Saturday, December 26, 2009

December

When I was younger I remember people saying that the older you get the faster time passes. It was true this year. We always at least think about making 'nuts and bolts' (a snack of seasoned cereal and pretzels) during the Christmas season; not this year. The first time I even thought about it was last night, Christmas night.

On the 13th Dad and Eunice took Olivia and I to see The Nutcracker ballet. Olivia brings it up frequently and always lets me know when she hears any of the music. It was lovely and delightful.

The 21st was Olivia's 6th birthday. Greg at least got the camera out when he got home. The night before we had dinner with Dad and Eunice which they made into a celebration for Olivia. They gave her the sweet outfit she is wearing. I will have to write about Christmas later.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Trying to get with it.

So much has happened since I posted last. I haven't been taking any pictures, rarely even thinking about it. The leaves have all changed and fallen, and I will post a picture from mid October. This was taken through our dining room window.



One of the biggest challenges to blogging has been illness. We have had one thing after another for months, seriously in August Henry had a cough that began our rough journey. It must have been last month when we caught the dreaded swine flu, though we didn't go in for a diagnosis the symptoms made it quite clear. I began to wonder what I was doing wrong. How could I make our diet better, keep our house cleaner, etc. Then God reminded me that we have not really been ill for 5 years. We might get a cold or virus of some sort once or twice a year, but nothing like what we have just experienced. We are sure that a lot of the reasons were timing, being exposed to new germs when our immune systems were still trying to recover from the last bug. Also, our exposure is greatly magnified. Two of the children we care for are in public school or have siblings in public school. The adventure has caused me to be more active in strengthening our immune systems and prevention of infection. For example, we have some elderberries in our tea at least once a day. I have super tonic in the cupboard and when it is ready we will have some at the absolute first indication of any illness and maybe just everyday through the winter. We have also begun taking vitamin D3 and cutting back on our sugar intake. I thought it was so great that I had begun to regularly make cookies and yummy treats for snacks. They were made with freshly ground whole wheat flour and less processed sugars, but sugar of any sort in larger doses still makes the immune system work harder. I am going to be cleaning with Enjo products which are much more effective and will get all chemicals out of our house. Anyway, we are all feeling good now and I will enjoy it as long as it lasts, and I feel hopeful that it will last awhile.