did I go?  NOWHERE!!--I stayed home.  And it was awesome.

Those of you who are not into resale or 'hoarding with a purpose' as I like to call it, you might not understand how easy it is for resale to take over your life.  And it seems to happen so subtly that you don't notice how 'cluttered' your home is getting till something practically falls on your head!!  No, nothing fell on me but I did look around one day and say 'enough is enough'.  That's when I decided to reclaim my house!

So for the past 8-days I've been organizing, throwing away (not easy for me to do!), donating to a local charity and moving these 'treasures' out of my house!  I must admit that I did start slowing down after 5-days but I did manage to accomplish most of my goals---my garage is now organized and I've actually got lots of space to move around in there/my kitchen is now a REAL kitchen and not a place to store extra supplies--we are even eating at the kitchen table again/my laundry room is actually a place for washing & drying your clothes and not a 'holding' spot for things on their way to the garage/and I even had some time to organize my workroom and organize my bedroom!!

I think I went back to work today just to get a little rest!!  But I am very happy with the progress I made and the things that still need to be done are no longer intimidating--they are 'do-able'!!

I even managed to sort and organize many of these treasures and have begun posting many of them in my shop on etsy.

And while you might not see any before & after pictures of my home (no way jose, there's no way I'm letting anyone see how bad it got!),  I will post a few pictures of my wonderful grandson, Brayden and my dear mom whom we visited with while I was off!

If this picture looks fuzzy it's because I couldn't get Brayden to be still!!

"Excuse me, could you spare a dollar for an ICEE"?

Brayden LOVES being outdoors at the park!!

This and the following pics are just some of the items I've posted for sale in my etsy shop

OK, so I decided to show you an AFTER picture of my garage--believe me this is TONS better then the BEFORE!!

This is my very retro and very pleasant kitchen--I'm soooo happy we are now taking time to eat at the table!!

  Well, that's pretty much it for now.  Hope you've enjoyed the pictures of my 'vacation' and please let me know what you think, leave me a comment--I would LOVE to hear from you!!

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life
www.lovethatvintagestyle.etsy.com   --my etsy shop, check it out!

Loving Mom

     This coming Sunday is Mother's Day, a blessing to some and a day of sadness for others.  It is a day when some are able to show their mom how much they are loved and appreciated and it is a day for others to mourn the loss of their parent and review fond memories of her love.  Whatever meaning this day may have for you, my prayer is that you take time to enjoy the moment, to laugh over silly happenings, to cry over hurtful moments and to love with all your heart the wonderful person you call 'mom'.  My mom is 86 years old and is fighting cancer for the third time in her life.  She is doing an awesome job!!  Her tumor has shrunk over 50% and is responding well to chemo.  Mom is frail, unsteady and becoming forgetful, but she is still my momma.  I will not post her picture here because she has lost all her hair, only weighs 98 lbs and I know it would embarass her, so I will describe her to you: 
- she is a small women, reaching only 5ft tall (she use to be 5ft 2in)
- her hair was a snowy white but now she wears a white turban to cover her bald head
- she loved to dress in very nice, fashionable suits when she went to church, but now she wears her robe most times and church is viewed on TV
- she was one of the sharpest people I've ever known.  My sisters and I always accused her of taking a dictionary to the bathroom!  Now, she has trouble remembering words and peoples names
- and, even though I am 56 yrs old and have been on my own for 20 yrs, raised 3-children by myself and purchased a home of my own,  my mom still introduces me as 'her baby'and asks me all the time if I need any money!
     My mom is a strong woman, enduring many hardships in her life---loosing a first husband to an industrial fire, raising 2-young girls by herself for a while and loosing my daddy to cancer over 20 yrs ago. 
She is hard-headed (I get that from her!) stubborn (I also get that from her) and loves my 2-sisters and me with all her heart. It is her strong influence that has helped to make me who I am today.
     I must work on Mother's Day and will not be able to be with her, but I will call her and let her know how much she is loved and appreciated.  Not just for all she's done for me, but also because she is one of the most remarkable women I have ever known and I have the great honor to call her:  MOM
I love you momma,
Pat

"My Mom" project

Here is the finished project I did for the sketchbook challenge this month. It's been a looonnnnngg time since I sketched/drew/doodled or anything like that!!   I wanted to honor my mom who is fighting cancer for the 3rd time and since the theme of this months challenge was to sketch something you 'highly price'--well, enough said.  So here it is:   
               Although I know everyone thinks their mom is the 'best mom ever' I KNOW my mom is! She is currently fighting cancer for the 3rd time in 8 yrs and at the age of 85, that's no easy task. But she's a fighter and I know she is doing her best to be victorious again! Here is her story. Please say a prayer as you read on and then call/kiss/tell your mom how great she is:


MY MOM

My moms name is Goldie Marie and I love her very much. She is currently 85 yrs old and is fighting cancer for the 3rd time. She developed breast cancer 7 yrs ago and overcame it with little effort. It returned 2 yrs later in the same breast and was inoperatable due to it's closeness to her heart. Through medicine and lots of prayer, my mom overcame the cancer again. She started having breathing problems a few months ago and so my sister and I took her to a doctor--we discovered the cancer has returned but this time in her lung. My mom is a fighter but she is so tired and feeble. I love my mom and pray for her every day. She is a good mom and I love her very much." No words can truly say how much I love my mom but I tried to express it with this picture.