Year 5, Weeks 27-29: Snow, Spring and Sickness

 Well, hello there! Back on time this time. At least, it's my goal. As long as these babies keep napping! We have been a little chilly here in Ohio, but it's also been like spring so there's that. Three weeks can produce all sorts of weather, which is really why we like it here!

Week 27: January 15th - 21st

Monday the 15th was super cold and Jonathan's car battery hadn't been working for awhile, so he replaced it that day which was probably good since it was too cold to be trying to get a less than optimal battery to work. I didn't feel like cooking, so we went to Grinders in the evening. We hadn't been there in awhile and the babies just loved it, so that was a special little evening for us. Tuesday was a typical day for all of us, so we were ready to spend some time together on Wednesday. 

Jonathan had an appointment on Wednesday, so we went to that, I took a nap on the ride there and we stopped for some DQ as a little treat. Thankfully, Mom had the day off because it was so cold, so she kept the babies for us. For supper, I made Swedish meatball pasta and Jonathan's parents came over to join us last minute. The kids enjoyed a visit from Grandpa and Grandma! I did laundry and changed beds as well, it was a good day!

We had chicken and dumplings on Thursday evening and gave Jonathan a work night while we went to visit Mom and Dad. NAET in the morning and a library stop after that were both really good, we had to make up for missing the library on Wednesday. Thankfully Thursday was a great day because Friday at work was pretty rough. I just had a horrible one, so we got some KFC afterward and then I baked some cookies. I felt pretty sick all week, so I tried to get help on Friday but they tested me for all sorts of stuff and they came back negative. 

Saturday was another work day for us as a family, we came home for chicken tacos and I took a nap while the babies napped too. We also got to work on our order for the garden and we also ordered some fruit trees! Sunday was a waffle morning, which was delicious. I went to stat care as soon as they opened to get looked at after all my tests came back negative on Friday because I still felt horrible, but they didn't find anything and didn't seem to think anything was wrong. We got to go as a family to church, which isn't terribly common, and then JL and I had a meeting afterward for small groups. The babies napped at Mom and Dad's and Jonathan got to work on the house for a little while. We had a family night, got some Domino's and enjoyed time with our babies. Amelia started a new little fun game of asking me if I wanted to fight...which was absolutely hysterical, so we did some "fighting" and it was a fantastic time.

Week 28: January 22nd - 28th

I worked my double 13s on Monday and Tuesday and Jonathan was in Chicago, which was a little challenging, but thankfully we have great families to help us through it! Pam was home with the kids on Monday, then Mom picked them up and we all had a little sleepover there Monday night into Tuesday. It was a lot of fun! The kids went to Faith's on Tuesday and then back to Mom and Dad's until Jonathan got home from Chicago. I had a long day, but we made it through. 

Wednesday is library day, which was a big deal for Miss Amelia - she got her library card AND now that she's three she get to pick out THREE books! Big deal for our little bookworm, she was very excited. The Henmans came over on Wednesday after the library. We had a great time, good conversation and lots of encouragement. Shepherd's pie for supper, which the kids were pretty unconvinced with, but it was a great evening regardless! 

On Thursday I went to stat care and finally got some help. Third time was the charm! The doctor gave me an antibiotic and I felt a ton better after a few days. We visited Mom after I got back from my appointment because she had a snow day and that was a ton of fun, then I spent the day home with the kids while Jonathan was at band. 

It was my super long weekend, so I was off on Friday and spent some time cleaning, made cinnamon rolls and got ready for the weekend, then we went to hike at Beechcreek, got the grocery shopping done and brought Chipotle home for supper! Work day on Saturday followed by some leftovers, then church and pizza on Sunday. Jonathan worked on the house and got most of the stuff hauled out to the dumpster before it got picked up. No use sending it off empty!

Week 29: January 29th - February 4th

Monday was an easy dinner night - sloppy joes and noodles! I cleaned and got to prepare for small group a little bit. There was a lot to get done and get organized, so I spent a lot of time doing all of that throughout the day. Tuesday was normal - working for Jonathan and I, babies at Faith's, it was a good day as far as I can remember.

