January Travels?

Yesterday, I sat in my favorite, comfy chair by the fireplace with coffee and realized I had a "What just happened?" look on my face for a good while.

Rumor has it, the flu and stomach virus is rampant this year.  Since our family cannot live in a bubble, I knew the chances for sickness with five touching-everything-and-putting-their-hands-in-the-mouth little people were great.  Because Isaac has some lingering respiratory problems, the babies all got flu shots. They have only had two illnesses their whole little lives but those proved to be problematic given Isaac's (and sometimes the girls') tendency to wheeze.  And whatever one gets, they all get.  The passy-thievery around here is just ridiculous.  What didn't happen was everyone else getting flu shots. 

First, Elijah was sick three weeks ago.  After a large amount of disinfectant spray and a greater amount of Divine mercy, the ick of it was not passed to anyone else.  Andrew did run a fever the day following but that was all.  Last weekend after a couple of grocery excursions, I came down with it... whatever it actually was.  We had a trip planned to see family in NC a little more than 24 hours from the onset of this thing and I only had scratched the surface of getting the packing done.  After about a day, though, I was up and at 'em.  Micah and I threw everything we had (or at least it felt like everything) into Rubbermaid Bins and more stuff in the back and on top of the truck and we headed on down the road with the blessing of those on the other end of the highway.  Usually illness puts the brakes on trips pretty quickly but my sister was visiting from California and opportunities for my entire family to be together are scarce.

So glad to see these guys!

Thankfully, we arrived safely.  First thing Tuesday, my siblings and I accompanied one of my sisters to see her wedding dress.  She is engaged to be married next year and in addition to showing off her dress, she wanted us to see the bridesmaids' choices.  While in the shop, I got a call from Micah who stayed behind with all the kiddos.  Andrew had it.  Two days later, Micah had it.  The majority of the week, we kept a quarantine open and tried to take safe opportunities to visit with family.  Unfortunately with my precious, newborn niece in the mix, we didn't get to the majority of Micah's family see at all.  The last two days we sandwiched in several visits.  One of those visits was with friends who are will be serving in a long-term missions opportunity in London, England.  It was so encouraging and obvious to us that God has shown them grace and peace as they pack up everything and move across the world.  Goodbyes are hard, but it helps when in eternal reality, they are always see you laters.

Happy, Healthy Babies at Mimi's House

One of the biggest ventures from our trip was the purchase of a new vehicle.  I don't know how it didn't dawn on me before...  I am not sure I had ever seen (in person) triplets before ours.  I just assumed there were multitudes of makes of vans and strollers to accommodate three babies and, in our case, two big boys.  Well, I can now say with confidence, there aren't.  We had a Yukon XL but it didn't seat all our children with their appropriate car seats.  I have watched for months my big boys climb, roll, duck, and scoot trying to get to their seats every time we get in and out of the truck.  During the last snow, there was a day when the back was full of the enormous stroller plus groceries and the big boys had to get in and out of the car with wet shoes over the babies in the second row.  That was the last straw. 

We are now the proud owners of a 12 passenger van.  We met a family friend who gave us a wonderful deal.  It is not the sleekest thing on the road but it sure is practical.  It is also stark white.  Micah and I like to joke about painting something clever on the side like "Childs Plumbing ~ We Charge Triple".  Function is definitely more valuable than form for us.  God has again provided and we are thankful.  It was such a blessing to see Andrew and Elijah get in and out with ease and have room in the back for checking on babies and changing diapers on the road. 

Thankfully, we were all well enough to celebrate Andrew's 9th birthday this past Saturday.  This boy is such a joy.  I love that he still loves to hear about the day he was born.  Even through the sickness, he got to go to Chuck E Cheese with family, eat mediocre pizza, and play video games until he earned enough tickets (with help with Uncle Matt and his basketball skillz) for Sweet Tarts, a Pop Rocket, a mini magic trick, and a large Laffy Taffy.  It was a blast!