Tales From The "Sick House," Things I'm Learning Along The Way...

Whew! What a November this has been! What day is it anyway? I'm lost in time, I just know things started getting crazy around the first of the month & it hasn't slowed up yet!
As many of you with young kiddos at home can relate to, one little virus in one child, usually leads to a little virus in another, such a bummer & I'll spare you the ugly details, let's just say I've seen more than my share of "various bodily fluids" in the past few weeks, some on my carpet, some "projected upon me," & way too much on the mass of laundry I'm continuing to work through today!
It all started about 2 weeks ago, we had that ole detestable stomach bug visit our home, I know it's visited many of yours too. It went from one of us to the other, even Troy & I were "hit" with it, whew! What a blow when mom & dad get sick, kind of slows things down a bit, thankfully, we have never been sick at the SAME time, God is good to keep one of us strong at least! Unfortunately, this was the kind of bug that seemed to linger on way too long, it took a good week & a half for us all to be back to "normal" again! Only Dawson was spared - for the time being....
The beginning of the next week brought some new events, Noah was awake for several nights in a row with a fever & a terrible ear infection, no fun. The day after we were recovering from that, I noticed a strange rash on Gracie. That "strange rash" turned into a high fever & a "strange, INFECTED rash," and after a visit to the pediatrician & one culture later, we found out that she had a staph infection of all things, ugh! She was just on the road to recovery yesterday, feeling much better, when I received a call from the school nurse, "Hi, Mrs. McDaniel? Dawson just got sick in his class, can you come pick him up?" I wanted to scream in the phone, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!," but was able to restrain myself, at least for the time being. Poor guy, he's still spending long extended "sessions" in the bathroom today.

But in the midst of all of that, I've learned, or maybe "re-learned" some things along the way these past few weeks...thought I'd pass them on to you, it's O.K. to read it, I promise, viruses cannot be spread from blog content. (:

1. Girlfriends are just WONDERFUL! You know, women are such great people, I can't get over it, it just never ceases to amaze me how God uses us to bless one another!
Dawson, our amazing friend maker, once said to me, "Mom, you can never have too many friends," spoken like a much older, wiser soul than his 7 yrs. of age say that he is, but yet, so true.
Neighbors are wonderful, family is incredible, true friends are gifts. Those relationships are to be prized above all else! I seem to be most grateful for those treasured gifts of friendships & family, when I just plain "need help," and even in the many times I tend not to ask for help, there's someone willing to lend a hand, or give, or call, or pray, etc...
For example, one of our dear neighbors brought over a 6 pack of Sprites last night, she knew Dawson was sick, and that was JUST the thing I was wishing I had picked up at the store that day! Thank you God for giving to us, even the smallest but most important things, through our friends!
Another sweet friend & neighbor saw me last week in a distressed, "weak" moment. We had just returned home from Noah's visit to the doctor, my almost 40 lb., 3 year old was clinging to me in need of comfort, hot with fever, ear throbbing from an infection. As we got out of the car, Gracie took off across 2 yards, ready to romp & play. I struggled to chase her down, running & holding my Noah, he, almost in tears from pain, me, almost in tears from sheer exhaustion. My friend who saw the "drama" unfold, quickly offered to take Gracie for some play time at her house. And, then, she even offered to let Dawson come play after school! O.K., maybe it doesn't take much to please me, but I could not have been more grateful than if I'd just received a free trip to Hawaii or somewhere! Thank you God that you know our "limitations" & are there to send in the relief help! I came inside, got Noah "situated" & then, just cried. More out of gratefulness for a sweet friend, than from my "poor me" feelings that sought to steal my joy that day.
Then there's just those wonderful calls or emails out of the blue, "I just wanted to check on you," "heard the kids were sick, is there any way I can help?" - oh Lord, you are amazing the way you work through friends. There's just a boost in your day, in your spirit, when you know someone cares, is thinking of you, or praying for your little one who's sick. I'm so thankful for each friendship God has so Sovereignly placed in my life & I hope to be the amazing kind of friend that so many of them are to me!

2. God longs to speak to our hearts when we get quiet, get still, when we're on our "sick bed," when we're up to all hours of the night, when we're spending way too much time in the bathroom, etc... Maybe God wants to make the most of our "still" times before Him, maybe many of us, myself included, are just often not "still" enough to just "listen."
I was already feeling like I was clocking a lot of hours in the bathroom with starting the potty training thing with Noah & Gracie at the beginning of the month, and, being the multi-tasker that I am, I had even thought about moving my computer in there these past few weeks! I know you think I'm joking! (: I decided against it though, books are much better, and just being there, just spending those extra moments away from life "out there." I'm learning to appreciate those "quiet" moments with God, alone, or with my kids, more. I'm learning to stop talking sometimes, and listen more. I'm learning to keep rolling my "to do" list over to the next day's schedule without feeling too much guilt or thoughts that the world is going to collapse if I don't get everything done I think I need "to do." Life seems to go on just fine, amazing, isn't it?

