All's Fair

JT says it's only fair if it's a girl. Well, this morning we found out that, in this case anyway, all's fair. :)

Friday

This week has been a bit rough, with colds, crankiness, and a disrupted schedule. This morning, however, went beautifully. Here's a glimpse of my blessings.

This lovely child stayed nearby, yet quiet while we did school!

JT, despite his frequent declarations that he can't read, read the entire book out loud without help!

JA made it through her math work without tears! A silly thing, perhaps, but though she's really good at math, she much prefers Language Arts.

Christmas

 My camera went caput just a few days before Christmas. Thankfully, it ended up just needing a new USB cable, and we were able to replace it last week. So, now I am able to see the pictures I took in December and thought you might like to see them too. :)

The kids decorated the tree this year, as I was too exhausted to help. I handed them the ornaments, and they hung them on the tree. By standing on the couch and wooden bench, they were able to decorate the bottom 2/3 of the tree. Papi helped out later by hanging the breakable ornaments up high.
 

JA had a children's choir rehearsal after church one day, so Papi and the boys took some pictures by the tree while they waited. 

Making Christmas cards. We didn't end up sending them because, well, things got a bit crazy and it just didn't happen. Making them was fun though!

JMC did not want his picture taken, nor to be told where to stamp. :)

After hanging the normal ornaments, the kids would make ornanments to add every os often. By Christmas, the tree was covered in paper garland, sting, yarn, and huge paper cutouts. They had a blast, and once we put a stop to the string that was tangling up everywhere, we enjoyed their decorations too.

Blessings

This pregnancy has been quite the challenge so far. Each of the previously 3 have been different, but none have knocked me off my feet and onto the couch for a month, nor required a mix of 3 different prescriptions and en ER visit in the battle against morning sickness. At 18 weeks, things have definitely improved, and I'm now feeling like I did in the first trimesters of the other pregnancies. Add to this that I have now had laryngitis for nearly a week ("it's a virus, drink more fluids") and I have had plenty of opportunities to accept help from and be blessed by others.

We have been blessed by wonderful friends who have dropped off meals when I was too ill to cook. I even called and asked for one of the freezer meals I just knew my super-organized friend had waiting in her freezer. What a blessing to be able to ask for help, as well as to be blessed by unexpected help from others. We've also had friends watch some or all of the kids at a minute's notice when JA got the flu and again when I was sent to the ER.

Papi's sisters each sent us home from visits with food that was easy for us to prepare, whether it be me throwing something from the freezer to the oven, or Papi making dinner quickly (not his forte) when he came home from work.

The biggest blessing of all, however, has been my own family. JA really stepped up and basically took over making lunches for a few weeks. She began dressing JMC when he would let her, and even was in charge of diaper duty for one very icky day. She never complained, usually offering her help before I needed to ask, and was continually thanking me for giving her another sibling.

JT became in charge of breakfast duty. He would set the table as soon as he woke up (he's always the first one awake) and then choose which cereals he would serve that day. He even perfected pouring milk without spilling. A couple of times he tried to branch out from cereal, like the time he attempted to toast bread in the microwave. It was so thoughtful of him, though as hard as a rock and completely inedible.

Even JMC got in on the act, and became an expert at bringing me Kleenex or my bucket. Whenever I got sick, he'd follow me to the bathroom and ask a million times if I was ok. It was sweet, sometimes annoyingly so, but sweet nonetheless.

Papi has be awesome. He took over laundry, dishes, and cooking. For about a month, I wasn't able to get up without getting sick, even with the medications, and Papi was completely in charge of running the house. It was surely exhausting for him after working all day, to come home and have to take care of us as well, but he did it and did it well.

I feel blessed by all of this because it is so easy to see the negative. I see my kids fighting with each other, giving me attitude about doing their chores, etc. nearly everyday. But for the past few months, God has brought to my attention so many positives in my family and especially my children, that it has been impossible to ignore.