Christmas has come and gone

...in some respects :) Depending on what gift you give, it may be lingering still as it is in our house! More on that later.



We had a wonderful Christmas w/the children. We started off the morning with breakfast of giant muffins from Sam's (blueberry, banana nut and chocolate chip - yes, that's just like giving them cake, but hey, it was Christmas!). Bacon and eggs were added to the menu for the insulin production challenged to balance things out with a little protein this year (no one else seemed to mind - we really should be raising pigs given the bacon consumption levels in this house!).

After breakfast, we headed into the den for a few quick pictures before getting started with stockings.

(aren't they sweet and patient?)



The children each had fruit, candy and some other goodies in their stockings and after CKB and I watched them dig through theirs, we dug into ours. Fun!

(about to dig in!)


(hmmm, what's in here?)



(Yes, Miss A got her harmonica and I found some plastic (toy, but still sounded pretty good) ones at CVS for Mr. A and a whistle/flute for Mr. E) - here, Miss A and Mr. A are having an impromptu jam session!)

After the novelty of the new things in the stockings wore off a little, we started opening presents. We let Mr. A go first so he wouldn't be trying to open everyone else's presents. He was adorable this year as he opened different presents and exclaimed "Whoa!" or "Yes!!" when he was really excited about something. I could've just sat and watched him all day!



The "big" presents this year were doll houses for the girls, a Nintendo DS and Mario game for Mr. E and a new Buzz Lightyear for Mr. A.




(when he's really intent on something, his little tongue comes out - isn't that the sweetest thing?!)


Now, for the lingering part...these doll houses are not as "simple" as the box leads you to believe! There is a whole bag of shingles for the roofs - not a sheet of shingles, but IN-DI-VID-U-AL little shingles that EACH have to be STAINED, then let dry for a few days according to the directions, then glued on IN-DI-VID-U-AL-LY TIMES 2 DOLLHOUSES - eeeeeeek!

(here's CKB and the girls about to get started...and yes, the window is open behind them - why, you ask...well, let's see, it was over 85 in the house that day and it was STILL that hot when it got dark...why, you ask again? because our property mgr. STILL HASN'T GOTTEN ANYONE OUT HERE TO FIX THE A/C YET.....ack. Sorry. It was a miserable day - so uncomfortable...and in December, no less! But then, this is TX...I digress...back to the dollhouses....)


The directions that came with them started off with "Glue frame together." That was it. No, piece A goes next to piece B, etc. etc. Just "glue frame together" - uh huh - good thing I'm not in charge of construction on these! :) CKB has both dollhouses underway and a good part of the dining room table is taken up with the construction project. I believe the foundation is drying right now and the roof is next to go on. The instructions SHOULD have said "This might take a year to complete, buy THIS Christmas for NEXT Christmas gift giving." Seriously.

While the frame was drying, we went to Hobby Lobby to pick out paint colors for the girls to paint their respective houses, but even though they sell the house kits there, they don't sell the type of paint that is recommended for painting them...go figure...latex....guess where we had to go? Yep, Home Depot (or Lowe's, but we were closer to HD so we went there). The girls each chose 2 colors, a main color and an accent color...quart was the smallest size you could buy...so yes, we brought home 4 quarts of paint for 2 dollhouses - let the insanity continue! The girls each chose their colors and are happy with them in the buckets - let's hope they like them once they put the paint onto the houses!

So...the girls are being patient and the houses are slowly coming together. I'll continue to update the progress until they're complete. (No pressure CKB!) :)

The children all played with their new Christmas gifts most of the day while CKB and I played with the children and did other things that needed taking care of, like cleaning up the aftermath of paper and an insane number of those industrial twistie ties that a lot of toys are anchored into their boxes with. Later in the day we had a very unconventional Christmas dinner of fireplace roasted hot dogs and sweet potato casserole. We followed that up with pumpkin and pecan pies topped with whipped cream. Everyone ate (for the most part - Miss E decided awhile back that she doesn't like hot dogs....argh!!!) and there weren't any leftovers to speak of - I didn't have to spend all day cooking with no one there to eat the "traditional" fare and we were all happy. Yay, for doing whatever you feel like doing and not worrying about the Joneses. Anyway :) Those were some of the BEST hot dogs ever - cooking them over the fire is the BEST, I tell you, the BEST! (Great job, CKB!!!)

