Visiting Santa and Christmas

Well it came to December 23 and I hadn't gotten the two kids pictures with Santa. I frame the picture each year and pull them all out and put them on the mantel each December. Mackenzie was feeling better and I was, well not 100% but, I had a little more shopping to do and the kids were going to see Santa so we went to the mall. Steven was able to play at the playground in the mall which was great since it has been terribly cold with rain and sleet (no snow unfortunately).

Mackenzie wasn't so sure about Santa. She had recently woke up from a nap. She was a bit overwhelmed by all the kids in line, lights, and noise. She did look at the camera with a bit of a "deer in the headlights" look but, at least she wasn't crying. She did enjoy touching Santa's beard and soft suit after the picture. Here is this year's Santa picture:

Mackenzie has been sitting up pretty good now. We put the nursing pillow around her if we aren't right next to her because when she is done sitting up she just lets herself fall backwards.

It was painful, as you can see, for Steven to wait to open presents:

Mackenzie has been starting to give kisses. Of course they are open mouth ones that are pretty wet but, Grammy doesn't mind.

Finally, Christmas came and none of the adults felt too great. I had been feeling pretty lousy since returning from the mall. I am finally starting to feel a little better though I am still coughing up phlegm and blowing my nose a lot. The pictures are kind of skimpy since I was trying to take video too. We all got nice gifts. Here are a few pictures of some of Steven's gifts.

This was one from England Grammy and Papa:

Santa brought him a Spiderman costume:

Here is the Dale Earnhart costume Steven got from Jen, John, Justin, and Jacob. I told him to give me his best race car driver pose and here's what he gave me:

Uh, yeah...he looks more like a Miss America contestant or one of the gals handing out the trophy at the end of a race. Rob was a little worried espeically when he asked Rob that night to stop on ice skating while Rob was flipping channels. Steven's just quite a character. Of course this afternoon he tackled Rob with such force his stomach hurt for a bit.

Steven and I built this Blacksmith Shop with the Lincoln Logs that Auntie Diane and Uncle David got him.

Mom and Rob are still having some tummy aches and occasional body aches. Hopefully we will all be well soon.

Joan and Larry Come To Visit

After G.G. left I wasn't feeling so hot. When Joan (England Grammy) and Larry (Papa) came on the 18th I started to feel a little better. We had a great time. Larry cooked up his famous chili along with his biscuits and gravy. Both are my favorites. Mom had a great time hearing more stories about Rob as a kid and life in England. Joan and Larry also took Mom out to the casinos. They had a great time. It was rejuvenating for Mom who hasn't been out much without the kids.

Here's England Grammy getting snuggle time with Mackenzie:

Here's Papa kicking back with Mackenzie:

On Saturday, while they were here, our friends Eian, Chandelle, Colton, and River came over. Eian and Rob put in the ceiling fan with light in the livingroom. It was Rob and I's gift to each other and the family this Christmas. We've had only lamps in the livingroom with some on TV trays. With Mackenzie about ready to become mobile we needed to get rid of those loose cords and flimzy trays.

Here's the new light and fan:

Colton and Steven playing dress up. Uh, they were being pretty creative with the costumes, creating new characters.

River as Superman.

Here's Chandelle with Mackenzie:

It was fun having a full house and great to see Chandelle and her family. The boys are all getting so big.

On Sunday I didn't feel so hot again with lots of nasal congestion. Mackenzie also came down with a fever on Sunday afternoon of 103.2. Mackenzie had a fever that night also but by the end of Monday she was feeling better.

Next up, the kids visit Santa and Christmas.

Wow, It's Been A While

I can't believe it has been over 10 days since I last posted on the blog! Its been busy and a bit kooky with holiday preparations, visitors, and people getting sick. I'll have to catch up with a few posts. G.G. went home on the 16th. We all had a great time and I wish she could have stayed longer. Before G.G. left we did take a 4 generations of women picture.

On the 17th while wrapping packages I received a call from Dr. Park's office. I had to reschedule my surgery since Dr. Park was going to be out of town on the week of Jan 6th. My surgery instead will be on Jan 13th with pre-op on the 12th. My cousin Alicia and my Aunt Becky were going to come out for the surgery but the date change screwed everything up.

Next up, Joan and Larry come to visit along with our friends Eian, Chandelle, Colton, and River.

Busy, Busy, ...

I have been having a lot of fun since I got my hard neck collar. I can be up more and my neck does not get tired or sore very easily. The only problem is eating. It is kind of difficult to eat since the collar comes up and my chin rests in it. I put my soft collar on for eating.

