Gran Gran & Aunt Pressy join Oceanside!

 They arrived in good ol Oceanside, California at about 10 on Monday night! GREAT timing,I mean they left Saturday afternoon, stopped that night, drove all day Sunday, stopped, then woke up Monday morning and drove about 16+ hours! Way to go, Mama Bear!!! :) I was really impressed. Unfortunately when they got here it was raining and raining, so their first impression of sunny California was not sunny at all... We went to church on Wednesday night and even received several Christmas dessert goodies, like cookies, brownies and a very delicious home made pie, courtesy of our preachers wife, Karen :) Thursday the rain had cleared up so I took Preslee & Mama sight seeing around base and a little downtown Oceanside. We walked on the Jetty at the beach on base, then to the Pier, then walked around the Harbor & all of its cute shops and to the beach there,too. Friday was Christmas Eve so we did our last minute shopping (well, Mama and Preslee did. I was finished, but I had to drive them.) and let everyone open their Christmas stockings that evening. Lots of fun! I cooked spaghetti for dinner then we all rested so Santa could come! Christmas morning was FULL of presents and squealing in excitement! When we walked downstairs Kinsley ran in the living room and saw the tree and presents but turns around and asks me, "But.... Where's Santa!?!?" before I could answer her, she turned and looked at the cookies we left him and squealed "Mommy Look!! He's been here, but he didn't eat all da cookies!!" (he left one half bitten) Then she ran to her new Doll house, and the rest is history... Made a yummy breakfast and played all day long. No nap for Kinsley that day! Abrielle hardly slept too, she was too excited for all the new toys. Uncle Jacob came over that night with gifts for all!! He got Josh a tool box, me some candles, Kinsley a tea set, and Abby a puppy that sings & teaches her body parts! It was really sweet of uncle J! Yesterday we went to church & that's about it. It's CLEAR SKIES today and a high of 64 so we're probably going to go to the beach in a few. 

Ta ta for now!!

Chynna

 REINDEER FOOD!!!!

 Her VReader! It reads books to her, is touch screen and has games too! SO COOL!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS says abri!!

Mommy's Dec. Dr Appt

Last Thursday while my in laws were here I went my doctor to get more skin removed from my back where she removed my mole last month. She went deeper and wider in this incision  and put 5 stitches in. They hurt me all week long, and after I was able to removed the band-aid, the stitches actually POKED through my shirt! Talk about gross. So I was really glad to get them taken out today. Of course, I had to take my little princesses with me. They were pretty good though I can't  complain. Dr.Dolgonos (she's Russian, by the way, so her accent is so cute) told me that she's really concerned for me, and will have to keep a close eye on me. She said that my last mole was "severely atypical, one step away from melanoma", and didn't like that she found more moles on my back that didn't look right. I have an appointment for next month to get biopsy's on two more on my back. Of course I am concerned, just like she is, but I also hate that my appt is on a Thursday (it's the only day of the week she gets that certain room) meaning I will have to miss school ALREADY!! Plus, having stitches on your back where you can't even reach them to bandage them up TOTALLY STINKS! And the stitches itch sometimes and after they're out, my skin itches where it's healing. I'm not at ALL saying I'm not going to get the procedure done. I am just stating my silly silly complaints.... This is my blog after all, I'm allowed to do so!! :)

We rushed home after the appointment because the man with Rayne Water Conditioning service was on his way. He installed underneath our sink (so I can drink/cook/wash bottles with SOFT,CONDITIONED WATER!!) and installed in our garage so that this conditioned water will go all throughout  the house, meaning no more YUCKY hard water spots on our dishes, no more fading clothes in the washer, and no more ITCHY DRY skin for us!!! Living out here in California sure is different! I am use to being able to drink from Tap (if I have to). Out here, the tap is seriously dangerous to drink!! I can't wait to see the results on our dishes after I turn the dishwasher on. This water has ruined so many dishes of ours. The Rayne man told me getting pure vinegar and washing our ruined dishes SHOULD make the white stuff go away... So I am going to try that asap!!

I also came home & realized I don't even know what all melanoma is, So I decided to educate myself on it, in case one day my Dr. regretfully informs me I have it. I am going to share the info below, in-case you aren't 100% sure what it is either.


And *as always*, Prayers are greatly appreciated!!!

[x]o]x]o]

Chynna

Melanoma:

The deadliest form of Skin Cancer. (Wow, that's inviting.)

What is melanoma?

Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer. It is not as common as other types of skin cancer, but it is the most serious.

Melanoma can affect your skin only, or it may spread to your organs and bones. Luckily, it can be cured if it’s found and treated early.

What causes melanoma?

You can get melanoma by spending too much time in the sun. This causes normal skin cells to become abnormal. These abnormal cells quickly grow out of control and attack the tissues around them.

Melanoma tends to run in families. Other things in your family background can increase your chances of getting the disease. For example, you may have abnormal, or atypical, moles. Atypical moles may fade into the skin and have a flat part that is level with the skin. They may be smooth or slightly scaly, or they may look rough and "pebbly." These moles don't cause cancer by themselves. But having many of them is a sign that melanoma may run in your family.

(It does run in my family, by the way)

How is melanoma diagnosed?

Your doctor will check your skin to look for melanoma. If your doctor thinks you have melanoma, he or she will remove a sample of tissue from the area around the melanoma (biopsy). Another doctor, called a pathologist, will look at the tissue to check for cancer cells.

