3 days of Christmas and a sick little boy

We survived.

My family Christmas was on the 24th.
On the 25th, we went to Princeville for church all day, then straight to the Braker's for Christmas. We got home pretty late that night.
The 26th, we got a short break in the morning, enough to regroup, and then we were back in Princeville for the Martin Christmas.



My family Christmas:

getting ready for gifts

Gideon's favorite present:

I mustache you a question...

Jack liked his cool beach toy

Emmy got a tool set, with a hard hat

I gave my dad a pecan pie

Jake and Dad playing horsey with the girls

Mom reading to a very sleepy Emmy.

The guys played a game.

Christmas Day we went to Princeville church. We hadn't been there since Edna's funeral, so  it was about time.  Gideon did pretty good though, he did have a blow out right before we left. So, he didn't get to wear his cute shirt for Christmas.

Isaiah wanted the big gift.

The Martin Christmas:

Looking like a little man

Maria in her polar bear suit :)

Three October babies.

Me and Gideon, Michelle and Maria, Rebecca and Eva

Nathan and I opened gifts Tuesday evening. 

Bonsai book and Bonsai seeds :)

(plus I got a Bonsai tree from Lena on Saturday night!)

So, Christmas is over. 

Poor Gideon slept pretty much all three days.  When he was awake he was cranky. I figured he just didn't like the crowds (which is partially true).  It turns out, his cold was actually taking a turn for the worst.

Tuesday I ended up at prompt care with him. Thankfully, my mom came along for moral support.  He was super stuffy, gurgley, and wheezing and really struggling to breathe.  I was afraid he had RSV.  The nurse that checked us in was awesome, she let us bypass the 2-3 hour wait and got us in to see the doctor right away.  He got a breathing treatment, RSV test, and chest X-rays. 

He was a trooper

Thankfully, they were able to tell us that it's not pneumonia or RSV and they sent us home with a neutralizer and a prescription for albuterol. 

he did so good

The nebulizer treatments seemed to work, but I started noticing that Gideon was acting weird. His legs were twitching, he was really jumpy, and he kept getting really wide eyed and shivering like he was scared.  After a google search and a follow up trip to his doctor on Wednesday, it turns out he was reacting badly to the albuterol. So, we aren't doing that any more.

The doctor thinks he caught a second virus on top of the cold he had. (seriously people keep your unwashen hands off my baby...breathe in. breathe out.) Since he's still eating well and hydrated, there isn't much they can do.  So, we hunkering down at home and waiting it out. 

Curled up with the humidifier

It's just no fun watching your kid struggle to breathe. 

Last night we went to the farm for the Schlipf Christmas.  Gideon was cranky, I was exhausted, so I don't remember much. 

But, we did survive the Christmas madness with a two month old, and besides being exhausted it really wasn't too bad.  

In Christ

~Michelle

December

We've had a quiet couple of weeks.

Wendi and Daniel had their baby boy, Harrison, and I finally got to meet him last week.  He's bigger than Gideon was. I can't believe how tiny our little guy must have been! :)

Gideon and I have had the same cold for two weeks now. It's following the normal progression of colds, so I'm not too worried.  We are both in the lovely hacking-up-a-lung stage. bleh.

Last Saturday,  we went to Wyss Christmas.  With a cold and a two month old with a cold, it was a long day. But, it was a good day all the same.   There is a new generation of  babies running about, which is always fun to watch.

William and Jack fighting over a car. :)

Jack and Boden

second cousins hiding under a table :)

At one point during the day. Kebe, Shenna, and Cecily were playing in the bathroom. It made me laugh because I remember Kendra, Kacie and I playing in the basement bathroom at Grandpa and Grandma's long ago. It was the only place to play. The big boys, big girls, little boys, and little girls had all the other areas of the house.

William and Troy 

Waiting for gift opening to begin

The aftermath

Gideon got pretty cranky with all of the noise, people, and heat.  We spent a few hours hanging out in Grandpa and Grandma's condo where it was cool and quiet.

Adelaide and Cadence joined us

As usual, couches and lazyboy's were full of napping people throughout the day. 

Bob "watching" Cadence.  :) 

Janelle came with her LuLa Roe collection.

Looking through the colorful patterns.

Gideon definitely changed things from past Christmases. But, I still got in plenty of good food, cousins, and relaxing.

Gideon actually did pretty well and didn't seem to effected by the big day.  It gives me hope for this coming weekend. We have three Christmases in a row. yikes.

After church on Sunday, we crashed.  :)

Hot coco and point-outs 

sweats, warm socks, and a Christmas tree.:)

 Gideon turned 2 months old on the 16th. 

It's crazy how much he's changed in one month.

One month....

Two months!

Just look at that smile! and that chubby belly!

Hehe.  It takes tons of pictures to get a decent one.

Gideon is getting way more fun. He's giggling and smiling and reacting to us. 

 Sadly this cold kind of knocked him out and he hasn't been too smiley for the past week.

The other night, just for the fun of it, we pulled out the (knockoff) Bumbo seat.

He loved it!  He's still a bit small for it though :)

He had his 2 month check up on Wednesday.  He weighed in at 11 lbs. 3 oz  and  21.5 inches long. 

