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.