Merry Eve of Christmas Eve

I think the eve of Christmas Eve should be its own holiday, the time that every desperate slacker is running to the mall or calling stores to see if they have that one single item you've promised your child for the last 6 months that Santa would bring only to find out the one you lost in New York is the last one in existence on the entire Earth!!! I'm not thinking of anything too specific and I know I speak for all of you on that issue. Well that was me today with a limited window allowed by a nurse at the house and my parents watching the kiddos. I scrambled hitting close to a dozen stores in about 2.5 hours and then brought everything back to the office where little elves (sorry Jamie and Domingo but you are short) with big hearts were nice enough to be on stand-by to wrap our presents for us. Please don't forget the big cool ones are from Daddy, the underwear is from Mom, and anything else can be from the big guy with deer (that's deer Kurt, not beer).

We have been home since Thursday afternoon, and the good news is that we had a good night last night. Hope slept pretty soundly (as did I for the first time in almost a month) only waking up 3 or 4 times during the night. The bad news is that the previous nights since we were home were worse than Chevy Chase's and Pat Sajak's attempts at late night TV shows. I'll just say I'm not going to change professions any time soon to home healthcare. Hope is comfortable most of the time, cognizant of her surroundings, able to have conversations via writing less and less, and unfortunately has increased pain and side effects like unbelievable swelling from her bottom lip to her neck. That is the tumor growing and a side effect from all the radiation and chemotherapy she has had over the years.

Our goal is to get her out into the living room on Christmas morning, party to see if she'll share some of her potent cocktails for New Year's Eve, and just savor every last morsel of time we have together. She's giving me less of a hard time, bossing everyone around and telling them exactly how everything needs to be done less, and is a shoo win for any Peter Griffin look-alike contests. She is sad more often, as are we. The kids are doing amazing with it all, enjoying their short visits with Mommy whenever they can. My brother and his two kids along with Brad/Rachel and their two kids will all be staying with us over the holidays helping out with the kiddos. Will and Anna and their two kids, and John and Esther and her double sized belly will also be here for Christmas.

Merry Eve of Christmas Eve to you all, and please this year try to think less about that perfect gift and think more about spending that perfect moment with your loved ones. Savor every moment, live to make sure you have no regrets, and make sure you tell them you love them so often they get sick of it. Count your blessings, not the items you don't have. Most importantly of all, HOPE your loved ones and your own healths stay as strong as Santa Claus' back. Love to all of you and thanks to everyone sending us good thoughts, mac and cheese, and thanks most of all for Ann-Marie, Rochelle and Cheryl showering with Hope as that was the one gift Santa could not bring to me.

Love,
- Just Jake.