Oh yes, and CKB's mysterious ushering me out of the room the other night was so he could gather the children to wrap a present for me (a new bottle of perfume) and some presents from him to me and one from him to the whole family. One of my favorite things is a new phone! Our old one has had the battery replaced and still the charge wasn't lasting for more than about a 5-10 mn. phone call. Even though CKB hardly uses the phone since he's at work all day, he remembered me talking about how frustrating it can be when you're on an important call and the phone would start beeping to tell you the battery was dying...and soon. Yay for the new phone!

And, lest I forget, it was a GAME Christmas for us!
Mr. E got CKB "Connect Four" for them to play together.
CKB got "Trouble" for the whole family.
CKB and I got "Pixar Monopoly" for the children/family.
and
CKB got "Scrabble Upwords" for me (I've been wanting to get this for a LONG time and never could find it in the stores!)



We've tried them all out already and enjoyed them - CKB and Miss E played "Monopoly" while I played "Connect Four" with Mr. E, then Mr. E played it with Miss A and back and forth for awhile. Sadly, the "bubble" on "Trouble" already has a crack...Mr. A was playing...sigh...but it's still functional, just not a game Mr. A can play for awhile :) He was a little too rough on "Connect Four" also...and well, "Monopoly"...we didn't let him near that one! Instead, he got to play with some other things while we played the different games around the table.

All in all, a wonderful Christmas Day at our house....how about yours?

If you give a 2.5 year old a candy cane....

...this is what you get....



Isn't he adorable?


















Awhile back I told y'all about our trip to Hobby Lobby to look for ornaments - every year we let the children choose one new ornament to add to the tree and this year Mr. A was old enough to really show his preference and join in the fun.

Here are their selections:

Miss E chose......




















Miss A chose......


























Mr. E chose.....















Mr. A chose.....























Each year their ornaments represent their current interests or just something they like - it's going to be interesting to look back at them all through the years. I label them each year on the bottom with their name and the year so we can keep track. Sometime, perhaps I'll do a lineup of their choices thus far.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

It is 8:16 p.m. and I am done, I was done at 7:30 p.m., but I wasn't at the computer then. Done with what, you ask? Wrapping presents! What else would someone be done with on Christmas Eve?????

CKB and I decided to not go overboard this year w/the children's gifts and I'm happy to say we stuck to it - they have some things in their stockings and each have 3 gifts (you'll have to wait to hear about them...Miss E has the strangest knack of creeping up behind me when I'm at the computer and reading over my shoulder...granted, she's in bed already, but still, it wouldn't be fair for you to know what they're getting before they do, now would it???). :)

I remember many a Christmas when my Mom would be up LATE wrapping on Christmas Eve and I did not want that to happen this year - I'm just too tired late at night as it is w/o the responsibility of scissors and tape and putting the right label on each gift, ya know?

Well, CKB isn't done yet. He's being all mysterious and told me I couldn't come in the bedroom for awhile...hmmm. I told him I had the homefield advantage (ie, I can wrap any time of day while he's at work...he doesn't have that luxury)...erego, I'M DONE...I said that already, didn't I?

So, I'll leave you with this - we took this picture just the other night after Miss E's home piano recital and after about 10 with Mr. A squinting his eyes shut when I asked for everyone to look at the camera and smile, we finally got one w/his eyes open and I said "I'll take it!" :) I wasn't much up to sending out cards this year, forgive me everyone, please enjoy this glimpse at our growing family...nice of Mr. E to stand in front of me and hide my size this year...stay tuned, in a few weeks, Lord willing, we'll be posting baby pictures!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Conversations at Breakfast and later on

Talking about milk at the breakfast table....

Miss E - are some people allergic to milk?
Me - Yes.
Mr. E - that's because some of the cows are stinky.


Ha ha ha ha!!!!

After lunch at church and the children becoming reacquainted with a little 2 year old girl named Tristan.....

In the car:

Mr. E - after my baby sister is born, can we show her to the people at the church?
Me - of course
Mr. E - but Twisty might hurt her
Me - Who/what?
Mr. E - Twisty
Me - Twisty?
Mr. E - yes, Twisty
Me - who is Twisty? (racking my brain for who on earth he could be talking about as there is only one child regularly at the church he mentioned and his name isn't Twisty
Mr. E - you know, the little girl that was there today, her name was Twisty
Me - OHHHHHH, Tristan!
Mr. E - oh, I didn't KNOW her name had an "N" at the end
Me - Yes, her name is Tristan :)

Ha ha ha ha ha ha :) I don't think he really thought Tristan would hurt her, only that she was so little herself and might get too close/not know how to be around a baby/something to that effect. Too funny - Twisty!

