A Whirlwind of Santas!

I don't know if the past week and a half will ever be topped. Following United's Fantasy Flight we have been on a whirlwind of activities - all of which brought an abundance of presents. And the presents weren't just for Carson, either. Francesca made out like a bandit, too! And all of this has me wondering...will our kids ever learn the value of giving instead of receiving?

Christmas will never be the same.

A few days following the Fantasy Flight we attended a dinner extravaganza courtesy of Teardrops to Rainbows. Enter Santa and gifts. Two nights later we had the pleasure of attending Believe in Tomorrow's annual volunteer appreciation dinner in Ocean City, MD. Enter Santa and more gifts. Of course, being on the eastern shore, we had to stop off an Mancinis - where Carson unexpectedly received several more model cars for his collection!

Two days later, the 19th Hole Grille in Ocean City hosted several Believe in Tomorrow families for a breakfast with Santa...which, of course, included more gifts. And to top things off, a few days later Ipads4Cancer presented Francesca with new Vera Bradley bag and Coach purse...and Carson with a brand new Ipad! (Many thanks to BLR Holdings for working with Ipads4Cancer to make this special day possible!!)

In Medical News...

Carson's trip to the clinic on Friday was uneventful. His ANC was still higher than what the protocol desires, so his weekly chemo was upped slightly. (The daily chemo remains the same.)

In the past two days Jennifer has visited her GP, reconstruction surgeon, and physical therapist. The results from Monday's MRI are at the breast surgeon's office, but we haven't heard anything - which we are praying is a good thing. If the results of the MRI are okay, she'll proceed with surgery (mastectomy) on Wednesday morning (12/28).

"Thank You" is simply not adequate...

While our lives would certainly be a lot different without leukemia, breast cancer, and diabetes, we see ourselves just as normal everyday family going through life's challenges with God's help. In fact, we think we are a lot like everyone else. So, when others lift us up and shower us with kindness and mercy, it really catches us off guard. You'd think we'd be used to it by now, but we aren't. In fact, every time is like the first time, with all the emotions being stirred up anew.
The generosity of our friends and complete strangers continues to overwhelm us.

We consider each and every one of you a blessing to our family!!

Paul.