Upholding the Title...

Our little Siah man certainly upholds the title of our blog...Luv 2 Laf. Last night we were sitting at the dinner table and Caleb was giving us a hard time about eating (surprise, surprise!) and just not listening. Enough that it was disrupting the mealtime. After a few minutes, Josiah (who has eaten his entire meal already) pipes up and says, "Let's just laugh..." and then proceeds to just laugh!! And if you have heard him laugh, it is such a happy and hardy laugh (it is actually my new ringtone on my phone!) so we just started laughing...including Caleb and the rest of the meal was enjoyable. We have always known that Josiah is a happy kid but we are just seeing more and more how much JOY he truly brings to our family. The kid just loves life!!!
Last week, again when the house was chaotic getting ready for dinner (what is it about "that hour"?), Josiah just starts singing as if nobody else was in the room. Singing is one of his favorite things to do and you just never know when he will break out in whatever song he has made up. Who knew that little 2 year old could bring such BIG joys to our house...God just what each home needs, doesn't he?

On another note, our very serious and routine driven firstborn had his Thanksgiving performance today. He did so good...this year HE SANG!! He didn't just look at his feet the whole time or worry about his costume. He even smiled! We had been telling him for a week to just pretend that it was us watching and nobody else because that's what bothered him. So after it was over, we asked him if that's what he did and he said yes. Then he said that he also pretended that he wasn't wearing a costume...that cracked me up! Maybe next time we sit down to a dinner that he doesn't particularly care for...I'll tell him to pretend it's chocolate!!!

There's our little apple right in the middle. Sorry for the fuzziness. Our camera was acting up...of course!

Josiah and Hannah really liked watching Caleb sing and of course they all enjoyed the snacks after the show!

We Survived!!!

The boys and I snuggling on the couch while watching Snow Buddies...or Space Buddies...or Toy Story...I just can't keep track we watched so many movies!

Tamiflu=$31.59

Nyquil=$4.99
Movie Rental=$1.99

Tons of snuggles while home with your kids for a week=PRICELESS

We made it through our week with lots of movies and crafts and anything else to keep us busy while stuck at home. We did get cabin fever and there were difficult moments but we all enjoyed being home together. Once Caleb's medicine kicked in, he was doing much better. He is still hanging onto a bit of a fever right now but other than that he is doing great. I finally started feeling better by Tuesday and actually got some things done. I am proud to say our Christmas cards are designed and ready to be ordered--that's an accomplishment! I even got a little Christmas shopping done for the boys--online of course! Though moments of sickness can be difficult, I appreciate 2 things about it: #1-it makes you spend time together, time that maybe you really needed as a family, not just going about the everyday things but spending quality time together playing and laughing. #2-it reminds me how blessed I am to have 3 beautiful and healthy kids. People have asked, "oh no, swine flu, is it bad?" to which I respond, "No, it's just the flu." In my mind I think, it could be so much worse. I could have to visit my kids in a hospital bed everyday like some parents have to. Each and everyday kids battle major diseases and I have my kids home...healthy. God has just used this week to remind me of what I have been blessed with...
In the midst of it all, this was the week Dave planned on ripping up our kitchen floor so it could be tiled this weekend. Well, he was still able to rip most of it and then decided why don't we change the walls now too??? Now was the time to do it if we were going to. I know many of you thought I was very attached to the country look and the wooden walls but they had to go. So my kitchen is now gutted (other than the beautiful countertops and cabinets Dave already finished). Uncle Tim is here for the weekend and the kids and I will be spending the weekend at my mom's so the boys can work. So here are a couple of pictures of the process and a video of Caleb working on the construction site. He was actually really good at pulling the nails out of the wall. I will keep you posted on the project. Have a great weekend!

There's Dave, holding up our floor. Man, am I blessed to have such a handy husband...

And so it begins...demolitian! Tim says he is just waiting for Ty Pennington to walk in tomorrow morning with his crew.

They got Caleb working on the site. He loved being able to help the big boys. Dave likes the boys to always be involved (as much as they can) when he is working on something. He just figures it is the only way they will learn how to do things in their houses when they get older.

My favorite part of this video is hearing Caleb tell Josiah he did a good job too...I love it when I hear them encourage one another. Those moments are far and few in between at this age so I love to hear it when it happens.

It has found our home...

Who knew my last post would be so appropriate??? The morning after I posted, Caleb woke up with a fever and chills. He just wasn't himself. How do I know? Because he was just sitting...a mother knows...I didn't think too much of it but the fever was high and it was Friday (why do all children get sick at the end of the week when the doctor's office will closed on the weekend???). I called the doctor just to check in and with the cough and high fever she wanted to see him. Sure enough he was diagnosed with H1N1 and a slight ear infection. She put him on medication and within 24 hours, what a difference! And being the kind hearted little boy that Caleb can be, he decided to share...I was sick Friday night into Saturday with it. I called the doctor again to let her know. They didn't put me on medication (apparently you have to have respiratory problems to get the medication) but they did put Hannah and Josiah on anit-viral medication because they are higher risk because they are younger. I am feeling much better today; just a really bad cough, headache and really tired (oh, but the tired could be from the boys being up at 3:30 am...FOR THE DAY!!! Gotta love the time change for the early birds!) Caleb still has a slight fever and the doctor told us we have to be home for the week. In doing some research, it seems that H1N1 has a longer period of being contagious even after you feel better and symptoms subside. So we are hunkering down for the week with movies and other projects until we are well rested and not contagious. I'm just glad they are mild cases and we are doing well. So as said before, it is what it is!