Vanderploeg Christmas card

I finally finished sending out my Christmas cards. This year was the most we have ever sent out. I think I may go green next year and do an e-card...we'll see. I just love checking the mailbox in December and seeing who has sent us cards and especially seeing everyone's photos. It is amazing how fast kids grow and change in a year.

Here is our's:

We knew we wanted an outdoor shot, but never got a chance to get it done before it got ridiculously cold out up here. So we ended up taking them while we were in Florida for Thanksgiving. I had it all set up and put my sister-in-law to work.

Here are a couple of photos that didn't make the cut:

This is actually one of my favorites and I am not sure why I didn't use it. I am thinking of putting this on a really big canvas or wall print with a frame. You can't tell how uncooperative Brynn was being. She is so mad at us here because we promised she could go swimming when we were done, but she found out I forgot her swimsuit.

But we kept our promise and let her swim and everyone was happy :)

Guilty Pleasures

Why do I love celebrity gossip so much?

I have to admit, I am much better now than I was before I had Brynn. Nowadays I really only have time to look at the photos and hope I can figure out the whole story without taking the time to read the entire article. I guess with less time on my hands, something had to give. I have a subscription to US Weekly, but I find that they keep stacking up and I stress out about getting behind on reading them. There's always laundry to be done, photos to edit, dishes to wash, etc., so unfortunately, this guilty pleasure of mine gets put on the backburner. Sometimes when I need a quick fix, I check out Bricks and Stones to see what is happening in that far away alter universe, called Hollywood. This site is truly trash. I really don't recommend it because it can be addictive. I mostly love checking out the photos and seeing what the stars are wearing and what they are up to. I especially love it when they get caught without their makeup. That's awesome.

Winter Fun

Can you tell that things have finally slowed down for me? I can actually blog for fun now. I am shooting a wedding this weekend as well as next weekend, so I am enjoying my down time while it lasts.

We are loving all the snow we got here yesterday. We actually woke up early this morning so we took Brynn sledding for the first time. This is the hill at Fabyan's that I grew up sledding on.


We've also been spending time with our cousin Ella. Here are a few snapshots of her and Brynn hanging out in their Resa Design shirts.

Ella is such a happy girl.

Awww, Brynn, you're sharing...

We've also been doing some Christmas shopping...

B had to ride the Merry-go-round before we did any more shopping.

Here's a random shot from my father-in-law's work party. Brynn would not go near Santa, but she did let his elf paint her face. Look at how suspicious she was...

Don't ask me why she still has a crib in her room, maybe I will have some more down time this winter to take it down. She hasn't slept in it since August.

We've been hanging out and playing ballerina.

Poor Berkeley has even gotten in on the action. This reminds me of how my sister and I used to dress up my brother and put ponytails in his hair when he was little. Sorry E ;)

Brynn got to go on a special shopping day with her Nana and Auntie Mary. She was all decked out.

How is all your Christmas shopping coming along?

Oh yeah, we also went to the Kreft-Lanci 2nd Annual Christmas Extravaganza. I love Glog!

Daily Candy: Chicago

I just signed up to get the latest scoop and all the happenings in Chicago through the coolest site. Thank you to my good friend Becky Stern at the Hyatt Regency Chicago for getting a girl 'in-the-know.'

"DailyCandy, a free daily e-mail newsletter and website, is the insider’s guide to what’s hot, new, and undiscovered — from fashion and style to gadgets and travel. As useful as it is entertaining, it’s like getting an e-mail from your clever, unpredictable, and totally in-the-know best friend. The one who knows about secret beauty treatments, must-have jeans, hot new restaurants — and always shares the scoop.

