Hello again, DA! <3

I'm not really sure where I want to begin, so I think I'm just going to dive right in head first.

First, foremost, most importantly, etc... A big, huge, unending, shouted from the rooftops thank you is in order.

For those of you who need a refreshing or haven't already seen the journal entries here [link] and here [link]

With all of that debt piled on us, I was really panicked that we'd never be able to make ends meet, so I just don't know where to begin in my gratitude for all the utterly unexpected kindness from friends and strangers who came out of the woodwork.

DA is really much more of a community than I could have ever anticipated and that's a really wonderful feeling.

And please do not begin to think that each and every act of good karma will not go unpaid. Every donation, commission, journal feature, reblog (here, tumblr, other forums, fb, etc) or even just kind thought, is so very, very overwhelmingly appreciated and will be paid in turn with gift art. Plus obviously love, admiration, gratitude, all that good stuff.

For updates on the situation itself, I'll now quote =kthxplz 's journal. :3

"Everyone has been so helpful and amazing with spreading the word about my wife and I.  I felt I owed it to everyone to post an update to share how far we've come thanks to everyone's commissions and donations!

We're currently sitting at roughly $265 out of 500, with one or two commissions still up in the air. With how abysmal that hospital bill left me feeling, everyone's generosity and kindness has absolutely floored me with good feelings! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed in any way, be it by commission, donation, or spreading the word in your journals. Your good will is more than I can handle!

I'm building up a mental queue of commission and gift art to do for everyone and working my way through it as best I can while working the animation contracts currently on my plate. I know most of you have said no rush, but if I don't get to you soon, you can bet I'll be all over it at the end of the month! Meanwhile, if anyone else feels compelled to commission my wife or I for anything more, we're far from at our limit of what we can handle and doing our best to muscle through the rest of that bill, so please note us up if you might be interested in anything! ♥

It takes a while for things to transfer from paypal to our bank account, but I went by the hospital yesterday and put what little I had transferred over toward the bill, just to satisfy them that I intend to pay it regularly. We also just managed to pay our rent for October (which came out of my own earnings as a freelance animator, since I count the funds raised here as strictly for the hospital bill), so now I'm spending this week working a contract with a tight deadline of Nov 1st that should at least earn us exactly enough to pay rent for November, provided I'm paid in any reasonable timeframe. It's a tricky life, bouncing from contract to contract! I'll be thankful when my status in Canada is hopefully approved sometime next year and I'm finally allowed to work anywhere instead of being restricted to my current work. If it meant keeping my family fed and housed, I'd be the best damn burger-flipper Generic Fast-Food Joint has ever seen.

Thank you so much again and always to everyone who has helped us! Any commissions or gift-art that I haven't been able to tend to yet are far from forgotten and I should be able to whip them out way faster once I have this contract behind me in just under a week."

While that's still a looong way from our goal, it gives me unbelievable hope!

My apologies if anyone feels I'm taking too long on your commissions. I'm really trying to knock them out of the park as quickly as I can, while at the same time not wanting to compromise my artistic integrity by rushing anything and ending up with a shoddy product. I want to grow with each piece and be a more versatile artist, so that means learning something with each, and that means taking time. But I promise to bust my cute little behind! <3333

Your help and support through this time truly means the world to us. <3 And please don't hesitate to hit us up with more to do! We both genuinely enjoy the distraction art provides from the every day stressors. Plus, to be honest, with Matt's job only just covering next month's rent and making up this months, we certainly still need it. >_>;;


- Love to you all, Crys. <3

On a totally unrelated note, please check out my friend ! I was ridiculously excited to see her return to DA as I frequently went back to her old account just to feel a rush of inspiration and it's criminal that she didn't immediately explode with new watchers upon uploading something.

I want to tell you all about how I've idolized her work for years, but in a more refined way that doesn't make me come off as a creepy fangirl, haha. Too late, I guess.

She is incredibly kind and down-to-earth, and whenever I see her do anything, a piece of art, a journal entry; it's always full of such beautiful imagery that makes me want to rush out and taste the world in half the colours she does. It's very rare for me to encounter an artist who's ability just makes me want to be better. Not for any rivalry, not for insecurity, but because I'm reminded that this is what I want.

So, yeah. Before I sound like a fangirl, please check her out!