Tuesday 5: Facebook and ovens

1. We've spent some time in the Emergency Room in the last week with various kid's sicknesses getting out of control. Issy on Friday night and George on Saturday night. Bronchitis for both of them, plus a side of ear infection and wheezing for George. This is one. nasty. virus. I am extremely thankful for modern medicine this week, because they were very ill. With some cough syrup with codeine, some meds to open their lungs, they both seem to be on the mend now. Now, however, Isaac has it. I am trying desperately to reign it in. If you are the praying type, prayers would be appreciated.

2. I decided to go off Facebook for Advent. It has been good. Mostly. Since I stay at home and have children who all need to talk to me when I get on the phone, contact with friends and family back in Kansas and Wisconsin is mostly done via Facebook.  It isn't Facebook stalking, it isn't friending people just to have a bunch of Facebook friends, it is just connecting with people in a silly or meaningful way that I would have a hard time doing otherwise. I miss that. I don't miss the drama (which I am pretty good about not getting sucked into, but on occasion...) and I don't miss the "news" (I kind of want to forget that Donald Trump might actually be a serious contender for President) but I do miss my acutal, people-i-miss-talking-to, friends.

3. I am not sure how we have blasted through December, but here we are, halfway through. 10 days until Christmas. It has been a real doozy.

4. I cleaned my oven today. I don't think I have ever cleaned my oven unless we were moving (although actually, one of my friends cleaned the oven in our first Kansas house before we moved...) but I don't think I have ever thought, "Hey, I'll clean the oven." It was actually a little chilly in the house and my main motivation was to make it warmer. And, in fairness, I have a self cleaning oven, so I just pushed the button and endured the smoke from pizza toppings put directly on the rack. But! I actually wiped out the soot afterwards. I found out the inside of my oven is blue. Isn't that random? And fun? And more you needed to know?

5. When I reflect on how we got here, specifically, to our community in Colorado, I am in awe of the way God moved things so that we would be here. It was truly God working directly in our lives and perhaps, a testimony for another day. But I am even more in awe of the way we have been welcomed. When we moved, I never imagined being embraced in friendships the way that we have been. It has been such a blessing. When we are with our friends, my heart is always so full. This year, I think I am most grateful for the beautiful friendships I have made.

Well, 2015 won't go down as a prolific year for blogging...

...not even a little bit.

Since I last posted in October, I:

• Went to Texas to train to be a Birth Boot Camp instructor
• Spent most of November cleaning up various bodily fluids as we battled the stomach flu as a family for three weeks
• Traveled to Kansas for Thanksgiving
• Spent the first part of December battling a nasty respiratory virus as a family

Texas was awesome. Well, Texas was Texas, but the training and people I met were awesome. I spent three days learning how to teach the curriculum, which is fantastic. The materials are beautiful, the program is thorough, the information is up-to-date. We also learned about the business and marketing end of it, which was very helpful. I am very grateful I chose to teach with Birth Boot Camp, both because of the amazing curriculum and their support for their instructors as well.

I'd like to say, I hit the ground running and got a class going right away, but alas, bullet point number two happened. I was beginning to get into marketing, making contacts, putting together a website and everything came to a grinding halt when we all got the stomach flu in November. And passed it around. Then passed it around again. Miserable. But we made it through.

We were able to travel to see our families for Thanksgiving which was as wonderful and hectic and full of visiting as it always is. I would love to say I documented this well with a camera, but no, I did not. It happened though, I promise.

The day after we got back, Liam and Delle got a fever/ cough. Then over the last week, everyone else has gotten it. Many tissues have been used. Lots of steamy baths. VapoRub. Temperatures taken. Tea drank.

I consider myself a pretty optimistic person, but there have been a couple (few?) times in the last week that I. Have. Lost. It. (Sorry again, receptionist at the kid's doctor's office who got the brunt of it.) My life can pretty much be summed up in this meme, which has popped into my head multiple times in the last week:

But alas, as a wife and parent, I can't just check out. Well, I could, but that'd be bad in the long run, so I don't. Blessedly, we have an amazing group of friends here, and having a support system has kept us from going completely nutty. But I just would really appreciate if life could ease up just a teensy.

Also, when I am not feeling sorry for myself, and I allow myself a bit of perspective, it is a helpful reminder that compared to others, our life has much abundance. So I will continue to list my blessings, offer up my suffering for others and try to keep the whining to a minimum.

Hope you, dear reader, are having a blessed Advent.