It was so good to have Pamela here this weekend. I was able to meet one of her teammates for lunch at a delish southern restaurant. We spent an evening with the Johnson family. We went to church together, at Pei Wei and rediscovered the joys of reading fortune cookies (thanks, Ande & Kelly from last week's hilarity of fortunes). Sunday night was a small gathering of people to hear of Pamela's upcoming 2 years in Uganda, which is very very exciting. We braved the WalMart near my house for Christmas tree decorations, but unable to find a real one. Then ensued an early Monday morning hunt for a real tree from Lowe's. Visited with 2 of Pamela's Orlando families before she flew back home.

Here are a few pics from the weekend. We realized we didn't take any at all when we started taking them.

Matching sweaters...we both planned to wear them unknowingly to Sunday night's support dessert, but she won.

Thanks, Pammy, for fixing up my living room. We all know I wouldn't have done it myself! So cute and cozy and Christmasy. If only our fireplace were cleaned out, we could have some nice fires. I love sitting on my couch with some hot chocolate and a book, listening to Christmas music. So calming and enjoyable!!

I am thankful for my friend, someone to share in the struggle.

Next week is Christmas, and I can't even believe it. So far only my brother is the only one getting a gift because I bought his before the family stuff happened. Might not happen for anyone else. It will be a sad Christmas. My grandpa's service is Tuesday morning, which puts a damper on the entire Christmas week. My grandma is rehab recovering from her hip replacement and also battling against some pneumonia. I hate hospitals.