On our way back from Palo Alto we went by my Aunt Diane's house and were able to enjoy her and my Uncle David's Annual Holiday Party. It was so much fun and you may have seen pictures already on her blog.

Here's a few of us already to party:

Mackenzie is becoming quite the poser:

A few days after we returned my Grammy (Steven's G.G.) flew in from Colorado. We are having such a great time. She dearly loves her first great-granddaughter Mackenzie:

I also just finished my home videos. "Steven's First Couple of Years" which was suppose to be released in June of this year but, well, you know the story. Since this DVD is done with my old camera and dubbing is very long it is on restricted release. Only three copies were made.

The second is the "First Annual Wall Family Christmas Video." Yes, I have officially started to continue what has been a family tradition in my family since the early 1990's.

Music dubbing is still difficult this year so I only did music for the intros on both of these. This year I want to get some editing software for the computer that will make background music easier and allow me to do more special effects.

Also December 6th was my parent's 39th wedding anniversary. I know it is tough for them being apart. I really saw how tough it was when Mom received the flowers below on their anniversary. My Dad, if I remember right, has never given my Mom flowers. Mom loves flowers but Dad has always said they were a waste of money. The card with the flowers was beautiful and Mom read it over and over again.

Neck Stabilization Surgery Date Set

My neck stabilization surgery date is set for January 6th. My pre-op will be on the 5th. Here are a few pictures I took at Stanford while I was down there.

Here is the duck pond I had heard so much about while I was in the hospital.

According to Dr. Brown Stanford has a mixed relationship with the ducks. Everyone enjoys them until there gets to be too many and the duckie doo-doo becomes a problem. So they occasionally float this crocodile head in there to discourage the ducks from hanging out. Well I got to see this crocodile head.

The ducks look really scared...Yeah right! Notice there is even a ramp for the ducks so they can get in and out easily.

From Stanford

Well today I met with Dr. Parks about the neck stabilization surgery. I really like him. He went over my films with me and explained to me why I need neck stablization. It actually isn't that my top two cervical vertebrae on the left are eroded away but, actually the base of my skull where the spine connects to the skull is gone from the tumor. He explained how my body is compensating right now by having my head "lean" supported on my strong side (right) but that causes my spine to bend to compensate to hold my head steady and upright. Over time if we don't do a stabilization there's this bone that will shift over and cause my spinal cord to be pinched. That would be bad. He also wants me to get a hard neck collar to wear when I am out of bed and moving around.

He anticipates the surgery taking about 5 hours. Usually it is about 3 hours but because I have a main artery out of its normal boney protective area from my tumor surgery he needs to be extra careful. The risks are stroke with the main artery should it get injured and tissue healing issues due to circulation issues. If I have tissue healing issues that would require plastic surgery. He does not anticipate either as problems but, they are the risks. They will actually take a piece of bone from my hip and put that in my head and then use a metal plate for the fusion with my top vertebrae. He cannot put any bone fusion medium in my head because I have had tumor growth near by. I guess the bone fusion medium promotes growth not just of the bone but can in tissue nearby and we certainly don't want to encourage the tumor to grow back. He anticipates my hospital stay to be 5 days. Then I will need to wear the hard neck collar for 1 month after surgery and then a soft collar for two months. He said after a month I will be able to lift Mackenzie. He said for the first month I can hold her but someone will need to hand her to me. He anticipates I will be able to return to work in March. Good news is that my neck will have more mobility then I have now.

I wasn't able to schedule surgery right after my appointment since I was already late for my appointment with Dr. Damrose about my voice. After talking with my Mom and Rob I am going to schedule the surgery just after the first of the year. Dr. Parks doesn't have anytime between Christmas and New Years and I am not up for having surgery before Christmas.

I went and met Dr. Damrose about getting my vocal cord "beefed up" on the left side temporarily and to discuss long term options. Supposedly the temporary collagen injection would hold up okay for surgery so I was going to do it today. I took one of my fast acting anxiety pills to cover myself just in case. They have to put this camera catheter thing in your nose so he can see to do the injection. We got the camera in but I couldn't handle it being in there long enough. They numb you but it was still way uncomfortable for me. I had my eyes closed and everything and did my best to suck it up and just do it. I started to get really hot and I could feel the shakes coming on. He was really sweet about it. Because of my neck they couldn't use the mouth camera because they have to tip your head way back. I was a bit disappointed I wasn't able to do it. He did give me some orders for voice therapy which he says will also help me out. I'll start tracking that down when I get home. The permanent fix which comes after my neck surgery is a little different. They sedate you quite a bit though you are awake. I should be able to do that. Oh well.

