Life Lately

We've had the most low-key week ever. Aubrey and Jude haven't started back to school yet (we've had assignments to do at home this week), and we had a massive cold snap, so we basically haven't left our house. I got out one night to deliver a meal to some friends, and we went to Wednesday night church. And that's IT. That is so unusual for me. I really like to be on the go and typically go stir crazy if I spend more than a few days in a row in my house. Ever since we got home with Francie, we've been moving at a much slower pace. That's partly because she was fresh out of the hospital and we wanted to be really careful about exposing her to germs, and partly just because I have a LOT of kids now, and it's not easy to get out with them by myself. I've been thinking about what I'm going to be able to do with all four of the kids out of the house when I'm alone, and I'm not coming up with much ;) Maybe as Francie gets a little older, I'll start to feel more comfortable throwing them all in the car and going somewhere. But for now, I think our days of going to lunch or going to run errands solo are over. I mean, I now have TWICE as many kids as I have hands. Haha! I've been surprisingly ok with this slower pace. I think the Lord is just giving me contentment with the season that we're in right now. This week has been a little unusual with the kids not being in school, but I think when they go back it'll be perfect. That way, we'll get out of the house at least twice a week, which I think will be good for all of us. Three days at home will be a good amount, I think. We're all just still learning and adapting to being a family of six!

We ended up getting the stomach bug TWICE in TWO WEEKS. It was awful. The first round Aubrey, Alaina, and David all got sick. I felt really gross for a day, too, so I'm thinking that I had a really mild version. Then, almost exactly two weeks later, Aubrey started throwing up again. And she was SO sick. The first time we had it, everyone was sick for a short time and then felt better by the next day. Not this time, though. Poor Aubrey was sick for three days. We finally had to call the doctor and get some medicine for her so that she would stop throwing up. After she finally felt better, it took her several more days to regain her strength. Praise the LORD, she was the only one who got sick that time. That was definitely the stomach bug from H-E-L-L. I'm super thankful that Francie was spared both times! I will be so glad when we're past sick season and I'm not paranoid about germs every time we leave our house!

We've also been in the midst of a lot of projects around our house. We're basically redoing all three kid bedrooms. This is kind of confusing but see if you can follow: Aubrey and Alaina are moving into Jude's bedroom, Jude is moving into Aubrey's bedroom, and Francie is moving into Alaina's bedroom (from our bathroom which is her current "room." Ha!). Got that?! I know that sounds super convoluted, but there is actually good reason for all of the flip flopping. I'll explain more when I post pictures, otherwise it really would get confusing! It's been a lot of work, though! We are painting the walls in all three rooms, I painted a crib for Francie, I'm painting Aubrey's old bed for Jude, and I'm also painting two twin beds for Aubrey and Alaina. And those are just the "big" projects. There are lots more little ones. Whew! It's going a lot slower than I had hoped. It's really hard to get anything done in a timely manner with an infant and a sick child. I'm hoping to make a lot of progress on these rooms this weekend because I am TIRED of looking at the mess. You should see the upstairs of my house right now. It's not pretty!

So, that sums up our life lately: throwing up, projects, messes, and lots of time at home! ;)  I'm very thankful for the chaos!