Andrew lost his dad when he just started college. I never met him but I know he would be so proud of Andrew… and that he’s watching us and praying for us in heaven.

Chloe drew my mom in her  new “book”.  She thinks my mom is the most beautiful person. So sweet.

Her first book is called ‘The Zoo’ which is inspired by her favorite book ‘Put me in the Zoo’ by Dr. Seuss. She said, we can take turns taking it for business trips.

This is me.

My one-of-a-kind Customized Silhouette Pendants became the most popular item on my website. My favorite part of the design process begins when I receive adorable submission photos of babies and children and I get to illustrate them. I usually send customers two to three illustrations as options. From the few e-mails I exchange with my customers, I continue to stay in touch some of them even after their orders have been completed. The feedback on my silhouette pendants have been overwhelming – several customers have sent me endearingly sweet thank you notes.  I am touched by the gracious feedback and feel as though I have contributed to their family by capturing their little one in a precious pendant. I wanted to share some of their comments below:

Hi Cadence – Thanks so much for your email. I received the package yesterday – the necklace is great! Thank you so much. Have a wonderful holiday and new year! – Katherin

This is one of the most meaningful gifts I’ve ever received…so personal…so perfect…so close to my heart. – Danielle

Here’s my wife’s response. OMG I LOVE IT.  My eyes are tearing up!
I would say you have exceeded our expectations. Please proceed with the next step. Best Regards, – David M

I got the necklace today and it’s perfect and beautiful! thank you so much! – Moon

For Mother’s Day, my husband had a silver pendant of our son’s profile made for me (at my request) from your company.  I LOVE it!! – Jill

Cadence, I just wanted to let you know how much happiness you have brought to my wife.  She absolutely loves the necklace and catches herself looking in the mirror at it.  This brings her closer to our daughter when we are at work and our daughter is not by our side. I can’t thank you enough for the beautiful design. Kindest Regards, – David

This customer wanted a diamond in her ponytail.

This one is in rose gold with a diamond.

Because we went to church super early this morning, we had the whole day to play. So we went to the zoo.

Kids sang during the first service today so we got up extra early this morning trying to get to church on time.  Here’s my boy Shane!

And here’s my shy girl Chloe. She barely opened her mouth and looked up. Oh Chloe…

They all did a wonderful job!

Around 3 a.m. last Sunday morning, I woke up with a severe abdominal pain. I had no idea what was causing this terrible pain. Was it food poisoning? Indigestion? I thought I probably ate something wrong but then I had the similar pain last week which didn’t make sense. I could barely walk because of the pain when I got out of the bed. I suggested Andrew to take the kids to church by himself. My parents were worried so they wanted to stay with me just in case but I insisted that they go to church. I just wanted to rest and sleep. I thought, what’s going to happen in a couple of hours? I should just sleep and get better. I fell asleep for about an half hour but then my pain got even worse. I woke up crying and there was no one in the house. I called Andrew and he had left both of his cell phone and blackberry at home. I called my parents and they were not answering the phone either. It was around noon and the church doesn’t end until at least 12:30. I started googling how much an ambulance ride costs. We live a block away from a hospital where I delivered my both kids and seemed so stupid to call an ambulance. Should I wait 30 more minutes or should I dial 911? What if this is just a food poisoning and I’m just going to waste money for one minute ride. I’ll be all embarrassed when my pain turns out to be nothing serious? I was going crazy… Then I got all emotional thinking about my kids and started to cry on my bedroom floor, hunched over in pain. I must’ve cried for a few minutes like that then I heard a car outside. I crawled over to the window and saw it was Andrew. I opened the window and said that he has to take me to the hospital immediately. My parents arrived shortly after that so we went.

I was admitted inside right away but they had to do a few tests including a CAT scan which took forever. They gave me IV with pain meds so I was beginning to feel better after a few hours though. Long story short, after being in ER room for almost 8 hours they told me what I had was a collapsed cyst on my right ovary. This acute pain was caused by the irritation of the lining of the peritoneal cavity known as the peritoneum. The peritoneum can be irritated by blood or the contents of the cyst. The doctor told me that I will continue to have the pain for the next couple of days so I should be resting at home (no work!) and I have to follow up with my doctor the next day…

I was relieved that I wasn’t dying and I can return to my kids and my family. What a day.

Kids were so excited about their new bikes. We went to a park and they rode their bikes for over an hour…which meant Andrew and I were running behind them for an hour, pulling and pushing to make sure they didn’t fall or go too fast down hills, and to make sure they did not block the road for other bikers and runners. We got a great workout too.

Chloe’s officially reading! She loves to read and carry her books around every where she goes. She even reads in the car rides. When she’s not goofing around with her brother, she’s sitting in a corner somewhere reading her books.

I took my mom to my annual bead show in NYC today. Every time I come here I discover new stones and find inspiration.

Afterwards, we visited the farmer’s market in Union Square and of course, did some more shopping.

I took off work for a spa day with my beautiful mom today! It was much needed R & R time with her. 🙂