Santa

The Moapa Valley Revitalization Project put out 100 luminaries along the BLVD, had hot chocolate and cookies, and Santa was even there. 
We decided to walk down and check it out. The girls were pretty nervous when they seen Santa. 
Alaynna was first and after she was done she said she was shaking cause she was so nervous and excited! She asked for frozen stuff! 
Addison was next and she didn't have alot to say and wasn't to sure about the whole thing. 
She asked for cowgirl stuff! 
Grace did not want to sit on his lap, but we made her, cause that's what good parents do! She asked for "I guess an American girl doll". After we were done talking to Santa a lady from the paper came and said she took a picture of Grace and asked if she could put it in the paper. Both Kyle and I said yes, hopefully they really put it in so we can tease her!!! 

Reindeer Run!

Grace has been SOOOOOO excited for the reindeer run this year. She would come home and tell me she just knew she was going to get 3rd place and she couldn't be happier about it.

I rode up to watch her, it was freezing.
I didn't see her till it was her turn to  race. She was in the lead the whole time and I loved watching her run.
When it was all over I walked across the field to see her and when she seen me she came running and was so happy!
She was crying and said "Did you see I won, I won!!??"
She thought I had left and didnt see her win so when she realized I was there she was really happy.

She wore her shirt all weekend and she called herself champion all day, I think she was pretty happy about the whole thing!

Addison and Alaynna's Christmas program

This year the twins had a little Christmas program where they sang cute songs and Alaynna read her Santa letter!
Kyle couldn't make it, but I did pull Grace out to come and watch!
They did SO good, Addison sang loud enough I could hear her and Alaynna did the best "mean" face ever when they sang "going to find out who's naughty or nice"!
We LOVE Mrs. Hammons and she does a great job with the girls!

Here is all the songs they did! 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtO08Hdr0-XpZAZZbayP8JA/videos

Tis the season

We have been busy here this month getting into the Christmas spirit!
I have really been trying to do more activities this year, I only got a few gifts to put in our advent box and the rest we have been doing fun activities, and the girls have loved it!
We have....
hung Christmas lights
color1ed Christmas pictures
wrapped presents
painted fingernails
made a Christmas craft
made snowflakes
Christmas dance party
snowman spa night
went and looked at Christmas lights

The girls just bounce off the walls and are SO excited for Christmas.
This year Alaynna wants a frozen dress and high heels,
Addison wants cowgirl stuff, a hat and lasso, and
Grace would maybe like some battery's for all her toys she already has, but after a few weeks of thinking she would kinda like an American girl doll so she could dress her cute and do her hair.

They are at very fun ages this year. Grace is still really excited, but acts "cool" and pretends like she isn't all in to it. I have really tried to enjoy this year with the kids and not stress out, (I have stressed out, but not as bad as normal).
We all cant wait for Christmas to get here (and to be over).
A small house and Christmas decorations don't mix well!! 

For the last few years, a little elf named Ren shows up at our house at the beginning of December.
The girls LOVE him. They wake up and run around looking to see where he hides and if hes done anything fun. (He doesn't do anything big and doesn't do to many funny things).
I also love him, I love that they girls still believe in magic, I want them to stay little for as long as I can.
I dont think Ren takes anything away from the Christmas spirit at the house.
We still sing silent night, away in a manger, oh come all ye faithful.
We talk about how Christmas is Jesus's birthday and what he did for us.
Grace and I have been reading a little from the bible at nights. 

When I think back to Christmases growing up I think of the "reindeer" that was in our garage, Jerrica always hearing bells, making cookies for Santa, sneaking out Christmas eve and holding our presents by the heater trying to guess what they were, The elementary school program, and midnight mass (that was rarely at midnight) on Christmas eve. We had Santa and all that magic right there along with Jesus, I always knew that Christmas was because of Jesus.
So we have an elf, the girls love him, and we have Jesus and know the true meaning of Christmas,
just FYI!! 

