sickies

"Oh great." That's what my thought was as soon as I heard Isaac telling me his tummy hurt. I had heard the stomach crud was going around, but I had hoped it would pass us by, at least until after Christmas. But, it was not to be. That very afternoon Jeremy lost his lunch, and soon after that, Isaac was sick as well. This was Saturday. Why of all weekends did it have to be THIS weekend?

The kids had worked so hard to prepare for a Christmas play at church. They memorized their lines, learned the songs, attended the practices, and were finally getting over their initial fear of performing. Too bad the play was pushed back a week due to weather and the kids had to wait another full week before they could get the weight of it off their chests. And then the day before the play, Isaac gets the stomach flu. Of course, HE probably thinks the timing of it was wonderful since he didn't have to be part of the play afterall! (Chloe did and she was great, I'll have to post a video soon.)

Anyway, the boys got better by Monday. And Monday turned into Tuesday and on into Wednesday, and I was sure the sickness was behind us. Until tonight. Poor Chloe has fallen victim to it now and is pretty miserable. Thankfully she fell asleep almost instantly after bedtime prayers.

Why of all weeks, does it have to be THIS week? We have company coming on Friday to celebrate Christmas with us. We have the whole weekend planned....Friday morning we'll open our presents as a family, and when Greg's family gets here, we'll eat pizza and go look at Christmas lights. Then Christmas morning we'll have our pancake picnic in the living room, open more presents, eat lunch, and so on.

And that reminds me how futile it is to make plans. I mean, we can plan all we want, but ultimately we are not in control. Things change, plans fail, but God is still in control. Christmas will still come, even if we can't go through with all our plans...and that's okay. So I can rest knowing it will all be alright.

I'm probably the most nurturing with my children when they are sick. They absolutely hate to throw up...I mean...I can't think of anyone who enjoys the process. I will rub their backs, hold hair out of the way, and tell them "it's alright", "It will be over soon", and "you will feel so much better in a little bit." Then when it's all over, I spend extra time with them reading, scratching backs, whatever needs to be done. I hope they never catch on that inwardly I am gagging or holding my breath, but that they feel comforted knowing I am there.

Anyway, I hope this post isn't too gross for you tonight. It just happens to be what is on my heart. And I hope that you and your family are healthy this week to celebrate the birth of our Savior, the most precious gift of all. We might be sick on Christmas, but we will still be celebrating what God has done for us! Merry Christmas!