A wonderful day

This past Sunday was just one of those days where you think about the day and can't help but smile. You know what I'm talking about, right? Well, for us, this was one of those days. CKB had his regular 3rd Sunday appointment at Farmersville and we arrived, got situated with the children and enjoyed preaching by CKB and introduction by one of the brothers there. Afterward, we sat down for lunch and enjoyed visiting with some of the members while taking care of what all the children needed. I was still eating, but distracted talking and keeping an eye on what Mr. A was up to when one of the sisters told me I better hurry up, they were getting ready for me. What does that mean, I think to myself and then I notice the other end of the row of tables...lots of pink gift bags are being put on the table...I look at this particular sister with a quizzical look and find out that apparently they decided to have a surprise baby shower for us today - I look back at CKB and he has a big grin on his face - he was in on it! The ladies said that after the last two children being boys, they figured we might need some pink in the house - there was a beautiful pink cake with little frosting booties that was so sweet and said "Welcome Baby!" and many wonderful gifts of love for us and our sweet baby girl. I can't possibly share how touched we were by this outpouring of love from the congregation to us today. We appreciate them so much and won't ever forget this special day.

One of the sisters took some pictures - I hope we get to see them when we're there next month and maybe get some copies so I can share them with y'all.

Christmas lights on house...a bust

Well, since CKB is a wonderful and kind husband and wouldn't tell on me, I guess it's up to me to tell the tale...or tail....hmm.

Friday evening, after a day of shopping/errands with the children in which we bought a string of those large bulb lights (in blue because we thought CKB would like them) to put around the front door, I decided upon our return home that I would put them around the door as a surprise for CKB when he got home that evening.

So...it began innocently enough. I gathered the tools I thought I'd need -

- box of lights, check
- hammer - check
- nails - check

...and headed to the front porch.

I left the door open since the children were inside (and quickly assembled to watch, of course).

I put Miss E in charge of holding the nails for me and handing me one when I needed it and began. After 2 or 3 nails bent...I don't know, but I think it's siding on the front and not wood - it wasn't natural how these nails were acting, I finally got one in...partway anyway. Then I put another one higher up. Yes, a few more bent ones too. Maybe that should've told me it was time to cease and desist, but no, I persevered....then I realized I was not going to be able to reach the top corner of the door frame. Hmm, that small step stool in the kitchen should be enough, it's just one step.

Do pregnant women belong on step stools?

no.

But, I sent one of the children to grab the step stool for me and finished putting a few more nails in...and bending a few more. Ugh. Why didn't I just quit while I was ahead...or before I even started for that matter????

So, the next few moments are kind of a blur...what I *think* happened is that I stepped down/back off the step stool and then my next step back I lost my balance. Imagine that when you're carrying a of extra weight....and somehow in my efforts to not just fall hard to the ground I managed to hit my right elbow and scrape it a tad and my left knee on the outside and scrape it before actually sitting down on the walkway and then gracefully, ha ha, rolling backward to lightly tap the back of my head.

Yes, I'm sure the scene in your imagination is quite amusing...laugh, if you must.

I rolled to my side and sat up and sat there for a few moments before trying to get up amidst screams from the children of "Mama!! Are you ok????" Ugh. After a mn. or two I got up after a quick look around - amazingly the neighbor across the street wasn't out in the driveway like he ALWAYS is and didn't see my graceful stupidity.

I came inside and sat down on the couch and waited to feel baby move. Thank the Lord I felt her moving almost immediately. What a relief. I stayed put on the couch for awhile resting and thinking and berating myself for doing such a dumb, unimportant thing.

