Sugar coated nasty colds

We have battled some serious illness in this home for the past 2 weeks. From stomach bugs, to fevers, to yucky coughs and sneezes. We spent our entire winter break week sick. We spent most of this week sick. Attempting to catch up on all of the house work from being down all week has been frustrating. I have been desperate for fresh, open air. ...(our open windows on 30 degree days were just not "fresh" enough).

Finally, today?

 ...Today Ashton glanced out the window after eating breakfast.

Mom?

yes

It looks like a beautiful day out there.

it looks quite gloomy, rainy and cold to me.

I think it looks like a beautiful day out there. A nice day to go play outside.

So, we went. 

Getting out the door is never easy. In fact, I have several moments of, "what was I thinking?" when I hear upset kids trying to anxiously force their boots on the wrong feet, tears over who got to wear the brown scarf, lost mittens and bathroom breaks once everyone is fully dressed to go outside. One thing I have always found though? 

The calm we get after the storm is always worth it. The hazy, cold grey that lies lonely on our windows can play some mind games, it can. 

and it was a beautiful day out there.

Calm.

So, did we do anything last week during that long bout of illness? Well, we watched a lot of movies. Read some books.

and...

We made whistles.

We played with our dry erase boards. (Target dollar section find!)

We sculpted

We painted

We made lip gloss

and stress balloons

Our favorite creation? SLIME!

They have played with their slime for at least an hour each day since it was made.

Daddy surprised our sick kids with Hermit crabs. Ashton has been doing oodles of research on the little guys lately and he has fallen in love with the idea of owning some himself. His dream came true!

Can you guess who wanted this in the aquarium?

Ashton and Josie named our three little guys. Or girls. ... Or whatever they are. 

He'll sit and stare at them for a long periods of time.

Last night was the first night Ashton had been feeling better in a while. As another surprise, Josh brought him to his first movie in a theater. 

So Josie and I had a girls spa night. (Plus Liam, of course).

Cheers!

Pizza, popcorn and m&m's dinner. 

Last night was a night filled with moments that really got to me. This tiny little human was a wee little bean in my belly such a short time ago. Now here she is. Breathing, living, loving. Applying makeup and mascara to her mama like she's been here for far more than the 3 1/2 years that she has been. It's a miracle, really.

Thank you God, for blessing me with a daughter. My beautifully spirited little friend.

We even watched a movie of our own. ....A Barbie one of course. 

I hope your week has been filled with all kinds of wonderfully sweet goodness. ...and if it hasn't? Go out and find it. It's there. That goodness. I promise. 

My friends. My family. I love you.

Until next time,

Jessie