Did you think I forgot about the Snyder family? Never! Things have been busy, crazy busy and some just crazy. But please know that I will return to their story as soon as possible.

While I was “away”, I hosted the Spring Fling Homemade Gift Exchange. Third time hosting this fun event and being absolutely amazed at the SIMTASTIC gifts Buddies make for each other! So much creativity … Clever ideas … Sheer Talent!

Life happens and several Buddies had major medical concerns going on so, Replacement Buddies were needed. I was one of them. Those builds have been added to the menu bar on the main page under the clever title of “Builds”.

Little by little, my other creations will join the listing there.

Last but certainly not least, is the main reason I have gotten spotty in updates. Some of you know a good bit of what’s been going on, but it’s time to share with the rest of y’all. My mother-in-law (in her early 70s) fell twice in January. Nothing broken, thank goodness! Her health has declined over the years but she continued to live on her own in a senior apartment complex. After the second fall, things got worse and she was hospitalized in late January for another reason. Went from hospital to Rehab/Long-Term Nursing to hospital to Long-Term Acute Care to hospital to hospice. A long list of medical concerns (some contagious) that I won’t go into details on fought against each other and her body’s immune system.

As of Thursday, she was officially termed as “actively dying”. Her children (my husband is the eldest with three younger sisters) visit as often as they can and each have been in direct contact with various long-distance relatives.

While her health is on a huge roller coaster ride …
We closed her apartment in March and moved boxes plus walkers & a Hoveround Power Chair into our storage room (this will become a family room/crafts area one day!) after distributing furniture and such according to her wishes. I handle her finances (since February) and my hubby is her “voice” (health advocate, power of attorney, executor). We learned more than we ever expected in regards to her finances. All I can say is that there needs to be a better check system (or any!) in place to prevent an older person from having so much credit card debt.

Medical insurance limits on hospital stays and finding affordable facilities made this very stressful at a time when the focus should have been on her getting better or at least stabilized before she was moved to the next facility. Our eyes are opened in matters like this and we are going to ensure that our daughter doesn’t have to walk this road when we age.

This has not been easy, but we do what we can.

Thank you for reading and letting me lean on your shoulder for a few minutes.
Addy