Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy. Sometimes they are awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
This week was nothing like we had planned! The kids started dropping like flies and most of what we had planned got cancelled. First Anders got sick, then on Tuesday Jamison was sent home from school with a fever and cough. Because he has asthma we brought him to the doctor and he tested positive for Influenza-A. He couldn’t go back to school on Wednesday so the poor kid missed his Valentines Party. Thankfully Parker picked up Jamison’s treat bag so he still got all his cards and snacks.
On Wednesday the ickiness hit Cade and we warned our families there was a chance we wouldn’t be coming to visit for the long weekend. We did not want to spread the germs everywhere but since Jamison was already back to normal (you’d have never known he had the flu by Wednesday the way he was acting!) and the fever bug seemed to only be lasting 24hours we were hopeful we could still leave on Friday. We were wrong.
Poor Miss Mercedes spent Wednesday night and most of Thursday in bed with a fever. Worse yet, Thursday was her birthday! Poor girl didn’t eat her birthday dinner she picked out because she was so tired. We had to cancel our trip – thankfully the kids all took it better than we expected and we spent the weekend hanging around the house having LOTS of family time. And now I think all the kids are finally on the mend – no more fevers!
Despite all the sickness and grumpy attitudes due to not feeling well I’ve still got several great moments to share. Because again, there is always joy because our God is a good, good God!
1. Extra snuggles
Both little boys are fairly snuggly as it is but sickness means lots of extra snuggles and frequently spending all day on the couch. It’s rare to get more than a few minutes of snuggles before they are moving on to a new activity. I soaked up all the snuggles I could on Monday and Wednesday when the little boys were sick and they fell asleep in my arms or on my lap over and over again.
2. New eye skills
After bouncing back from the fever this boy learned how to cross his eyes, all by himself. He though it was hilarious to come up and snow me his new skill. “Mama, look at my face! Hahahaha!” Never a dull moment!
3. At home Valentine’s date
Micah and I had an at home sushi date for Valentine’s Day this year. I discovered that we can order sushi from our favorite grocery store and have it delivered! Because it was our first time ever ordering we also got $10 off and free delivery :O I may have ordered too much because we almost didn’t finish. We stuffed our faces and watched a movie. We don’t exchange gifts or do anything over the top for most holidays and special days so this was perfect.
4. Her new dollhouse/kitchen
Right after Christmas I shared the awesome deal I found on a dollhouse/kitchen combo for Mercedes’ birthday. We finally got to give it to her and she set to work setting it all up… in between naps since she was sick on her birthday. Every single person that called to wish her a Happy Birthday was told all about her new kitchen and dollhouse that “are stuck together!” Her brothers have already started moving LEGO in to play with the dolls *eye roll*
5. Birthday girl
She’s five! When we moved into this house, just before the boys were born, she wasn’t even two. She was just starting to potty train and you could barely understand her when she talked. Now she’s five, she loves math, dolls, and her brothers. She’s incredibly tall for her age and is going to tower over the other kindergartners this fall. She is filled with confidence about almost everything… unless she doesn’t want to do something then she insists she’s too little. She’s our favorite little girl and we are so blessed to be her mom and dad!
6. Stuffed animal explosion
We are about 2+ months out from being flea free. Those things are awful and I wouldn’t wish them on anyone! But we finally rid the house of them for good around Christmas but we waited until now to allow the kids their bags of extra blankets and stuffed animals back. They ripped open the bags and exploded them all over the basement hallway. We were wide eyed with a “what have we done!” expression but they were so thrilled to see their things back. They even pilled them all on a large blanket and went “swimming” in the toys. Maybe we need to take all the toys away more often and wrap them up for gifts next year? Ha!