G Family Christmas 2012

We celebrated Christmas a couple weeks early with Kyle's family since Rachel is due mid January and couldn't travel home for Christmas.  We all arrived at Kerry & Brad's house Friday afternoon, had a wonderful meal and enjoyed family time outside until the kiddos had to turn in.

Ky and Don:

Gunney & Em:

Kerry & Caleb: (AND they just found out their baby on the way is a GIRL! WAHOO!)

The ladies all in matching black and red:

The cuzzies:

Reading time with Grammy and Poppa!  Can't believe next year there will be 5 grandchildren on their laps!

Ring around the Rosie... a favorite by all of them!

And a surprise little shower for Rachel & Mike for their baby girl on the way, Bayly!

The next morning we all woke up to delicious food made by Don and Brenda, and enjoyed a fun Christmas morning opening presents and spending time together before we all headed out that afternoon.

A special gift to Don and Brenda from Rach & Mike.  A blanket that has our family picture on it!

Footballs and bikes, what else do boys need?

Don's reaction from the Go Jump in the Lake sign that Kyle and I gave him for their lake house!

The Family Birthday sign that we made for Brenda!

An awesome frame that Rach & Mike made for every family:

A wonderful Christmas with our family!

Downtown Huntersville Christmas

When my mom was still in town helping us after my RAI therapy, we ventured out to our first festival that downtown Huntersville hosted.  It was really fun, and a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit.  Children's choirs performances, free pony rides, blow up houses, live nativity performance, sledding, carousel rides, yummy food, and hay rides... they had it all! 

Thank you again so much mom for your help that week!

Baking Christmas cookies with the girls!

I was so excited to be a part of Molly & Jen's Christmas cookie baking night this year, now that I finally live in the same city! Thank y'all for delaying it till I was done with RAI, I really had the best time!
By the end of the night, we had SO many different kinds of cookies, all of which were absolutely delicious.  Luckily, we headed to Raleigh the next day to celebrate Christmas with our families, so Kyle and I only got away with eating a few!

I also got the awesome news about my negative scan results on the way over to Molly & Marshal's house, so being the thoughtful friends that they are we immediately popped some champagne and had a toast for a cancer free 2013! Thank you for being so excited for me!!

The next day Jen was actually moving to Florida, what a bummer!  Hopefully we can all reunite next year for it, so much fun!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  I wanted to share both of the cards that we sent out to our close friends and family this year (decided to mix and match!).  May your day be filled with absolute joy, focusing on the celebration of Christ's birth!

Panthers vs. Falcons Game!

My first outing being out of quarantine was going to a Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons game  (pretty fitting for us, huh?) with Kyle!  He was given free tickets by a friend at work, and we had the best time enjoying my first NFL game together.

We ran into a couple friends from ASU while there, including 2 guys from the hockey team that were literally sitting right in front of us... what are the chances!?

A fun day date with my hubby in the city!  Thank you again Mom for watching Emery so this was possible!

Officially Cancer Free!

I am so excited to finally say that I have no more thyroid cancer cells in my body!  To have this whole process behind me is such a blessing, and I can't thank y'all enough for your prayers and support over the last few months.

The week prior to the therapy I had to go on a low iodine diet.  It really does not sound like a bad thing, but oh my gosh it was no fun.  December 3rd & 4th (Mon & Tues) I went into my doctor for the Thyrogen Shots.  I opted to take these shots instead of go off my Synthroid for 4 weeks... take my word for it, it would be miserable without my medicine.  The only side effect I had from these shots was nausea, but luckily it only got really bad at night so I would just head to bed when that started.

December 5th (Wed) I headed to the hospital for the RAI therapy to begin.  Kyle and I woke up to this sunrise and knew it was going to be a great day!

After testing negative for a quick pregnancy test, I then waited for the nuclear medicine team to come in and administer the radioactive iodine pill.  I was all ready!

They went over all the quarantine instructions and pill side effects, and then handed me this card which I have to carry around in my purse for the next 3 months.  My body can actually set off alarms in arenas, airports, and other public places... crazy!  This card shows them I am not a terrorist but just went through an RAI therapy.

Before long, the team brought in the pill with "the wagon" as they called it.  I couldn't believe it when this rounded the corner!!

Inside "the wagon" was layers upon layers of canisters, where eventually my pill was.  It was a small pill about the size of my pinky finger nail.  After swallowing the pill, the team scanned my stomach to make sure it was actually there and then left me with "Okay you are officially radioactive"!

I drove myself home, then went into immediate quarantine in our room.  I needed to stay at a distance of 6 feet from everyone, but unfortunately Emery would not understand seeing me and not being able to be in my arms.  So, we decided that it would be easiest for me to just stay away for Emery for the 4 days.  I had no idea how hard that would be to not see my girl for 4 DAYS!!

Thankfully, Kyle took care of Emery all day Wednesday and then Mom did the rest of the week.  My dad even stayed a little while on Thursday so Emery got to see "Ga-pa" too!  Emery had so much fun with them, she really loves her Grandma time! I did sneak a peak at them going on a walk one day from our front balcony!