The doctor said his growth looked great!  :)  Because of his cold, he got to put off getting shots. 

We finally got tape, so I've been able to wrap presents.  Eeeee! :)

I tried to explain to Nathan that packages with pretty wrapping are basically decorations and they complete the tree. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

My inner 5 year old is chortling with glee. 

In Christ

~Michelle

The end of an era

Well, I quit my job.

I was planning to return to work at the beginning of January.  It was a really tough decision and I'm still struggling with it.  It's a very bittersweet feeling.

When I started working, my plan was to work for a year or so, start having kids, and quit my job.  (haha you know how me and plans turn out.)  But, I fell in love with my job.  I loved my clients, I loved my coworkers, and I loved what I did.  It became my ministry and it was hard for me to imagine ever leaving it. 

When it came close to deciding whether to leave work or come back after having Gideon, I decided to go back.  I was connected and involved with my clients,  I didn't want my clients to lose yet another relationship, I felt God had placed me in the job and didn't know if it was time to leave, and I know my tendency towards boredom and stir-craziness. 

I was pretty adamant about going back to work, so when I started having second thoughts, part of me wanted to return purely to prove it could be done. :)

 It was multiple factors all playing together: Full time seemed very overwhelming.  There wasn't an option for part time. I recently learned that we would be remaining salaried and not switching to hourly (less flexibility).  
 I possess this blessing-and-a-curse type ability to disengage from relationships I am emotionally attached in without really being effected. In other words, I can drop people quickly, and unless one of us makes an effort to maintain the relationship, I can go on as if the relationship never happened. Not exactly the best trait to have, but it comes in handy when dealing with high emotion cases that come and go. 
Anyway, because of that, I had already detached myself emotionally from my clients over the past 8 weeks.  It also so happens that one of them ended up in jail and won't be back for a while, while I was gone, one went in to crisis, which seemed really overwhelming to return to, and prior to me going on leave, one had already been distancing himself from me and the agency.  And, the others were new clients that I was still trying to build a relationship with.  
Some of you can say "I told you so". Gideon turned out to be more fun than I expected.  And, the thought of other people raising him did get to me a little. 
And, yet another factor is we don't want to keep putting off fostering.  With me not working,  we'll be more available and ready to be used in that way.


 I went to work today and said my goodbyes and packed up my desk. Thankfully, I did all of my crying and mourning yesterday, and I remained emotionally stable. 

Yes, I will be mourning my job.  I loved it. Every last bit of the crazy, stressful, slightly unsafe,  eye opening work. 
But, yes I look forward to being home with Gideon, going swimming in the summer, spending time with friends during the day, having time to make supper,  having the ability to go to funerals, sewing, and other daytime church activities, and just generally having more time.   (I'm still a bit worried about stir-craziness and boredom,:) especially this winter)

Bittersweet. 

Anyway, I brought home all of my old calendars and I hope to compile some memories and stories that maybe I'll share.

Sigh. But, not working does take us down to a one income home. Which means I have to be more careful about how much Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts I buy. hehe. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

Favorite time of year

Well, not exactly.  Everything but the cold weather. :)

I'm enjoying all of the Christmas cards and packages that are arriving.  We're almost exclusively online Christmas shoppers.  

Little buddy needed a warm hat.  He had to try it on when it arrived.

He likes it! :)

(please pay no attention to the ugly leopard print blanket... I didn't want to use a nice one)

Gideon and I ventured out with Nathan to his work's Christmas party.  Gideon did good and slept through most of it.  

a hood! hehe :)

It's been getting colder. So bundling up is a necessity.

Plus he just looks too cute.

Jack turned 1! We celebrated on the 3rd. 

smooshing his cake

he enjoyed his presents

We got our first snow on the 4th! :) It was so pretty.

It won't take too many more snows before I'm sick of it.  hehe.

Gideon and I curled up by our fake fire.

And, I made hot white cocoa. One of the pluses of cold weather is the warm drinks. :)

with plenty of whipped cream :)

On Monday, Breanna was in town from Indiana. She and Brittney met Wendi and I at Kendra's for a brunch. It was great to catch up with them.  It's been so long since our trips to California and Florida. Between the 5 of us there were 7 kids. Things have really changed. :)

That afternoon, I met Mom and Jenny to pick out Christmas trees.

The girls liked the trees with fake snow.

All three of us went straight home and stubbornly set up our trees without the help of our men. :) hehe. 

Our running text conversation:

Well, I managed to set the tree up and decorate it. 

The living room is decorated and ready for Christmas.

It's so cozy :)

Little buddy likes to lay under the tree.

Tuesday, I went shopping with just Gideon for the first time. We made it to Target, Kohl's, and grocery shopping.  Gideon did really well.  Though it's super frustrating to grocery shop with a car seat. 

While in the store we just happened to run in to the girls. :) And Jenny, of course. 

hehe.

Gideon is weighing in at 10lbs 7oz. The little chunk.

Other than a trip to the doctor (me, for a regular check up) and a quick trip to the post office (Christmas cards are in the mail!) we've holed up yesteday and today. 

Packages in the mail, cozy Christmas tree, egg nog, and Christmas music. :) 

We're doing pretty good right now. 

In Christ

~Michelle