DailyCandy publishes thirteen daily editions, which are all delivered through e-mail: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, London, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami, and Seattle are devoted to those cities; Everywhere is national (style knows no boundaries). There are also eight weekly editions. Kids Everywhere (for busy and hip parents) is published on Thursday; local Kids editions are published on Monday in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago; DailyCandy Travel is published on Wednesday; DailyCandy Deals (which features special sales and promotions) comes out on Tuesday.
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Thank you to Becky a/k/a "Rebecca" (her grown up name ;), the Senior Catering Manager at the Hyatt Regency for a fabulous lunch, all your great ideas, and for just being an awesome friend. Becky and I also went to high school together. It is great to network with familiar faces.

If you're looking for a beautiful downtown Chicago venue, look no further. The view of the city from their ballroom is unprecedented. Call her now to book your wedding!!! 312-565-1234

Dear Santa...

I have been a very good girl this year. If you could please bring me the new set of Totally Rad Actions: The Revenge, I would be so so happy.

Thanks Santa,

Kelly

The Wedding Bee

I randomly came across these sites in my blog stalkings...I thought they would be great resources for my brides out there...or any brides, for that matter ;)

I stole this from their site to give you a little more info:

"Weddingbee PRO is a blog updated daily by some of the most talented wedding vendors in the industry today. We feature blogs, pictures, videos, advice, ideas and inspiration all from the perspective of wedding industry insiders.
As an avid blogger, Bee Kim originally started Weddingbee as a personal blog while planning her own wedding. Her blog’s popularity prompted her to launch Weddingbee as a stand-alone site in February of 2006. In September 2008, Weddingbee was acquired by eHarmony Inc. Bee stayed on as managing editor, and subsequently launched Wedding PRO on December 2, 2008."

Check them out, there is some pretty cool stuff on both of these sites. I hope this is helpful :)

Sharing a little Christmas joy...

I am slowly but surely collecting addresses for my Christmas card list this year...it keeps growing and growing...but I wanted to share an address that I got from a friend of mine. If you would like to send one of your holiday cards to a recoverying American soldier, I am sure they would appreciate it. I hope this isn't a scam, because I think I got this info from a forward. Anywho, I am sending one, so maybe you could too. It would be worth it to put a smile on someone's face...as long as this isn't a hoax and my identity doesn't get stolen.

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Med. Center
6900 Georgia Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20307

Chrismukkah

Apparently we are celebrating "Chrismukkah" this year in our house. As I try to sneak gifts in my cart when I think Brynn is not looking, she then asks for her "Polly Pockets" or "Ballerina Dress" as soon as we walk in the door at home. I swear, nothing gets past this girl! I am going to have to rent a storage space when she gets older so she doesn't snoop and find her gifts before Christmas.

My mom, "Mimi," contributed to "Chrismukkah" today for Brynn with some new funky gym shoes that light up, a new puffy vest (because my mom loves vests and if they had had this vest in her size, she would have bought it for herself ;), and a plethora of other clothing items. Christmas came early for little B. Thanks Mom! :)

**Edited to add: Nana (Chad's mom) also contributed to Chrimukkah this weekend with another pair of shoes, Polly Pockets, and some ornaments for our tree! Also, Grandma Van got her the coolest little purse with the Princesses on it and it is filled with all the necessities a girl would need: a mirror, brush, lip gloss, clip-on earrings and sunglasses. Brynn is one lucky girl.

Brynn is a total believer in Santa Claus this year. She's only 2 1/2, but she has it all figured out. She would not sit on his lap at my father-in-law's work party, but she did manage to tell him, as she yelled over my shoulder and was clinging to me like her life depended on it, that she wanted a dollhouse from him. Since I never was a believer in Santa (thank you Auntie Amy & Uncle Ed), it is fun for me to see her getting such a kick out of it. At least I can believe vicariously through her ;)

Just getting into the holiday mood...

This is my mother-in-law's tree last year. Very retro.

My tree.

This is part of the mound of gifts at my parents' house last year. We have a big family.

This is my house, didn't we do a good job decorating this year?

Just kidding. That is not my house.

