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We wish everyone a Happy New Year. This past year was certainly better than last year in so many ways. We leave today going to Houston for a three month check-up. We are hoping we get to change to six month check-ups.

Last night, we went to Grammy and Granddaddy's for supper. We all then went to Winnsboro to River of Life to watch fireworks. They were pretty impressive, no Magic Kingdom, but impressive for Winnsboro. We parked out on some not so solid ground, but we were not the ones to get stuck. As we were waiting to leave, a man decided to go around in front of us and he got stuck. I was afraid he was going to slide into us. A guy came over and helped him and another guy push it out. I kept telling Grammy I could feel her vehicle sliding and sinking in the mud while we were watching the fireworks. She kept saying SHUT UP. Emma Grace was impressed for a while, but fell asleep before it was over. She hadn't had nap all day, so she was tired. She woke up when we got home, but was back asleep before the new year. I have been putting up her clothes she got for Christmas, and I honestly don't know where I am going to put it all. That girl has more clothes than Wes and I both do.

Well, it is getting late and we have a long day ahead of us, so I better go get some sleep.

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Christmas eve was spent at Grammy's with the Dooley clan. Tammy and Roy didn't get Abby until Christmas Day, so we did our family Christmas that night. We will need to add a new wing on the house to hold all the stuff Emma Grace got Christmas night. She got enough toys and clothes to last a long time. She has enough clothes to wear for two months and not wear the same outfit. She got tired of opening presents on Christmas morning that I had to finish opening them up so I could wash them. She got so tired Christmas night that she had to take a nap and then open presents. Auntie Kim came in on Sunday and stayed with us until Tuesday morning. On Monday morning, she woke up to MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA, and even changed a diaper. On Tuesday morning, Wes' alarm clock woke her up. He kept hitting the snooze button, but long after it had gone off for a while. Emma Grace and I slept right through it.

Wes has put up pictures from Christmas day, and he has changed the photo format. He went back to the old format, but changed it up a bit.

We go to Houston on Monday. He has PET and CT scans on Tuesday, and doctor's appointment on Thursday. Please pray that all scans are clear. The spot where his port was taken out is looking good. He said it is still a little sore.

Well, I better go and check on Emma Grace. She is watching Finding Nemo in her room, and she is being very quiet. She should be sleeping since it is almost midnight, but she will have no part of sleeping right now. I tried to get her to sleep earlier, so I am about to try again. Later….
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Merry Christmas to everyone….. We will update later on all the Christmas fun….

Wes was scheduled to have his port taken out at 9:30 yesterday morning. He had to be there at 7:30. We got there and at 7:30, and they took him back between 9:30 and 10. At 3:00, they finally took him in. Dr. Minor had some complications with a surgery and was running behind. We had some very interesting entertainment while waiting. The room he was in was the prep room and recovery room, so we got to hear all sorts of things. The lady next to us was also to have surgery with Dr. Minor, but she had to leave to go get chemo. She was entertainment for a while, and then a guy they were trying to wake-up was our other entertainment. If you know Dr. Minor or if you don't, he talks VERY LOUD, and the lady's daughter could talk just like him. We felt sorry for the lady, because she was very old or at least she looked it.

Back to the surgery, it didn't take very long once he got in there. He went in at 3, and they came and got us to talk to Dr. Minor at 3:50. He came in all jolly (considered the day he was having), and apologized for being so late. He said that he was operating on a 90 year old man who only wants to get up each morning and go check on his wife in the nursing home. The man was losing his legs and he was trying to save them so he could go see his wife. Dr. Minor said he had had a rough day and I told him while pointing to his shoes that I could certainly tell he had. His purple LSU crocs were covered in blood. He again apologized for that. He told us everything went well, and that we would be able to see Wes in about 20 minutes. We thanked him and told him to tell Dorothy hello. He said he would, and that she was Christmas shopping for the kids. If you ever need general surgery, we HIGHLY recommend Dr. Minor. Although when you have an appointment with him, expect the waiting room to be PACKED. He and Dorothy were so good to us last year that we have the highest respect for both of them. She called this summer checking on us. She told us that they get the reports from Houston every time we go, and they are always happy to see the results. He also said the same thing when we went for Wes' appointment the other day.

Emma Grace was everybody's entertainment yesterday. She put on a show from what Grammy and Tammy have told me. Every time I would go out to check on her, she would run to me and arm me up. It was so sweet. She loved playing in one certain area, and for us to come over and peek around the corner. She walked a 1,000 miles yesterday and didn't go anywhere. A man was walking his dog out on the grass by the window we were sitting at and he brought it over to see Emma Grace through the window. She couldn't quite figure out why she couldn't touch it. She would hit the window and look up at the man and smile that smile. She would sit in the middle of the floor and look at magazines. She was such a good girl yesterday being that she was cooped up in a lobby all day. She seems to always be happy no matter what. I know she will hit the trouble twos soon, so we have to enjoy every moment of this happy go lucky girl.

Well, I have to get busy with wrapping Christmas presents. I started early, but have gotten backed up. I think I have a few more gifts to buy, but not many. Gotta go…..

We picked Wes up about 10:30 from the airport. His flight was early. They were not suppose to land until 10:30, and they landed a little after 10. After picking him up, we headed to Jackson to do some Christmas shopping. We finally made it back home after 12. We stopped in Vicksburg to go see the lights a man has set to music, but just as we pulled up they were going off. We plan to go back and see them.