CKB came home from work and I opened the door for him whereupon he commented on the blue lights with a grin...that is, until I told him rather sheepishly of my fall and he naturally was not happy about it either. We talked and decided I should go ahead and call the dr. (I already had, but the office was closed and I wasn't sure if I needed to bother the on call dr. since I hadn't hit very hard) back and see what she said. I got the return call from the on call dr. and she said firstly it was good I hadn't fallen forward, of course, and secondly that she'd like me to go to the hospital to labor and delivery and get put on the monitor for 4 hours to monitor baby and see how things looked. I agreed and after a few frantic phone calls and no babysitter to be found, I drove to the hospital and CKB stayed home w/the children. I was feeling fine at this point and had my cell in case something did happen and I needed to get 911 or call CKB to come after me in the van w/the children.

I had an uneventful drive to the hospital and found my way to L&D pretty easily. Got hooked up to the monitors and commenced waiting. The lab came and drew blood - it seemed like a LOT (I didn't watch) since it took a little longer than the usual quick blood draws for blood sugar testing recently. Anyway, that was done and the lab lady left. A little while later the sonogram lady showed up and took a look at baby - it was nice to see baby girl again, just wish it had been under different circumstances! Sono lady said everything looked good to her. Nurse had been telling me everything was looking good as well. Only abnormal thing thus far was my temp was up a little at 99.2, but who knows why that was. I know I was burning up at the store earlier that day - I think I might've been dehydrated because I tend to forget to drink much water when I'm running around shopping and getting errands done. Anyway. Into the 2nd/3rd hour apparently some contractions were showing up on the monitor...not a happy thing for me to hear...and I drank the equivalent of an IV bag of fluids (water) and laid on my left side for awhile and prayed some more. I thank God that the contractions stopped, all the bloodwork came back normal and I was discharged to come home around 1:30 a.m. with orders from the dr. to rest and take it easy over the weekend.

So...the moral of the story pregnant ladies (and anyone else who shouldn't be doing something or other for whatever reason) is STAY OFF STEP STOOLS and BE CAREFUL. You'd think I'd know this by now, eh? :) I think we just tend to forget temporarily that we shouldn't be doing something when we're feeling fine and that's when we do something we shouldn't and things happen. I'm so thankful that all is well with baby girl and Lord willing, she'll stay put until closer to her due date the end of January.

So...Christmas lights on the house were definitely a bust this year. :)

They are still up around the front door - I asked CKB if he ripped them down after I went to the hospital, but he didn't - I think he left them up to remind me every time I see them to be more careful and not to be doing anything I shouldn't for the next few weeks.

Y'all be careful!

Quilt...coming soon! Courtesy of my friends at Lone Star House of Quilts in Arlington, TX

Well, this morning the fog was gone and I was able to run my exciting errand without fear of plowing into someone in front of me (or being plowed into, for that matter)!

My errand was...to visit Lone Star House of Quilts in Arlington, TX where my dear friends, the Cookseys are the owners. About 6/7 years ago Alice made beautiful quilts for my girls for baby gifts and has graciously offered to quilt the top I made for our newest blessing due in January! I am thrilled because this will make the quilt so much more special! This morning I handed over my quilt top...now, to wait. :)

As soon as I have it back, I'll take a picture and share it with y'all - did I mention, I can't wait? :) No pressure Alice!

This was my first visit to the shop and it is wonderful - set in an older home in Arlington, it was a visit long overdue that I'm thankful I finally made. I couldn't leave empty handed so I picked up a pattern called "Hot for Chocolate" and the pink fabric and brown fabric necessary to get started and this project is for MEEEEEEEEE :D

Ok, maybe I'll share if/when I get it done, but mainly it's for me. :)

And, a big thanks to Mr. Dave who entertained my rowdy crew on the front porch and front yard of the quilt shop while Alice and I visited. I enjoyed the trip immensely and hope we weren't too much trouble. If you need some fabric, etc. visit them online any time or in person - it's just a hop, skip and a jump to get over there and very easy to find!

Foggy foggy nights and days

This past week has been so crazy weatherwise. It all began last Saturday with WINDY weather - gusts around 40 - felt like we were back down in Corpus again! Sunday we had more wind, but not quite as strong and then the cold moved in and iced over the streets for a day or so and our front walk for about 3 days - needless to say, I stayed in for fear of slipping and falling in my off balance very pregnant state! Last night we ventured out...in the fog...with CKB at the wheel. We had planned to get a Christmas tree after a quick trip into Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things, but there weren't many trees to be found at Wal-mart, Lowe's or Home Depot and by the time we discovered this, it was nearing 9 p.m. and the children REALLY needed to be home in bed. We discussed going to a tree lot that was about a 1/2 hr. or so drive south of home (we were about 20 mn. north at the time), but decided not to and that maybe we would tonight (Thursday). Instead, when we got home, CKB dragged in the artificial tree and set it up and lo and behold, it fit in the corner of the den we'd recently cleared of boxes (yes, I said boxes, we'll never be 100% unpacked I don't think!).

