Scrapfriends Sketch Challenge - September

Our third grandson; born 6 months after his lovely Dad (see previous post) was killed in an accident. Our son saw him on his 12 week scan and was lost to us 2 days later. This little chap has been through an awful lot in his 2 and a half years when this photo was taken. 

He was rushed to hospital just before his second birthday and was diagnosed with meningitis; we considered ourselves fortunate that the only result of this dreadful illness was that it had left him very weak. It was not until a few weeks later that it was realised that he had also become profoundly deaf.  It wasn't picked up immediately as his language had not been affected greatly and he had already taught himself to lipread. Once discovered, he needed urgent surgery to implant two cochlea's. The surgeon was wonderful and pulled out all stops to perform the surgery quickly as any delay may have reduced the outcome.

Our little man recovered quickly and has not looked back in terms of speech and hearing. He has learnt though that, if he does not want to hear you telling him what to do or growling at him, he simply removes his aids!

As part of his recovery he has to attend occupational therapy; at one of these sessions he was on the flying fox and had safely landed into the foam pit two previous times. The third time he landed awkwardly and broke his femur.  Hospitalised yet again, his spirit shone through and when visiting him two days later, he showed me how he could grab the ropes holding the weights to his leg and swing his leg up and down!

This photo was taken 6 weeks later at his cousins 1st birthday; he was still in his box splint but happy to be a part of what was going on around him. He has since fully recovered and continues to keep his mother busy as he is as active and adventurous as his lovely Dad.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes

Bird is the Word Challenge - Spirit

Our eldest son, the first to call me Mum; he was one of those children that just cruised through childhood and his teenage years. No major health issues and no problems with school except the occasional day dream or distraction. He was a wonderful, if sometimes impatient, big brother to his three siblings but always looked out for them.

He was a bit of a daredevil when it came to heights. I found him on the roof of the house at 18 months and had to call the fire brigade to come and get him down as I was 9 months pregnant with our second child at the time. He had climbed to the top of a Norfolk Island Pine by the time he was 10, abseiled and climbed through his teenage Scouting years and abseiled Perth's tallest building for charity in his early 20's.

He was a very sociable person whose very generous character and smile drew people to him like a magnet. He was also a bit of a chameleon, comfortable and appropriately dressed for his mates in the motorcycling club, attending an eclectic range of music concerts, his role in horticultural management to the dapper young man who attended the races with his wife on his arm.  

Here he is dressed as his role as Best Man for his mates wedding and it was at this wedding that I realised he was a very accomplished public speaker and was later asked to speak at a Managers Breakfast Conference about managing the Gen Y's. His mentor knew he had chosen the right person when he arrived at his interview in a business suit and tie with his skateboard under his arm.

One of his passions was his motorbike and he was well known for his innovative design changes; I didn't like him riding but he was the most carefully prepared and careful rider. The posts on his motorcycle club and facebook pages after his accident only served to confirm that he was much loved, not only by his family but by people around the world who were touched by him in some way.

I miss him everyday.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.



Let's Get Shabby #38 - Doors and Windows

A beautiful Bo Bunny paper with louvered windows and a door on the bottom left;  I have cut and lifted them both but they may be a little hidden by the cluster of flowers! I may have gotten carried away!

This is our third son and his wife; our eldest son is married to her sister so don't be surprised when you look at another wedding when I get it done and think you are seeing double, the sisters are very alike.

These two had known each other for many years through their siblings and often went out as part of a group; it took us a little while to realise that they had become a couple. Our son had the ring hidden for some months before finally asking her to marry him on their favourite beach at sunset; the timing had to be right and he had delayed a little longer when our youngest son unexpectedly announced his engagement.

The OCD part of me was a little concerned that my sons would get married out of birth order but we had asked the youngest for a long engagement to be sure they were ready and these two were able to schedule theirs sooner rather than later and they married in December of 2009.

They are now the proud parents of a gorgeous little boy of 16 months and will be parents again in November of this year; they have chosen not to find out what they are having and we are looking forward to the announcement.

Thank you for looking and for any comments you may leave, best wishes