::end of the year update::

This Christmas didn't turn out like we planned.  Isaiah was diagnosed with the flu while we were out of town visiting my in-laws for Christmas.  He was one sick little boy, and he and I spent most of the time at my in-laws on the couch.  He ran a fever pretty solidly for three days and was so sick with chest congestion.  He also had laryngitis, which is very interesting (and kind of sad!) on a chatty 4 year old! 
I have to confess there was a helpless moment where I was standing in a Wal-Mart pharmacy waiting on Isaiah's tamiflu, searching for something a 4 year old can take for congestion (hint: there is nothing), and I called my mom to tell her what was going on.  Knowing how sick Isaiah was, knowing how I had put off and put off taking him to get a flu shot,  realizing this would mean we'd have to cancel our Christmas plans...well, I stood in the Nyquil aisle with a humidifier in my arms and burst into tears. Two other women looking at cold medicine kindly stepped away.  (Or ran away from the crazy lady.)  My mom wisely advised me to not stress about what our next plans would or would not be until I'd had some sleep.  We would just do what we had to do and postpone...even until January or February, if necessary.

In the end, I also came down with the flu, and I was so sick with fever on Christmas Eve morning that I wasn't sure I was going to live through that day!  :)  Needless to say, we canceled all our plans and stayed home for Christmas.  We are postponing with both my family and the rest of William's.
We did "do" Christmas with my in-laws while we were there, but it was not nearly as fun with such a sick little boy. 

 He was perfectly silent the whole time.  I tell ya--laryngitis on a kid this chatty is WEIRD.

Once we were home and feeling a bit better, we skyped with my family so we could, in a way, "be" with them while they opened gifts.

Our gifts!  Wish I could grab them through the screen!

 We let Isaiah open his gifts from us while skyping so the family could watch. 

 He got his first big boy Bible, and boy was he proud.  :)

[please no comments about the ugly couch.  we are fully aware of its ugliness.]

 Still a little peaked from the flu.

 Even though we didn't get to see our families this week, we felt VERY loved on by our church family.  On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, several families dropped off food for us--our fridge was packed!  We felt truly blessed to be remembered in the midst of all their celebrations with their families. 
One friend told me that she prayed the Lord would give us one bright spot in staying home this week, even though we were sad to miss our families.  Waking up to a winter wonderland on the 26th definitely counts as an answered prayer!

If we'd traveled, we would have missed it.  And we would have missed this excited face!  :) So, we're counting our blessings that we're (mostly) well and we got to enjoy a beautiful snow. 

Since I've been at home all week, I've gone a little stir-crazy.  I undecorated the house this morning, which is about 150 times less fun that decorating.  I also did my best to sanitize and clean the flu out of our house, so hopefully our home is no longer a germy breeding ground for influenza. 

So....yeah, not the holiday we expected, and truthfully...not one I really care to repeat.  Caring for a sick child and then being pretty sick myself did not leave much time (or clear-headedness) for dwelling on the Incarnation like I usually do.  We did finish out our Advent traditions which include a calendar, candles, and an Advent reading each night.

But, I have to confess that one night during our reading of Jotham's Journey, a certain little fellow could be found in my lap snoring away while Jotham was running for his life. :) 
We'll remember this Christmas though...and we'll be thankful for all the "normal" holidays we have in the future.  

Some of you may be wondering about our adoption plans....that kind of deserves an update all its own, so that's what you'll see next on the blog.  
Until then...Happy New Year!  :)