Great Day

Yesterday was a great day! The girls and I drove to Benton to meet Kellie Beggs and her kids, Kodi and Alyssa. Alyssa is 7 and also has a brain tumor. Her tumor is a craniopharyngioma. She had surgery in October 2008 but there is some residual tumor left. She has MRIs every 3 months like Abby. Kellie truly understands how I feel and it was so wonderful to sit down and talk to her in person. We have emailed each other for months, but there is nothing like a face to face conversation. We talked about all the joys and hardships of this journey and surprisingly, I didn't even cry! I was just so happy to talk to someone who I knew wouldn't think I was crazy!

The girls played together and compared surgery scars. I am glad Abby will get to know someone like her. I am glad she will know that she is not alone. I am glad I know that I am not alone! Kellie has been such a source of strength for me, and I know that God's hand was in our paths crossing.

I smiled the whole way home. Abby has talked about Alyssa almost non-stop. It was a great day!

Our Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. Our celebration lasted 3 days! We got tons of great gifts and just had a great time.

On Christmas Eve I made pizza and we drove around with our pj's on and looked at Christmas lights. We came home, popped popcorn, and read the Christmas story from the bible. It was nice to get to spend time with just us.

Christmas morning the girls were very excited to see what Santa had brought. Abby was so happy that Santa had brought her a baby doll, "He knew I wanted it and he got it for me!" Very precious. Lyla didn't really understand but she played and played.

We spent Christmas day with Jason's parents and siblings and Christmas night with my extended family. Yesterday we spent the day with my mom, stepdad, and siblings. It was so nice to relax with all of our family, eat lots of good food, and open presents. I was sad to see it all end. We do have one more celebration, next week we will go spend time with my dad's family. I can't wait to see all of them!

After church today the girls spent all afternoon playing in their bedroom with all their new toys. I didn't have to break up many fights or give out many snacks today! They were too busy!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too. I feel blessed beyond measure!

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that Christmas is in 2 days! Time goes by fast! I was waiting to write because I wanted to include a picture of the girls in their Christmas dresses but we still haven't managed to do that. I will post a picture of them after the holidays!

Abby is very excited about Christmas-she wants Santa to bring her a baby doll. Lyla is excited about the presents and bows! I have had to re-wrap several gifts and none of the presents under the tree have bows now!

Christmas is always a very busy time but I hope that all of you can find time to remember the true meaning of Christmas and to cherish your friends and family. Please pray for those who will not be with their families this Christmas. There will be children celebrating in a hospital room instead of their living room. Pray that God brings them and their families comfort, peace, and strength. Remember them when you feel stressed about all you have to do and all the places you have to go. I know that I plan to soak up every minute with my girls over the next several days!

At our church Christmas program, our beautiful and talented teen girls sang the song "The Gift". It has stuck with me all week long and kept my mind focused on the reason I celebrate this joyous holiday. I would like to share the chorus with you.

He was the Son God sent to one and all
Put on this earth to hang there on that cross
Born to die so we could live
He had the birthday, we got the gift

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

We Saw Santa!

We went to the Christmas parade tonight and it was cold! The girls had a good time anyway. They especially loved seeing Santa at the end! We have our house all decorated for Christmas and the girls love the tree and lights. We are singing lots of Christmas carols too! Life is good around our house!