Wednesday was our first day with our new small group! Library day in the morning, then JL was out on a job site and had a test so I held down the fort here, made some brownies and got stroganoff ready for supper. I always get a little worried before the first one, but it went really well! Our group was great and the kids did really well with the babysitter upstairs. Baby William was my main concern because I brought him down to give him his milk, but he just drank it willingly, watched everybody and then snuggled with me until it was time for bed. He is just a sweet little baby. 

William was having a rough time so I took him to the doctor on Thursday morning, Amelia came back with an antibiotic because that's just how we roll anymore! Otherwise, we had a fun time on Thursday, it was lovely outside and I had to make some dessert to take over the weekend, so instead of making supper I spent time out in the beautiful weather and we went and got Que Pasa before Jonathan went to band then the kids and I went to see Mom and Dad. It was a fun and spontaneous evening, Amelia was glad to go to the restaurant and I was glad not to have to cook!

It was my long weekend, so Jonathan spent the day in Ravenna and I had a rough day at work while the kids were at Faith's. Honestly, it was a really long day to kick off the start of a really long weekend. Saturday was long, Jonathan and the kids were up at the farm, then he got to work a little bit on the closet while they napped. We had leftovers for supper and got to sit and chat while the kids ran around and just had a great time.

Jonathan played at church on Sunday, so I got the kids ready and dropped them off on the way to church. Work wasn't nearly as bad as it had been, but everyone was grouchy. It was beautiful outside, so Jonathan and Dad worked on cleaning up all the locust trees in the back yard. I brought some McDonald's home for supper and we got to hang out upstairs with our own little picnic and watched some Clifford and Gus plus Us. 

Overall, a great few weeks, we are pretty tired and ready to rest a little extra this month and get some housework done as well. It's going to be a variety month! Rest and work. Although...they are kind of all like that! 

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of February - we love you all!

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William

Random Photos:

Year 5, Weeks 22-26: Christmas, New Year and Birthdays - THREE Ordeals :)

 Well, hello there! I have had a change in schedule, so our whole schedule is a little different now, which is why I seem behind...at least for this time! You never know why I will be late next time, at least this time I have a good reason! LOTS to catch up on at this point with all the holidays it has seemed like we have lived two weeks for every one week that has passed - both for good and bad reasons.

Week 22: December 11th - 17th

I worked my double long days, so the kids spent Monday with Pam and, since Faith was out of town, Tuesday with Mom. They were rough days at work and home. William had some really rough nights where he was inconsolable. We were all pretty tired other than Amelia!

Wednesday we had a fantastic visit with friends after the library, plus, William decided to start walking this week! He just took to the walker all the sudden and started going...in spite of being sick! 

On Thursday we went to NAET, then William came home and was just not doing well at all, so I took him to the school to have the nurse look at him, then we went to stat care. He had started with an ear infection, so it was good to get him some medication started, the Amelia started to lose her voice in the evening...about every half hour it sounded worse. 

On Friday Amelia was for sure sick, croup, runny nose and cough. She was in complete sick mode. I did some cut out cookies, we went and got groceries and had Chipotle for supper. Saturday I took her to the doctor - which was really helpful. They gave her some steroids to help with the cough and I think that helped her kick it a little bit quicker. We made more cutouts after the appointment, had quesadillas for lunch, went on a walk around the allotment and had Subway for supper!

Jonathan went to church on Sunday and then went to his grandpa's birthday celebration. We stayed home from everything since the babies were sick. Amelia was especially sick that day, we did a lot of snuggling. I made some spice cookies and seafood nachos, iced cookies, made some dough and stew along with breakfast casserole and green bean casserole, I had a very productive nap time! That's for sure. Babies napped really well since they were sick, then we enjoyed the evening as a family.

Week 23: December 18th - 24th

I was off on Monday too, so it was a great day. I got a lot of stuff cleaned up, got ready for the week and enjoyed some time with my little family! The kids were both sick still on Tuesday, they weren't getting better so Jonathan stayed home with them while I was at work. Wednesday was a library day, last one of the year! 