Anyway, the tree is up! Now, tonight, hopefully we'll get the ornaments on and feel like we're ready for Christmas after all.

When Mr. A walked into the den this morning and saw the tree (I'd turned the lights on as I headed to his room to get him out of the crib), he exclaimed "WHOA!" and it was about the cutest thing you've ever heard :) Later, I overheard him lecturing Miss A that she was not to touch the "red button" (a footswitch for turning the lights on and off) that went something like this "Never, ever, ever, EVER touch the red button Miss A, never EVER or it'll shock you!" :) I chuckled at this, I had told him earlier not to touch the button or the cord or I'd give him a big spank - apparently he considered that being "shocked" - ha ha ha. Guess who's had to have 2 spanks so far today? Uh huh.

So...today, we went out to try and finish up a few things shopping wise. Did you know it takes FOREVER when it's foggy, everyone else in the world is at the stores and 2 of the 3 stores you visited are apparently having a restocking day and have boxes lining BOTH sides of EVERY aisle you try to go down with the cart and 3 children walking alongside you? Ugh! Not to mention I have the never failing ability to ALWAYS choose the checkout line with someone ahead of me who will need a price check - I kid you not - if you ever go shopping with me, PICK YOU OWN LINE, it never fails.

About 4 p.m. we came out of Wal-mart - yes, I'm insane, but I needed a couple of things that I'd seen there before, so we went in - and the fog is THICK - and it's getting dark and I decided to make a beeline for home before it got truly dark and I had to navigate through the pea soup. We made it home safe and sound and do not plan to go out again tonight.

This has been the strangest weather week we've had in a long time! I'm hoping for clear weather in the morning as I have an exciting errand to run and want to make sure I'm out early to meet a friend. More on that later!

Where did I go wrong?

Well, Miss E is our promising young pianist, right?

Guess what Miss A told me she wants to learn to play?

The harmonica! Eeek!

What's a mom to do? I was envisioning another pianist or maybe a violinist, following in her mama's footsteps...but harmonica? I think Grandpa had something to do with this.....

Private Piano Recital = Less Stress and More Cookies for Us!

Last night, we made preparations for our own private piano recital for Miss E after deciding we'd better stay in due to the weather reports for icy roads (that doesn't mix well w/pregnant mama, 4 small children, fog and a minivan on overpasses).

CKB arrived home from work and after I asked him if he could think what crazy idea I was thinking of, he said he knew exactly what I was thinking and he was right. He set up my photography backdrop and stand so Miss E would have a nice backdrop for her recital (and for pictures) and then he moved the digital piano into the den (and it's not exactly light, not as heavy as an actual upright, mind you, but still, not light at all!) along w/the piano bench.

We all dressed as we had planned to for going to the actual recital and assembled in the den. Since we were at home, it was a little easier to set up the tripod for the video camera, have my digital camera in hand AND the mp3 player to record the performance as well. After making sure everything was ready to go, the recital began and Miss E did a wonderful job. She has been taking lessons for a few months now and is really enjoying it. She's never once complained about practicing and usually remembers to go practice each day before I remember to remind her! I think she might've been a little nervous even just playing for the family, but she did a good job and surprised me by singing along with her pieces. I don't know if she would've done that at the recital in front of all the "strangers" (other students), but it was a sweet treat for us to hear. She also added her own little ending to each piece (which had been approved by her piano teacher who said she "enjoyed Miss E's creativity").

As of right now, I can't share the video yet, but here're pictures from last night along w/the mp3 recording of her performance.

After the performance, we took some family pictures after CKB graciously moved the piano out of the way (hey, the backdrop was up, we were dressed up, it would've been criminal to let that opportunity pass!) and then we had a reception just like we would have if we'd gone to the actual recital. Hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies (Christmas colored chips, mind you!) were on the menu complete with Christmas marshmallows - yum yum - and hey, more cookies for us!

Enjoy!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.....

