December 2006 Posts

December 26, 2006 - Thursday
Well Christmas Day was the best Christmas ever! Now that the kids are older they don't get up at the crack of dawn! We started opening our presents around 8:30 and were able to finish up by 11:30 this year. Everyone was happy with what they got! Chris received a diamond bracelet from me and Santa put a diamond necklace in her stocking. She was very excited and was certainly deserving!Everyone came over to our house around 3pm. Chrissy made a turkey and a ham to eat. Other people brought things and we had an informal dinner around 5pm. We exchanged presents and did a special game with presents too!

There were more than 30 people here including the kids. I don't keep an exact head count! I posted pictures on the pictures page but you can get to them here.We did get a phone call on Tuesday from the Oncologist's office already! They were just confirming Chris's upcoming appointments in early January. She is going on a 4 week schedule vs. the 3 week one she was on. The last 2 trips her blood counts were low and it took another week to have them bounce back. January is right around the corner and soon it will be back to business!! For now, we are enjoying the wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks for the continuous prayers!

December 21, 2006 - Thursday
This past week has been very busy for all of us. Chris is doing great. No major complaints. A little tired but all in all doing great.
She's been very busy at work this week. Alex started working again this past Monday and will be working for a couple of weeks straight. This will be great as she can earn some money before going back to college in January. She's going to Orlando for a lacrosse tournament and needs the extra funds. We've finished up our Christmas shopping and are preparing the house for having everyone over! We can't wait. It will be a fun time.The dog got her first haircut this past Tuesday. It was really easy and she doesn't look like a furball anymore. Just a dog. Check out all the pictures of her on the pictures page. Here's one of the better ones.

December 14, 2006 - Thursday
Well today was a busy day for everyone! I drove up to Lycoming College to pick up Alex from school. She had her last final today and just completed her first semester! She'll be home for about 3 weeks.Since I wasn't home Chris ended up driving HERSELF to John's Hopkins today for treatment. She did just fine. It was not easy for me to be away while she was there. I've only missed one or two treatments in the past 2 years but she insisted and did very well. Her platelet counts were way over where they needed to be so the extra week made a huge difference. We excited to have Alex home and are looking very much forward to the upcoming Christmas holiday.

December 11 - 13, 2006 - Mon-Wed
Well this was hard. I had to travel to Salt Lake City for a sales presentation for work. Being away from home this time of year is hard and even more so with Chris getting treatment. But we continue to work hard to keep our lives as normal as possible and travel is a part of my job that must be done on a routine basis. Of course, while I was gone people stepped right up to help out. Andrew made a wonderful stew on Monday, which I am now enjoying with all the leftovers. Wonderful!! And on Tuesday a friend that we met just last year came over and brought Chris and the boys an excellent meal as well. Those leftovers did not last long either! Thanks Billie! Those 2 nights of generosity made it much easier to be away from home knowing that others are here to help out!!!

December 8, 2006 - Friday
I went out to lunch today with 4 guys that I worked with about 10 years ago. Although I have not seen them for quite awhile it was a great reunion! We talked and joked about the good times we had way back. It was really great. The next day, Saturday morning, I looked at my email and to my surprise they all decided to get Chris and I an American Express Gift card. I had told them that we were unable to really get out and celebrate our 20 and 21'st anniversaries and they wanted to help up out by jump starting a trip early next year after chemo stops for awhile. Thanks to some wonderful friends!

December 7, 2006 - Thursday
Wow... First off today is Michael's 11'th birthday. He's really exited about it. Unfortunately, Chris was scheduled for treatment today. We left the house after the boys went to school and got to the hospital around 9:30. Chris got her blood drawn aound 10:15 or so and then we waited for the lab results to come back.She has been feeling really well the last couple of weeks with lots of energy and a big emotional high last week. Well, today her labs came back and showed that her platelet count was too low. Here's a good place to see what plateletsare all about. There are lots of side effects associated with low platelet counts so the Dr. sent us home and we will be going back next week. At least we got home early this afternoon and can spend more time with Michael on his birthday.Many thanks to Rachael at COMSTAR who made dinner for us this past Monday. It helped out a lot as Chris stayed late on Monday.

December 3, 2006 - Sunday
Chris and three friends went into Frederick and attended the annual Christmas House Tour. Each year several houses are opened up to the public for tours. This year's houses were about 110 years old! Afterwards, the girls came home and we all packed back up and went out to one of Chris's favorite resturants. It's called Isabella's and it is called a tapas bar. Check it out here.After Wednesday's news we've really been on a high and doing a lot around the house to prepare for the holidays. Chris spent most of Saturday decorating the house and strategically placing her angels and snowmen!