Just put on a little lipstick...

We had a quick celebration with the Hall side of the family on Friday afternoon when we arrived home. Dan, Deanna, Logan and Lauren were on their way to Henderson to his parent's house and stopped by so we could all exchange gifts and see each other. Logan and Anna Belle had a great time playing with his new motorcycle toy. Morgan loves her baby dolls and Emri continued to try and eat all the wrapping paper. Logan also had a new Indiana Jones hat, and he even let me try it on, but just for a minute. Lauren is really growing up and enjoying things like ipods and clothes - she is such a pretty young lady. It seems like she should be Anna Belle's size. Bryan's mother made me a scrapbook of this blog. What a great gift! I was very overwhelmed. She included the pictures and all. I'm sure I will enjoy looking at it even more in years to come, when all this is not so fresh in my mind. I am very blessed to have such a great family!

We celebrated and opened presents with our immediate family on Tuesday night. Then Wednesday night (Christmas eve) we all headed to Henderson when Bryan got off work. It was great to have the whole family under one roof at Dad's house. Christmas morning was pretty magical with 4 little children. There were lots of squeals, flying wrapping paper and Emri had a great time trying to eat the paper. Jenni made home-made french toast for everyone that morning, and it was delicious! That about summed up the whole trip. The Wii was the big hit with the bigger kids and husbands. Christmas evening we went to the Henderson theater to see some movies. The little children went with Dad, Linda and Chassi to see The Polar Express and Lisa, Jenni and I went to see White Christmas . It's always great to see classic movies on the big screen. On Friday morning we got to see the Woods family (across the street neighbors). It was great to see those familiar faces and catch up a bit. We moved to ...

Last night Bryan and I took Anna Belle and Morgan shopping to let them get Josh and Chassi some presents. Whew- that was an adventure! We then came home and they helped wrap the presents. Morgan used a whole roll of tape on one gift. They had a great time sticking ribbon and gift tags on all the presents. This is what makes Christmas magical - children.

I went in for my 6 month post-surgery check up with the Oncology surgeon yesterday. No sign of recurrence ! I will see them again in another 3 months. I also had my genetic testing done and will get the results in 2 weeks. This should tell if my breast cancer came from a genetic mutation, if so this will be important to all the women in our family. Let's all pray for negative results.

I went to Dr. Wagstrom's office (plastic surgeon) today and got the rest of my stitches out. I'm pretty tender in some areas, but overall I'm healing very well. The doctor cleared me to begin exercising again. I just have to start slowly and work my way up. I will see Dr. Whitworth (Oncology surgeon) on Friday morning for my 6 month post op check up. I'll be seeing him every 3 months for 2 years, so he can keep a close eye on my health. Thank you to everyone for your continued support and prayers!

We went to my office Christmas party at the "Factory at Franklin" on Saturday night. It was great to get to visit with people out of the office environment. Everyone had a great time and we were home safely by midnight. I'm blessed with some great co-workers.

Saturday was the annual "It's a Wonderful Life" showing at the Belcourt Theater. We have friends that host this annual event to kick off the holiday season, and also gather donations to provide Christmas to a child at Vanderbilt hospital. The movie always serves to remind us all that we have so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful to have all of you in my lives !

We had a great "Triple" birthday party on Saturday morning. All three of Josh's girls have birthdays so close together that it's easier just to have one big celebration. The party was held at our house, but Chassi and her mom Sherron handled the set up and cooking for the party, and my friend Lori helped them with clean up. No one would let me lift a finger, even though I could have helped a little. : ) Emri was 1 year old Dec. 2nd Anna Belle will be 5 years old on Dec. 15th Morgan will be 4 years old on Jan. 23rd Happy Birthday girls!

I'm not sure how I'll ever sufficiently thank the amazing women I work with at Gordian. They once again surprised me today. This time with a very nice gift card to Victoria's Secret and some sparkly body shimmer to celebrate the completion of my reconstructive surgery. Once I'm fully healed and all the stitches are out I will have to go on a shopping spree to shower "the new girls" with some fun bras and tops!  It is so nice to go to work in such a caring and supportive environment. I am thankful everyday for all my fabulous friends!