Shaving

Mr. M has bee sure, for quite some time, that he is ready to shave.  When some of the kids spotted a spiderman "shaving" kit while shopping for Christmas presents they all agreed that Mr. M needed it.  He was so excited!  On the week-ends Daddy will sometimes ask him if he wants to shave with him.  It is so cute to see them together.

Mr. M really is growing up and desiring more responsibilities.  Wanting to shave is just a way he is letting us know that he wants to be a grown up, we're doing our best to encourage him along and help him grow into the man God has for him to be.

Round 2

We've had round 2 of being sick going through this week.  It seems to be a new bug and one by one all of the kids went down with it through out the week.  We had barely gotten through the last bug and many still had lingering coughs when noses started dripping again, little bodies were feeling warm, and throats were reported to be sore.

Yes, thats 20 degrees!  We had some COLD mornings.

Since everyone was still dragging from the last bug and it was freezing outside we decided to lay low and stay in.  We put plan B into action.  Everyone stayed inside (since while some wanted to go play they would come in hacking and coughing from being out in the cold), minimal chores and school would be done and lots of cuddling was in order.

I sat on the couch and little ones piled on.

We set up our projector and watched DVDs (mostly science related or ones that involved character qualities/issues we are working on) and discussed them.  We spent quite a bit of time reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingals Wilder.  Once Miss J was feeling better (on Thursday) I took advantage of the down time to teach her some basic crochet skills, she was thrilled to get a long chain made up using her fingers, then she moved on to using a hook.

 

By Thursday evening I was wondering if I was coming down with the bug. I was thankful to have missed the last one, but this one seemed to be getting the better of me.  Friday morning found me dragging, but still not too bad.  By Friday after noon I was down.  I was thankful that I had been able to hold out until the week-end.  Daddy came home with a pizza and took over for the week-end while I stayed in bed and rested up in hopes that I would be in much better shape by Monday.  While resting I did make use of the quiet time and worked on some knitting I had been wanting to get to.  These fingerless mittens are just about done!

Happy 5th Birthday Miss J!

We've been celebrating Miss J's birthday this week.  First she celebrated by going out on a date with Daddy.  She loves steak, so she wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.   We had fun helping her pick her outfit, doing her hair and getting her all ready to go.

Miss J had big plans for her birthday cake.  She had found a cake topper that she wanted to use on a tiered cake.  She was going for a wedding cake sort of look.  Since some of us were still a bit under the weather and laying low it was a quiet day with plenty of time for working on her cake.

A sweet visit

Last week-end when everyone was sick, or just coming out of the bug we had, we had some guests visit.  This visit had been in the works for a while and ended up being such a blessing.  These dear friends from Colorado came and visited, played with the kids and just encouraged our whole family.

By the second day most of us were feeling much better.  Some games were played and the kids loved showing off their animals too.  That evening we shared such a sweet time of singing hymns and Psalms. What a blessing to enjoys such fellowship and encouragement.  Thank you Mr. and Mrs. B for coming!

Dropping like flies (the flu?)

I guess it should be no surprise after all of the junk food, late nights and fun that kids are getting sick.  Mr. M was the first victim, going down on our camping trip.  I thought it was a simple cold and he seemed to recover in about three days.

With medicine like this you can't help but feel better!

Mr. S succumbed the next day (Tuesday), Miss J followed within hours.  A couple days later I was starting to suspect we were dealing with more than a simple cold.  Mr. M was still coughing, the other two were a bit better but still quite miserable.

I'm using essential oils to help us get through this bug.

Thursday morning Miss E announced that she was sick.  Mr. K and Miss C were remarkably quiet and by mid-day it was obvious they were sick too.  Its beginning to look a lot like influenza around here. :/  Fevers, coughs, achy bodies and even some...yuck!

*I'm sitting on the couch with Miss C at 3:30am as she watches a show on my iPad.  Its going to be a long few days.  I'd love your prayers for a quick recovery and strength to get through this.

Happy New Year!

Its been one big party around here.

Now we're all tired out and ready for some rest.

*The poor boy was so tired he fell asleep eating his sausage snack.  Daddy couldn't help but grab the mini stein to set up this great shot.