Another Personal Update— Where I’ve Been

Last week I posted about our new home.  This month has been incredibly busy and filled with little inconveniences yet filled with blessings.  A few weeks ago in the midst of packing I started a new job, one I am super excited about even though the timing wasn’t the best.  Then I had to try to pull together a little birthday celebration for my middle child who turned 4.  I always try to make an extra effort for her since I know how hard it is to have a December birthday.  We kept it simple and she had a great time.

Then we moved.  I slammed my finger in the truck door taking a truck load over to the new place, spent hours upon hours moving and unpacking boxes while trying to keep up with work and the kids.  We are starting to get settled but still have many boxes to unpack, a Christmas tree that still hasn’t been decorated, and important items that have been misplaced to track down.

On Wednesday I decided to take a little break and take the kids to see Santa.  Our the way home my oldest started throwing up.  I was up all night with him.  Just when I thought we were in the clear, last night it hit my youngest and I spent the night caring for her. Sometime during the night I had an allergic reaction to something and my eyes starting itching like crazy and developed welt-like marks under them.  We’re crossing our fingers that the rest of us will be spared from the vomitting and we’ll be able to enjoy Christmas!

On top of all of those things I was also without internet for 5 days making it extremely hard to work.  We’ve been without a stove all week (but are picking one up today!) making meals interesting and I stepped on a glass ornament and cut my foot.

Despite all this craziness I feel extremely blessed.  The more days we spend in our new home the more I love it.  I’m grateful for my hardworking husband and all he provides for us.  I’m grateful for our friends and family who have done so much to help us these past few weeks.  I’m grateful for our awesome kids for enriching our lives and filling them with love and laughter.  The Sandy Hook incident wasn’t the only thing that is having us hold our children a little tighter.  Yesterday I had a big scare.  Our two year old went missing.  I had been working in my bedroom while my mom watched the kids.  I came out to check on them and couldn’t find my daughter.  Our new house is large with double car garages on each end.  The kids have been having a lot of fun discovering all the nooks and crannies.  I was sure she was around somewhere.  But she wasn’t upstairs with my older two.  She wasn’t downstairs or in either garage.  I started panicing calling out her name loudly.  The doors were locked so rationally I knew she had to be in the house somewhere but that didn’t stop the panic from hitting.  I was sobbing running from one end of the house to the other shouting for her, checking closets and bathtubs.  I finally found her in the garage in a corner buckled into her carseat which was facing a wall.  I’m sure she was there the whole time but she didn’t respond to me when I called for her.  I don’t know what I would do if I lost one of our children.  My heart goes out to all of those grieving the loss of a loved one this holiday season.

Today I am taking the morning off to try to finish up my Christmas shopping and get caught up on some other things.  I know I’m missing out on posting a lot of deals this year but have to remind myself that sometimes there are more important things in life.  I hope all of you are finding the ways to count your blessings despite any hardships or minor inconveniences. Be grateful for the people and comforts in your lives.