I made a special post for Resurrection sunday which was technically in March, however, this is an actual March update; and it's a long one. March family update: on the 2nd Pete went to Austria for a week long business trip and the kids and I stayed home and came down with a month long cold/sickness. Seriously, we were sick for a long time.
Pete's trip:
He went to Graz, Austria with a coworker in order to visit a factory/company his company purchased. They have technology Pete used to hopefully assist in a project he is working on. He was also able to go out with some locals for dinners and such. He said it was a good time; a huge step up from his previous international business trips. He didn't even have any delays, cancellations of flights, or sleeping in airports!
Our Sicknesses:
B's sickness: It all started the last day of February. I had some mom friends from church (and their children) over for our weekly morning "moms group" and by the end of it B's eye was gooey and red. Well, by the end of his nap it was gross and much worse so we made a quick appointment to get some eye drops because I was certain it was pink eye. It was indeed a case of conjunctivitis and we started 10 days of eye drops while I called my friends to spread the news that my baby may have spread something else to their kids. Thankfully, none of the other kids came down with it! I was so grateful. Giving him eye drops was quite the adventure. Pete helped me the first day, but then he left for Austria so I was on my own. I eventually found a good headlock position and he fought well but we made it through.
My sickness: The day before Pete left for Austria, my throat started feeling painful and swollen. Needless to say it lasted so long and was the most painful sore throat I have ever had that I went to the doctor for a strep test. I actually don't even remember what the diagnosis was - not strep but some kind of infection. I was so desperate to be well again. It had been three weeks of sore throat, flu like symptoms, and kids with the same stuff. I took those antibiotics he had prescribed and miraculously my throat felt much better after two days. Yes, I realize that it could have just been time for the sickness to be over but either way, I was so relieved.
J's sickness: She was my little helper. She seemed to miss the pink eye, sore throat, and flu symptoms... at least for two weeks. She came down with the flu stuff too. When she got one of her high fevers, complaining about her ear hurting, and eye gunk too - that's when we went to the doctor. It was her usual pediatrician's day off so we went to Kidscare and the dr there said her eye gunk was probably the start of a sinus infection. We did 4 days of eye drops for her and she was brave as long as I had mini marshmallows for her. As far as the ear pain goes.... she had a dead box elder bug stuck in her ear! The Dr said he sees maybe 3 bugs a year in kids' ears. He said, "What in the world is that?" followed by, "there's a bug in your ear, no really, there's a box elder bug in her ear." I was so taken aback. I don't know how it happened but he thinks it was probably during her sleep. Thankfully, J was so brave and sat very still as he used tweezers to get the majority out. The nurses then came in with a water rinse to get the rest.
By this time, I was fed up with being sick or being around those who were sick. Which of course meant it was Pete's turn. Thankfully, his sickness didn't last as long. It was a long month but I want to share how God has helped me look for His gifts in everything - even the sickness.
Our mom's group - that I wrote of earlier - watched the video Bible study of Ann Voskamp's book, 1000 Gifts. Many of us read it or had read it too. I was loving everything she said. I understood the feelings of life passing so quickly you don't even notice the good in your life. I also understood the hard times when thanking God seems backwards. But I am still today trying to daily write down the gifts God gives, even when the whole house is sick. As I look back in my daily gifts journal, I see the many times in a few weeks that we missed out on an important activity such as church, Bible study, or mom's group. I don't enjoy missing things; but this time around I was able to find the good in it all- even staying home. God is teaching me so much this year about His goodness and my need for Him. I hope to continue to search for His gifts and give Him all the glory.
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