This was my first attempt at a braided bread and it turned out pretty darn good!

Guess who found the coin? Big Surprise!

“You have done a great job with your dossier. The Polish authorities will be impressed of you.”

Now we have to be patient and wait. Which is going to be hard for me because patience is not my strong suit!

Thanks to everyone for their help in getting us this far!

Nolan made this a few weeks ago at school. He’s pretty excited.

The labor I put into it was more than giving birth to Nolan.

We went to Vegas over the MLK weekend and did birthday’s Hofbrauhaus style. Steve did a shot of jager and got paddled and Nolan did the chicken dance!

On Sunday we went to Fleming’s to celebrate! Can’t pass up their prime rib special! And took my parents along to celebrate their anniversay and my dad’s birthday which are in Feb.

My final cake decorating class was on Monday and our last project was to decorate a cake. So, Steve got his birthday cake early.

But that’s not all. We have a happy hour for Steve on Friday and then Nolan’s big birthday bash on Sunday! It should be fun.

This is my first attempt. Mind you I have until the 29th for perfection. No pressure!

The first update is on my mother. She is recovering nicely and is trying to take it easy to ensure maximum healing. She got her biopsy results last night. Thankfully, the cancer was completely contained and she shouldn’t require any additional treatment. That’s good because now she can focus on a trip to Hawaii!!

As for me, I will spend most of the day at the Mayo Clinic. I still don’t have a difinitive diagnosis let alone a treatment plan. But hopefully, today will shed some light on that. My tests from my hospital stay showed that there was sludge in the gall bladder, GVHD in the stomach and inflamation in the bile ducts. The liver pathology report said in one spot there was GVHD and in another that there wasn’t. So I do meet with the liver doctor today to discuss that. I will update as I know more.

Lastly, an adoption update. Yesterday we had to go to the Homeland Security Immigration Office fo be finger printed. For there it should take about a month for thier approval. Once that is approved our dossier is complete and can be sent for translation!!

Part of our dossier requires family photos. Our agency suggested we send a candid from in front of the Christmas tree. Fortunatly, we haven’t taken it down.

I’m sure if you are reading this you having been waiting at your mailbox wondering where your annual Baumgarten Family Christmas card was.  You then commented to yourself “Really?  It’s not like she has a job!” But I assure you that there is a good excuse as to why they still sit in a stack on the counter and have been since last Friday. So here goes…

Last Saturday (12/17), I had some horrible abdominal pain, and since this was my 4th bouth of this in as many months, my oncologist was convinced that it was my gall bladder.  She said that if it happened again, I needed to go to the ER.  So we did (50 miles north to Mayo Clinic). They gave me some IV pain meds, couldn’t find anything wrong and then sent me on my merry way.

Thus, your much anticipated card, letter and keepsake Nolan photo was delayed.

On Sunday (12/18), I still had pain and spent the day in bed. By Monday the pain remained and I started vomiting despite not having eaten very little since Friday night. I called the doctor and they said I needed to go back to ER, so we did (50 miles north to Mayo). They got me to a comfortable state and decided that I should be admitted so that more tests could be run. So I had an MRI, CT Scan, ultrasound, endoscopy w/ stomach biopsy and lastly a liver biopsy. The tests showed “sludge” in the gall bladder but no stones and stomach biopsy showed mild graft v. host disease (a complication of transplant). I was discharged on Friday (12/23) without the results of the liver biopsy and no hard diagnosis.
Except that my graft v. host disease whet from a previously acute condition to chronic.

Thus, your much anticipated card, letter and keepsake Nolan photo was delayed.

Additionally, While all this was going on, last Thursday (12/15) my Mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She is scheduled for a total hysterectomy this Tuesday (12/27). Perhaps, I have become cold and callused to the whole “cancer diagnosis” as I do not believe that is as bad as it sounds. It appears to only be stage 1 and contained within the uterus so the hysterectomy should remove all of the cancer. That means that she will not have to have any additional treatment (chemo, radiation, etc) plus it’s all done laparoscopically, so recovery time is very short and it’s only an overnight stay in the hospital.  Again, I have a VERY different perspective on cancer than most people. Despite that we do welcome and appreicate any and all prayers for healing.

Thus, your much anticipated card, letter and keepsake Nolan photo was delayed.

One last thought I took away from all of this is that a few people have commented that it sucks this is all happening around Christmas time but in reality what better time then during the celebration of our Savior? I got a little teary at Church on Saturday night but not out of self pity but out of joy and thanksgiving in knowing that one day later rather than sooner (as only the good die young and I am too much of a bitch to die young) that this world will end and a much better one awaits. I know it sounds bitter but I assure you, the only thing I was bitter about this Christmas was the doctor ordered kibosh on drinking.

Thus, your much anticipated card, letter and keepsake Nolan photo was delayed.

Merry Christmas!!!

On the bright side we did raise about $1200 in our 2 adoption fundraiser garage sales in the past 3 weeks. Thanks to all who donated and we saved the unsold stuff so that we can have another sale in the spring.

Nolan is enjoying kindergarten and part of the program is that they teach the kids how to read by the end of the year. Nolan brought home his first real books over the weekend!

I Can Read!

Dear Santa, I want lego ninjagos and a nerf disk gun. Love, Nolan