Bestest Christmas Present EVER!

1 more day till the Fat Man cometh....

Yep, Christmas Eve is upon us. I got up early today and headed out to run some errands. I told the girls last night that we needed to get up early to get out and back, but they didn't budge when I asked them to get up. I headed out to work first, to pick up schedules. What a time for those to be due. Oh well. Then I headed to Bed Bath & Beyond at Crossroads. That wasn't too bad, but I think it was because I was there early. Bought way too much and then headed home. Stopped by Target, picked up more stuff, then home. Girls were still in bed, so I got them up. Since I knew it was going to be more than 5 minutes, I quickly made some Pumpkin Bread and Cinnamon Struesel. By the time they were done, the girls were ready. We packed up goodies and headed out.

We had gift cards to pick up, lunch somewhere, headed to Harnett County to drop off suprise goodies. I hope they like them. We were trying to get all the running done before Mom got here.

I think I have gone more in and out of my house today than I have in 6 months. Everytime I would get home, I would think of something else. Mom got here around 1300 as we were pulling in the driveway. We continued running errands and then finally around 1630 we were officially DONE!

I probably didn't need anything I bought today, but it was fun going out anyway. Just seemed like yesterday Diane and I headed out at 0300 for Black Friday shopping! And in one day its all over.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and if anyone sees Santa tonight, let me know!

Anyone up for Round 2?

Dad had his 6 month follow-up CT done 2 weeks ago. It was questionable, due to 3-10cm spots showing up on his liver. Not good! He had a PET scan done on Tuesday morning and met back with the Surgeon Wednesday morning. If there was good news, I guess we got it. The cancer wasn't showing up in any other organ.

He had his port placed (again) today. He starts his chemo on Monday. Every Monday and Wednesday for awhile. Follow up with an Ablation Surgeon soon.

This chemo will be much different than before. Much more intense. Not good. Dad hated the 6 months of chemo he went through but I thought, for a chemo patient, he got through it pretty good. This Im sure is going to take its toll. He will probably have more bad days than good. He is strong and my Dad, so hopefully, with many prayers, he will make it through.

Cancer is such a horrible thing. No matter what type it is. It affects the best of people and takes lives every day. I hate it. You would think that with all the technology, science, research, etc. that someone would find out what could be cancer, of all types. Look at how many people cancer affects. Too many!

2010 Rex Holiday Party

So finally after 9 months of planning, it was time to relax! The girls and I checked in and ordered dinner. Even though they weren't going to the party, they love staying in hotels. I thought about asking Chris to come with me. We seem to be talking and texting, but then I always talk myself out of it. But it would be nice if he was here. Rafel and I met with the Planner, touched base on everything, picked up drink tickets and then we were good to go.

We had almost severyone who had signed up to go actually show up. Not too bad, considering what we went through in order to pull everything off. Food was good, room was great, music was good. Photographer didn't show up (put the wrong date in his calendar) but it was good!

Some of my favorite peeps! Jane and Jessica! Everyone seems to clean up well! We don't see anyone is clothes very often, not to mention actually showered and clothed!

Linda actually showed up! Not sure how long she stayed, but in all the years Ive been there, this is the 1st!

Hard to believe I went to school with Kenny in Charleston. Arun, on the other hand, love him! For some reason, if you are a MD and your last name begins with a M, then we will definately hire you!

Of course, this was before any drinks were consumed! ha ha. They didn't even plan this picture, either!

Renee and I are so alike in so many ways. Sometimes, thats not such a good thing. But we have grown as friends and had a very enjoyable evening!

Then on the other side of me was Elaine.....Of course I had to be the 'funny' one. Elaine is too serious! She does actually laugh, but Im too into fun all the time!

Now every year, Jonathan is always fun to watch on the dance floor. He is very entertaining. Lots of energy is expelled!

I think thats why he stays so trim. I told him he needs to use some of those moves at work!

And then my sister! At least everyone thinks we are. Lori and I don't work together too often, but its always good to see anyone OUTSIDE of work! Despite her trying to hook me up with a friend, I always have Chris in the back of my mind.

Then there is Tres!

All in all, it was a great evening. Everyone seemed to have a great time and we had a great turnout. I was so tired by the time everything was done! I was glad I only had to take an elevator ride up 7 floors! A few short months and we will be planning for the 2011 End of Year Party! Maybe I can get Chris to come then!~ Keep your fingers crossed!

Self portraits....Lauren French style

In todays day and age, the self-portrait is the way to go. I found these when uploading pics off Lauren's camera. They are so cute and she is growing up so fast. 7th grade! And doesn't look like my little girl any more.

I think sometimes she looks more like me than Allison, especially when she was younger. Im not sure anymore.....

Snow? In Raleigh?

Believe it or not, we got snow. I was actually sitting in the Lowes parking lot and looked up and had to do a double take....it was snowing! We hardly ever get snow. Mostly bad ice storms, but snow, never! That is one thing I miss about West Virginia.....big, fluffy snow and lots of it!

Although we didn't get enough to get out snow shovels, it did cover the ground, lightly. But it was nice to see!

Thats definately not dandruff in Laurens hair!~ Its SNOW! Isn't it amazing how North Carolinians act with a few flakes?

We had ran some errands and got back to this! We were sooooo excited! I know...not alot...but for us its AWESOME!

I made some footprints on the deck! It barely covered the deck...but if I could make footprints, it was good enough for me!

It was beautiful! It didn't last long but we didn't care. Something that the girls will never understand. That is definately something that I miss. Last year when I went to West Virgina, it was the perfect weekend. Big snow flakes all weekend. Snow everywhere. I truely miss that!

Pop N Son (theres no where else to buy a tree)

Every year we always head to Pop N Son Christmas Tree Farm to find that 'perfect' tree. Its something we always look forward to. This year we went the week after Thanksgiving. It was cold outside and when we got there, there weren't too many people, it was great. Its amazing coming year after year as they have changed so much. They now have a paved driveway that has a parking lot and a seperate barn. They have acres and acres of trees. All in different stages of growth, of course. They used to have an area where they had about 20-30 trees set up that were already cut, then they would show you the area where the trees that were 'ready' were.

We always take our time. Not too short, not too skinny, it has to be 'perfect'. Lauren loves going up and down and looking to help find our tree.

The taller trees are usually leaning on stands in one location. I picked this one up and had the girls look at it to make sure it looked good. No open spots. It definately was the one!

Its amazing how many people get excited over putting a cut, live tree in their house. I absolutely LOVE it. Thats why it has to be the 'right' one. Luckily, this year, I didn't have to fight anyone over the tree we picked!

This year our tree was too big to go through the netter. Not sure if its called a netter but you shove the tree through and it puts a net over the entire tree. It makes the tree easier to move, but not this year!

The guys ask who was getting the tree off the car. After I said 'we were'. He laughed and said "Can you take a video and put it on YouTube when you're done?", I said 'sure'. ha ha ha...

I was ready to get back in the car. It was cooooold outside! We headed home and actually pulled around back. I thought if we had a shorter distance to carry the tree the better off we were. After all, it was just Allison, Lauren and me...and someone had to take pictures, right?

Allison got the ties off the tree so we could 'roll' it off the roof of the car. Then the fun began. It was a little heavier than I thought. But we were all laughing trying to figure out how to get it up the stairs on the deck while someone took video and pictures.

But after many deep breaths and pulling together, we did it! Got it up onto the deck AND into the tree stand! Yeah us! I love it when we work together! It would have been better had Chris been here. Sometimes I really wish I wasn't so hard on everything. How do you just open up and say how you feel? Maybe by the time Im 30 Ill know.