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

Kindness. Loving one’s family. Leading by example. All of these are teachable moments.

More than one Snyder family member has sore muscles.

From sundown to sunup, this day is full of surprises and Spooky Day shenanigans.

As you know, Euan & Patience raised two sets of triplets. The first set (Charity, Felicity and Mercy) moved out as soon as they graduated from high school.

There are two reasons for doing this.
1. Too keep my sanity. 8 Sims is a lot of work!!!
2. They are starring in a Renovacy Challenge of their very own!

That’s right! The girls have a story to share and a fixer-upper to fix.
To get started, please go HERE

I’ll let you decide for yourself.
Here is the final week for Euan & Patience.

It was crazy raising two sets of triplets and keeping a roof over their heads. Not sure I will do that again. Hence moving the first set out as soon as they graduated from high school.

Maintaining good relations as the family members aged, turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Wish I had thought of the LTR ‘Long Distance Friend’ sooner than I did because it would have been quite helpful.

Not having a job or career wasn’t as much of a hardship as I expected. Collecting and dumpster diving as well as painting raised most of the funds needed to renovate the home and raise this family.

Would I play this couple again? YES!
Will I attempt another Renovacy? DEFINITELY!

Happy with the way their life is shaping up, the Snyder family has plenty of things to celebrate.

As their children grow up, the McPhail family is no longer struggling to survive
However, daily tasks and relationships keep them quite busy during Week FIVE!

Warning: This is a longer chapter and quite picture heavy.

The crisp fall air heralds a good game and more as Baz brings a new friend home.

The McPhail’s are continually going in and out their front door.
The family is busy with school, work & more during Week FOUR.

Warning: This is a longer chapter and quite picture heavy.