Family Bonding

We survived (what I hope to be) the last stomach bug of 2014. It filtered through the family one by one...some within a few hours of each other. So I did 9 loads of laundry yesterday and 2 today. It was a pain but at least it was just one day and not spread out (or at least so far...Grayson has yet to get sick. Maybe his immune system has fought it off.). Matalley and Lola were not so happy to miss school but a little bit of coca cola and chicken noodle soup made up for some of the disappointment. Matalley asked if we could have chicken noodle soup when she was not sick too.

Grayson was super helpful. He called before school was out to ask if he could walk home so that I wouldn't have to get out when I didn't feel good. With the 30 degree temps, I was a little leary but he assured me he had his coat (he didn't).

Today, everyone was back to normal. The girls seemed to have made a pact to stick together after the illness bonding. They all crammed on the little couch to watch tv while Grayson was at basketball practice.

I am struggling with the stress of the holidays already. It seems like we just finished Halloween and already Thanksgiving is upon us. With activities and travel and everything else, the kids will miss 4 basketball games, 3 choir performances (x2) and a party day at school and we are not even to December. I still have halloween candy on the counter (so nobody gives us Christmas candy...I can't handle it). I will pause to be thankful (I'm doing a 3 thankful things every day challenge to keep a euphoria during bouts of stress)...thankful for this picture of Matalley dancing barefoot at church during worship. It cracks me up.

Last week, Matalley, Lola, and I attended a High Tea just for fun. Matalley was shy and didn't want to wear her hat (I think because the other girls at our table were not wearing hats) but we still had fun.

Lola obviously thought the strawberry tarts were delicious.