The Great Hair Exodus

So....the Van Hamme's didn't fall off the face of the earth. Things have been so busy. We said goodbye to Grandpa Wayne last Tuesday (we miss you...especially Ella)! We had a few days to prepare for a visit from my wonderful friend Alyssa and her youngest daughter, Abigail. Alyssa was my roommate in college, and her and her husband Cameron are some of our best friends. We were so excited to have them come, although Cameron, Gracie and Olivia couldn't join them.

The girls played so well together and as always I just love having Alyssa around. It was perfect timing for her to come this past weekend. Last Friday was the day that will be remembered as the "Great Hair Exodus." My hair just said, "We've had enough...I'm out." And believe me out it has come! I was giving my head a little scratch on Friday and when I brought my hand back down I had a small handful of hair. We had decided when I knew for sure it was going I would get a shorter haircut. Joel and Ella went with me for moral support. Here is the after picture:

I have to say I'm not a big fan of the haircut, but it's just all part of the adventure. I've learned quickly (thanks to Joel) that the easiest way to handle some of the tough stuff is to laugh about it. And believe me we've all had some good laughs this weekend. I think we've decided I either look like my younger brother Brice with earrings or an elf. The elf look is perfect for the holidays anyway and I guarantee the Santa hat will be worn proudly. I do also understand that the shorter my hair gets the bigger my earrings need to get.

All joking aside, I really am doing okay with it. It was a little bit hard at first to see the hair falling out. I guess I was a little more emotionally attached to my hair then I thought. It will grow back though and at least I'll know how to fix it when it starts to come back in. I am going to start wearing my hats too.

I had my last tissue expansion today. Whoo Whoo!! The process has gone flawlessly and my final reconstruction surgery will be scheduled as soon as I finish my big chemo. Wednesday is my big chemo day. Dr Butler is going to adjust my medicine some because I've had some random days where I can't stop throwing up. It's lovely. He may even have me come back on Thursday to get some extra IV fluids to "load me up" in case that happens again. I'm thankful now I know what to expect with the big chemo days. My dad will be accompanying me on Wednesday and then I'll be heading to Augusta this weekend. We are so excited that Joel will be starting his new position on Saturday. Please say a little prayer for him. He will have to work a late night on Saturday so that's why I'm heading to Augusta. my parents will be helping us this weekend because my tough days are Friday and Saturday. Plus, they'll get a little Ella time which will be so fun.

The other exciting happenings are that Ella is crawling all over the place. She of course loves to crawl to the dog bowls and we've caught just before her first sample of dog food several times. She's got her first top tooth. She is saying tons of words like hi, mama, dada, Ab (for Abby) and Bo. We've been working on "HO HO HO Merry Christmas" but so far we've gotten just "HO." As always, Ella is so much fun and I just love every second being a mom.