Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...

...this year we weren't big losers.
We got you up on time,
and decorated you fine.
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
it actually feels like Christmas!

Here is a step by step process of decorating the tree at the Sperry home:

"Jenny, just hand it to me and I will do it. Got me?!"

"I will put this right here. Don't move it Dad."

"Daddy, I wanna help....Okay fine, let me lift you up"

"Look I have antlers"
(Be very glad I did NOT put the picture of them hanging from his armpits as he said "I have hairy armpits")

"Mom Mom...I am helping dad with the lights!"

"It's so pretty Momma"

It was so much fun. Gosh I can't wait to take it down!!

cut it out! (part 2)

And here we are post surgery 5 weeks. I think it is healing quite nicely! Her scar is about an inch long, but it is very smooth and shouldn't show too badly. The pathology report came back that it was "non-cancerous that had the appearance of cancerous and could develop into cancerous".

I'm glad we erred on the side of caution and had it taken off.

cut it out! (part 1)

Warning: If you don't like small amounts of blood in pictures then don't read this post....



So cute Meghan has this mole. This very BIG mole. It has always concerned me with its size (it is as big as a dime), but a couple of months ago Meghan snagged it with her fingernail and it bled like crazy. It is right above where her bra strap sits and I knew that it bugged her. I took her to our awesome family doctor and he said he would be able to cut it out but that it would leave a small scar. Meghan wasn't worried about that since she dresses modestly and the only time it could ever show would be when she has a swimsuit on.

here is the big mole

he had to cut it out in a football shape so that the edges could go together more smoothly when he stitched it up and it wouldn't pucker so badly

all cut out...just a little blood

cauterizing to stop the bleeding (it started to get a little heavy for a minute).....ignore the bra....I didn't mean to get it in the picture...I'm just glad it was a clean one!

starting to stitch her up- he did internal stitches that would dissolve on their own within 60 days and then 11 external stitches that got taken out after 10 days

Piano recital

My girls are lucky that they get to take piano from a great lady in our ward that plays really well. She is a mom with lots of kids too, so she doesn't take any crap from my kiddos and bonus...she only lives 5 houses away, so they can walk to their lessons.

Every year she does a recital and she does it at the library where there is a grand piano so the kids get the experience of playing in front of a crowd on a "real" piano (or at least that's what my girls call it).

It is great fun since all her students are kids from the neighborhood. She has 16 students now and so this recital was a little longer than last time. Mike was out of town so I was in charge of videotaping it so he could watch it later. Jonathan decided he should wait until we got to the library before he had to go #2 and so the WHOLE first half of the recital he was MIA. Sidney wouldn't stop climbing around on the chairs and dancing.

I tell you all of that not because I want you to feel pity for me.

Although that would be nice.

No, I tell you how cuhrazy it was so that you understand when you see the pictures below why there are only two pictures. All 3 of my big girls take piano. Yep, all 3. However, one of them (ahem...Jenny...ahem) wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take her picture. Of her very first recital. That scrapbook page will be rather empty!

So, no pic of Jenny. She did play really nice though!

Meghan

Rachel