Fall wrap-up, Colorado, and an urgent prayer request...

With Christmas break coming to an end, I thought it would be a good time to catch up on what all is going on right now. I just finished up my first semester of teaching first grade while going to school to work on my Master's. This semester has been crazy busy, to say the least. I wasn't fully prepared for all that has come my way over the past few months, but I am doing my best to take it all in stride and with the knowledge that this hard work will pay off and there is an end in sight. Grad school has not been difficult as far as the work goes (somehow I still have all A's), but it is SO TIME CONSUMING. Between teaching 20 precious first graders, doing my own homework, helping my kids with their homework, driving to soccer and football, being a housekeeper (I use this term loosely. It's a good week when I've cooked once and did 2 loads of laundry.), and being an active church member I have just been stretched thin. I am not at all complaining, but I realize that if I don't write down how I feel in the moment, I may not remember it later. I am actually very grateful for where I am today. I love my job and the people I work with. I love that I get to have the same schedule as my kids. Above all of the stress and craziness, I know that I am blessed to be where I am and to have what I have, and for that I am thankful, and continue to give God the glory for ALL good things that come my way.

Last year was the first year that we took a family ski trip to Pagosa Springs, CO over our break, and the boys enjoyed it so much that we went back again this year. This threw a bit of a kink in our Christmas family gatherings, but somehow we got it all worked out and had successfully completed all gift opening by the time we left on December 21st. This made the second year in a row we haven't actually been home on Christmas Day, but to me it's not about where you are, but who you are with. For many, Christmas Day was special because you got to spend that morning with your sleepy-eyed babies in their pj's seeing all of the things that Santa brought. For me, the highlight of Christmas Day this year was skiing alongside my childhood best friend while videoing our little people ski down with Santa while singing Christmas songs. It. Was. Perfection.

But I need to back up. On the 21st, we loaded up in the car and headed to DeKalb to pick up my niece Jennifer (who rode with us) and to meet up with Phillip and Wendy (childhood best friend), their kids, and also my nephew who rode with them. Our plan was to reach Amarillo by days end and spend the night there. We did really well on our time until we were just outside of Amarillo and spent 4 hours on the same interstate, not moving 5 miles that entire time because of some crazy ice storm they had going on at the time. We sat there so long that we watched the Polar Express in its entirety and the kids went out to play several times. (There was possibly some yellow snow on the side of the road, but I wasn't looking so I can't verify that.) It actually became a bit comical with everything that was going on, and began to feel very natural to tell my children that they could go out of the car and play on the side of the interstate if they were bored.

Playing on the side of the road....

Somehow we made it off of I40 and to our hotel safely, where we met by brother Craig and his wife, Kassie. The next morning, we all headed out as a caravan of 3. Just minutes into the drive, we found ourselves stuck on the interstate once again. But this time, the situation was quickly assessed by the men in charge and the decision was made to drive backwards onto the nearest on ramp and park somewhere a while. So we had some vehicles back up for us, and it worked out beautifully. We stopped at this little saloon/restaurant type place for lunch, and by the time we were finished, the interstate was moving and we were finally back on the road.

The men...assessing the situation.

I love the windmills in West Texas.

Our family shared a lock-off (that was unlocked most of the time) with Phillip and Wendy, while my parents and brother shared a lock-off in a different building. In the morning, we took turns fixing breakfast with Wendy, which was quite fabulous because, umm...HELLO...someone's cooking bacon in our kitchen! We had all manner of breakfast foods including pancakes, breakfast tacos, and biscuits and gravy. We usually ate our lunch at the ski area on the mountain but for dinner my mom would have something cooked for all of us. Let's just say we ate well.

Wendy and I (along with our kids) skied every day from Monday to Thursday and really just had the best time together. We don't get to hang out much at all so this trip brought a welcome reconnection. Robbie doesn't ski but did come up to the ski mountain a few days. Phillip skied with us Monday, but really hadn't felt good since we left home. He had fever and a cough that seemed to be worsening. He did choose to come ski with us on Thursday for our last day there, but by the end of that day he felt horrible, as did I. I had a fever by the time we got home on Thursday night and I felt like it was hard to breathe, even though mountain air typically really agrees with me. By the time we left on Friday morning, I know for sure that 4 of us ran fever at some point on that trip. It seemed like everyone that wanted their temperature checked ended up having fever. That's when you know...IT'S TIME TO GO HOME. It was a fun trip that went by WAY too fast, but it was time to go.

Jennifer, Brandon, and Austin having lunch.

Wendy and Abbie

Wendy and I in the ski lodge for lunch.

Austin and Abbie got along so well all week.

 

At this point we were laughing so hard because we didn't know if Austin had taken our pic or not and we had been posing for 10 minutes!

Craig and I

Because sometimes you just need to lay in the snow.

And he made it look so good his brother just had to join him.

Robbie and Austin on the snowmobile ride.

I can't end this post without saying this: When Phillip got home, he tested positive for the flu, then for pneumonia. Phillip is currently in ICU in a local hospital hooked up to a ventilator and heavily sedated with his lungs covered with pneumonia. I spent a few hours in his room last night with Wendy and am just in shock that he is this sick, only a week after our trip. Please keep Phillip, Wendy, and their family in your prayers. He has a very long road ahead of him.