As I mentioned in a previous blog, this Christmas was not one that we want to repeat. We were cruising along just fine, excited about all that Christmas is, when Cooper got sick the Sunday before Christmas. We thought it was just a bug, and I got some oil pointers from ladies at church and began the Thieves regimen that afternoon. As the day went on we realized this was not just a cold, but possibly the flu.
Monday morning he was feeling the same, had a high fever, and I wanted to get the situation under control so we wouldn't miss the program. So I took him to a walk in clinic. The Dr. said she was pretty certain it was the flu but swabbed him to make sure. He had a 102.1 fever and looked just awful. I was in tears when we left. If it was the flu then our Christmas was going to be very different, including no Christmas program, possibly no family, and not much fun. I waited for about 30 minutes and then got the call. It was the flu. I cried, got mad, called Mom, whined and repeated for most of the afternoon. Why was this happening?? We worked so hard on the program?? What are we going to do?? Meanwhile I continued my oil treatments and Cooper seemed to be doing better. I also oiled up everyone else in the house (well I could only catch Dalton twice) every hour hoping to prevent an entire household of sickies. That afternoon Cooper was much better and fever free! And the fever never returned. The next morning he was back to his old self, besides a terrible cough, and I was so thankful…but it made it even harder to miss the program. But by this time I'd come to terms with it and saw it as an opportunity to practice humility. And my Bible study was all about John the Baptist coming and leading the way and stepping aside when Jesus came. "He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30. I was filling that role, preparing the program and stepping back for the church to enjoy it. Once God cleared that up for me I could enjoy Christmas without a problem.
I was afraid that the sickness would scare my family away but thankfully they came on Christmas Eve anyway. Between Monday and Wednesday (Christmas Eve) Cooper had gotten better, Tucker got sick, had a horrible fever but, with home treatment, was fever free by Wed, and Ace had gotten a fever. I was iffy and Dalton was doing good (not great for my oil testimony but the boys were def benefitting). It really was great because we didn't buy any Tamiflu….which the Dr. had recommended, at $200 a dose! But that's another story.
So Christmas Eve morning we all got up and got to work. We cleaned, mopped, vacuumed, Lysoled, wiped, showered, put real clothes on, started a roast and waited for my parents and Garrett and Amy. Boy did it make us all feel better just to be in a clean house with real clothes on! By the time they arrived we were really excited and pounced on them.
Mom knitted us all hats and the kids scarves. It was a special gift!
This year we let the boys pick out a gift for each other. Ace got Cooper M&Ms and gum. Cooper got Ace 'walky talkers' as he calls them. It was pretty cute watching the exchange.
Music man Ace was so thrilled with his guitar from GG and PaPa!
That evening we visited, ate supper on my china, opened presents and practiced taking group selfies with the timer on the camera. By 9, everyone was tired and worn out. They decided to get on the road again since they were headed to New Mexico to ski, and I didn't force them to stay, feeling exhausted myself.
Tucker wanted to participate in reading the Christmas story
Camera timer worked!
The kids went to bed, we cleaned up the kitchen and then went to bed too. The next morning Santa had come (even though the kids forgot to put out a snack - thankfully we remembered) and the boys checked out their gifts under the tree. It wasn't the most enthusiastic Christmas morning, with groggy half-sick boys. After we opened presents I settled in for a comfy kind of day, assuming we'd stay home. But then Dalton's parents called and told us to come on over, which made Dalton very happy.
Cooper was ready to chop down our tree with his chain saw.
We headed over there and I was nervous! I didn't want to pass the flu to anyone, and it seemed hard not to with the boys coughing and sneezing. But everyone else was welcoming and we had a good visit. Once the guests started showing up for lunch I tried to quarantine our kids, or at least keep them outside and in the open air. For some reason Cooper decided to quarantine himself so that wasn't a problem.
Cooper loved his Leap Pad and stayed curled up with it most of the time.
It was a nice lunch, with lots of great food. We visited, ate and then rounded up our tired boys and headed home for naps. That evening we took the boys to look at a Christmas light show and it was a hit! I loved seeing the lights too, set to music. A great way to finish Christmas Day.
We spent the weekend playing with new toys and recovering from being sick. Then on Sunday evening the Moores showed back up and spent the night. It was fun to visit without the threat of flu around and the kids happily suffocated Garrett and Amy while they were trying to relax.
Monday morning Garrett and Amy left after breakfast. Mom and Dad hung around for a while though and helped us with Tucker and Ace so that I could ride with Cooper and follow the heifers back across the road. Then we played in the house and took them out to lunch before they left. Then the boys and I joined Dalton on a feed run and ended up at Tractor Supply. We let the boys take a Christmas gift card in and pick out something. Cooper chose a skid steer with attachments and a little lawnmower, and Ace chose a tractor and grain cart and two little scoop tractors for him and Cooper (he's got such a sweet heart). It was a thrill for them. Cooper especially loved paying by himself (little man that he is). The rest of the evening they fought over the skid steer, which coincidentally they haven't played with in days now.
Tuesday night we finished our Christmas December celebrations with dinner at Possum to celebrate Mere Mere's birthday. They always have great lights set music too, so it's a must do before the season is over. The boys were right there helping Mere Mere blow out her candles and enjoyed sharing her cake, while entertaining Nana with their antics.
Wednesday we got the tree and Christmas decorations down and put away for the year. I'm usually depressed when the season ends, but this year I was ready to let it go and get started on year 2015. So far it's been a good one!
"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." 1 John 5:11-12
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