On Sunday, we decided to take Emma Grace to First Baptist Church in West Monroe to play in the snow. They rent a snow making machine, so kids can come play in it. (since we never get snow) We had to make a few stops, and headed to the snow fun. Karri, Jeffrey, Tyler, Amber and Lizzy came too. Emma Grace wasn't too fond of it, but it could have been the fact that a little boy threw a snowball and hit her in the head. I WASN'T happy. She didn't want to get down, and when she did she wanted to cling to me. We watch them blow the snow out into the different areas they had set up. They set it up in different age groups. They had a pretty impressive set up going, and I can tell you that wasn't the first time that any of them had done it. After snow fun or not so much snow fun, we went to O'Charley's to eat with the Dooley clan. After eating, we went to Target, and then headed home.

Well, Wes will have his port taken out today. Grammy has taken off work to go with us, and Tammy will be coming over. She is out of school for Christmas. We have to be there at 7:30, and they will do the surgery at 9:30. Please pray that everything will go well. Guess that is all for now.

Wes was due to come home yesterday, but that didn't happen. When they got to Houston, they had 30 minutes to go to their plane. They rushed to it only to find out that it was delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed. It was finally cancelled around 10 last night. He called us around 7:45 to say he was on the plane. He called about an hour later, and he was still on the plane headed back to the terminal. The flight crew had exceeded their flight time. When they got back to the terminal, they were ordered off the plane. They were hoping to just change crew, but a stewardess couldn't be found and the flight was cancelled. He had several options to fly, and he chose a 6 o'clock flight to Dallas with a connection at 9 to Monroe. They opted to stay at the airport, since the flight was so early. The airline had offered them hotel vouchers, but since they chose to stay at the airport they gave them food vouchers.

I just talked to him, and he has made it to Dallas but barely. They had to go out of security, get boarding passes, go back through security and then to the plane. Well, Wes got lucky and was pulled to be fully searched, which caused him to almost miss his flight. I think he said he had 3 minutes to spare. He said it was foggy when they left Houston, and foggy in Dallas. Oh, I forgot to say that fog was the cause of all these problems. Houston was so backed up due to fog on Thursday that there were no planes available. Two flights to Monroe last night were diverted to Shreveport, and then those planes were flown back to Houston. Well, I have to go get ready to go get him. His flight leaves at 9:00, and due to arrive in Monroe at 10:30. I will let you know how that goes.

Today is our fourth anniversary. In some ways, it doesn't seem like four years, but so much has happened that in other ways it feels like more. It has been the best four years, and I wouldn't change anything. Well, I would change what Wes had to go through, but nothing else.

Wes will be coming home tomorrow. I just talked to him, but he couldn't remember what time his flight would be coming in. They had meetings most of the day, but he went shopping this afternoon. Guess that is all for now. Just ready for Wes to come home. :-*

We left for the airport around 4:30, so Wes could catch his 5:50 flight to Houston. He made it to Houston around 6:45. He said that was the only way to go to Houston. He said he would fly and we could drive. He left for Salt Lake City a little after 10, and was there by 1:20 our time. He said there wasn't any snow in Salt Lake City, but he just called and it started snowing on their way up the mountain to Park City. He said it was snow everywhere. He was going to call me on his way to Park City, but he said it was snowing and a little curvy. He said on the way up he saw a Wal-Mart and Michael's. He told me that I could have come and went shopping. He also said this place is in civilization b/c they have a Wal-Mart. He was about to go find something to eat. I told him don't take any side roads. He was getting the camera out, and headed to eat. I am sure there will be lots of pictures to look at when he comes back. Guess that is it…..

We have to be at Monroe Surgical Center at 7:30 Monday morning. The procedure is set for 9:30, and will take about 30 minutes. He will have to stay a few hours, and then he can go home. He leaves this Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. for Park City, Utah. He will be back on Friday evening. Emma Grace and I will be home alone unless we can talk Grammy into staying with us. I am currently in the process of making our Christmas cards. Hopefully, we will have them out by the end of the week or first of next week. We went to the benefit for Amber this weekend. Emma Grace loved running around the gym, but she couldn't quite figure out what the goal was. She kept looking and pointing at it, and talking that language that no one understands. She is so funny when you ask her what Santa Claus says or you show her a picture of Santa, her response is ha ha ha. Guess that is all for now….

Wes went to see Dr. Minor yesterday, and he will take his port out on December 18th. He could have done it on December 15th, but Wes will be in Utah. We are not sure about the time, because he has to go pre-register and they will give him the time. He is having it done at Monroe Surgical Center, and Dr. Minor said it takes about 30 minutes. After we left the doctor's office, we took Emma Grace to see Santa. She still isn't sure about him. She did better than at Disney, but she WOULD NOT smile. Santa kept saying she is so beautiful. We decided to take some pictures by the Christmas tree that is behind Santa. While Wes was taking the pictures, his camera was making the Santa camera’s flash go off, so we had to wait until they finished taking pictures. It was funny. Emma Grace still wouldn't smile. I know people in the mall thought we were crazy b/c of the things we were doing to try and make her smile. She was too busy looking at everything. I think we got some decent shots. We have been teaching her to say ho ho ho, but it comes out ha ha. Grammy bought her a little "Miss Princess" four wheeler. She knew exactly what to do when she got on it. She pushes that big red button and goes all over the living room. She finally figured out if she picks her feet up she will go faster. She is so funny when she gets on it, she waves her little hand at you and says bye bye. Poor little girl knows all about going. We can ask her where the Christmas tree is and she points to the tree. Grammy and Granddaddy bought her a miniature snow globe for inside. She was scared to death of it at first. Now, she totes it all over the living room, and again, she knew exactly which button to push. We can ask her where her snow globe is, and she points right to it. Well, I better go. I finally got her to sleep, and the morning will come fast. She is such a night owl. Until next time….