Christmas Day

When we decided to move across the country and experience different adventures than those we were used to, we were not specific enough to the angels what we were looking for!  Christmas Day has been amazing, quiet, painful, fun, inspiring and full of love.  Because we now have teenagers, and because Michellie takes after her Grandmother, Yvonne, she could not wait a moment past midnight to plead for mercy to open all the presents Kenzie had brought with him from our house.  As we opened gifts last year after Midnight Mass, they felt this year should be the same.  So, at 12:01 we were ripping open the parcels and celebrating great fun.  Thank you to everyone who sent such great creative ideas.  Kenzie surprised us with shopping on line and finding the most obscure - David got an SS Enterprise - Star Trek Pizza Cutter - for all of you who know David and his afternoon of Star Trek watching while working - this was perfect.  Michellie got battery operated candles that you can blow out and blow on - fabulous for power outages.  Michelle got an umbrella with tiny little lights all over it (Singing in the Rain comes to mind), and there is a flashlight in the handle so the path before can be lit.  Michellie went to bed tired, happy and with smiles.  She had a bit of a sore chest from all the giggling we did - that's a nice sore.

We awoke in the morning to go back to the hospital for the start of the hormone shots we will be administering to Michellie ourselves.  We were not on top of the nausea drugs, so she was not feeling well to start off with and Michelle was sporting a migraine.  By the time we got to the hospital, they hooked Michellie up to IV for some nausea control and some fluids, and then they helped us to learn how to do the shot.  David had the steady hand while Michellie burst into tears, but he was very cool and was a pro from the start.  Michellie spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping and trying to calm the sores she was feeling in her mouth and the pain growing in her jaws.  All of these pains are part of the side effects. 

We returned from the hospital in late afternoon, and the boys left to have dinner at the Krochko's while the girls settled down for naps.  David brought back dinner for us, and I have to say - fantastic.  That was definitely food for the soul, and the wine was sure a welcome too.  So, now Michellie has gained back some positive ground and the evening looks like some quiet tv time and some good chatting and sharing together.  Tomorrow we have to stop by the hospital to check in, but the next few days should continue to improve for Michellie.  We do hope she will feel well enough to do some visiting and get some fresh air.

This afternoon while Michellie slept, David and Michelle went to Ronald MacDonald House for a Christmas dinner.  It is on the 3rd floor, and when you open the door to this amazing space, you walk into  a large living room with a fire place, sky light, library, full kitchen and smiling volunteers.  We were treated like royalty and served a wonderful meal.  It is definitely a healing place where kids can be kids and parents can escape the realities of hospital life for a few precious moments.  Santa had left gifts under the tree for all ages, and the kids were very excited to see that he had even thought of them there.  We felt so honored to be able to see the magic of Ronald MacDonald house, as many of us just hear about it through the media.  We were grateful to the volunteers giving their time on Christmas day as well.

So, we found lots of magic today, many precious moments, and of course the incredible power of the love of family and friends.  We hope your day was as special as ours; and, as the left overs are served tomorrow, and the turkey soup is on the stove, we hope that you can continue to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas with your loved ones.

God Bless and Love to you all,

Michelle, David, Michellie and MacKenzie