Jenn & Jason

This is the fastest turn around I have ever had -- I just shot this session this afternoon (they are my last set of holiday cards to be ordered ;) It was a frosty 21 degrees out, but you can't tell by how cool, calm & collected these two looked. Jenn & Jason are the most adorable couple and were totally stylin'.

Jason is an old friend of mine from high school and he met his wife while they both were attending Millikin University. He almost robbed the cradle, as Jenn is four years his junior ;) just kidding. She must have been smitten because they got married up here last year and now call Geneva their home. I don't know what it is about Geneva, but we all seem to gravitate back to where we came from: small town, lots of tradition, and really nice people.

How good looking will their kids be??

My personal fave.

Thank you guys for braving the elements...I had such a good time with you both. Jenn, it was so good to finally meet you. Jason, you are a lucky man. Happy Holidays!

Another Michele Update

I am not sure why this latest update affected me in a way that was different from the other updates. I guess I could not imagine being faced with making this type of life or death decision. Michele, I've said it before, but your strength astounds and inspires me. I was moved to tears by your candidness and honesty, and yet, upbeat report.

Here is what she says:

"I know it has been over a month since I sent my last update so I apologize.

Quick update on Andy ... he is in Afghanistan and is doing fairly well, all things considered. He is terribly homesick and misses the kids and I so much. The good news is we talk almost everyday and email most of the days we don't get to connect. It's a bit frustrating that he can't tell me much that is going on there, but I am satisfied in knowing he is safe every time we talk!

AS for me ... I am doing really well overall. It's amazing how much things change in a few weeks! I have a little less than 2 months of recovery left, but I am finally done with the drainage tubes, I am no longer limping and I am controling the swelling in my leg with the lymphatic massage I learned from my physical therapist. My surgeon doesn't need to see me back until Feb and I am done with physical therapy for now!!! That's all great news.

The other task I've been working on this past month is finalizing my treatment decision. Unfortunately I mislead myself on the extent of the treatment and I was faced with a difficult decision because there really isn't a good option. I was given two choices -- enter into an immunotherapy clinical trial or leukine injections. The clinical trial is in Phase 3 and the first two phases have shown to be more effective than anything else for melanoma treatment. There are a few problems with this clinical trial however. The first problem is that because it's a clinical trial there is a 50% chance that you will get a placebo if you enter into the trial (meaning you don't get the drug). Nobody knows who does / doesn't get the drug except for the pharmacist -- even my doctor isn't told. The second problem is that the 50% of the population that gets the drug is faced with the potential for a spectrum of side effects and about 25% of that population will be impacted by the more severe side effects. So, the other option is to do leukine injections which are white blood cell injections. From a side effect standpoint, it's very appealing because the side effects are all minimal. However, leukine has not been tested for effectiveness in the treatment of melanoma so they may not do me any good. The clinical trial is given through IV infusions every 3 weeks for the first 4 months and every 3 months for the remainder of a 3 year period. The leukine injections are given every day for 14 days, then 14 days off. This cycle continues for 3 years. Bottom line, I got additional opinions from my surgeon and my oncologist at Mayo clinic and they both advised that I enter into the study initially. If after 2-4 infusions I do not show any side effects I will drop out and give the leukine injections a shot (no pun intended) :)

I started the process today with the preliminary testing I need to go through. I had an EKG this morning and I have a CT scan and bloodwork scheduled for Thursday morning. My first infusion will likely be next week sometime. I hope this is enough information ... I didn't want to bore you all with all the intricate details, but please know that I spent many hours in researching my options and obtained the opinions of the top notch melanoma oncologists and therefore feel confident that I am on the right path now. Keep the prayers coming and I will continue to keep you all posted.

God bless all of you as you prepare for Christmas (which is approaching very quickly!!!)

Much love, -Michele"

This girl is nothing short of amazing. I can't help but get emotional just thinking about her situation. No pity party here. She is unbelievable. Please keep your prayers coming.