Wow, this flu season is kicking our butts! I went to the doctor yesterday (my first time in 3 years!) and was diagnosed with a bad case of bronchitis. I'm hoping that antibiotics will do the trick. If not, then I'll have to go back and maybe get a chest x-ray to see if I may have pneumonia. I typically try to hold out as long as I can before having to go to the doctor, but when I started hacking up blood, along with some nasty stuff, I knew that the visit was inevitable.
I've been sick for almost a week now. As moms, we're pretty resilient. Sickness doesn't keep us down. But for some reason, this bug was the mother of all bugs, and it was determined to prove to me that I'm not that invincible! Also this week, all my kids were sick at one time or another with fever, congestion, all the basic flu-like symptoms. As I write this, Becca is sick with a 102 fever. Poor baby! Because of our current condition, we've had to change some of our Advent activities. Thankfully, the kids know none the better! (We decided to drive around to look at Christmas lights tonight, and you know your kids are sick when they fall asleep in the van at 6pm and miss most of it! And to top it off, Becca threw up all over herself. So, it was a merry night to be had by all.) But it is my prayer that we'll all be better by Christmas, which is 2 days away. If not, I know we'll still have a special time together as a family.
Just wanted to show pics of my HEALTHY kids (this was at Halloween!)
My girls!
My Becca...isn't she the cutest!?
All in all, I'm trying to remain positive. I am soooo thankful for my hero husband! He spent his last vacation days staying home and taking care of me and the kids. He's worked tirelessly morning and night, tended to middle-of-the-night baby crying, to doing housework and making dinner. Even as I write this, I hear the kids screaming at each other in the other room, and I know that Jared has to deal with that. And he's also holding a sick baby, and trying to soothe her as well. He does all this without complaining, and when I even offered to buy him a Caribou coffee on my way home from the doctor's, he said no (what!?!?! Who turns down Caribou Coffee?!?!). So, I owe Jared big time, even though he does all this unconditionally, and with love. That's what I love most about him!
Jared - best.husband.and.dad.EVER!
So back to the whole new year's thing...
As I reflect on this past year, I have so much to be thankful for. At the start of 2012, I mentioned that I wanted to practice "simplicity" and "stability" in our lives. I believe that we've achieved it to some capacity. We've been very intentional about cutting out unnecessary activities that would otherwise clog up our calendar. Both Jared and I carve out time on a regular basis to spend with God, to recalibrate and seek Him and His will; and also being intentional about date nights with each other continue to be a priority. We've been able to establish friendships with our neighbors and some of the families of Joshua's classmates, both of which will be long-term relationships. In addition, continue to build on and invest in important friendships that God has already blessed us with. I believe that our family has already begun to plant roots where we are, and that has been my desire for stability from the very beginning (until God calls us somewhere else...but I won't even cross that bridge unless necessary!). And in my own quest for simplicity, I've celebrated small successes in organizing my home, my closet (it's been 2 years since I bought any new clothes!), and my calendar. So, I thank God for the strength to achieve some of these small goals.
I'm excited about the new year ahead. I have a big birthday coming up, Jared and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary, our kids will continue to fill our lives with lots of fun and adventure! I think simplicity and stability will continue to be our goals. Also, I hope that we can live out some of our family vision statements. For Christmas, Jared and I don't usually buy gifts for each other. Instead, we purchase something for the home or something that we can use together. We've been working on our family vision statements all year - these statements are statements that we feel are true of our family; that God has made unique in our family. So for Christmas this year, we decided to put the words of our family vision on a wooden wall sign. I found a lady on Etsy.com who could do this, and we just received it yesterday. We love it! So, for the new year ahead, I pray that we will strive to live out these statements that we feel are our aspirations and hearbeat of our family.
May your Christmas be love-filled, and may your new year be blessed. Emmanuel, God is with us...today and every day!
Love the wooden wall sign! Praying that you are all healthy soon.
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