December 2011

December was a very full month here at the Neus house!  We were busy, as usual - but had a great time celebrating with family and friends!

At the beginning of the month I had a little surgery to remove some skin cancer from my forehead.  That was not too fun for me!  I had a sore that wouldn't heal for about 18  months or so.  I know.  Anyway, while I was with Brian at his oncologists appointment, the doctor came back into the room after he had checked out Brian and asked me if I had had that spot looked at.  I told him I hadn't and he advised me to get it checked out ASAP.  So, off to the dermatologist I went and sure enough, the biopsy came back positive for basil cell carcinoma.  The doctor told me I had 2 options: radiation for 6 weeks or surgery.  They ended up cutting it out and leaving me with 5 stitches in my head.  Now I have a beautiful scar.  Nice.

Chloe and Lauryn got to go with their daddy to the Activity Day's Daddy Daughter Gingerbread House Party.  They had a great time making their houses with Brian!  Brian looks forward to this activity every year!

Hunter and Chloe both had orchestra concerts.  It's such a drastic difference between the two orchestras!  Hunter is in the top orchestra at the high school and Chloe just started with the 5th grade in August.  At least we know what we have to look forward to with Chloe.  I love going to the concerts!  I'm always amazed at Hunter's fingers going up and down that bass.  It's so funny because when Hunter started orchestra in 5th grade, the bass was so much bigger than him.  Now we can actually see his head during the concerts because he is now taller than the bass. 

Chloe

Hunter - right in the middle

The girls had their Christmas Dance Performance on the 17th. It was Christmas in Whoville and Lauryn was chosen to be Cindi Lou Who. She got to do a solo and had several special parts throughout the performance. She did a great job! The other 3 girls did a great job, too! We got to purchase our own "whoville" costumes this year and I think they turned out really cute! I decided that Sommer and Sydney would dress as "twins" because it would just make things a lot easier for me. They were so excited when they were getting ready for the performance. I actually heard one of them say to the other, "Now we're going to look like identical twins!". Ya. Not sure which one said that - but seriously?

Sydney & Sommer - "Identical Twins"

Chloe

The lights on my Christmas tree died.  So Brian went out and bought LED blue lights for the tree.  He was so proud.   He said it was for colon cancer awareness.  Whatever.  Enough said about that.  (I did buy a new tree with white lights on the day after Christmas for next year.  YAY!)

Our family took a trip to the Phoenix Zoo this year to see the Zoo Lights.  The dance studio/gym had a nice dinner for all of it's employees and their families.  After we ate, we all headed over to the zoo.   The weather couldn't have been better!  We had a great time!  Once again, Brian was fascinated by the blue Christmas lights.  He kept snapping pictures of blue trees, cactus, whatever.  He's crazy.  Colon Cancer Awareness!  (Like we're not aware of it by now).

This Christmas was so fun for our family!  We had a "Secret Santa" who left gifts on our doorstep for the 12 days of Christmas.  We LOVED it!  This is something I will do next year with my kids for another family.  It's so amazing to me how much joy we received from this sweet act of kindness!

Christmas was wonderful!  We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house with all of my family.  Mom made her green chili burros and the kids all got to open 1 present.  Christmas morning the kids woke up early to open the gifts under our BLUE tree and see what Santa brought.  We headed over to my grandma Peterson's house for breakfast with my extended family.  Then we were able to attend church - which was really nice and just what we needed on a Christmas day!  After that we headed over to Kevin and Kristen's house for a celebration with the Neus family.  Our day ended back at my parent's house for a few more gifts and a turkey dinner.  I love spending time with our families!  The kids love being able to play with their cousins!  I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas this year!!

This is what Lauryn got from Santa this year - an American Girl Doll and a hair styling station!  She loved it!!