Returning to the Land of the Living!

Well, we are beginning to feel part of the living once again! The children all got the H1N1 virus and are still recuperating, but are well on their way to full health again soon, we pray! Joy, my oldest, seems to be having the hardest time shaking the effects of it and we are heading to the doctor this afternoon to make sure there has not been a secondary infection that has set in. The pictures are of our "world" while all this was going on. Being the only caretaker, having to take care of all five children at once, throughout the day and night...I decided to transform the den into our mini "hospital." I knew I needed to get as much sleep as possible in between caring for the children to make sure my immune system was optimum...so the best way to do it was to get the children centralized to be able to hear them all and give out medicine when needed throughout the night. So, three twin mattresses were brought downstairs and Julia's toddler mattress as well. Joy slept on the couch and I slept on the loveseat (and my back is still suffering from that one)! The bookshelves became holders for everything!!! Tissues, coon skin caps, CD players, etc. Did I ever tell you that is one of my pet peeves? Bookshelves being used for other things besides books!!! But, when your family is ill, you look over all that and press on.

Josiah said he was either pretending that the whole family was camping out...or that he had been wounded in battle and I was the nurse taking care of him in the military hospital!

Notice the Legos on the mattress...once the fever left...this is the first thing they grabbed!

The children were able to play for a few hours after the fever left them...and then it was right back down in the bed. This virus just seemed to zap all their energy.

And this is what my kitchen counter looked like...a mini pharmacy. I cannot begin to tell you all how the Lord blessed us during this time. The very virus I dreaded most, we got. But God used that to show me that He is constantly taking care of us, no matter what comes our way. The one I dreaded most about getting it...Julia, because of her asthma, actually took it better than the older children. No steroids and no breathing treatments for her. That was a miracle itself. I did not get it...although for about four or five nights straight I averaged three hours of sleep a night. God gave me supernatural strength to take care of my children during that time. He was with me...when no one else was...He was there...through the night, through the day...every moment. He is always faithful. I cannot thank Him enough! God is so very good to me. So, what now? To begin the constant washing of all bedding, to clean off all those bookshelves...to get back some routine...to continue to help in the healing process of the children...to get cleaning every room of this house that has gone to shambles since our sickness...and to thank God all the way that He is ever with me and faithful and loving and kind. May you be blessed today!