On Thursday we had a bit of a rough day. William struggled, Amelia had a really rough day. She started crying as soon as I put her down for nap so I rushed her into the doctor's office to get her ear looked at and she had a raging ear infection. She was a lot better once we got her started on some pain medicine and antibiotics. Poor baby was so tough though. We had meatloaf and scalloped potatoes for supper and Jonathan stayed home from band to help me keep my sanity.

I worked the weekend, which is usually a big plus for me, but it was a really long month, so it didn't go quite as well as I would have hoped. Jonathan worked a half day on Friday and took William in for a doctor's appointment to get more antibiotics for his continued ear infection. We were really beat up over these few weeks. The kids stayed with Mom these days, then Jonathan got to do some demo on our master suite, which was a real treat! I only worked Saturday, which was a lot, but it was fine, Jonathan had the kids and made some dip for Sunday, then we had leftovers for supper. 

Sunday was Christmas Eve, so we went to church then went straight to the Christmas with the Landis family, came home and got ready for Christmas! We put all the kids toys away (other than new ones), got food ready for Christmas and were really tired and ready for bed by the time we went to bed at ten. It was a very long day.

Week 24: December 25th - 31st

Christmas was an absolute joy. We loved every minute of it, it was wonderful to spend the day at home after a long day gone the day before. It was a beautiful day, so we went on a walk after opening gifts and eating breakfast, then we hung out with the Haas fam for the afternoon and evening! They came right before naptime, we played games, gave gifts and facetime with Shem and Karah. We had a fantastic day. 

Tuesday was the only day I worked that week, Jonathan was off and had the kids, so they came to visit. That was a treat for sure! It wasn't as bad of a day as I thought it would be. Jonathan started with a sinus infection...which was a bummer, but he got meds pretty quick, so that helped. My sinus infection started on Wednesday, thankfully I got medications quickly too. I did some laundry, changed bedding, cleaned out the freezer, got a lot done! In the evening we went to the Wooster/Orrville basketball game, which was fun for Jonathan! William had a horrible night, he refused to nap, couldn't sleep, was up way too late, it was a long night.

Thursday we got to spend the evening with the Miller's! We had them over for dinner and a little Christmas celebration, it was really a blessing. We got a few things done that day too, hung my new shelves, took the tree down and ran some errands with Amelia! We spent the day on Friday packing for Wapak and organizing toys, then we headed out of town for the weekend! We had El Azteca for supper and enjoyed some Hank the Cowdog for the drive. It was a fantastic day.

Saturday was spent enjoying Wapakoneta- J. Maries, The Siderail, naps, shopping, it was a great day. We enjoyed every minute and the kids did GREAT in our little airBNB. On Sunday we packed up into the car and went to Hochstedler Christmas in Indiana - breaking up the drive with staying in Western Ohio really helped the kids and made it easier for us to go and enjoy the time with family and enjoy the babies while we were there. We went to have Christmas at a church and then spent the evening at Rex and Angie's house. The kids had such a great time and enjoyed their cousins! Amelia was a little bit shy, but she warmed up pretty quickly! Around 8 we headed back to Wapak...the kids didn't nap, it was a long trip, it didn't go smashingly...they did sleep well though! Once we got home and put them in bed they were good as gold. It ended up being a really great day! We enjoyed seeing family and letting our little babies see their family! What a blessing they are to us. It was a great way to end 2023.

Week 25: January 1st - 7th

We drove home on my birthday, it was wonderful to get back, I must say. On the way, we did stop and see Julie and Kenyon ad Cliff and Julia since they were all in town, which was a huge treat! Once we got home, I made seafood nachos, stuffed shells and had a visit from Mom and Dad! Mom made some AMAZING cake and we had a great time catching up after our trip. My inaugural day back was a lot. We had a ton of scripts, it was crazy busy, but we ended up okay. There was another medical emergency for us to deal with, so I ended up working Wednesday too. Thankfully, Faith could keep them and everyone was super flexible. Wednesday was better, so that helped!