I better get back to the room. Mom is giving Steven a bath and Mackenzie is sleeping.

Deck the Halls! or Deck the Walls'!

I'll start first with this picture. I think Rob must have taken it in Grammy's room. Can you tell Steven and Mackenzie are brother and sister?


Yesterday we pulled out the old Christmas decoration boxes from the attic and had a decorating party.

Steven takes decorating the tree very seriously:

He lightens up a bit:

Me unwrapping ornaments for the tree:

Steven wanting to "hang" the ornament with Mrs. Claus on a Harley. Not this year. We lost Santa on his Harley last year along with several other motorcycle ornaments. Good save Grammy.

Rob's good friend Tom, from Washington, is visiting for a few days. Here's Steven with Uncle Tom:

Here's Tom's sweet doggie, Trixie. Having Trixie around reminds me of Scarlet. I sure miss having Scarlet.

Time for the final decoration, the angel:

Uh, how many guys does it take to get the angel on top of the tree?

It takes exactly 3 guys!

Medical Update

Wednesday we heard back from Misty, at Dr. Harsh's office, and I have an appointment with the Spine Surgeon, Dr. Parks on December 4th at 9 am and then an appointment with Dr. Harsh on Friday December 5th at 9 am. I will be getting information about the neck stabilization surgery during these visits. I am hoping to have the surgery just after Christmas but, before the end of the year so, I can take advantage of my deductible already being paid for the year on my insurance.

I think I will be ready physically at that time as well. I weighed myself last night and I gained 6 pounds over the last week. I now weigh 122 lbs. I'm going to keep pigging out so I can do that again this coming week too. I'll be back at 131 lbs. in no time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us!


Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have been feeling really good so I have been out galavanting around!

One of my first great adventures was having breakfast with Mom and Mackenzie at Deb's Grapevine Bistro, my favorite place to have breakfast and lunch in town.

Mom and I also went to the College on Tuesday to the Library Book Sale and by the Math Department. It was a lot of fun to surprise everyone and we had a good time. Then we went by Mervyns and did a bunch of Christmas shopping. I also found the perfect sheets for Steven's new "big boy" bed we picked up at Low's in town.

Here's Steven's "big boy" bed. It is a hide-a-bed chair. He thinks it is so cool to have a top secret warhawk bed. The bed was delivered yesterday and we set it all up and he slept in it in his room.

We set up the crib for Mackenzie in the room too. She's about outgrowing the cosleeper. We tried having her sleep in the room with him but she kept waking up so Mom had her finish the night in the cosleeper next to her.

Here's Mom enjoying the kids in the morning:

Here's Rob and Steven playing scuba divers:

Ann Marie brought by some toys her kids weren't into anymore. One was a baby dolly. Mackenzie loves her! She smiles at her and talks to her. She loves it when you make the dolly talk to her. We named her, Mini-Me. Can you see why?

Mackenzie has been watching and grabbing for our food for about a week. So the night before last we tried a little applesauce. She loved it!

We set up the Exersaucer for her too. She loves it!

Lots of Visitors

A little over a week ago Mom and I were getting ready for church when there was a knock at the door. It was my good friend, Chandelle. She use to be Steven's day care provider. She with her family bought a house that is no longer in our town so he had to stop going to her for day care. Steven still talks about her all the time. We were all tickled she stopped by to say hi.


Chandelle was so sweet and while I was still in the hospital she dropped off a gift certificate for my Mom to get a pedicure. She figured she could use a little pampering after weeks of taking care of both kids on her own.

Here's Chandelle, me, and my Mom.


After we got back from church we heard another knock at the door. It was one of my friends and colleagues Kevin and his son-in-law, Levi. They had dropped off some dinner for us earlier while Mom and I were at church. I didn't think I was going to get to see them but, they came back with a pie. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures I was thinking too much about dinner. It smelled sooo...good.

The next day our neighbors Rick and Joanne came by. Joanne made an apple pie. I had to take a picture of it because it was so beautiful and perfect you would think it was fake. Check it out:

On Wednesday, we had my friend Tamara and her little baby, Robbie, over for tea and girl time. Tamara also has a little boy, Drake, who is Steven's age. It was nice to have it just be us girls with the babies. That way it was easier to visit. We all had a great time!

Here's Tamara and Robbie:

Mackenzie and Robbie (Her future prom date and maybe more.)


Me, Tamara, Mackenzie, and Robbie:

My former neighbor, Leeann stopped by with goodies for everybody and her little dog, Annie.

My friend Lisa stopped by as well as my colleague and friend, Dave. I had a great time visiting with everyone.