First Christmas Event

Goodness! I can't believe how fast time is flying! We went to the county Christmas tree lighting last night. Mollie's Daisy troop led the audience in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. They did a great job and Mollie had a blast! We ran into some friends we hadn't seen in a long time (Hi Doris! Hi Amy!) and with all the Daisies and their families and Hannah and her mom, we had a nice time despite the chilly weather.

Mollie also went to a friend's birthday party earlier in the day. It was a princess tea party- right up her alley! It is fun to see her personality emerge. She is definitely one of the more quiet kids and is very sensitive to people's feelings. She doesn't like to see people be excluded or hurt. I can't help but think that her own experience with cancer has turned her into an even more caring person.

Today our whole family participated in a 5K to raise money for Wagon of Wishes- a campaign to purchase red wagons and toys for MCG Children's Medical Center. The organization sponsoring the wagon purchase was started by friends of ours; their son is a 5 year leukemia survivor. And the run was organized by another friend. It was a small group of people, but it was a lot of fun and they raised $500- enough to purchase 7 or 8 wagons for the hospital!

Well...

I was planning to post that Mollie has been healthy lately and then she woke up this morning throwing up. She seems fine now, so I think this is probably a chemo side effect. This week has been really busy so far and I don't think she has gotten enough rest, so I'm hoping she'll rest up today and be feeling better by tomorrow. Getting her to lay down and nap/rest is no easy feat though- she wants to be up doing something!

Thankful

I hope everyone has a peaceful and enjoyable Thanksgiving. I am glad we had no internet access at the beach! We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Edisto Island. Just our family and Matt's brother and sister-in-law. It was quiet, relaxing, scenic. Lucy and Mollie had a great time shell-seeking, running around the huge beach house, and especially visiting with uncle Sam and auntie Liv.

I am just so thankful for an uninterrupted family vacation, with all the kids (including baby #3) feeling good. Mollie and Lucy both seemed to grow a lot in the last few days. Lucy is talking even more (and with better pronunciation) and Mollie is being very motherly (even changing Lucy's diaper by herself!) and more cooperative about food.

Mollie is so excited for Christmas. She wrote a letter to Santa Claus last night (and included Lucy's wish list too). So many houses in our neighborhood are already decorated. I take a more gradual approach, but I guess it is time to start putting up some decorations and baking Christmas cookies. Our family is running/walking a 5K this weekend to raise money to buy red wagons for the Children's Medical Center- maybe we will all wear our Santa hats.

On the medical front, Mollie seems to be tolerating the 100% chemo dose (although, only the counts will tell) and is scheduled for her monthly IV chemo next week. Her energy level is pretty good, but she is really fretting about her hair. She wore a scarf to school today and that seemed to go over pretty well. I borrowed the "Why, Charlie Brown, Why" video from the clinic and she has a book about a little girl with cancer that she wants to share with her class, so I will try to arrange that for later this week. Simple answers are good for kids, so we don't want to overdo it, but Mollie seems like she really wants everyone to understand her situation. It's a fine line.