The Long and the Short of It

There has been WAY too much drama around here this winter! Miscarriage, tummy bug, and just when we are getting our footing again, or so I thought, Dale was voted out as Pastor.

We aren't really surprised that it happened, but just surprised at the way it happened. To make a very long story short, after one Sunday without us they rescinded the vote. Come to find out one man was bullying and threatening some of the older ladies to vote as he wanted them to. So not cool. Anyway, they basically said "Oh, never mind." So, between Saturday and a Wednesday meeting, they changed their minds, and we were left not know which way was up.

However, no matter how fickle people are, God is NOT. Dale and I have been praying for a couple years about whether or not it was time to move on, and God has shown us that it is time. After much prayer, Dale publicly resigned.

The good news is that we have 90 days or more, if everyone is agreeable. Dale has agreed to fill the pulpit as needed, with the understanding that we may be gone candidating. Also, except for the one person that wants us out as of "yesterday", everyone is willing to make this a friendly parting, which will is much preferable.

Dale and I are at peace with this, and are excited about whatever is next for our family. He is updating his resume, and I will continue packing, at a much more leisurely pace, than the frantic "We Have To Be Out of Here in 30 Days" panic mode packing. For the record, I think I would have made it in the 30 days. Once I got moving on it (no pun intended), I dug in and was in the zone. I also have been doing some much needed sorting, decluttering, and giving away of all our stuff.

The members voted to go ahead and hold the missions conference if we were still willing to house the missionary. Just so happens it all worked out so that we could, so the missionary will be here this evening. We have been spending the day cleaning like crazy.

For yet more drama, yesterday we woke up at 4 a.m. to the transformer on the street shorting out, blowing up, whatever it did to cause a boom and fireworks. That was nerve wracking. It was good thing we had had heavy rain on Sunday or I think the trees would have caught fire because it has been so dry! We also got 3 to 4 inches of very heavy snow. Hard to believe that just last week it was in the 80's and I was joyfully hanging laundry outside! We lost power until around noon. By then we had laundry and dishes and the like to catch up on, and didn't get much prep work done for the missions conference.

We had some music planned to do as a family, but we are all in sundry stages of a nasty cold, and though some are getting their voices back, many haven't yet, or are still coughing up a lung. We have a couple of instrumentals to do, so we'll see if we can get those together and start with that. The vocals will have to wait.

Whew. I'm so DONE with the drama here and am longing for those "dull, mundane, boring" days again. What a crazy ride this has been since last December!

Anyway, if the blog seems quite for a while, you know why. We haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just seeking God's will as to where our place is to be. We are excited about it, and looking forward to landing wherever Dale's next ministry will be, and digging into the work there.

BOM March

This is a little behind, but done! The technique for March was foundation piecing, and we did two string blocks.

The first was a plain String Block:



The second was a Broken Spider Web Block:



This was very fun and easy to do! I'm looking forward to tackling April's blocks which are about Hexagons and paper piecing. I've never used this technique before, but am excited to learn it!

Blessings!

Getting Back to Normal

.... whatever that is!


We have had a whole week without anyone needing a bucket! I am tentatively breathing a sigh of relief, and saying we are over it, just dealing with the aftermath. The kids seem to have bounced back with that wonderful resiliency of youth. However, I am still TIRED, but functioning. My stamina is kaput. I get so bodily tired I can't even wiggle by the end of the day, but even that is improving. From all the reports I have heard about this bug, you can expect at least 2 weeks to get your energy back after the worst of the sickness is over. I still have another week to go.

Meanwhile, I have been fretting about getting ready for the Missions Conference. The schedule I had planned out a month ago is now trashed. Two solid weeks of dealing with the tummy bug saw to that. Now I'm in the "deer in the headlights" mode. I know what I want to get done, but now realize time is fleeting by too quickly and I really need to re-prioritize.

Believe it or not, while convalescing, I managed to finish up the knitting on the Jewelry Sachet, and now need to get the lining fabric. It is almost done! I've also been working here and there on the Azzu's Shawl. I'm almost to the end of the first skein, and wondering if I should just wrap it up there (no pun intended) or use the second skein I bought. I have no other use, and the shawl is still the size of a shawlette, so I am leaning towards just using up the second skein for this project.

I have started working on the Sunflower Quilt again, as well. I hope to get another block quilted today. That will have to be put aside while I make the valence for the living room, which is on the schedule for next week. I don't think that will take very long, but I will be glad to get it done.

We will be tackling some heavy cleaning next week as well such as detail cleaning the kitchen, wiping down cupboards, and decluttering and organizing the downstairs as much as possible.

Oh, I forgot, one day, before I got sick, I made this Hobo Bag. It is in my Etsy shop. The link is on the right hand side bar. Isn't it cheerful and "Springy"?

Ugh

I see my last post was almost a week ago. It has been draining here, for the last couple of weeks, to be dealing with this bug. Shortly after the last post, Elizabeth got it, then Jerusha got it Tuesday, then I came down with it Thursday. It was BAD. I ended up passing out in the bathroom at one point. Everyone seems back to normal but me, and I am on the mend. I'm dealing with the aftermath of having no energy, and today my equilibrium, or lack thereof, is making it impossible to do much, but at least I'm hopeful that we will all make it to church tomorrow. It will be the first time in three weeks! And, I am cautiously hopeful that I was the last victim of the bug and that it has run it's course and things will get back to normal.

