January 7, 2014

After another day of Julia's high temperatures, I'm feeling a little frazzled.  But, here is what I'm grateful for...

• That Julia is sick this week and not next.  We are leaving on Saturday to drop the girls off at Mark's parents so Mark and I can head to Cancun for a few days (woot woot!).  Earlier I was frustrated that we are encountering this sickness right before we leave.  Kids make you earn your time off, ya know?  But then I decided that I would rather Julia is sick this week, when she has her Mommy.  The older girls can handle being sick away from Mommy much better than Julia could.  They can lay on the couch and be miserable but not cry and cling to me.  So really this is perfect timing.
• That I have a husband who works hard so that I can stay home and cuddle our sick kids.
• That what we are experiencing sickness wise is not life threatening.  We have friends who have very sick kids.  I really don't know how they do it.  I'm sure that when you are dealing with it, you just put one step in front of the other to get through.  It sure makes me appreciate and not take for granted the good health that we do have.  I have a deep admiration, respect, and heaviness for parents who face very difficult health scenarios with their kids.  
• That I get the opportunity to witness my older girls love on their little sister.  I can pass Julia over to one of her big sisters for a few minutes while I run around picking up, throwing food together, going to the bathroom.  They do their best to console Julia and make her content as they hold her.  They are endlessly bringing her books to look at or trying to make her smile with their chatter.  When we returned from the doctor, their concern for her was obvious as they eagerly wanted to know what was wrong with her.  
• That even when my plans fail, God's plans don't.