It's Been Too Long!

Snow Day #2. I’m loving our 2011 Snow Storm. Though many others disagree, I rather enjoy being trapped in the house with NOTHING to do! It’s almost as if time freezes along with everything else outside, and for once I’m only responsible for the demands of my family stuck in the house with me! A rather relaxing feeling, actually! I rejoiced right along with the girls when school was closed, because now that I’m in school too, I was just as excited as they were. My first day of the semester was set for Monday, but instead of being in class, I got to play in the snow with the kids and enjoy family time inside! AHH! Now there are so many things that I could be working on, and I have…gradually, but I’m savoring every moment of this much needed reprieve. I’m also very excited that I get to “catch-up” on blogging. I’ve had so many things to write about, but time has simply not allowed! My feeling really is…blog or bust. So, here it goes…
December was a month I was glad to see come and go! In fact, it did just that; come and go! Very quickly! If it weren’t for all the happenings that made me vastly aware that I was living life, I would have sworn we skipped that month on the calendar. Hmm…that’s actually a good idea! LOL We stayed on the go ALL MONTH LONG. Christmas parties, concerts, rehearsals, my sister’s wedding, and working at the church kept us going! I stayed up so late on many nights making cookies for class parties, studying for my own exams, and helping kids with projects for the end of the semester. And in our free time (insert laughter here) we seemed to stay sick the entire month. We passed the stomach virus all around the house in a matter of one week, and had every possible cold, cough, and virus known to man. We were decking the halls with vomit instead of boughs of holly. So, of course the month also included several trips to the doctor and pharmacy! (And a good amount of Lysol-ing EVERYTHING!) Boo! I missed every church service in Sunday due to somebody always being sick! And if you know anything about me, you know I hate missing church!
We somehow all managed to be well for Chirstmas though! It was very hectic, but oh so enjoyable! I LOVE watching kids be so excited and surprised on Christmas morning! We actually tell our children about the whole Santa hoax, because we want them to know that our blessings don’t just fall out of the sky from some cosmic guy who gives us everything we want. We want them to always know that every physical thing we are blessed with is because of the Lord, and He always gives us the things we need and sometimes the things we want! So, though some would say we’re weird, it’s fine with me. They were just as excited to see if they would be blessed with some of the things they wanted! It was so much fun!
On Christmas Day, we were surprised by our first White Christmas! How awesome that Marleigh’s first Christmas was a white one! We cooked for my side of the family that day and let the kids have a little more Christmas fun with a few more gifts! It was tons of fun, but the best was yet to come! The next day, we left our snow behind, and were hopeful for warmer climates as we headed to Florida for the kids first trip to Disney! Sadly, we arrived to record low temps for Florida, and we were very ill-prepared for such weather, but it was Disney or bust! I felt pretty yucky when we arrived, but I could only figure that I was slap worn out from all the Christmas activities and just needed rest! So that’s what I did! Our day at Magic Kingdom was a cold one, but very magical as we watched the kids enjoy every minute! Nate gave the biggest hugs to Mickey and Minnie, and Bella was Princess for the day! Marleigh just sat back and took it all in, but you could tell she was having a grand time! Although I had an absolute blast, I lived on Advil all day and couldn’t have been happier for my head to hit the pillow that night! Long story short, a visit to the nearest minute clinic confirmed strep throat and I spent the rest of my vacation being delirious from such a high fever. I was told that the weather was much better by the time we left Florida, but couldn’t be a judge in that area. Feeling better for the ride home, we stopped by one of our favorite places, St. Augustine, and wore Bella out by climbing to the top of the lighthouse. It gave us a good enough naptime in the car to make it to our resting place for the night, beautiful Hilton Head Island! Ending our vacation with a morning walk on the beach, we headed home the next day to celebrate the New year at home!
And here we are…eleven days in to 2011! Wesley ended up with strep as well in the meantime, but everyone else has had much better progress with their health since December! I was also very excited to finally make it back to a Sunday morning church service at the beginning of the year! It felt like I had been out of church for an entire year! The snow has been pretty and so much fun too! I anticipate what the rest of 2011 has in store for us!