Jonathan had a work trip on Wednesday, so we all came home and got to eat supper, which I had prepared earlier for us to have ready to roll, Jonathan got home with plenty of time to get the rest of the food ready to go. In the evening we cleaned up the basement and got laundry going as well as prepped the freezer. It was a super crazy week because we had to be prepared for half a beef that weekend, so we had to get the freezers ready to roll. One is in better shape than the other, so we had to get the worse one dethawed and then I had to rearrange and get it refilled!

I finished that task the next day in addition to laundry. William and I had NAET in the morning and Amelia woke up early, so I took her with me...bad choice. Apparently she woke up because she was sick, puked all over the car and I didn't have anything other than a t-shirt and pants to put on the girl in less than 30 degree weather. It was kind of a nightmare, but we made it. She felt fine after that, it seemed like a total fluke! I made supper that night then went shopping for decorations for Amelia's party which was also the coming weekend. We had a big week.

On Friday we went over to friends' house for supper, which was wonderful. I made cookies in the afternoon, prepped for the weekend in all ways, cleaned, wrapped and prepared gifts and did some grocery shopping. Saturday we got our beef, took care of it and got everything ready for the rest of the year - made meatballs and meatloaf, got them in the freezer and got everything prepared for the party the next day!

We had church on Sunday, then came home, ate lunch, put the kids to bed and then decorated the whole house! It was actually a really great day, but we were very tired by the end. We had a pink and purple spaghetti party for our baby girl's third birthday and she was so excited. The theme and food were all picked by her and it ended up adorable and delicious. I even found some time to make a breakfast casserole so it could chill in the fridge over night!

Week 26: January 8th - 14th

I baked breakfast in the morning, made soup for leftovers, then took William to the doctor. He could not get rid of his cough at all, it's honestly still lingering a little bit. I am ready for him to get better, but the doctor's visit helped a lot, got him some medicine. I spent a lot of time writing notes that day and then the kids got to play with Amelia's new toys, which ended up being a day well entertained!

Tuesday was another work day, which was long, they have almost all been long recently. Jonathan worked, then the kids went to Mom's after being at Faith's and Jonathan worked on the house for a little while. It was a huge blessing that he got some time on the house, which we really are trying to get some progress made on. He is doing a great job.

Wednesday was library day, William came too this time and he did well, but it was a really big combined one, so that helped! I wrapped some gifts for Christmas on Wednesday then organized the basement. We did some shopping after the library, then after naps and Jonathan's work we went to Lowe's and took Chipotle home for supper.

On Thursday I did a lot of preparing for my work party which was moved to our house in light of the health emergency from the week before. I got Chili ready, made supper, two sets of muffins, cleaned the house and packed up for the rest of the week. I finished the laundry, took Jonathan to band and then went to Mom and Dad's to hang out for a little while. It was a great day, a lot was accomplished and I even got to enjoy myself a little bit!

The weekend was a blur for everyone. Jonathan took William back to the doctor since his cough wasn't getting better and I worked a really long day...I also worked Saturday, which was another long one. My work party was at our house after work. Jonathan had the kids up at the farm, then brought them back for naps. William refused to nap, so he couldn't take a shower right away, then the power went out so he couldn't take a shower at all. Once Amelia woke up he took the kids and the chili over to Mom and Dad's so that we could at least have hot food. We found out the power was back on at 5:30, right after I had called the party and changed locations. We pulled the party back to our house and made the whole thing work. Jonathan was a champ, the party went out without a hitch (once it got started) and we were super thankful for that. Everyone had a great time!

On Sunday I worked again, it was incredibly cold, beyond cold, just frigid. Jonathan played at church, then he had the kids at home for the afternoon, thankfully. We had Haas Christmas in the evening, so Mom ordered the pizza, I picked it up and we had a fantastic relaxing evening together as a family. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend a lot of time with my brother since the weekend was psychotic, but I am glad we got an evening.

As you can see, our holidays have been hectic! Wonderfully at times, miserably at times, but overall, it has been an incredible. We got to enjoy a lot of time with our babies and are so thankful for that time and the time we got to share them with our family. It has been a wild 2024, we are looking forward to it slowing down just a little bit.

We love you all and can't wait to see what the year brings!

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William

Random Photos:

Amelia's 3rd Birthday: