January

January is usually a long month for me. It's after the holidays and the business and excitement of that time of year. I like getting back into a schedule and the swing of things but it is a cold month where I just can't wait until we start getting closer to spring and warmer weather where we can be outside more. This year was no different and then we added about a week and half of sickness in there and so I'm grateful for the little memories that were made in January but I'm definitely ready for warmer days ahead. The cold, long months make me so much more grateful for the sun and for flowers and all those wonderful things that come in the spring. 

There are always sweet and fun moments during a month no matter the weather. One family home evening lesson I talked about encounters with Jesus with the girls. How when we have Jesus in our lives it makes us feel happy and then we created our own pictures (Baylor drew a picture, I used all words for my creation, and Paige used a combination of both picture and word) to create how we feel when we encounter Jesus in our lives. I gave a few general ideas of how we feel loved, or happy, or have peace and then they created their own and I LOVE what they both came up with.

Baylor drew a picture of Jesus in the clouds with hearts because Jesus loves us.

I just love, love the words that Paige came up with like seen, heard, relieved, cared for.. really all the words she came up with really spoke to me about how I feel about Jesus and the fact that at 10 she came up with this list on her own shows me that she really feels this way and she has had her own encounters with Jesus and the Holy Ghost at such a young age. 

I know I touched on this in my last post about McCall but we all ended up getting covid. I'm not sure where I got in from but I got it first. I had a bad headache that wouldn't go away but didn't think anything of it since I get headaches often but then Thursday I woke up with a sore throat and tested that day and was positive. I never had a fever and mine just felt like a minor cold with some minor body aches. My lower back hurt the most and some aching in my legs. I felt like I could function and cook and clean and then rest in between. It ended up being a tender mercy that I didn't have it too bad so that I could care for the rest of my family during this time. McCall started getting sick on Friday with a bad fever and that was really the extent of hers but it was a rough few days and night where she was not herself and would just lay there and was held for all her naps and slept on the couch with me for two nights. Paige woke up with a fever on Saturday and because she didn't eat much. She ended up throwing up that night all over our bed and floors and spent the entire day in our bed sleeping and resting. It was a blessing that she didn't have school on Monday and was still a little weak on Tuesday so she ended up only missing one day of school that week and she never tested positive even though she had the same symptoms and she even took a few tests. Nate got sick on Sunday and definitely got it the worst. He started with a really bad fever, chills, and body aches and then had the worst sore throat that he has ever had and then stuffy nose. Luckily the week following he already had scheduled classes to attend for work so he didn't really end up having to use too much sick time for being out a week. Baylor ended up getting sick on Monday and had bad fever and was mostly really tired. She was funny when we tested her and it was positive and I guess the look on her face was priceless and she exclaimed "I told you so!" and was excited that she got covid. She ended up putting herself to bed between 7 and 7:30 each night for about a week. There were little tender mercies through the week like that fact that Paige had a schedule day off of school, Nate and his work classes, and not having activities and too many church things to miss. We are all so grateful for have our health, that's for sure!

McCall went in the hot tub and also wore a swimsuit for the first time and it was the cutest thing ever! She loved it and I know there will be much more hot tub fun for our three girls in the future.

Baylor got to go on two field trips this past week with her preschool. First we went to a local fire station. She was very hesitant and was connected to my leg most of the time and didn't really want to participate. It is a little hard as a parent since I'm not sure what to do and I don't want her to miss out on opportunities like sitting in a fire truck but if she doesn't want to do something then I can't force her. They did a really good job with the kids and read them a story, let them walk around the fire station and see all the different parts, taught them to dial 911 and what to do if a fireman comes to your house, we got to see a firefighter in his clothes, and all the kids got to walk around a big fire truck and see all the parts and they got to climb in the back and at the steering wheel if they wanted. 

At the end of the day, she did say going to the fire station was her favorite part of the day so it must have been a good experience for her even though from my perspective it was just okay for her since she didn't participate much. 

The next day was a field trip to the Children's Museum in Tacoma. We had a long talk the night before about enjoying these field trips since often they are things we don't normally do. I assured her that I would not leave her side and that I would play and watch her the entire time. She did much better at this field trip though was very leery of people and she is definitely one that doesn't like big groups of people. She is most comfortable and herself at home. I just wish other people got to see the true and fun Baylor and not always the super shy Baylor. We had fun though going to all the different things and trying everything out. 

Then Saturday as a family we went to Tacoma to the Washington State History Museum. I got free tickets through the library and it was a fun family outing. There was hardly anyone there and we just took our time looking around. McCall did great in the stroller as long as it was moving and Baylor got a little impatient at the end but overall it was a fun little adventure.

We walked the bridge to see the glass work and as you can tell in the pictures, Baylor was done by this point but I'm glad we went and it was good to go on a family outing in January. It makes me look forward to all the family outings and adventures we will go on as a family this year especially as the weather gets warmer.