Ho Ho Ruff.....

Merry Christmas from Maggie and Shadow!
Snuggles didn't want to play this game....crazy cat!

Benign, No vomit, Back to school

E's results came back with good news. No cancer. There is some big term, but the important news is no cancer. They took off the bandage, have given the free and clear to return to normal with caution using that arm til the stitches come out. So can I hear an "Amen!"?
M2 has been back to school for two days and hasn't been sick either. The first day back knocked it out of him, but he was all smiles today! Again, can I hear an "Amen"?
M1 is still sickly, but back at school and activities. So - as I predicted - she will survive. And milk it for all it's worth in the morning and evening.
M3 is great as well.
So our house is on the mend! Oh - and....get this....are you ready.....Christmas shopping is done (I hope). I took the day off and wrapped it all up - not literally - but got it all bought.
Here's to life returning to normal - or as normal as it can get out here in the middle of cornfields!

Prayer and pulling through

WooHoo! Please join me in the happy dance as we've officially gone 24 hours without vomit for the first time since last Tues. M2 is feeling better. Very tired. But better. He ate dinner and even a little snack. I am so happy for him and my mommy heart is just overflowing! Thank you Lord for getting us through this one!

M1 did go to the doc, did suffer through the almighty throat culture and all that just to find out she has a virus. She's been home two days now (yesterday a snow day and today a sick day). I plan on her going to school tomorrow so long as she isn't near death in the morning. Hopefully enough ibuprofen and she'll be fine. No plans tomorrow evening, so rest after school should get her through.

E is doing ok. He has had some pain on and off today as the hospital pain killers are probably gone from his system. He seems to be in good spirits too! A little trouble was encountered while attempting to put on a sweatshirt tonight, when he felt like he pulled something. We both think it's from lack of use over the last 24 hours, and any movement will trigger such. He's fine though. Tomorrow is the post op appt and we hope to have pathology results back. Please pray this is nothing. A goofy freak of nature and that there is no cancer.

I, too, feel sanity creeping back in. Tonight I got out for a while and helped serve dinner for youth at church. Only 105 kids tonight. Think the cold and road conditions probably have some parents saying they won't get out again to pick kids up. That's ok! It was a nice outing for me, and M2 came along to get a break from the siblings. What a great helper he was. He filled 100 cups with water and lemonade and even helped clean trays after. Such a trooper!

So - for tonight - I want to say thanks for the prayers. We seem to be coming around the bend, or approaching the top, or on the mend or however you want to see it. Here's hoping for rest for us all and good news at the doc tomorrow.

Sweet Dreams!

I surrender

Seriously - how much more can one take. M2 is still throwing up. He had a horrible day of barely eating at all, and when he finally did eat/drink late in the day - I'm quite certain most of it just came back up. I did call the doc today. I did tell him I questioned the lingering flu theory. I did tell him how miserable M2 was. And I will call again tomorrow. I don't know what else to do. The bathrooms are scrubbed with bleach and his bedding has been changed - again.

Now...M1 isn't feeling well with a slight fever and a sore throat. I have literally been asking all day if she feels ok. What's wrong? And all day it's been "I'm tired". Finally tonight, I had to pry out of her that her throat hurt. **Insert little guy pulling out hair here**.

And of course - E is recovering, but I am just waiting for the pain to set in. Right now there is little to no feeling in his arm/hand, and we've losened the compression bandage. Hopefully some more rest and elevation will help and a little Tylenol3.

Anyway - keep the prayers coming. I can feel more gray hair sprouting by the minute.

Katy

5 down - only animals to go

Ok - Maybe it's not that bad. But - when it rains it pours at our house. Here is the update/prayer request from us to all of you!

Today has been a busy day for us with 4 at the doctor and the 5th scheduling a surgery. Our family would sure appreciate any prayers.
M3 went in today with what I thought was pink eye, but it is just an upper respiratory infection that has affected his tear duct. The doctor assured us that a couple doses of antibiotics and he’ll feel good as new!
M2 went in today having been sick on and off for far too long. Please pray that his body can conquer this bug and we’ll awake with no vomit tomorrow!
M1 went in after sustaining a back injury over a month ago that is still irritating her. We have to do a little more follow up over the next few days and would appreciate prayers for no damage in her back.
I went in today fearing a broken foot from a fall last week in the snow/ice. No break!!! A little more ice and ibuprofen and I should be back at it. Yeah God!
E scheduled a surgery for first thing in the morning (Tues) to have a lump removed from his arm. The doctor said it needed to come out sooner than later and is a little concerned about it. We would appreciate prayers for a smooth surgery and a benign mass. Also for the kids to take it easy on their ol’ dad as he recovers.

Thanks so much for lifting us up! I'll post after we get home from surgery tomorrow.

One more for tonight - then kids must be bathed

With our entertainment center gone - and my perfect sized "winter wonderland", this one took a little thinking. But - thanks to mom and dad downsizing, this shelf fit the hole and is the perfect spot for my snow globes.

The tree...up close and personal

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree - How lovely are your branches. Or at least we think so! Here we have the tree which is located in our foyer. It's the first time we've put the tree here, and I must admit I like it here! You can even see it as you come up our drive or drive by on the highway if you look inbetween houses.

More decor

And here we have the second landing you come to as you go up the stairs. This is our "stuffed" area. And though I had to cut back a little this year, so we could still get by and the dogs could tear up and down the stairs, I still think it turned out ok. It's kinda fun to walk down the stairs and see this each morning!

A decorating we will go

So decorating goes here....but it goes slow. Seems like there is so much rearranging and moving around that each "area" is a task to get decorated. But - it's happening slowly!

Here is the 1st landing you see coming up the stairs. Not much - just our Hallmark guys that gma gets us each year. I love the one from this year - so hope gma continues her tradition.

We have Vomit, We have Snow - Ho Ho Ho

That's right. A rhyme with vomit and snow all in one title.

M2 started throwing up last night around 1:15 and carried through until nearly 5 this morning. Not a fun night. This is his second round with stomach flu in one month. The good news is it seems to pass fast. The bad news is he was quite upset to miss school and is still trying to figure out what sits ok.

In addition, today is Weds, so our schools start late. 10 a.m. By noon, they called and early dismissal of 1:30. That's right. M1 was in school a whole 3 and a half hours. They new it would accumulate. Why did they make all these kids go to school to begin with. Oh well - welcome to our lovely school district. Anyway....it started snowing at 8 this morning and has been steady ever since. Seems to be letting up now - but we've got at least a couple inches and a nice layer of wet/icy/slushy stuff under. So we're home for the rest of the day and hoping the fire will warm things up soon.

So - that's our day so far! How's your day going? Tee hee!