NOT a normal December

This month of December has been an unusual one for us.  It's been full of flu, RSV, lots of coughing, and lots of snotty noses.  It all started just before Thanksgiving when Hannah had a cough, that brought us to the pediatricians office.  It was nothing to worry about, so a little cough medicine was all she needed.  Then the fun began on Thanksgiving when I got sick with what seemed like the flu (probably picked up from the pediatricians office), but I tested negative...I was sick for a few days.  After I got well Carl started to feel bad, but fought it off well...although he was not 100% for about a week.  Once we cleared we thought it was all fine, until Luke started to run a fever.  After a day of that I took him to the doctor, and it was confirmed as flu.  Ugh, not what we wanted.  Thankfully, Tamiflu is amazing medicine, and he was fever free the next day!  It took him a few days to get his energy and stamina back to normal, but overall it was manageable.  The week before Christmas Luke's gymnastics class had a special Christmas day, and he was all alone!  So he had the run of the gym, and he loved every minute of it!

 

 

Luke was well for about a week, and we thought it was all done, so we were able to have a little fun.  We headed to a Christmas Nativity at a friend's church, which was just what we all needed to get our hearts and minds focused on Christ and His birth.

 

That next week, the week before Christmas, Isaac started to complain of a head ache.  He was acting normal, but I started to worry.  The next day he woke up with a fever, and I just knew it was his turn.  As the day wore on his fever and mood got worse, so I took him to the doctor...flu.  No!  Another trip to the pharmacy, another Tamiflu prescription filled and we were on our way.  Again, that stuff is amazing, and Isaac bounced back quickly.  He missed two days of school, but was well enough to go back for the Polar Express pajama day.  His teacher is amazing  and promised to text me if he seemed to not be doing well, so I felt okay sending him.  He told me she asked him a hundred times if he was okay, he was annoyed, but I was so grateful!  What a blessing to have a teacher that truly cares about my boy!

Later that week Luke started coughing a ton and his congestion got worse, then a fever started.  My only thought was, this cannot be happening!  Thankfully, the fever stayed low, and we were able to manage his symptoms at home with some Mucinex.  Unfortunately, we were not able to keep it from spreading...

 

This is Luke's Christmas program at school...he did awesome!!!  Luke sang and did the motions for every song, I was so impressed!  It was a sweet time for us during what had already been a tough month.

 

Me and Luke after his program...love him!!!

 

Since we had weeks of sickness we spent a lot of time at home, and the boys have started to play a lot of trains again!  They worked together to set up tracks, played really well together, in between fights.  ;-)

 

Isaac was well enough to enjoy the last part of the week at school, and it ended with a Christmas party.  Carl was able to keep Hannah for me, so I could go enjoy the time with my big guy.  They had a pizza lunch, decorated a cookie, and made some crafts.  It was a great time!

 

The Sunday before Christmas we celebrated Opa's birthday!  Thankfully we were all well enough to attend, and it was a great day!  These kids LOVE their Opa to the moon and back!

 

Now as I said, Luke's mild sickness that struck before Christmas was not kept to just him...Hannah started coughing and getting congested on Sunday.  By Monday night she was running a fever and not doing well.  Thank goodness her doctor was open on Christmas Eve, so back to the doctor I went.  They did a flu and RSV test, and determined it was RSV.  Ugh!  What luck!  So Hannah and I had a low key Christmas Eve, doing what we could to keep her happy and feeling okay.

 

Like I said, this was not a normal December...we did not get to do many of the Christmas activities we normally enjoy, but we did get a lot of family time, and a great reminder of what really matters.  I'm praying that the new year will bring with it good health and many fun times!