If your biopsy shows melanoma, you may need to have more tests to find out if it has spread to your lymph nodes.

How is it treated?

The most common treatment is surgery to remove the melanoma. That is all the treatment that you may need for early-stage melanomas that have not spread to other parts of your body.

Depending on where the melanoma is on your body, and how thick it is, the surgery to remove it may leave a scar. You might need another surgery to repair this scar.

After surgery, your doctor will want to see you every 3 to 6 months for the next 5 years. During these visits, your doctor will check to see if the cancer has returned and if you have any new melanomas.

If your melanoma is very deep or has spread to your lymph nodes, you may need medicine called interferon to fight the cancer cells.

After that intense and slightly depressing read: Here are some recent pictures. Love You ALL! :)

 THE GIRLS SHARE A ROOM! Super cool!

A house of just 4 again.

Well, Granny & Mamaw left San Diego this morning and are safe and sound (and very,very cold) in Sweet Home Alabama! Kinsley didn't whine about them not being here when she woke up this morning, which was great, I thought she'd be really upset. But I think the fact she knows mama & Preslee are coming out here, makes it better and easier for her to transition! We had a nice time having them here with us and glad they could make it! Josh took them to Hollywood on Sunday morning while the girls & I went to church. Granny said she was really glad he took her to see the Hollywood sign and things, so I'm happy he did too! We had Christmas chicken stew and opened presents that night and the girls had more gifts than they will on actual Christmas day!!!! Spoiled rotten! I took Granny to the Oceanside pier on Monday and let her dip her toes into the chilling ocean water and walked the pier for a few minutes too. Really pretty day! Took some pictures & I'll share those at the end as usual. 

 Josh has gone back to work for his official 2nd cycle, it's a lot different than last time he says, I told him it won't affect me much longer because I will be a school girl! I am getting cold feet about school, I start 3 weeks from today. I just look at my little girls and think about how much we're going to miss each other.... Makes me so, so sad. But, I am going to be a big girl and do this! I need to gain a little independence for myself. Once upon a time I took pride in myself for being independent.

So today my neighbor (who I have seen around, but never spoke to) told me her life story, more in detail than I personally think you should tell a stranger (But I am starting to think I have the words "Talk to me" on my forehead, more reasons than one...) so anyway, a lot has gone down that I won't post on here with her and her husband, she needed me to watch her 3 kids while she went to an "appointment". I've never met her kids but I told her of course I would. I know we're all strangers but one thing we military wives have in common is were not from around here and honestly, have to rely on one another sometimes! I know how it feels to not know anyone or have family to watch your kids for you at a desperate time. She's really sweet and turns out her kids are so well behaved and precious as well! It feels good to have helped out. Well, other than Abrielle just goin' stinky in the bathtub, that's about it around here. Haha! Good night!

CG

Little more on Granny & Mamaw's visit..

Today is Friday which means, lots of cooking and spending time together!! Yesterday I drove myself, Granny, Kinsley & Abrielle to the beach here on base. We had a lot of fun, it was a perfect day to go show her the beach and walk on the jetty. The girls swung on the new swing set on the beach and went down the slide a couple times. We made plans to come back this morning but this crazy fog was over taking the sky so we didn't go! I guess the fog is what California calls Winter.....?? Anywho, pictures from yesterday! This weekend we are just eating a ton of food and hanging out. Super glad Josh will actually be here!

Love to all!

Chynna

p/s... 15 days til Christmas! oh my!!

Our 1st NBA Game!

Blogging is so time consuming and I am very good at putting it off for days or weeks at a time. I'm back for a minute.. Thursday Josh's Mom & Granny came into San Diego! We've not done much except relax at the house, having a great time together. Kinsley especially :)

About the title--Josh's friend has an Uncle (George) who happens to be the L.A. Lakers
lawyer (or one of them) so his friend (Justin aka Dixon) invited Josh & I to join him and his wife to the game this past Friday!! Neither of us are huge basketball fans but if you know anything about us two, we don't pass up FREE!!! :) Especially not to a stinkin NBA game in good ol Los Angeles, California! I was sooo excited to get out of the house with just my husband and go on a date! Before the game his aunt and uncle invited us to eat at Rock'n Fish at L.A. Live, Josh picked out the 24oz steak and I chose the 10oz steak, he gobbled his up and I couldn't even finish mine!! I was in disbelief. Glad he enjoyed a good meal though :) Then we walked thru the Staples Center to watch the L.A. Lakers in action!! Sooooooo cool!!! There were only 2 players I "knew", that being, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom (Khloe Kardashian's husband). We got to watch them warm up for the game, 10 rows back! In the rich people section, we considered it. Because on our tickets, they said they were $270.00 a PIECE! Are you kidding me?? I really can't believe people would pay that much, but I will stop there, because I know to millions of people out there, Sports Are Everything. Anywho, a few minutes into the game, the girl Lo Bosworth from MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills walked up 3 rows below us!!!!!! I was soo0o00o stinkin excited to see a celebrity other than the players!!!!!!! Ahhhh!! Ok, so anyway, I'll post pictures from the game and from yesterday. We had Jacob, Elizabeth, Gunner & Elizabeth's dad come over for a meal after church! We are going to miss Elizabeth & Gunner so much! I can't believe they are moving home after we just got here, so close to them! :(

Chynna

Sweet Precious Gunner!!