Well, she’s doing better.  Still not 100%.  Both Friday morning and this morning, I thought we’d gone long enough without any sick tummy that we were past it, but both days she’s surprised me.  Today has only had one moment of tummy upset, but more diarrhea.  We’ve kept in touch with Telecare, and administered Pedialyte until she started rejecting it.  Anyway, I do believe we’re on the mend, and thankfully without having to spend hours in the ER.  Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.  It’s bad enough when a young child is sick, but a baby…..yikes!  I’ve never had one that young with the stomach flu before, so we had some stressful moments.

After spending three days sitting and holding her all day and night, I must say, my house is pretty much Disasterville!!!  I’m offline for a few days, but hopefully will be around again mid-week.  Thanks again for your kind thoughts!

Well, we haven’t had the success with sleeping for over a week now.  I was just getting to the point of grumbling about it again, but I now have an opportunity to choose to thank God that my baby is healthy enough to wake me up at night.  The events of this morning have changed my perspective.

When I went in to get Damara out of her crib - she wasn’t crying for me, like she normally does, just making some noise - I was presently surprised that she had slept all night.  I’d put her to bed some time around ten last night, but she was up again before 11, just as I was settling in.  I felt a little annoyed, but she nursed just a few minutes, then fell asleep.  She slept through until 7:30!

It was quite dark in the room, but something seemed weird.  I could see dark spots on her bedding.  Turned on the light, and there was vomit all over her bed!  I got her and the bed cleaned up, as she had clearly been laying in it (insert mommy guilt).  She seemed happy, though.  I nursed her after her bath, and she promptly threw it all back up.  And again.  And again.  I lost count after the eighth episode of vomiting by mid-morning.  It is now nearly one o’clock.  She is flaked out on my lap, and feverish.  For the past two hours she has woken long enough to struggle through a few moments of wretching, but as she has nothing on her stomach, it’s so very painful.  She then falls right back to sleep.  I talked to a telecare nurse, and they felt she could be treated at home, but we’ll do that for a few hours only.  If she doesn’t improve, or heaven forbid, she gets worse, we’ll be heading to the ER.  I have no car seats at home, as they are all on Greg’s van.  Thankfully, he is able to squeeze in a trip the drug store for suppositories, Pedialyte, and a thermometer (our other one isn’t working).  This has made me only too happy to sit and hold her all day long!

Of course the other kids need me, but they seem to realize that Damara needs me more and are being really great today.

Please pray for us!

Ok, first of all, this is NOT a weather blog.  I do realize that many of my posts since, uh, the end of summer have had some comment on my negative opinions and emotions surrounding this thing we call winter.  That being said….

WHAT THE HEY????  It’s -10*C today!!!  That’s 14*F.  On the third day of spring.  Why?????  Why oh why oh why????  Day one and two of Spring was a 48-hour ice and snow storm.  It’s Easter weekend.  There will be no springy Easter dresses worn around here.  Sadly.

However, finding the good in everything is a virtue, so here’s what I can say:  Christ arose.  Because He conquered death, because He shed His blood, because He took on my sin and the sin of all mankind, everything is redeemed.  Even the very Earth.  Nature itself.  Winter is part of that.  I do not want to spend another winter as I have this, and so I am going to try to focus on the redeeming grace of God, and find as many good things in the season as I can. 

So I am already planning.  I don’t want to do anything in life where I exist in survival mode.  I WANT to flourish.  It is my *plan* to begin finding ways to enjoy each month of the year for what it has to offer.  Spring, summer and fall are easy.  Winter definitely will take effort.  My first step is an idea I read on another blog.  You get a decent-sized rubbermaid type container.  Then you fill it will all kinds of things pertaining to each month, such as small household decor, calendars, games, craft supplies, even books.  You have one container for each month.  I think this will add some variety to our routine, and the kids will surely enjoy it as well.  There has got to be a way to enjoy winter.  And not live in pajamas for the entire season. 

I think I just might be feeling a bit better.  I just realized my last three posts have titles with exclamation points.  This is my last post today.  Just sayin’.

In my oft-mentioned dislike disdain HATRED of winter, I cannot tell you how completely, totally, utterly, ridiculously overjoyed I am to see First Day of Spring on our Melissa & Doug calendar.  And so in keeping with my nearly manic state of mind this week, I HAD to find the most spring-like theme I could find.  I love this one!

And so is spring - well, tomorrow.  AND, I have many things I want to write about, many things I want to do, sooo much swirling through my head and heart.