It's that time of year . . .

We started decorating our home for Christmas today. I had to look at the weekends ahead and it seemed to be the most convenient. In years past, I usually crammed everything into 1 day and was exhausted and anything but cheerful by the end of it. This year, I am taking my time and spreading it out over a few days and it has been a much better experience. The boys were helpful and excited!! Dave's job was to make sure all of the Christmas tree decorations were not 4 feet high or below. It was funny to watch.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was very low key with lots of napping. Our church had an informal service this morning and it was nice to get out, but also nice to come home and relax. Later this afternoon, I took a walk around our neighborhood at a time of day that is usually filled with a lot of activity - people coming home from work and school. But, not today - very quiet. I loved walking past people's houses and you can see the families gathered inside eating or watching football. I am also very proud of Dave - he didn't do any work or study all day! He has been working so hard at work and school and he really needed a day off.

Happy Thanksgiving and we wish you many blessings.

Need some movie suggestions

Someone gave us a wonderful gift at the beginning of our cancer journey - Netflix! Well, the last movie I watched had to do with cancer. I didn't realize it from the blurb and was engrossed in the movie by the time it was revealed. Then, I was watching some TV on Monday night and 3 out of the 4 shows I watched all had people with cancer stories - and one was a room makeover show! By the end of the weekend and Monday, I needed a light hearted movie, with no sadness. I just saw what is next in my Queue and it is "Tuesdays with Morrie." Every movie I have in my Queue right now has some tragic story! I don't know if I am just drawn to those types of movies or what, but I am in need of some serious FUN suggestions.

Thanksgiving plans

So David learned a new word today - ubiquity (ominpresence). He was sharing with Dave this new word while he and Dawson were working on some papers at the table. Dawson's response was "we can't say that word at the table." David explained to him it was not a bathroom word.

So, I will be celebrating this Thanksgiving with a dose of chemo tomorrow. Thursday will be mostly spent in my pjs, watching the parade and football and also napping. We will then celebrate on Friday with the big feast at our house. It will be a small group - the 4 of us plus Dave's parents. This actually doesn't sound like too bad of a plan!

Achoo! Achoo!

The other night, I had this horrible dream where I lost Dawson at a water park. I was frantically looking for him for 2 hours (in the dream). I stopped in front of a cafeteria and heard a sneeze. It was Dawson's sneeze. I thought, "Do it again!" He did and I found him. For those of you who know Dawson's sneezes, you know that he ALWAYS does it again and again . . . His sneezes have become legendary at his school because, like clockwork, he does it multiple times when he wakes up in the morning and after his nap. Oh, and there are always explosions. Who dreams about sneezes??

6 or 16?

David got back his school picture and Dave and I both did a double take. We could easily flash forward and see the teenage boy. We are having a hard enough time keeping track of library books. I can't imagine a teenage boy! I know we have a lot of time, but it just seems like yesterday and David was this . . .

This is one of my favorite baby pictures of David - not only because of the strategic placement of his arm but also because of his reflection in the mirror. (Every mom is supposed to have a bare butt baby picture of their kids, right?)

A Day at Kindergarten

I had the opportunity to volunteer in David's classroom this morning. I was so impressed with how his teacher takes everyday things and has these kids thinking creatively. I also enjoyed looking around the classroom at David's work. They had a "news" board in the hallway and how there are many different ways to report the news. David's paper said this, "David learned how to start his sentence with a question." This is what he wrote, "Do you know that my mom likes Republicans? John McCain lost and Obama won. My mom was not happy." I was speechless. The teacher told me she wasn't sure about hanging it, but David was so excited about his news. This is what happens when you talk politics with a 6 year old. He practically announced who I voted for when we left the booth.

Another student's paper said, "On Tuesday, Obama won the election. He beat John McCain. If you vote, you get free donuts."

I helped the class at their Listening Center today. This is where they listen to a story and then draw a picture and write sentences applying the story to their own lives. The story was about Thanksgiving and the students were to write what they were thankful for. Most kids wrote about their families and their toys, but my favorite was, "I am thankful for everything except the devil." If I was their teacher, I don't think I would stop laughing all day.

A day off

A lot of people asked me how I spent my day off from chemo - I went to the eye doctor this morning, browsed through some stores for Christmas ideas, and bought some Christmas presents. But, the highlight of my day was this - we bought our family a game system as a collective Christmas present, but the boys don't know about it. We bought it back in September and have been holding onto it, but we haven't "tested" it out yet. Since both boys were out of the house today, I made the personal sacrifice to play video games for about an hour just to be certain that the system worked properly. I am happy to say that it works well, but it may require further "testing" tomorrow.

When the boys came home from school, it was pouring outside. So, we spent almost 2 hours working on crafts and coloring and just enjoying some time together. But, what is really amazing to me is that they never asked to watch TV. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, as opposed to how I usually spend Thursday afternoons.

Interesting day

We have had some more good news recently - my younger brother is now engaged and a dear friend had her second baby boy on Monday. To make my week even better, I don't have to go for chemo this week!!

So, I volunteered at a local radio station to help with their Sharathon. The Reach FM is a Christian station that totally runs on the donations of its listeners. Every 6 months, they do this to raise the funds to operate for the next 6 months. I listen to the station all the time and I wanted to help out with their Sharathon. I couldn't believe how small their offices were and how they really only run on the necessities. I met some wonderful people in the few hours I was there and will listen to that station very differently. I really enjoyed doing something different than the norm.

Halloween pictures

Here are our boys in their Halloween costumes. Dawson's question that night, "Next is Christmas?"

That is Dawson behind all of those muscles.

Captain Jack Sparrow. (David was funny to watch with all of that hair.

He kept pushing it out of his face.)

It was merely a theory.

Dawson woke us up at 6 a.m. this morning - so much for an extra hour!

Good week.

Just wanted to share what a good week our house is having. It started with the Phillies' win! David is just starting to get into the baseball thing and has been into the Phillies, but missed the World Series games since they were past his bedtime. Dave and I were able to see the last inning of the game and there was excitement in the air. Dawson's birthday was Wednesday and he is really getting this present/birthday thing. Then, Dave got a promotion at work -a position he has waited years to get. He has been with MBNA/ Bank of America for 14 years now! And, Halloween was last night - still much excitement, but not so much from Dave and me. The boys were so excited with their costumes and Dawson loves the idea of trick-or-treating.

The best part of it all - an extra hour of sleep tonight (in theory - it doesn't always work when you have kids.) And next is the presidential election . . . .