Can The Kids Get Any Sicker???

In the past week, or so, we have been hit with around 10 inches of snow. It's beautiful, and I really don't mind it...especially when I can stay in the safety of my home and enjoy the view from our picture window. Julie is ecstatic over snow. She begs often to go out and play in it. It works out really well when she goes out with Dave while he snow blows the sidewalks and driveway. In the recent storm Dave built an igloo in our front yard with Julie. I have yet to get a picture of it with our camera, but I thought you'd enjoy the drawing that Dave made of the event. Julie likes to draw Dave pictures after he's taken her outside, as a way to say thank-you to her daddy. So, in the picture below, which was posted to the refrigerator, is Dave's capturing of the moment on paper. Julie requested a picture from Daddy as a way to thank her for playing outside with him.

 

The teddy bear girl is Julie...he even captured the polka dot scarf and striped hat, with the purple snow suit and pink boots. He said he didn't want to draw another bear resembling him, so you'll notice the boots sticking out of the igloo. Apparently Dave was sleeping in the igloo while Julie played. I was impressed by his artistic ability, and I told him I would put his name, age and date on the back, so I can tuck it away with the pictures the "kids" draw for me. He didn't think that was a good idea...

 

The reason I am posting the above picture is to actually tell you that this was taken by Julie. I was impressed at how well she did with taking a picture, so I am sharing it with you.

 

I tried to capture a sweet "sister" moment between the girls, but apparently Alayna was not impressed. Oh well, they're still cute.

Both girls have been sick for some time now. Alayna was doing better, but then over a week ago she started to get worse again. She was fussy all week, not sleeping well, and her fever returned. I took her to the doctor and by the time I got her there her fever had reached 105.3. YIKES! She was immediately given something to bring it down. The doctor discovered that her ears were infected, and her throat was very red. No wonder she's been so inconsolable. Poor baby... She's on antibiotic, and finally feeling better. She's also getting back to sleeping better at night...not perfect, but better.

I thought Julie was getting better, too. She's mostly just had a cough that's hung on forever. But when I picked her up from school Tuesday her teachers said she acted like she didn't feel well, and they thought she possibly had a fever. Well, there was no fever, at that point, but she complained that her ear hurt and her throat hurt. Ugh! So, I didn't waste time. I got her in to the doctor and sure enough both ears are infected. Thankfully it was caught in the beginning stages and she got on antibiotic right away. I am really praying we can get all this sickness behind us before we head to PA over Christmas to visit family. I'm also praying that one of these nights I'll get an uninterrupted night of sleep....and maybe, just maybe for one whole day neither of the girls will whine or complain...okay, now I'm dreaming too big...I'll just try for the sleep thing first. :)

Christmas Fun!

 

Julie was given this singing Frosty a couple years ago. It plays Christmas songs ("Holly Jolly Christmas", etc.), and bounces around at the same time. It's very cute...the first time you hear it. The five hundredth time...not so much! This is Alayna's second Christmas, but really her first one that she realizes that something is going on. She has taken to this Singing Frosty. If it's on the floor playing music then she stands next to it and dances. But, her favorite thing is to hold it while it's playing. Making it very difficult for Frosty to bounce around the way he's supposed to. I just love her expression in this picture.

We're all doing well. Last weekend was the Ladies Christmas Tea at our church, that I've been planning for the past couple of months. It was a wonderful afternoon. We had 37 ladies attend, and many of them were not from our church. It was a great outreach! My sister-in-law, Andrea, came and was our special speaker, and also our special music. She did an awesome job, and I'm not sure how we follow that for next year...I know I won't be speaking...or singing for that matter. :) The gospel message was made very clear, and the message in her songs was so appropriate for what we were trying to get across to the ladies. Stop during this busy time and truly reflect on why we celebrate Christmas. It's not about the cards, gifts, trees, cookies (well, I kind of like to think it's about the cookies a little bit...lol!), or all the other things we do. It's about celebrating the birth of Christ, and what He came to this earth to do. To save us from our sins by His death on the cross, and His resurrection! Praise God for His resurrection!!!

I hope to post more pictures soon. I've been a little behind lately. The girls and I are all battling colds. Julie still has that cough, and yes, sometimes the cough/scream still comes into play. Gotta love it... Alayna is running a fever and very discontent. I'm congested, but not too bad. I pray this is behind us before Christmas, so we don't spend our time with family in another room so we don't "plague" them with our illness'. :)