The Flu

So.
I got the flu.
It sounds so ordinary, but it's not.
IT"S NOT!

I spent more than 24hrs in my bed. If you breath you might hack up a lung. I might have been a little bit delirious. Maybe. Cause I swear I heard Will say I had too many fat rolls...he claims he was telling me the rolls from dinner were gone....we may never know.
I admit I wasn't quite following all conversation at all times.

I got out of bed sometime today. Only to want to crawl right back into it and pull the covers over my head after seeing the house. Except I'm so tired of being in my bed. It's one thing if you get out of bed ready to conquer...something, but something entirely different when you are dizzy and can barely sit up straight.

I should have known.
And yes, that is the smell of burnt popcorn saturating everything in the house.
And why yes, I did clean up a little by sitting on the floor and grabbing everything in reach and shoving it into a garbage bag. Too bad so sad. But then we forgot to take the dumpster to the street. So it's already overflowing. How can I throw everyone's stuff away when the garbage can is overflowing! Why didn't someone tell me it was Monday! When did it turn Monday!?

Everything is blurry. Did we have Christmas? Oh right, I already took everything down and packed it away in the shed. Christmas Is Over around here. Santa brought me the Flu. Is that the new coal?

Did I mention I took NyQuil? That's a low for me. I took it all day and all night until I gagged just at the thought. Calm down...as directed...I'm married to a Pharmacist...not 8:20pm...8:30pm. I love my husband. Did I mention I never have to refill or pick up any prescriptions? That only comes with the premium package;)

Somehow I must make my house look like it is usually clean and organized by Friday morning. Cause that is when my Peeps are finally coming to visit me. Oh I can't even tell you how much I love my Peeps. But they would never believe I live here. I lost Betty Crocker. I have work to do and I can't do iiiitttttt! That's me whining. Maybe I should just make a to do list for my Family, they Get. Stuff. Done.

First I should probably go back to bed before Will finds out that I am sharing in my delirium.

Friday Letters

Dear Children, we've had a great Christmas week. I loved our family night when we opened jammies, went caroling, and then drove around and looked at Christmas lights, and then watched a movie together. That was fun. Dear Gift Wrapping, you were brutal this year. We had many nights that we were up until 2 or 3am. Dear Ward Party, I was happy not to make dinner. The kids had fun being in the Nativity and visiting with Santa. And Will made a great narrator. Dear Christmas Eve Party, again, happy not to make dinner. Enjoyed getting to know V's side of the family. Dear Sickness, late Christmas Eve it hit me right in the chest. I've been so miserable with this respiratory flu since then. We made the kids wait til 8am to open gifts. And then I took NyQuil at 10am and went back to bed. Dear Hazel, you popped up with pink eye. Dear Dr. B, you gave me a cortisone shot in my wrist hoping to relieve some pain from carpal tunnel that goes all the way up to my shoulder. I believe it is helping! I think I'll be back for the other side. Dear Fam, I can't wait until you get here! One more week! We are all so excited that you are coming to visit. Dear Will, I have really enjoyed being with you this week. And you did awesome at the gift giving for me. I wasn't sure how that would go. ha. I guess I didn't need to buy myself a gift of cleaning paste from Norwex, that ended up just being a bonus. I love you. Dear Self, Is it really already Friday again? Is it sad that I want to take down the Christmas stuff already? It is for my old festive self. I have high hopes for this next year. High hopes I tell ya! Now I must go take more NyQuil and go back to bed.

I Love my kids

Who doesn't want a sharpie hanging from the tree...

Just a few of our...unique...tree ornaments.

I love my kids.

Friday Letters

Dear Children, you would think you would try harder to not be naughty this close to Christmas. You did better today. Dear Kade, you got sick with a cold, which for you means a horrible cough, trouble breathing and four days home resting. Poor guy. Dear School Activities, so busy. Hailey did great as a ghostbuster in her school drama play. Hazel was so cute as a snowflake in her concert and Avary did great in her western themed concert. There were school parties, gift exchanges, pancake breakfasts, on and on. Will attended a concert for Becca, Emi, and Liam also. Apparently Liam had a rash, was the 12th day of Christmas up front the whole time wiggling and making the funniest faces as he tried not to scratch. Dear Town Party, there was Santa in the park. I took the kids, there was jumpers, booths, kettlecorn, cocoa. The kids played on the playground. They said the line was too long to see Santa, I wasn't too disappointed. He did depart in a helicopter on his way back to the north pole, they take things seriously here. Dear Ward Party, Will was the narrator for the live nativity, and the kids were a wise man, the donkey that carried Mary (literally), and three angels. This time they ran to see Santa and ALL of them sat on his lap just for the treat bag of goodies. That line was long also. Hazel went a little nuts at the end and was climbing ladders and jumping of the stage landing on Will. Hence the nickname hazelnut. Dear Gift Wrapping, for 7 kids. It is overwhelming! They each are only getting a couple small things, but it adds up and I've spent hours and my back and everything else is aching. And I'm not done! Dear Avary, you are so sweet. You asked me to take you to the store so you could buy everyone a gift with your own money that you have been saving. You put thought into each person as you picked their gifts and then you wrapped them all by yourself. I took you to get a hot chocolate while we were out. It was fun spending some time with you. Also! You got a haircut! A cute little bob, I love it! You look so cute. Dear W+B, I don't know where I would be without you. Thankyou so much for being such good friends to me. Thank you for talking with me for hours late at night when I really needed a friend. Heavenly Father is so good to me to place people like you in my life. Dear Will, I loved listening to you sing at your concert. I love to see you use your talents. We have talked so much this week. Thank you for doing the dishes and cleaning the boys room. I love that when it is raining you get out your umbrella and walk the kids to school. I love You. Dear Self, you know I always seem to be able to take more than I think I can handle. I don't want it. Some things hurt. But I know the Lord loves me and He won't ever leave me. Especially at this time in my life that just happens to fall in the Christmas season, I am so very grateful for my Savior. And so very grateful for what I KNOW. For nothing in this world can ever change what I know to be true in my soul. How our Father sent His Son. And how much our Savior truly loves us. For how much they both sacrificed for each. one. of us. Whatever the Lord asks me to do in this life, and when I feel like I am just not capable, I am so thankful that I have felt His love and that is forever in my soul. I am grateful that I never gave up pleading with my Father in Heaven and that I continued to seek out my Saviors love -until- I was able to push past all the things in this world and truly feel them there. Even when I have so far to go, they are always there.