3. Schedules, appointments, & events are occasionally meant to be changed or even missed. Various childhood illnesses & viruses do NOT ask you what your schedule looks like for the week, they never seem to say," would this be a good time for us to visit?" IT NEVER IS OF COURSE!
When you have 3 kids at home, (and some of you have more, whew!), there's just no way around it...you can't do everything you want to do, you can't make every meeting, every playdate, every dinner date, no matter how much you plan & schedule, sometimes it just doesn't work out like "we" want it too. There's been a few things these past weeks that I REALLY wanted to do. But, you know what? I'm learning to look more at what I GET to do, home with our kids, even when they're sick, than what I DIDN'T GET to do out there. I'm soaking in the moments of rocking my toddlers, especially when they don't feel good. I'm cherishing the moments of reading them books, of holding those little hands, I mean, wow, when was the last time you held a little one's hand & really "took in" that moment, that feeling? PRECIOUS! And, last night I sat with Dawson on the couch & read Star Wars books & watched the ENTIRE Incredibles movie with him. I have to admit, I'm the worst when it comes to doing other things when a family movie is on, I'll try to clean the kitchen, fold laundry, etc.., my "Martha" mentality makes it difficult for me to just "sit" & watch a movie with my little ones. But I loved it & I loved that alone time with him, while Troy had Noah & Gracie out for a fun night at Uncle Clay's. Those "little" moments are what I'm learning to cherish & remember & value most in our days. Thank you to my many "wise" friends who have shared with us the reminder to SOAK in those moments that are all too quickly gone. We're doing it! And, I know we won't regret it.
Some of us may be thinking, "yea, but what about your "me" time?" I've wondered about that myself, & I do believe it's good to "get away" sometimes, be alone, regroup, renew, be refreshed. But sometimes it doesn't come in the way we think it should or expect it to, God is so good to give those moments here & there, and, sometimes at certain stages of life, it's probably not as much as we may think we're "entitled" to, whatever that means. I think I'll have more "me" time than I may even want in the years ahead as our kiddos grow up. For right now, I'll learn to cherish my very early morning "quiet" moments. I LOVE waking up early, I know, that's just plain weird, but it's WONDERFUL!

4. Sometimes, & often when we least expect it, our kids "catch it." Not the virus, they catch the TRUTH, what we've been modeling, or teaching, maybe without even really thinking about it. Today as I was taking Noah & Gracie to their MDO class, we could all hear the occasional moans coming from Dawson in the back seat. I was secretly & selfishly praying, "God, help him not to throw up in the van!" But Noah said, "hey, we need to pray for Dawsie, he's sick. God, please help Dawson feel better, AMEN!" Oh my, why don't you go & melt my heart completely - he caught that, our 3 year old "got it"! He sees the importance of praying for those who are sick, who are hurting! Thank you God, help ME to "get it" too, help me to remember those important truths You're wanting to remind us of!

5. I've learned to enjoy "being at home." HOME. I mean, isn't that just a great word? I love home, I love being here, don't get me wrong, I LOVE & miss my "people connection" when I'm not able to get out, but I've learned to savor the moments when I know I'm "homebound" with a sick child for a few days. And, that is a miracle in itself, I mean, those words are spoken from a woman who has always loved to be OUT & ABOUT for years! I think I've realized in a fresh way, how much of an amazing role we play as moms, as wives, in our homes, we do indeed "set the tone" for life at home, we have the incredible ability, that I believe God gifts us in, to hold all the pieces together, to keep things running smoothly even in the midst of seeming chaos around us. What an awesome responsibility! I've learned not to stretch the "busy" factor too much, I've learned to say "no" when I know something, no matter how great it sounds, would put too much of a strain on family life, whew, life is already busy & stretched, there's not much more we can do, but learn to ONLY do the things that God is leading, and to kindly say "no" to the rest. Our kids will be "fine" without one more great activity, actually they'll probably be better than fine & happier to have some "down" time instead of a constant scheduled event.
Of course, what seems to work for us, may not work for someone else, we all need to know our limitations & "stress factor levels" for the protection of our own families. Each stage seems to be so different & unique, where Troy & I were once in the "gone all the time" stage, we're now in the "need to be home more" stage, that will change again I'm sure as time goes on...
Some of my favorite sounds at home are just listening to our children playing outside with neighbor friends, yelling, laughing, just playing, I know that wouldn't be possible with a constant "scheduled life," coming & going here & there. I'm far from perfect in that role, but I hope I'm getting better. I pray that our home will always be a treasured place in the hearts of our children as they grow up, & move away, a place they will WANT to come back to (to visit, not to live, ha!), a place they will want to bring others back to.

6. And finally, viruses & illnesses can sure increase the "flexibility factor" in us, and others too! When Dawson came home from school sick yesterday, we quickly had to re-arrange our dinner plans & party for Mimi we were planning to host that evening! Our sister in law was flexible & gracious enough to take on all 16 dinner guests herself, with minimal notice! I wondered if I would have been that "gracious" & giving, thank you Kathy for your kind & godly example!

Well, better go for now, I've got a house to clean & some loads of laundry with my name on it! I pray that your HOME is BLESSED today, no matter how crazy or lively it is, may it be full of JOY & LAUGHTER & GOODNESS FROM GOD!