Sad - VERY sad weekend!

Hey everyone!

Sorry it has been so long. We went on a long road trip to visit all of my family in Oklahoma and Kansas and had a great time.

I have some good news. I will now be teaching classes at the new scrapbook store, Scrapper's Boutique, and am very excited about that. My first class is a mini book class designed for children and adults ages 8 and up. It is an 8" x 8" board book done with the Snorkel papers by Cosmo Cricket. It is this Saturday, August 15th from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. I hope to see some of you signed up. :)

On a sad note, I have decided that I need to close my digital design website, and I will no longer be designing in the digital community. I took the summer off and have just realized everything that I have been missing out on with my family by being so tied to the computer. I will still be designing for Memory Mixer by Lasting Impressions and Daisy Trail by Serif, but won't be on any other sites for now. After August 20th, Paula Phillips Designs will be shut down, and that blog will have to go down also, so I'll be back here to hopefully be a better blogger - hehe.

Now for the awful news. This weekend I had my new wedding rings stolen. I know that they aren't just "lost" cuz I ALWAYS put them in the same spot every time that I take them off and all my rings are placed in a certain order EVERY time (this is just another of my type A things) but when I went to go somewhere the next day, my wedding rings were gone, but nothing else had been disturbed. The other rings were in their exact spot right next to where my wedding rings should have been. There had been a company come into my house to do some work, but I have known them for a long time and just don't want to think that they could have done it. I just can't imagine what happened to them. I have turned the house upside down and they just simply aren't here. They had to have been taken. It's the only scenario that makes sense. I remember putting them in their spot the night before when I arrived home around midnight. My kids have NEVER EVER touched or messed with my jewelry and they both have told me very emphatically that they didn't touch them. Not to mention that I was in my room most of the morning before the workers arrived, and my kids weren't even in there much at all. It just makes me sick. I don't think we'll ever be able to replace them. It was a very original set and the company where we bought them is no longer in business. Not to mention that I had saved and worked like crazy to get the money together to get this new set because my old set had problems and could not be fixed. I don't know if we will ever be able to save enough money to even get something close to replacing them. With the money I saved and trading in my old set - the new set was my 10th anniversary present. I am just heartbroken. Then - it gets even worse. The rings disappeared on Friday, then today (Sunday) I woke up to my older dog Hercules coughing like crazy and having a hard time breathing. We took him to the ER vet and have been told that he is in congestive heart failure with fluid on his lungs and possible kidney failure happening. We have him on medications that hopefully will help him live comfortably a while longer, but his heart has already enlarged and is pushing against his trachea. It's just not good. We may only have a few months left with him and I just don't think I can take any more of my heart being ripped out. I'm trying so hard to not just fall apart, but every time I think of anything, all that can pop into my mind is that my wedding rings with all their meaning to me are gone and now I'm loosing my dear Hercules too. I just ask that you all pray for me and my family right now. I know that we will get through this and I'm praying for the Lord to give me some comfort and help me understand. I know everything is part of his plan, but it's times like this that you just wish you could have a glimpse at that big picture so maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad right now.

Well - I'd better try to get some sleep now. Thanks for listening to my rants. Hopefully next time I post, things will be looking up. I hope you all are well! ((HUGS))
~til next time,
Paula