Week 28- 11/30-12/6
December 4th:  Chris left for Cabo today.  I decided that while he was gone, I was going to put the boys to work.   We went out last night and they picked the Christmas tree.  Taylor picked it while Michael complained about being cold and Nate argued for a shorter, smaller tree because he knew he had to carry it into the house.  Taylor won though.  Then, when we got home, Taylor and Nate carried it into the house.  Taylor put the lights on and Nate did all the decorating.  He didn't get all the bulbs on, so is going to work on it again tomorrow. December 5th  I had the best treat today!  My best friend, Ginger, and I hadn't talked for a couple of years because we lost track of each other.  I've spent months looking for her on the internet this year to share with her all the has happened to our family this year!  I have tried everything to find her!  Then, Saturday night, I was on classmates.com and decided to just type in her name!  I found her!!!  I sent her a message and we connected on the phone today!  I have missed her so much!  It was so much fun being able to catch her up on our miracle with Michael and you should have heard her scream when I told her I was pregnant!!!  Other than all that big news, it was like we never lost track of each other!
	Brittany, Dale, Heather Chelsea, Gene, Ginger & Spencer
Michael has been doing good.  He has a hard time drinking enough water again.  Chris and I went to San Francisco on Friday to see Billy Crystal's show (which is wonderful by the way) and then we stayed the night in the city and went Christmas shopping on Saturday in Union Square.  We had a really nice time, but when we came home Saturday eve, it was apparent he hadn't been drinking his water.  His lips get very dry and his skin looks awful.   Chris got on him pretty strongly because at 19 and after all these months of chemo, he knows what he needs to do, but didn't do it.   Chris left on Sunday for Cabo San Lucas.  He had an ok flight although at one point the pilot told them the winds were blowing around 100 mph and told them to check out the white caps on the ocean below.  For those of you who know Chris well, you know he is frightened to fly.  He said that right after that, he asked for another drink!  He spent the day in meetings today and will do so also tomorrow.  He said it was a good day of meetings today and I am glad to hear that.  I was kind of nervous, as was he, about him going and leaving me here.  I am now 30 weeks along.   One of our friends that was due the end of December (she was 7 weeks ahead of me) had her baby last week...4 weeks early!  That just kind of made both of us worry a bit, but I am sure all is well and no reason to be worrying.  My friend JoAnna will take care of me if anything does go wrong, but we know it won't!   (Shea, the baby, got to go home from the hospital this week and dad reports he thinks he is over 5 pounds now and is doing well.  This is their first baby and because of the necessity of feeding so often, both parents are exhausted.   Please pray for them for sleep, patience and joy.) Michael's Dr. also ordered a new CT Scan and that will be on the 12th.  That way the surgeon will have the latest pictures of what is going on with the rest of the dead tumor.  Michael doesn't want to have surgery because he is scared of the actual procedure.  I keep telling him that will be the easiest part of this whole thing and he will do fine, but he isn't convinced yet.  Pray for him to make the right decision because at this point, everything is up to him.   We can tell him what we want him to do and what we think is right, but because of his age, he is an adult and has to make the decision himself.   December 6th  Last night around 10 pm I received a call from my father-in-law telling me that his mom (Chris's grandma) was in the hospital at El Camino and wasn't going to make it.  I rushed over and joined Tom, his brother Chris and his wife Sarah, and his sister Kim and her husband Al by Mimi's bedside. Mimi passed  away at about 11 pm.  My sister-in-law, Erin, arrived just after Mimi passed and soon after that many other kids and grandkids began showing up.   Mimi had a massive brain hemorrhage.  She wasn't able to talk or anything while I was there, but it was definitely touching to be in the room with her as she passed and to watch the amount of love her children had for her.  Mimi was in her late 80's.  I believe I heard someone last night say she was almost 90.  She lost her husband around 20 years ago and I believe she is there with him now as well as with her daughter, Kathy and granddaughter Sonya and grandson Eric whom all passed before her.  Chris is going to stay the rest of the time in Cabo and finish his trip as planned.  The funeral will probably be Friday or Saturday.   Please pray for the Schriner family and friends as they say goodbye to Mimi.