Our Miracle Happened.

I write with huge joy in my heart. This week, after seven months of waiting for my nephew to be strong enough, he underwent his double lung surgery to find out how many different 'spots' were in his lungs.

It has not been an easy journey for Sean. Cancer isn't an easy journey for anyone, but in Sean's case there have been a great deal of little set backs along the way. After his leg surgery where they were forced to take a part of his leg, he was plagued by a severe infection that made it impossible for the doctors to go through with his lung surgery as planned at the time. This darn lung surgery has been pushed back since September. September! There have been weeks where the medical team could not follow through with his Sean's scheduled course of Chemo due to Sean's low blood counts. There were days when the reality of his situation was just too much for one young man to swallow.

As I look back at the several set backs, it obviously makes me very sad. That said, as I look back at this week, I am filled with joy and am elated to share our many little victories that we have been waiting for since June when Sean was first diagnosed.

This week the doctors were finally able to go in and remove the 'nodules' in Sean's lungs. We were calling them nodules, because we were hopeful that the last 6 months of Chemo had worked and that those spots were no longer cancer, rather unspecified nodules. Our prayers were answered.

After a very long, 8 hour surgery, Sean came out of the operation with flying colours. The team of doctors that were involved were all equally ecstatic with how the surgery went and how Sean faired through the surgery. We were all relieved and gave thanks to God for the outcome that we had all prayed for.

The night after the surgery there were some critical complications, but thanks to the team of doctors and nurses in the ICU, Sean pulled through and he is better than we could have hoped for!

It was just the other day that we got the results of the biopsied nodules from the lungs. The results came back that the nodules were 100% CANCER FREE. Cancer free. Cancer free. It just means so much to me to say that. The cancer spots on Sean's lungs were dried up from the Chemo. The only concern that the doctors had initially, was that they found 3 additional spots that they were unaware of and were not necessarily looking for. None of that matters now because they were all benign.

So what does all of this mean? Where do we go from here? Well, it means that all of the aggressive medical intervention has worked. We were unable to save his knee, but whatever it takes to save his life, all makes it worth it. It means that we have 6 more months of Chemo to kill the existing cycle of cancer cells that continue to reside in Sean's system.

Sean is winning! Where we were being prepared for a grim picture 6 months ago, now we are faced with the beautiful future that awaits Sean. It is because of all your prayers that Sean is alive and well. Several times over the past 6 months, all we had was hope and prayer. We had to rely on blind faith and the prayers of everyone, family, friends, & strangers across the globe.

Whatever it was, or wasn't. Whether it was the semi precious stones we laid across Sean's body in hopes that their energies would cleanse his weak body. Whether it was the hands of prayer we laid on Sean's leg or whether it was Country singer Paul Brandt who went to visit Sean and raised his spirits and energy... whatever, so far it has worked.

I am not naive. I know we have a long road ahead of us and that we are not out of the woods yet, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can feel that overwhelming grace that comes with what it is we are experiencing. We are grateful.

Please continue to pray for Sean's full recovery. We are more than half way there and we are so grateful to all of you have been with us along the way.

God is great. Miracles do happen. We have Sean to prove it!

love & light,
t.

The Creativity Is Flowing...

It has been several months since I had been working on my jewelry. I had turned my focus on my family and our few months abroad. I had missed my work but I did not know how much until I prepared my Fall 2012 line. I have had so much fun getting the line together and the creative rush that has come with it.

Being a creative person,  I am always, easily inspired by my surroundings. Living on the West Coast and in the rain forest that is Beautiful British Columbia, I am inspired on a daily basis. The colours, the textures and the essence that is the West Coast can be found in my latest work.

The past few weeks have been so much fun as I have unveiled my line slowly over social media. The response has been overwhelming and it has been so much fun getting to share in the excitement that jewelry often evokes in people. Male or female, jewelry often gets a response from people whether it is emotional or physical. I know when I look at jewelry, my blood pressure rises and I get excited. I feel the same way when I look at other forms of art, also.

I get excited seeing the people around me being bejewelled in my wares, and it creates a platform for people to share in the creative energy that surrounds my work. Other people start acknowledging their own creative ideas and talents and it is just a beautiful thing.

One of my favourite things about being an artist, is being surrounded by other creative spirits. We all have some sort of creativity within us, even if you think you don't, there is a vein of artistry in you, believe me. We all have something we are good at and it may not be a form of art that we see in the mainstream, but trust me, we all own something unique and creative.

Now that my fall line has been launched, I am now focussing on my gift card line which will be on shelves at Thomas Haas Patisseries as of November 15th. I create a custom line of Holiday Cards for Thomas and his wife Lisa to sell. I will also be selling cards off of my website and at my Trunk Shows in the next two months. I love working with paper and my cards are the greatest expression of that.

To see my latest work, please visit my website: www.buddhaandtheraven.com

With all of this excitement going on, please remember to keep my sweet nephew Sean in your prayers. His personal battle with cancer has been nothing less than challenging. Unfortunately, there have been complications and set backs along his way which has kept him from feeling any relief in this journey. We have come along way but we have a long way to go and we cannot make the trip without the love and prayers from family, friends and strangers alike. We need copious amounts of white light to envelope this young spirit and lift him up while he is too weak to lift himself. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming.

I know that there is never a good time to bring up awkward topics, but I would not be speaking my truth if I did not bring up Amanda Todd. Her story has resonated deeply with me and I think that her loss of life has created a platform in which we can use to have those uncomfortable conversations that surround bullying. I know that our schools are discussing bullying as a result of Amanda, but she also needs to be a reminder that we need to be discussing bullying with our young kids.

There is a way to have the conversation while protecting the innocence of childhood ideologies. Even as adults we forget that gossiping is a form of bullying. It is a daily occurrence that perpetuates a negative energy that eventually costs someone their right to privacy and or peace. If we are not speaking from that authentic place of love and good will, then maybe we should not be speaking in that moment. Amanda's loss has made me recheck myself and where I can be a kinder individual. As some one who has experienced bullying both in my childhood and as an adult, I know that the power of intention when speaking is powerful and needs to be thought of when speaking.

I will leave you with love and light and with the prayer for you that everyone that crosses your path, treats you with more kindness than you expect.

xo t.