....but the fire (will be when CKB gets home and builds one) is so delightful...and since the roads are probably going to ice back over....we're going to have a home recital....

Ok, well, that wasn't the best improvisation of that song, but you get the gist....

Miss E's piano teacher is proceeding w/the recital and up until a little while ago I thought we'd still go...even made Christmas cookies to take for the reception afterward...but, the weather report for this evening is for "freezing fog" (which I've never heard of before) and apparently the visibility is expected to get down to 1/4 mile and ice forming and depositing onto the roads directly from the fog, especially on overpasses (of which there are 2 we'd have to cross to get to the church where the recital is to be held).

So...CKB and I will hold a private recital here at home tonight for Miss E and pray that all those who do get out, will return home safely.

Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow!

I love this guy....

I'm sitting at the pc sending a quick note to my sister when Mr. A walks up and sniffs loudly...

Mr. A: What's that smell? Is that pizza?

Me - No, it's not pizza, it's Shepherd's Pie.

Mr. A: Shepherd's Pie? No Way!!

He he he he. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, I better pull it out of the oven and find out. 2.5 year old boys are adorable, don't you think?

How long does it take to get a rental property mgr. to send out repair guys?

Well, apparently nigh on 2 months around these here parts.

I submitted our original request for maintenance on October 30...yes, OCTOBER 30.

Some folks showed up to look over the a/c unit WITHOUT CALLING AHEAD one morning and determined some part was needed, but they'd have to get approval before actually doing any repairs and would have to order the part if approved.

We are still waiting.

And waiting.

The last communication I received from the rental property manager said I should be receiving a phone call from the a/c company to arrange a time to come out...that was a few weeks ago...no calls. I forwarded our home phone to my cell phone while we were out of town...no calls. Today, ironically, it's about 28 degrees outside and this is on my mind...I mean, hey, spring will be here soon and it still might not be fixed at this rate. Ugh. Renting is such fun.
My favorite part of the last email I got was the end which said "How am I doing? Email my manager at...." Guess who I copied on my email today? Sigh.

Still waiting...................................................................at least the heat works!

Lights, camera, action?

Well, tomorrow night is Miss E's very first, bona fide, piano recital! How exciting! This is our first "big event" with one of the children - now, to do my part as Mama of the pianist...camera batteries charged...memory card IN the camera...video camera battery charged...tape in the video camera blank and ready to go...tripod...hmm...plan on how to juggle all of these things along w/managing a 2 year old and 2 other siblings...uh...still working on that one ;)

Hoping to get there early and get good seats - Miss E wants us on the front row :) She keeps telling me she's nervous. I hope she'll get over it quickly once it comes down to it. As of right now, we don't know when she'll play - I'm hoping they go youngest to oldest or something like that and she'll be able to play early on. Also, hoping for good behavior from Mr. A since the recital starts at 7 and we're usually beginning bedtime preparations about then...hmm, bring quiet snack and sippy cup!

Y'all pray for her to not be too nervous! I hope to bring tidings of a happy event day after tomorrow!

In case you missed it last year...

Sick and Tired

In the literal sense.

It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since I last posted on the blog after posting so often before, but I needed a break. We had a great trip over Thanksgiving and returned home this past Sunday night after dealing with a lot of illness on the tail end of the trip.

I am still "tired" and hoping to feel like I'm back on my feet by the weekend. If not, I'm to get in touch w/my OB (had an appt. today and told her how tired and weak I was still feeling).

I won't go into all the gory details right now...like I said, I'm tired, but soon I'll give a summary of our trip. For now, I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did. I have so much to be thankful for and I pray I always remember how blessed I am. God has given me an amazing husband, beautiful, healthy children, a baby to be born soon, a warm home, a car to get around in and above all, the precious gift of His love to me. I could go on and on listing many more things, but I need to give my eyes a break from the pc screen - 2 weeks away from it and my eyes aren't too keen on looking at the bright screen any more. Probably a good thing :)

If anyone out there is still checking our blog, know that we're on the road to recovery from this illness and thankful to God for my wonderful parents who had to endure the plague as we arrived at their house w/a sick 2 year old and then the rest of us succumbed to the illness one after another while we were there. My mother got sick after we left and thankfully Dad is still well and able to take care of her while she recovers. Pray for us and for them when you think to please.

The Lord has been so good to me....you know how the hymn goes :)