Thanksgiving

We had another great Thanksgiving this year.
The girls were really excited, they loved thanksgiving last year so they wanted to do everything the same! I did most of the work on Tuesday and Wednesday so all I had to do on thanksgiving was the turkey, ham, and set it all out.
We ate our veggys, deviled eggs, crackers, and cranberry drink all morning so when lunch/dinner came we weren't all that hungry, but we ate more anyways!
Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Penn stopped in before they went down to great grandma and grandpa Leavitts and after we had our dinner and played a soccer game we rode down to great grandma and grandpa Leavitts to see everyone that made it this year.

A few things I am thankful for this year are...
* My 3 smart, beautiful, spunky children, who keep me busy.
* Kyle, who takes care of me, the house, the kids. He is my best friend!
* Our cute little home.
* Our chickens.
* Josie
* Good health, for the most part!
* Kyles job, hes lucky enough to like his job and the people he works with.
* Good friends, who listen to me cry and bring me soup and other good things!
* All of the Grandparents in our life.
* Our parents and all of our sisters and brothers and nieces and nephews.
* The good teachers that have been in the girls lives, I am not patient enough to teach them so I am glad that someone else is!
* Moapa Valley. If you would have asked me a few years ago I might not have felt like this, but this valley is home and I couldn't imagine living somewhere else!

cancer sucks....

Last time I wrote anything cancer related, I was waiting to get a MRI done.
I drove into Vegas, clear down in the ghetto, paid $170 and waited an hour before going back. I had to fill out paper work and it asked if I had breast expanders in, I checked yes.
The nurse reads over my papers, not well, and says "breast implants."
I say,"What?"
"You have breast implants, not expander."
"Ummmmmm........ No. I have breast expanders."
"No, you have to have had a mastectomy to have breast expanders put in."
"Yes, I know, I have had a double mastectomy"
"No, you would have had to have had breast cancer to have had a mastectomy."
"I have had breast cancer. I've had a double mastectomy, and chemo, and radiation, all for breast cancer, and I do have breast expanders in, read my paper work."
As she looks it over, "Well I cant do a MRI if you have expander in." 

I about killed somebody, but I kept my cool, got a refund and got the hell out of there!
Also before that, I went and got measured for a compression arm band. The girl has my drivers license and is taking some information down, when she says "Why would you cut your pretty long hair off?" I about killed her. I said "well I've had cancer, so it wasn't really a choice."
I wish I would have added, "and thanks for adding to my insecurities about my short hair. "
but I didn't, cause I don't like unnecessary conflict. 

I deal with some of the stupidest people.

The next week I went in for a CT scan and I got those results yesterday, the damn cyst is gone!
Which is a great thing!
This little scare aged Kyle and I at least 10 years. It brought back all those scary feelings and thoughts. 
Dr. Wu said he just got really nervous when he seen the ultrasound results and wanted to catch it as soon as he could, if it was cancer. I feel lucky that he is so observant, but man alive he freaks out about every little thing!
I still need to go in for an ultra sound at the end of the month, but I really don't know if I am going to, I am so so so so, over going to the doctor. Only a few more times at Dr. Annes and it really is going to slow down. I cant wait!


Cancer has changed the way I think about alot of things.

Something that has came up to much on facebook is the death with dignity.
Everyone has an opinion and I wish they would just keep those opinions to themselves. 
Honestly stop judging,
Have you walked a mile in their shoes?
No, you haven't.
Most of you people who have something to say about it have never been through chemo, surgery's, been told you have cancer or some other terminal disease, been told you have 6 months to live, or had to really consider death.
So please do us all a favor and stop judging, stop trying to convince everyone to see it from your prospective, live your life and let everyone else live their lives.

Another thing I cant handle, the negative people, or the people who are mean.
I honestly don't have the patience for it anymore, I cant even pretend to be nice or civil some days. If I don't speak to you, it is because I really truly believe that if you have nothing nice to say, shut the hell up.
So if you say something rude to me and I walk out of the room you are in, thank your lucky stars that I am not as tackless as you and practice the "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all" rule.

Along with that are the people who complain about there lives, or petty things,
all the freaking time.
If you don't like something in your life,
change it. 

I guess that is enough on my soap box, for now!!!