The Holidays

Oh man, these last 2 weeks have been awful. Last Thursday I was at work and I started not to feel so well. I didn’t have to work the next day, so Matt and I told the kids that we would take them ice skating for their good behavior reward at school. So the next morning I wake up coughing and achy. I didn’t want to disappoint the kids so I dragged myself out of bed and we headed up north. Matt had to work that day, so we met him after work and headed to the Peaks arena.

I had been taking Advil and cough medicine throughout the day, so I was feeling okay. The kids had a blast ice skating. Towards the end of the night, Bailee was even lifting up one leg and showing us how she could skate with just one leg. Jeremy was more into speed. He would zoom past us giggling at how fast he was going. They loved it:

However, I was starting to get tired, so we left for dinner. As we were at the restaurant, my aches came back in full force and I started to get the chills. So we left early for home. I was shaking and coughing. It wasn’t pleasant.
When we got home, there were several little gifts on our porch. One of which included Matt’s favorite present:

 
Yes, that says Turdhead. A local cattleman owns this farm and he knew how much Matt wanted a hat! Matt claims it was a Christmas Miracle – riiiiiight.

I was up most of the night. The next morning we debated whether or not to go to Richfield. I couldn’t even be out of the bed, let alone in a car for an hour. The kids were up and ready to go to Richfield, so once again, I dragged myself out of bed. The ride down wasn’t bad, and the annual Christmas Eve party was fun as always:

 
Then it was time for presents:
 
By now I was aching and tired and wanted to be in bed, so we left shortly after the presents. The second we got home Matt drew me a bath. We had our prayers and put the kids to bed. We had our annual Christmas Eve night together, and I hit the hay while Matt made the preparations for Christmas. The next morning the kids were up at 3:30!!! I had only had a few hours sleep in 2 days so Matt sent them back downstairs. However, they had already seen what Santa had left for them. It was hard to miss. We had to go to church that morning so the plan was to head to church and then come home and open presents. It was tough to get out of bed. Matt was a champ and got everyone ready for Church. Once we returned we started opening presents. Surprisingly, the kids were more excited for us to open the gifts they got for us and for Grandma and Grandpa to open their presents. It was a nice morning, but I spent it laying down on the floor, so I didn’t get any pictures. We had our traditional breakfast, then got ready and headed over to mom’s house. I brought a pillow and a blanket and parked it on the couch while Matt and Mom made dinner. I did remember to snap a picture of everyone around the table: 
 
The next week was spent in bed. Literally. I missed work Tuesday and Wednesday. I managed to go to work for 4 hours on Thursday, but it was too much for me and spent the next day in bed. Matt did have to work that week. Mom was awesome. She took care of the kids while I just laid in bed. She brought over lunch, and home remedies. She took care of me while Matt was working. Friday I was starting to get a little stir crazy, so I begged Matt to take me for a ride, but we didn’t go far before I was ready to climb back in bed. Ugh!! Linsey and Jenny were having a big party for New Years Eve. I didn’t want to push my luck, so Matt and I stayed home. We made it over for dinner but we headed home shortly after. We did manage to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year quietly together. Then we fell asleep. I am VERY glad the holidays are over. The kids however, want another week off. They have spent their entire Christmas Break over with Grandpa and Grandma. Bailee didn’t even want to get out of her pj’s. I’m sure it will be shock to get up and head to school. As for me, I am hoping to be able to go to work this coming week. I gotta say though, I am glad this is a new year. Last year was pretty tough. There were many challenges that Matt and I faced in 2011. But we came out the other end relatively unscathed with a renewed love and appreciation for one another and firm testimonies in our Savior. Happy New Year everyone!