On the Lord's Errand!

It is Sunday.  Most Sunday's find me sitting with my dear family in a pew at church, usually struggling to keep our little brood quiet and together.
But today I am home with Jacob and one of the Littles who are not feeling well. The house is quiet because everyone is cozed into their beds for a needed rest.
As an attempt to make my Sabbath day a bit more spiritual, I have been watching some wonderful videos on lds.org. Usually I love to do this. I find it helps motivate me to do better, to strive to follow God's plan for me.  But as I began to watch On the Lord's Errand , I couldn't help but wonder if I am following the path that the Lord has set out for me? Am I doing enough? Am I on the Lord's Errand?  
Just at that moment I glanced over at a plate sitting on the table next to me, with the left over bits of a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich.  I couldn't help remembering being in the hospital just after Jacob was born. He was only in the hospital for 11 days, so short compared to some little ones who come into this world fighting to be here. But they were the longest 11 days of my life.  
I had 2 other little ones waiting for me at home and although I knew they were being well cared for, I remember yearning to be back home, in my kitchen doing something "normal" like making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!  

I have made many sandwiches since that day and I am so grateful to have done so!  It is mundane and repetitive, but it is filling the needs of my dear sweet family! 
No, I am not out serving all of my neighbours everyday, I do not hold a "big important" calling in my church right now where I am asked to sacrifice tons of my time and energy.   

But, I am a Mom! I get to help raise these sweet, amazing little ones into amazing, talented, productive big people!!  
It is so easy to forget that the service we provide in our own homes is just as important- maybe even more important then the  service we provide outside of our homes.  It doesn't often get much recognition, and I am pretty sure no one will be asking to make a video of my life, but that is not what matters.

What matters is that I AM living the life that the Lord wants me to live. I am right where He wants me to be. I know that He is aware of me and my little family. I know that He cares about what I am doing because He helps me on a daily basis. I am grateful for the path that I am on and I am grateful for all of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I have had the privilege to make in my life, and the reminder they are to me that I am enough!!

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!  I am!

Sickies in the House

It is that time of year when everyone seems to be catching something!! 
Some of the "Littles" have runny noses and a cough,
Kenzie has a horrible case of strep throat- Golf ball size glands! She is so sick.
Jacob was home Thursday and Friday from school.
The rest of us... seem to be doing okay.. for now! 
(If I say it quietly maybe the germs won't notice!?!)

So what do you do to keep your home and yourself healthy this time of year? I would love to hear anything that works!
Nathan is on the verge of moving out for the next week to see if he can escape the germs. Since that is not an option... I am open to any other ideas!

We are doing our best to wash our hands, use our own drinking glasses, cover our mouths when we cough... we are working on the basics.

Do you have a house hold that stays health the whole year through, that seems to escape the January bugs? What is your secret? Can you share?? I Would love to hear... add it in the comments!!

I hope you stay healthy... I am trying to!

All Is Well!

I have been away for a bit.  The end of March landed us in the Alberta Children's Hospital with our dear Jacob.  What we thought was the flu was quickly re diagnosed as a bowel obstruction.  Surgery was done and after two and a half weeks we were sent home.  I had my computer with me and had thought I would blog and keep everyone up to date, but every time I tried to write, nothing would come.  So I took a break. 

Jacob is back to school and although we are having a few issues with feeds, he is back to his happy, cheerful self.  He has been back to school for a couple of weeks.
It took me a couple of weeks to be able to put a clear sentence together and catch up of the lack of sleep.  A hospital is not a place to rest.  Although I understand it, it was still hard to handle having Jacob just drift off to sleep only to have a group of nurses enter the room to do safety checks and take vitals.  I have to admit I got testy a time or two. 
Can I just say we had amazing nurses!!! There were two that were a bit harder to take, one spoke to us like we were idiots.  I don't do so well with that, but she was on when Jacob came back from surgery and I was so grateful!  He had a bit of a scare and she knew her stuff!  I was glad she was there leading the way.  The other was new and needed a little reminding that the enema water should be body temperature, not tea temperature!  My confidence in her was shot after that and that was tricky.  But we had nurses that fought our battles for us, reminding cleaning staff that sleep was more important then washing the floor, talked to doctors to make needed changes and some who listened to a sleep deprived, fearful mother and gave the comfort and reasoning needed.  All treated Jacob like their own and he received the best care! Those amazing people who decide to use there time and talents caring for others, I am so grateful!  Thank You All!
We had amazing family and friends help in so many ways too!  Some brought meals, treats, conversation, others brought hugs, my children, hope, relief, socks, clean laundry and all brought love and comfort! 

I learned a few things through this experience too. 

• Always trust your instincts. A parent knows their child better then anyone. You need to advocate!
• I need a video of Jacob's "normal".  Jacob gets very quiet and withdrawn when he is in pain and it would have been good to have an example of what the norm is.  That way those caring for him would know he really wasn't handling the pain well.
• Always pack lots of cozy socks!
• The parent bed is chilly!  Take your own blanket. (But oh thank goodness it was there!)
• There is comfort in your own pillow too!
• Taking care of yourself is just as important as caring for your child!  If you crash, everyone is in trouble!
• I can go without sleep better then I thought!
• Everyone handles these things differently and we should NEVER judge!
• We are stronger than we think!

I am so thankful that Jacob is happy and well once more!  I am grateful I live in a place where health care is easily accessed and comfortable.  And amazingly enough, I am grateful for all that I have learned through this experience. 
 
I hope you have a healthy day!  I hope to.