I hope everyone had a very happy New Years! Here's hoping 2013 brings a year full of health, happiness and peace to us all. Our New Years was bittersweet. Matt and I managed to make it back from our holiday travels in time for treatment #10, unfortunately my white blood count didn't want to cooperate and was a tad low, so treatment was delayed until next week. :( Similar to the last delay I had, I was pretty bummed out, but in all honesty it was most likely a blessing in disguise because between getting in so late Sunday night and all the traveling we did leading up to Monday, I was exhausted, so I can only imagine how tired I would have been had we done the treatment. So we are spending this week seeing how much my body will raise the white blood count on it's own, and we will try again for treatment #10 next Monday. Any thoughts and prayers you can send our way would be greatly appreciated! That was our negative side of the holiday, but on a positive note, my cousin Katrina and her boyfriend came down for a surprise visit. That was awesome news!! :) I love that girly, and her visit was long overdue...hadn't had a chance to catch up with her in person since June, and since that was in the hospital and I don't remember most conversations, it doesn't count. lol. On top of that, we all went over to Lisa's and spent the night eating lots of yummy food and hanging out with most of the Kelly crew! :)
Before I get into the rambling about the events of our Christmas travels, I need to take a minute to dote on my loving husband for a minute. As I mentioned earlier, this was the first Christmas Matt and I have spent together and we were both looking forward to it quite a bit. A few days before we left for our travels, Matt surprised me with having my favorite flower, lilies, delivered to the house! :) I don't care how old you are, or how much you want to "claim" to not like flowers...getting a surprise flower delivery puts a smile on anyone's face! He also surprised me with a beautiful bracelet for a Christmas present..all the while putting up with my frantic, crazy, tactics I had while rushing all around the past week or so. lol .. It truly still amazes me that I am lucky enough to be married to such a thoughtful, patient, and understanding man. I can't say enough about how much his love and support helps me.
So there's quite a bit to update about our holiday travels...I will try not to make it too confusing, but no promises. haha. We made it to Pennsylvania without running into any snow storms, and fortunately for me, I was able to see quite a few people in just a few short days! I made a stop down at Hello Beautiful, where the amazing ladies took the day to pamper me..I got a kick ass pedicure and a new hair do finally! Matt and I were able to meet up with Brandy Raubenstrach, her adorable girls, and a surprise visit from her mom,. Moe as well!! Nothing like a day of pedicures and Godfather sandwhich from Aiello's to make a girl feel good. :) We stopped over to catch up with our friends at Fox Township, and were lucky enough to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa and good Christmas stories with our first grade friends over there. (Awesome to see everyone, but really made me remember how much I miss teaching/being in the schools. :(...I'm determined to make it back someday.) Finally, Katie Burkhouse, Brittany Roof, and Cyndi Burkett all took time out of their day to stop by for a visit. It was great just to spend a few hours chatting and catching up with them! I'm pretty sure this was the first time I was able to see friends AND family white I was home, and it was so nice. Thank you all!
Aside from all those visits, we were also blessed to spend some quality time with our families. We had a wonderful Christmas at both my mom's and my dad's, spending lots of time catching up with my brothers and their families, as well as many cousins and my aunt and uncle (also a long overdue visit!)...all the while, surviving the snow that decided to come while we were there. It was so much fun seeing the little ones really enjoying Christmas this year!
Next we made our trip out to Indiana. A whole other bunch of good times! I'd say this visit was the most overdue. It really had been quite awhile since we were in Indiana, and we were both happy to be able to make it out there to see everyone. We were able to spend time catching up with Matt's parents, his brothers and their families, cousins, aunts and uncles. I even had the chance to meet one of his aunts I hadn't met yet! We both enjoyed playing with our niece and nephew out there that are growing up way too fast!! Matt and his brothers enjoyed a night at the IU basketball game and had a blast, while us girls went to get our nails done. (I know....not my favorite sport by any means, but it made him happy so that's what matters...BTW- I also want to note I was able to keep my mouth shut for over a month and keep this a surprise..that's a huge feat for me. lol) ..He also managed to hurt his ankle while playing basketball with his brother *turns out he can't keep up with the young bucks quite as well as he thought..haha*. I'm attaching a picture of the phenomenal cake that Matt's cousins Mallery and Macy let me help them with. These girls are seriously like the next up and coming cake bosses! They made a 4 layer cake for our Christmas dinner, and included all the bells and whistles you could imagine. The cake was delicious, but I think the process of making it was the most fun! :)
Although the holidays can be hectic, it really is truly worth it all when everyone is able to take time to slow down and really enjoy all the wonderful people we have in our lives, and enjoy how blessed we all are. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!
Aside from all the Christmas happenings, we were also able to work on and iron out some details for our upcoming fundraiser. After devoting much of their time and effort to this, my dad and brothers have created a fundraiser event that will take place in March. If any of you are interested, I am going to list some basic information about the event, as well as attaching a picture of the tickets we will be using. If you have any additional questions, or would like to help in anyway, please feel free to contact me, my dad, or my brother Jamie. Before I get any further, I also want to thank everyone who has already helped with this; South Street Botanical Designs, River Valley Surplus, Hello Beautiful, Paint My World, Gene Boni with Appalachian Arts, and all of you that are already helping us by selling tickets on our behalf.
So here's the basic info in a nutshell. We are having a raffle fundraiser, as well as giving away some door prizes on March 31st, at the Summit Motel. Tickets are being sold for $10/ea, and you have the chance to win some really amazing prizes. If you live out of town, or will not be able to attend that day, do not worry. Prizes won will be able to be shipped. I think that covers almost everything, but as I mentioned earlier, feel free to ask if you have any questions!
As always, thank you all for your love and support! Hope you all are doing well, and we are wishing you all a very happy and blessed New Year!