My body handled the pill great, with barely any side effects.  I wanted to take advantage of the time I had to myself, since it does not happen often these days!  First on the list was to catch up on blogging... I successfully wrote blogs to post every day from Dec 4 through Dec 20th!

I also got all of our Christmas Cards done, medical bills organized (& some paid), and started on some DIY Christmas presents.  I can't wait to show you some of the projects I made (check back next week!), and I owe it all to my sister for letting me borrow her brand new silhouette machine!

My dad actually came back in town Friday night through Saturday afternoon, and by that point I was able to come out of my room (just not hold Emery) so here is a quick picture I snapped of my loves squished on one couch while I took up the other :)

Watching Em play hide and go seek with "Ga-pa":

Just chilling:

The following Wednesday, I headed back to the hospital for a whole body scan to check for any remaining thyroid cancer cells.  This is the test that really would tell whether I would have to do another round of RAI or not, so needless to say I was on pins and needles waiting for those results.  Thursday night, my doctor called saying that all of the tests came back NEGATIVE for my thyroid cancer spreading, and that I am good to go!! Praise the Lord!

We are still trying to get my dosage right, so I'll have blood work done every couple months to check that and my tumor marker number but I'll take it.  Thank you again Mom for coming to our rescue and taking care of Emery while I focused on myself.  And thank you to everyone who was praying for these results, as they are definitely something to celebrate!

Feeling overwhelmingly blessed.

With Christmas drawing near, we are absolutely loving teaching Emery new songs, reading new books, and picking out gifts to go underneath our tree for her... all while starting new traditions together.  This past month has been so much fun for our family, with a new joy in the air that can only be explained from "the magic of Christmas".  I cannot imagine that happiness being stripped away from us in a matter of minutes.  I cannot imagine sending my little girl off to school, where I'm sure she'll be safe, and then her never coming home.  We've been praying for the students families and friends since the tragedy happened last Friday in Connecticut... just absolutely breaks my heart.

Yesterday, I learned that Lily Anderson passed away.  I have had the privilege of doing all the design work for Lily's Run for the past 4 years.  I never got to meet Lily in person, but her family is more than inspiring with what they've done to raise awareness and money to help fight cancer in young children (Lily was 8).  Please keep her family in your prayers.

Needless to say I've been holding Emery just a little tighter the past week, letting her eat cookies every now and then, and trying to be grateful when she's shy and only wants her momma.  I'm so thankful we have something to look forward to after this short life, knowing we'll see our loved ones again someday.

Thank you Emery for your contagious laugh and how much you've cheered me up the past couple days!

Bike rides in December!

Even though this weather does NOT feel like Christmas weather, we've been enjoying it and been spending a lot of time outside.  Nothing like bike rides in the middle of December!

Emery now immediately says "Weeeeee" as soon as Kyle goes down hills... so funny!

Cheesy Jalapeño Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken

Here is another weight watchers recipe that we've tried lately and it was really good!  We paired the chicken with some fiesta lime rice, so I'll write out both recipes for y'all in case you want to try them as well!
 
Cheesy Jalapeño Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken  

Ingredients:

• 2 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 jalapeños, chopped (remove seeds for milder)
• 3 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar jack (Sargento)
• 2 tbsp chopped scallions
• 8 thin sliced skinless chicken breast cutlets, 3 oz each
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 juicy limes, juice of
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and fresh pepper
• olive oil non-stick spray
  

Directions:
Wash and dry chicken cutlets, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

Combine cream cheese, cheddar, scallions, jalapeño and bacon crumbles in a medium bowl. Lay chicken cutlets on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one, secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent the cheese from oozing out.

Place breadcrumbs in a bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Dip chicken in lime-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down on a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray. Bake 22-25 minutes, serve immediately. 

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 stuffed breasts • Old Points: 9 pt • Points+: 9 pts
Calories: 371 • Fat: 17.5 g • Protein: 42.7 g • Carb: 11 g • Fiber: 1.5 g • Sugar: 0.6 g
Sodium: 355.8 mg (without salt)


Fiesta Lime Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice
• 3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and heated
• 3/4 cup cooked corn (I used Trader Joe's Fire Roasted frozen Corn), heated
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 large scallion, diced fine
• 2-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (to your liking)
• 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
• salt to taste
  

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine hot rice, heated corn, heated beans, tomato, scallion, cilantro, lime juice and salt if needed. Toss and serve.

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 2 pt • Points+: 4 pt
Calories: 152.8 • Fat: 0.8 g • Protein: 5.7 g • Carb: 33.7 g • Fiber: 4 g • Sugar: 1.7

 
 

Sara Visits!

Sara came in town to visit us a couple weeks ago, and we had such a fun day showing her around our neighborhood and just having a relaxed day at home.  Emery warmed up to her in no time and of course had to show off all her beads and bells!

Sara also graciously took pictures of our family while she was here too!  We used one for our Christmas card but I wanted to share some of the other ones she got.  Thank you SO much again Sara for doing this for us, we love them all!

Loved our time with you, Sara, and hopefully we can do it again soon!