While what you see below has been typical for the past 10 days, it really isn't typical of our normal life. (Thankfully!) We have worked so hard over the years to teach our kids to share with each other and to do it lovingly and joyfully. The problem is once you teach them a character quality such as that, it's hard to tell them to stop sharing. Thus, even though we recently told them NOT to share with their siblings, they have decided that they would anyhow. Which is why a nasty virus (probably the flu) has been taking turns infecting each of the Young children. When Rich comes homes from work, he's never sure who will be lying on the couch next. They haven't all had it at once, it's worked slowly through the crowd. I call it the domino effect. The 5th domino (Ellen) fell yesterday. The other 4 dominoes are standing again. I'm not sure which would be worse - to have all 5 really sick at the same time and just get it over with in a few days. Or what has happened with us - that being one gets sick, then 2 days later another, then 2 days later another while the 1st is back on their feet. Thankfully, Rich and I are still healthy and Ellen is currently on the couch.
So, I took a few pictures of a typical day during a virus in the Young house. Don't worry, I didn't take any pics of anything that would make the weak stomached swoon.
Poor Anna just puddled in my arms for about 2 days. I hate to see her miserable and sick, but I sure did love the extra cuddle time with her. Notice her rosy cheeks. It was like cuddling a portable heater with her feverish little body next to mine.
Logan didn't fall quite as hard as his siblings. The guy is tough as nails. He thoroughly enjoyed getting out of his chores for 2 days and getting to watch a little TV during the day.
Once recovered, Caleb opted to bring his schoolwork in front of the fireplace. We are eagerly awaiting summer around here!
Once recovered, it was back to chores. Rebekah has had her very own chore chart for almost 2 months now. Predictably, she thoroughly enjoyed it for about a week. Now it's a necessary reality that isn't going away. She enjoys dust busting after meals, but isn't real thrilled with making her bed every morning. Sorry Rebekah, it's tough growing older. A saying that she hears often around here, "With increased privileges, comes increased responsibility."
Ellen adores cuddling babies as much as I do and was thrilled that in Anna's sickly state, she held still for so long. Unfortunately, this is probably when Anna chose to share with Ellen. Sweet little sister that she is.
And, of course, Daddy loves to cuddle, too.
Look at that sweet face...
Having slept a good 10+ hours the night before, Anna still conked out in my arms during breakfast.
When she wasn't in someone's arms, she was snuggled up on an oversized chair in our living room, lying her sweet little head on a pillow that Ellen had made - drifting in and out of a feverish sleep.
Thankfully, kids heal quickly and 2 days after the above shot, Anne was 'flying' high. She was making us all giggle (which encouraged her even more) by climbing up on the piano bench and pretending she was flying. What a nut.
Rebekah got in on the fun (monkey see, monkey do) and the 2 little sisters were back to having a ball together.
As you can imagine, I've been feeling a bit housebound lately and lamenting the fact that I was cleaning up yet another mess. (Use your imagination, I won't go into details.) My perspective was way off. My kids will recover from this illness that has been nothing but a nuisance. In the midst of this, I received an urgent message from a friend of mine whose 7 year old son had just been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Suddenly, a bit of interrupted sleep, cabin fever and endless laundry were treasures signifying my kids really are healthy, despite a little virus. Please join me in praying for complete healing for Forester who has already undergone surgery to remove the tumor and will now begin a chemotherapy/radiation journey.
I actually have been feeling a bit guilty that this prolonged illness has been my fault. You see, the kids received new chore charts earlier this year. I use Print Shop to make them and just for fun I decided to put a smiley face in the empty boxes.
It just looked prettier than a big ole' blank box. The morning of the unveiling of the new responsibilities, the kids asked, "What do the smiley faces mean?" I hadn't really thought about. They weren't supposed to 'mean' anything. But a quick thought popped in my brain and out it came from my mouth, "It means you have to find someone in our family, give them a hug and a kiss and tell them how much you love and appreciate them." They loved this idea.
I love watching them find a new person in the family to hug and kiss and smother with kind words.
But... my bright idea probably also contributed to the sharing of germs that has recently occur ed. What's that about good intentions?
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Logan is our orderly, businesslike, no-nonsense, get the job done kind of guy. If broccoli is on his plate, he'll immediately eat it first - get it over with and on to the task of enjoying his meal. His schoolwork is done quickly and efficiently every morning - get it over with and on to the task of playing and enjoying the day. He attacks his chores the same way. So, the smiley face and it's associated task can be just another thing to 'check' off of his to-do list for the day. He'll come up to me, give me a great big kiss and hug and tell me how much he loves me and say, "Thanks for all you do, Mom." Then quickly turn around and yell, "Done with chores!" Somehow, the warm fuzziness that I was feeling fades a bit when I realize I was merely a check on his mental chart of responsibilities. Oh, Logan. He will accomplish much in his life. I can't wait to see what he does for the Kingdom. But we're still working on teaching him not to run people over in the race.
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Time to go check on Ellen. Anna is taking a nap and Grandpa has Caleb, Logan and Rebekah at Chik-Fil-A following Caleb's tennis lesson. Thank you, Grandpa! I've enjoyed the time to blog a bit...Hope you've enjoyed reading. Oh, by the way - I've added a nifty little feature on the right - you can subscribe to our blog and receive an e-mail every time we post something new. I love checking my friend's blogs and hope many of them will add this feature. It's a great time saver in the time-sucking vacuum of the blog world. Gotta' go. Stay healthy and pray for those that aren't.
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