So, there is my feeble update. I hope you are all keeping healthy!

What a Week!

And it ain't over yet.

A week ago, Saturday night, Isaac kicked off our bout with the tummy bug. Tuesday night it was Caleb's turn. Then, Thursday night Isaac took another turn. This time it was much worse for him. He was throwing up literally every 15 minutes, for hours. I could watch the clock and tell you when he would be throwing up again. That finally slowed down and he was able to get into a nice deep, healing sleep.

Around 3:30 a.m. Benjamin started throwing up, and couldn't keep anything down for almost 24 hours. Saturday morning, a week from when all this started, I woke up and heard mild bickering between some of the siblings, and it was actually a GOOD sound. Kids are feeling better!

We had a pleasant pancake brunch, and as we were starting kitchen clean up Josiah said his tummy hurt, so he laid down on the couch, with a bucket, then needed to use it not long after that.

The rest of us were functioning enough to get some of the basics done. Esther and I went over to church to clean, and I decluttered, organized, and rearranged, then cleaned the nursery. It was on my list of things to do before the Missions Conference in late April, and figured since I was doing the cleaning at church this week instead of Benjamin, I would get it done. Esther was an excellent helper.

I was meeting a friend around 2:30 at the church. We both had dresses to cut out and we used the long tables in the basement. It was nice to chat while doing that job. The dress pattern I am using for the twins' church dresses is a PAIN to cut out. I've never cut out such a picky pattern! Everything was either single layer, or folded funny, or upside down, or I had to stand on my head and gargle peanut butter to get it done. Oiy.

Esther had asked what time she should go over to help Dale with supper (as usual, I was running late) and I told her 5pm. She left around then, and I didn't think anything of it. Around 6 p.m., my friend left, and I had just a few more minutes to go, as I was done cutting out the twins' dresses, and mine was super easy so I figured I would get that done quickly so I called Dale to let him know I'd be there shortly.

He said, "Guess who's throwing up now."

Oh great.

Esther! I couldn't believe it. Apparently this bug hits suddenly and hard. All day she was helping me, goofing around, being herself, then all of a sudden is become best buddies with the bottom of a bucket.

I got home and Elizabeth and Dale had supper about ready for those of us who could eat. Then Dale told me he had been having some lower GI tract issues (diahrea folks, in case you don't get the clue). It's weird, but with Dale, that is how the bug has always affected him. In our over 20 years of marriage, I think I've only seen him throw up once, and come close to it once.

So the evening became... interesting, to say the least. I had Josiah still throwing up, intermittenly, Esther frequently, and Dale spending more time in the bathroom than a teenage girl. I had some baths done, when he called for me to come in, and he was very pale. He had gone in to check on Jerusha or something, then felt like he was going to pass out, so sat down on the potty, and leaned against the wall. I put a cold compress on the back of his neck, and got him a drink of water. After about ten minutes he improved enough so he could get up and go into the bedroom, change, and get into bed. I made him drink some orange juice, and he fell asleep for a while. When I checked on him his color was back and he seemed much improved.

Meanwhile, there was still a bucket brigade going on with Esther, and Josiah was trying to find time to get a shower. We have two bathrooms in this house, and usually that is enough, but last night I really wished for another bathroom or two.

I also now had some phone calls to make. I tried to get someone to replace Dale in the pulpit at church, but couldn't do it as people were sick, or a spouse just had surgery, in one instance. So, time to cancel services, and one of the ladies at church helped to make the calls.

Children were bedded down, and soon things began to quiet down. Around 11 I realized I was walking around the house looking for something to do. I had made it a habit to make "rounds" from our room to the downstairs, and back up. Now everyone seemed to be sleeping but me and the cat.

I decided to camp out downstairs. The furniture in the Rec area were taking up with bodies, so I wen in the guest room and crashed on the bed. Tossed, and turned, totally on high alert. I assisted Esther a few times, and then must have fallen asleep around 2 or so. Next thing I knew, I woke up, and heard Isaac upstairs crying. I threw a stick of wood at the stove on the way by, and went in as Dale was going in, and guess what? Isaac was throwing up again.

Okay, this is the third round for the little guy. Dale was feeling much better and gave me a hand while I cleaned up the mess and got Isaac settled on the couch. I shoo'd Dale back to bed a little while ago and now am back to making rounds. I already told Dale when Elizabeth is up, or Benjamin (and if he is feeling up to it) and Dale is able, I'm running down to the store to pick up some Pedialyte and Gatorade for everyone.

Elizabeth, Jerusha and I are the only ones not affected. Yet. I feel like I should start issueing Hazmat suits. Elizabeth is hopeful we won't get it. Personally, I think our days are numbered. I sent the two healthy girls to bed with buckets, just in case.

This bug is insiduous. It hits fast and hard, and apparently repeatedly. You can be going full bore in your usual activities, and then BAM, you down for the count. No warning. No preceding fevers, or feeling "weird". Just one minute you are fine, the next you aren't.

Well, I think I will go make some coffee, and a little shopping list. I hope the upcoming week is much more boring then the last one was.

This is Dr. Mom signing off at sickbay, 5:45 a.m., Zulu.