Friday Letters

Dear Children, you don't have to leave for school until 7:30 so there is no need to wake up at 6AM! And if you do, don't wake me. Dear Boxes, we have so many boxes. I've been collecting them for awhile now. For Christmas, you know, so the kids can't peek at the gifts. But now I'm realizing after gifts for 7 children are wrapped up in boxes there is nowhere to put them without the small floor space we have disappearing. Little gifts in big boxes will make us look rich! Dear Awkward, mailing two boxes. Reminding myself over and over before and after we taped them shut whose was whose. Getting to the post office and having no idea which box to send where. I opened one and then proceeded to write the wrong address on it anyway. The post lady saved the day after she watched me look like a dummy. I mean I'm awesome. Dear Calender, this month leading up to Christmas is so full. I just want to stay home every day and take a long nap. Dear Dr, G. this was our first time meeting you. You are one strange, swearing little man. Haha It's always entertaining to hear a little man try to be funny, but using no emotion or sign that you are joking. It took me a little bit to realize it was ok to laugh. Dear Kade, you called me from the office at school to tell me "the good news" you ate your first tomato And pickle on a hamburger. And you liked it. Dear Avary, you have been home with TWO pink eye's and a bad cough.You laid on the couch and watched animal rescue shows. Not cute little things, no, alligators and that type. Poor silly little girl. Dear Hailey your orchestra concert sounded great. I love hearing you play music. Dear Hazel, you have been wrapping up all of your stuff and putting it under the tree. We might have some surprises on Christmas morning. Dear Work Party, I always like free steak. It was yummy. And Will got some nice pocket knives in the gift exchange. Someone at work asked him if he had one in his pocket. He said No but I have a cut on my pinky from opening them. Ha. Dear Will, I was glad you got to drive me to my Dr. appt in Tuscon this week. I have no idea where to go. I am grateful for you every day. I love you. Dear Self, I am my own worst critic. It usually works that way, right. I hate it when my best isn't what it once was or should be or could be. When I can't live up to my own expectations. But somehow it's all I can do. I just need a break from myself maybe. Just makes me that much more grateful for my Savior and how he knows my heart so fully. I don't have to try to put into words things that there are no words for. And He will always love me anyway.

Friday Letters

  I will take one of these for Christmas please

                                                         ................hahahahayeah

Dear Children, I love the days when you are all playing so sweetly together. We need more of those. Although today I noticed we have new neighbors and they have two kids. You are beyond happy about that. Dear Week, I don't even know how we got to Friday. Really...it's all a blur. I don't think I even wore makeup this week. That's bad. Dear Dr., another quick trip to Mesa to see the Dr. Quick meaning 6 hours of driving, but hey I met up at Cafe Rio for a quick dinner with my Ma and Sis so it went ok. Driving home with a huge headache and a mountain of stress on my shoulders, not so fun. Also having to pull over in the pitch dark to pee on the side of the road all by yourself in the middle of nowhere is kind of creepy. Dear Cold, brrr it has turned chilly here. Especially in the morning. The older kids wanting me to drive them to school...across the street...really. The little girls don't even complain, even when I say goodbye at the door and watch them walk from the window because I'm freezing. Dear Christmas, I'm running behind. Let me catch up so I can enjoy the Christmas holiday. I haven't even decorated yet! Dear Will, we stay up too late. But I love talking with you. I'm really looking forward to our date on Sat. night. Free Steak is always good. Dear Self, having patience when you feel sick is really hard. Being limited when you have a long list of things to get done is irritating and discouraging. Having to make permanent decisions...I hate that. There are too many at the moment. I am grateful for every moment of peace I get.

Thanksgiving 2013

It was a nice weekend.

Lots of family, Barros, pedicures, Outback, a movie in a theater, Will enduring the loss at the football game, staying up way too late and sleeping in, just hanging out while the kids all played with cousins. Good times.

It's impossible to fit everything I want to do in when I'm there.

It was a nice trip.

13

Hailey had a great Birthday.

I'm kind of in shock that I have a teenager.

The beginning of many many years with teenagers.

Hailey gets to be our tester Mwwahahahaha!

And I now have a 13 year old.....