An Update

 I was brushing Beth's hair the other day and she told me, "You need to color your hair. You have a lot of gray." 

 

Gee, thanks for pointing that out Beth. I explained to her the process for coloring your hair and the time and money it takes and I just don't want to go through all that. This is the way the Lord made my hair and I'm okay with it. "Okay" and out she went. "It's great chatting with you Beth!" 😄  

 

This illness - whatever it is now - just keeps hanging on. We have a couple of days where we feel really good, like it's finally over. Then we wake up the next day congested and blowing our noses again. And the cough, that has never gone away.

 

I find myself trying to figure out what I did - or didn't do - that made it relapse. 'Maybe I should eat more of this; maybe I just need more sleep...' Do you do that too? I know so many people who are sick though so I think it's just the season for it and it needs to run it's course. A friend and I were talking about the weather being a factor - so much rain and ice throughout the country lately. Maybe what we all need is a little warm sunshine for a few days! (See, there I go again!) 

 

I took Chuck to the doctor yesterday for a procedure but they ended up not being able to complete it. Now he needs to make a new appointment and they'll try again.

 

Let's see... Beth and I have dentist appointments next month. And hair appointments. Not a whole lot going on around here, can you tell?

 

I guess I'll stop here. I want to thank you for all your comments on my last post. I appreciate your prayers. We're not out of the woods yet.

Since We've Been Home

 Beth and I did a breathing treatment where you pour hot water into a pan and breathe in the steam. We've been so congested. It helped a little.

 

 

Then I noticed her cough had changed. I thought maybe it went from a wet cough to dry but I wasn't sure. So I took her to the walk-in clinic and they did a chest x-ray.

 

 Turns out she has bronchitis and pneumonia! So now she's on antibiotics and is slowly improving. She's yelling at her TV again and laughing at the videos on her phone so that's a good sign. She'll stay home from church tomorrow and have a few more days to rest and let the medicine work. Chuck and I still have bad coughs but usually only at night or when we exert ourselves. We're all going through cough drops like crazy.

 

We had a light dusting of snow a couple days ago and this weekend the temps are in the teens (like most of the nation it seems!) so we just stay inside, take our medicine and wash our hands a lot!  We're looking forward to feeling good again soon!

The Christmas We Won't Soon Forget -- Takes a Turn

The few days after New York were busy -

 

We celebrated Diana and Peter's Birthdays.

We had Ravioli Night where the whole family worked together to make ravioli from scratch. There were three generations there that night. Such a fun tradition!

We had Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Opening stockings and gifts, some at Diana and Peter's, some at Peter's folks. We got matching pajamas for Allison and Adelaide.

And little by little, day by day, THE ICK crept in. Adelaide had croup. Diana woke up one morning with a fever. Some of us were getting congested. By the time we were supposed to head home, we were too sick to fly. We postponed our flight for a couple of days. Then Sharaya had to postpone their flight. In the end, seven of the eight of us were very sick. Stomach bug, laryngitis, chills, coughing, congestion, strep throat, fever, headache... each of us seemed to have varying symptoms. (Beth and I both tested negative for covid and influenza but were told we had upper respiratory infections.) Allison was the only one who didn't get sick. Definitely not the way we thought this vacation would end.

I'm writing this on January 10 and Chuck, Beth and I are still congested and coughing but we are slowly improving. The rest of the family is the same way. It sounds like this is going around everywhere. I'm so sorry if you got this bug, whatever it is! 

I know with time though, the fun memories we made on this trip are what we'll remember most. It was good to all be together again!  

A Christmas We Won't Soon Forget

Chuck, Beth and I flew out close to midnight on the 14th and arrived in Pennsylvania early on the 15th. We hung out at Diana and Peter's until it was time to check in to the hotel. By 5:00pm Beth and I were in our pajamas and in bed. We both slept until 8:00 the next morning!

 

We spent the next couple of days at their house playing with Adelaide, walking the dog, and just hanging out.

 

 

We saw Beth's suitcase being loaded onto the plane. She was pretty excited!

 

 

 

Blowing bubbles - entertains the baby and the dog!

 On the morning of the 17th Peter contacted Chuck and asked if he could go over to their house and let the dog out. They had been in the ER all night with Adelaide and she had croup! That poor girl!

 

 While they went home to sleep, the three of us spent the day around Philly, went to Bob Evans for lunch, stopped in at Shady Brook Farm, saw The Chosen Christmas Special, and looked at Christmas lights. The Chosen was so good, can't wait to see Season 4!

 

They had Adelaide's first birthday on the 20th when Sharaya and Ally flew in. Even though she was dealing with croup, she was still happy and playing!

 

And making sure everyone around the table was playing too!

 

A little unsure at first...

Happy Birthday Adelaide!

(The O in One is a meatball, their nickname for her while she was in the womb.)

 

 

The next morning we boarded the train and went into New York for the day. Peter had to work so he dropped Adelaide off at his parents - we really missed them both! It's just not the same when the whole family isn't together. 

 

 

Angelina's had the BEST pastries!

Central Park. The temps were in the 40's but the wind chill factor made it feel like the mid-30's. It was so cold! Beautiful but cold.

We had to see The Plaza Hotel. The one in Home Alone 2. Beth had been looking forward to this the entire day!

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree, where Kevin goes to ask if he could see his mom just one more time, and they find each other there at the base of the tree. Sniff...

 

And the moon rising over the Empire State Building.

That really was a magical day. But our trip was far from over...