Week 4, January 22-28

Sunday, January 22nd-

Happy girl

Bummed not to go to church today. Part of me wanted to see who I would do with 6 kids on my own in sacrament. Haha

4 kids on the landing. They are SUPER
excited to have Tamina here.

The kids and I hung out and watched movies. Tamina is pretty comfortable at our house. In fact, she woke up singing this morning.

Watching movies together

Cleod and Molly seem more sick today. They are both achy and feverish.

Monday, January 23rd-

Almost 2am, finally sleeping soundly with
a sock of onion on her chest

Molly is still really sick. Last night She came into our room around 11pm because coughing woke her up. She then coughed most of the next 2 hours. She gagged and coughed and tried to fall asleep. It was horrible. We had given her ibuprofen and rubbed baby Vicks on her feet and chest but it didn't help. I finally went down and heated some sliced onion, put some on a plate on the nightstand and some in a sick and put it on her chest. I also knelt down to pray. I had prayed while half asleep when she was coughing but I finally got out of bed and knelt to pray for her. Almost immediately she got settled into a good sleep and only coughed a few more times until morning. I'm grateful for the onion and for the Lord answering my prayer.

With a mask on at the doctor's office

Broke into the Nashville candy
stash. It was a long night. :)

We woke up Grandma and then we're able to get Molly in to see Dr. Corry. He found that she has an ear infection...which is not what I was expecting. It is probably and secondary illness. He also prescribed a steroid to help with her cough.

Cleod stayed home and was achy most of the day. He's going to have a hard time getting all of his work made up. Poor guy.

Tamina is getting used to us and whining a little more. Haha. But we are having a good time with her. I have to ask the kids to leave her alone A LOT. They want to be right next to her and they comment on every noise she makes. She's adorable but the kids are driving me crazy following her around.

Tonight we had dinner courtesy of Ina. I had asked her Saturday night if she would take the boys to church with her and then again Sunday morning to say never mind. So this morning she was checking on us and then showed up with some chicken pot pies and a big bag of clementines. It was so nice to not worry about dinner tonight.

Molly tracing the letters on the Home
Evening board

For home evening we just sat together and watched an episode of Planet Earth. It is amazing all the things that the Lord created for us.

Tuesday, January 24th

Eating breakfast at Grandma's

• Woke up Grandma
• Cleod home sick still but Grant and Cora are back to school
• Remembered that Cleod had a band concert so we gave him some pain meds and cough drops and I went to watch him

Beginning band finishing

Wednesday, January 25th

Silas brought donuts home for the kids after
racquetball this morning

God knows me and loves me. I know this is real and true. I have known this my whole life. I was blessed with a gift to know truth without having to really seek for it, so as a youth I knew. As a young adult, I still knew and I have had experiences that have reaffirmed this knowledge.

The last year has been a roller coaster for me emotionally and there were times when I was so confused as to why God wasn't helping me. I never doubted Him or His love for me, but I felt alone. I have waited for blessings and had my expectations. They were good things I wanted but it didn't seem like anything was happening.

But it was. So much was happening. I feel like I battled some lows and have come out even higher than before.

Today I'm sick. I was sick last week and was able to rest all day because my kids are bigger. Today I have something else (achy all over!) but I have Tamina to watch who needs more attention.

Let me back up. This morning was crazy.

Tamina lying
on the floor next to me

When we got home from waking up Grandma Warby I realized Tamina had a fever. Cleod brought me the thermometer and her diaper bag because I was feeling weak. I gave her meds and we just sat on the floor in the upstairs hallway for a while. After an hour we were both lying down almost asleep. Molly was just reading books next to us and being a nice, quiet girl. I was alternatively crying and dozing off. I was feeling physically yucky but also just sad about the situation. I have things to do and don't want to be sick! I just want to take care of my kids, Silas and Tamina. I was feeling badly that Silas wasn't home taking care of me, which was impossible at the moment because he was in an important work meeting and then had to go to a meeting at the elementary school for me. I knew he couldn't be with me right then but I was still sad about it. I was upset that I was sick and upset that no one was taking care of me. (It sounds ridiculous but it is really how I felt.)

At one point I prayed for strength. I am not the best at dealing with pain. I didn't want to spend the rest of the day being sad or mad. My body was screaming at me and so was Tamina.

Then I got a phone call. I almost didn't answer. It was my sweet friend Amie. She wanted to check on me because I wasn't at spin/yoga class this morning and she knows it's my favorite. She also wanted to see if I wanted to work out early tomorrow with her. I told her I couldn't and why. Then she thanked me for a text I sent her yesterday.

We've both been doing yoga from a YouTube channel called Yoga with Adriene. I'm a few days behind on this 31-day thing and I knew she was just doing it here and there so I wanted to tell her that Day 20 and Day 21 were so great!

So she told me about how she was grateful for my text because that encouraged her to do those two workouts and then she used something from the video in today’s yoga, specifically some ideas on self-love. We talked about it for a while and I felt lighter. It was like my spirit was sad so I felt worse and then I was cheered up and my body, although still not well, felt better.

I felt like Amie's call was not only an answer to my prayer today and the immediate needs I had, but also a tender mercy from the Lord telling me that He knows me and what I need. He knows that I needed a friend to lift my soul. He wants me to be happy and sends blessings in many different ways. I have received so many blessings over the last year, even though they may not have been the exact things I have looked for. I have wonderful friends and a family that brings me joy.

After hanging up with Amie, I got off the floor and got Tamina into her bed. I felt like I could do this hard thing, being sick and still taking care of the kids. I could handle other hard things too.

I can see as I look back on the lows and highs of the last year that the Lord has been holding me and pushing me to the point I'm at right now. I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I have a new understanding of the reality that is this life. We have opposition to deal with...in every single part of life. Parenting is a joy and a hardship. Added knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge, brings added trials and responsibilities.

I don't understand everything, but I know that my Father in Heaven loves me. And I'm not the exception...He loves all of us.

Thursday, January 26th-

Making the kids take Emergen-C

• Cleod home again and Grant is feeling sick AGAIN!
• Katie did grandma for us this morning because I feel gross too.
• Silas doesn't feel well either but is a trooper and not only went to work but also got some groceries for me on his lunch break.

• 

  Sickos (except Ryan and Cora) being lazy

  Tamina seems to be feeling better and has been happier.
• I got Cleod more school work and turned in some of the work he has done.
• Watched Studio C with the kids in the evening.

Molly getting some
Daddy time after he had Tamina
(she's not really jealous but likes
to cuddle with us after we've had Tamina)

Happy girl

Finally hanging out with Silas
(she mostly just likes me)

Couldn't have planned these two pictures better

Friday, January 27th

Tamina is finally liking Cleod to hold her

• 
  

  

  Molly trying to cheer Grant up

  Feeling totally horrible. Luckily Cleod and Grant are helpful even though they aren't feeling well either.
• I wish Silas could have stayed home from work, but he did take a quick lunch so he could get off early and rest.
• I think we have something like influenza. It is a cold, runny nose, deep sore throat, dry, deep cough and body aches. It is miserable.

Saturday, January 28th

• Silas is a lot worse today. I feel like the horrible edge is off but still feel super sick. I don't even have the energy to sit at the computer and do family history. That's serious.
• The kids seemed to be ok with just hanging out. Ryan did get some time at the Huffs which was nice for him.
• Amber got us a gallon of milk and a tub of ice cream this afternoon. Love her!