The dreaded "c" word...thankfully just a scare (don't look if you have a weak stomach)

So Chris decided he was due for a physical and went in mid-January to get all checked out. He had a spot on his back that he wanted to ask the doc about and the doc agreed it was suspect and referred him to a dermatologist. The dermatologist took a look and said "it's NOT melanoma, but let's check it out anyway." We got the call about a day later that it was "Stage zero melanoma". We praise God that Chris noticed this spot and got it removed while it was stage zero. The doctor even said that if Chris had waited a few months, they'd be having a much different conversation. The pathology report shows they got it all. But being faced with something like this is just so scary. Just reminds us how fragile life can be. I have really gone back and forth about posting a pic, but this is our reality so I will.

High school reunion

January 9, 2010 we had an unofficial high school reunion. With both of us having gone to Nolan and graduated the same year, we have a lot of common friends, many of whom we are still in pretty close contact with, including Terry (Mendiola) Hammond, who is primarily responsible for Chris and me even being together! Of course with Facebook around, we are now in contact with even more people that we would not have been otherwise. So we all got together at Duke's in Bedford. There were people there from class of '91 all the way to '96. It was a really special evening for old friends to reunite and even new friendships to grow! I am so thankful for our school and its network. Though we won't send the kids there, I treasure my memories from there and hope something equally great for Charis and Price's high school experience!

School Days

So we made the (difficult) decision to put the kids in school this Spring. Two days a week from 9-2 in a Spanish immersion program. This decision was actually much harder for Mommy than it was for Daddy. I literally could not make the call so Chris did the enrollment, payment etc, all tasks that would usually fall on me! But here we are 7 weeks in and I can finally say it's a good decision. The first 3 weeks or so were just brutal. Charis would cry and cry. One morning I stood around the corner, out of eye-shot, and listened as she cried for a solid 30 minutes! Thinking all the while, "this is so not worth it". I mean it would be nice if they pick up some Spanish, but not worth damaging her psyche. But now life is good. I no longer have to chase her to get her to put on her school shirt. She, unprovoked, says "We are going to school today!", before she would just say "No, I don't wanna go to school."

The school made the excellent decision to make Charis the "Estudiante de la semana" a few weeks ago, which involved us making a big poster for her with pictures of things she loved on it. This seemed to be the turning point. Since then, things have been good. And they do seem to be picking up some Spanish. My mom says "Carly, they just walk along saying words that I cannot understand." She then demonstrated how she tries to repeat the words back to them, not sure if that's helpful! Gotta love the effort though :-) We are excited to have found this school and think it is going to be an exciting time for them!