Merry Christmas!

Yes, it is now December 29th, but I did have a very Merry Christmas!

It would be impossible to recount all of the things we've done - but I'll try to hit the highlights.

On Thursday the 23rd, Britt arrived!



On Christmas Eve morning, she and I went to see the twins. They've grown so much and are just adorable. It seemed as if Mickaela recognized me once I sat on the floor and started talking to them.... she smiled - pointed at me - and babbled something. It was sweet; we enjoyed interacting with them for awhile.

Mickaela


Addison


From there, we headed out to Sabrina's so I could see baby Kale. He's such a happy little guy! Lots of giggles from him :)



I gave Britt one of her gifts early, a canvas print of she and Mallory (made from a photograph Sabrina took of them in May).


And then on to Christmas day . . .








I made (scrapbooked) a recipe book for Brittany - she loved it!


Jeremiah expresses shock . . . .


Having received tickets to 4 Cubs games next season!








Later that morning, the kids went to their dads and I went to mine :)
then they joined me out there in the afternoon.









On Sunday the 26th, Brittany and I got up early to go to Mississippi. As always, much fun to be had down there; game playing and taco preparation the first evening:









Monday the 27th brought about more fun and games. . . .









And Britt got this picture of me, that I love!
Great work with your new camera Britt :D



Kitchen duty is calling . . .




This is Willie Turner, the dad of Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner. He's been a great friend to my mom and Fran, and Michael got Jeremiah tickets to a Falcons / Rams game in November.


Da Bears :)


Yesterday, most of us went downtown (along the Mississippi river) and did a little shopping. There are lots of cute little shops / boutiques down there, with unusual items, fun southern foods and such. When we got back to the house, we played a couple of games of Scrabble, then fixed delicious homemade pizzas.





Spent the rest of our evening packing up, relaxing and visiting.

Britt and I dropped Randy off at the airport in Jackson on our way by there this morning. We also swung by my cousin Linda and Billy's, just south of Memphis for a quick visit. We got home about 6 this evening.

100 posts!

Yep - this is my 100th blog post. And when I started it back in May, I had absolutely NO idea where I'd be (or what I'd be like) come the end of December. So I'm glad to say I'm better than ever, feeling fantastic and am incredibly blessed!

Just thought I'd better hop on here for a quick update before I get too busy with the holidays. Britt comes home tomorrow - yaaay!!

Today was baking day at Aggie's. We get together out there each year, to bake cookies and make candy... it's a lot of work, but worth it. Here are some of our results: cranberry/orange shortcakes, russian teacakes, raspberry thumbprints, coconut macaroons and peanut butter balls. Not pictured: dipped pretzels, snickerdoodles, fudge, peanut brittle, tiny pecan tartlets, date pinwheels, chocolate chip cookies and M&M cookies.

the latest

Yesterday, Sabrina and I met with Dr. Sarma, my radiation oncologist. He took plenty of time to review my records, ask me how I'd done through chemotherapy, and discuss where we go from here.

Because there were 7 lymph nodes which tested positive, I will have apx. six weeks of radiation. I'll go five days a week, starting early in January. I have an appointment for January 3rd, where I'll have a scan and they'll prepare all of the settings and marking for those treatments. Most people get something similar to a sun burn where they're radiated and he tells me I may become tired by the end of that six weeks.

Whatever :)
I can do this!

In other news, I am simply enjoying the holiday season! I've been Christmas shopping, had several appointments, and spent some time with friends this week. I also had my first haircut in 8 months! (yaay!) Some might look at my hair and say "what was there to cut?" but it was getting a little scraggly around my ears and in the back. Christy (who's been my hair dresser for many years) was actually on vacation the week that I needed it shaved, so she missed that milestone. She was excited to have me come in and said it is growing back beautifully! Thick as ever and not patchy at all, very nice. Most likely I'll eventually color it, but for now I'll take what I've got and be grateful for it.



This is my friend Sandra, a two year survivor! We had chai tea together on Thursday.

THANK YOU

to my nurses!!

I am ever so grateful for the fantastic care I've received at the Carle Cancer Center / Mills Breast Cancer Institute! I am scrapbooking my journey and got pictures with most of my nurses, the last day of treatment. The ones that were absent that day, I got a photo's with yesterday. I love it there, love visiting them and greatly appreciate all that they do!

capturing a moment in time . . .

Seven months ago (can't believe it's been that long!) at the end of May.... Jeremiah was graduating high school, Brittany was getting ready to move to Kansas City, and I was about to begin the biggest adventure of my life. At that time, Britt made a call to Staske Photography, where both kids had had their senior pictures taken, and where I worked a couple of years ago. Before she could even get the words out of her mouth, they were saying "Absolutely. We'll take care of ya!"

They suggested we wear pink :) and they took a wide variety of beautiful shots. But this was without a doubt - our absolute favorite! It captures that moment in time, I love it and I will treasure it forever!