She woke up this morning and the vomiting has stopped, but she still had no appetite. She's been on a diet of water and jello water since yesterday morning. She now has diarrhea and her head and throat are still causing great pain. Her fever seems worse today too. I was doing some housework and then went in to check on her. To my surprise, she was covered from head to toe in a rash. I called the doctor on call since our doctors office was close. He had me describe the rash and had me do a few things to it to see how it reacted. He then had me look down Tara's throat and describe that to him. He "thinks" without looking at her that she now has Scarlet Fever . He called in an antibiotic and I'll go in on Monday for them to look at her. She's a trooper though. She actually was able to get some Mrs. Grasses noodle soup down today.    

See her red, red cheeks? It's actually the rash. She's got it from head to toe.

This is how she has spent much of today.

She woke up this morning on the verge of tears. "Mommy, my throat hurts really bad, and my head hurts too. I have a bad headache". "Don't worry honey, you can stay home from school. Get back in bed and mommy will take care of you". I gave her some Motrin, took her temperature (100.5), and tucked her back in. When she woke again at 9:00, she seemed to feel a little better. She asked for breakfast, took one bite and began to trow up. I took her temp. again and it's still elevated through the Motrin. Poor sick honey.  Mommy will take good care of her today with lots of TLC. By nightfall, she was feeling pretty darn miserible.

Has it already come and gone? What a whirlwind. We have been so busy. Let see where to begin. I was the photographer for our local community event Cookies With Santa.  It was so much fun, and the pictures all turned out great. 

Tara was in our Church Christmas Program. She did wonderfully. She had to memorize and recite a lengthy bible verse. Her expression and execution were perfect. She also sang Away In A Manger and Silent Night. I was so proud of her.

Please don't look at the wrinkles in her dress. I stayed up the night before and pressed out EVERY single wrinkle! I don't know what happened between the car ride to Church and her appearance on stage that brought her dress to that state.

On December 23rd, we went to Ron's mom's for his family's Christmas celebration. It was there that I received my favorite Christmas Present. Click the slideshow below to view it. His mom got me this gorgeous Nativity.  Now just to give you an idea, one of the the wisemen stands 13 inches tall.

The attention to detail is magnificent. Yep..this is my favorite present. It's absolutely STUNNING!  My favorite gift however was my Savior Jesus.

On Christmas eve, we went to my brother's house to celebrate with my side of the family. I took family pictures while I was there so let me introduce you to "most" of my family. I have a brother and also a sister who do not live in Michigan.

These are my parents, Jerry and Geri...

I've talked about my mom before on my blog. I am the last of 7 kids. She's an amazing woman. She did it all. My dad did not help out with the house or kids very much as was typical for dads back then. Can you imagine cloth diapers for 7 kids?? Not only that, but for part of the time, she had a wringer washer!! My dad however worked hard and provided for his family in a way that allowed my mom to stay at home with all of her children. Did I mention cloth diapers for 7 babies!!

My oldest brother is Jerry. He has 3 kids. Michele 21, Kevin 16, and Lauren 14. He lives in Colorado and works for Focus On The Family. I love saying that. My brother Jerry works for Focus On The Family. I don't have a picture of him but he's supposed to email me one soon.

Next is my sister Cindy:

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This is her husband Don and their son Austen. Cindy also has another child, Shannon.

Here is Shannon with her family:

Shannon is married to Jason and her beautiful children are Scarlet and baby Tessa. Tessa is the youngest member of our family.

Next in line is my sister Linda:

This is her husband Randy. Linda and Randy have had a really rough year end. Linda got laid off from her job and also had her identity stolen. She went for an interview recently and should hear in a week or so if she got the job. Please pray for her and her husband.

This is my brother David:

David is married to Tina and their kids are Christopher and Alison. I can't believe how grown all my nieces and nephews are. It is Dave's house that we spent Christmas Eve.

Next is my brother Brian:

Brian is married to Judy and their children are Kyle and Samantha. Get a good look at Kyle. I have a feeling you'll one day see him playing in professional hockey. He's an amazing player and has been at it all his life.

Rebecca is next in line. She lives in Texas and I don't have a picture of her family either. Rebecca pops up now and then to comment on my blog. She is married to Steve and has a 4 year old little boy named Caleb. Caleb has been in several of my blog posts as well.

And finally there is Ron, myself, and the girlies.

Christmas morning... Just look at those sleepy excited faces!

Did you notice the blankies in each of their hands? Oh to be so innocent on Christmas morn.

It is such a Joy to be able to experience Christmas through the eyes of my children.

Well, on the 26th of December while everyone else was out shopping for the great sales (did I mention that I hate to shop?), I had the great idea to escape the grips of winter and head to the community pool.

Apparently NOBODY else had my idea as we were the only ones there! It was sooooooo fun!

It was really cool to be able to look out the big window at the snowy landscape while we splashed and swam. The fun at the pool however did come with a price. . When we were leaving the pool area, Madeline slipped in the locker room while holding her towel around herself, and landed on her chin. She cried and bled, and cried even more when she realized she was bleeding. Poor honey. I told Ron that we needed to have it looked at. He fought with me the whole way there. He basically said I was blowing it out of proportion and we could take care of it with a band aid. I kept asking him if he was a doctor. When he'd say no, I'd tell him that the only opinion I cared about was that of a doctor. . All I can say is Thank God For Mommy's!! Especially in this household.

The first several pictures are of Madeline while we were waiting to see the Doctor. She was sooooo concerned that she would get a shot. Once she knew that she wasn't, everything else was a cake walk and she was totally cooperative.

When the Doctor came in and asked me to remove the band aid, I tipped her head back and Ron got a good look at it. The next photo is not for those with weak stomachs!

 

I looked at him and said "What do you have to say for yourself now?" "It looks pretty bad". Hmph! Because the break was so clean, the doctor was able to simply glue it together rather than stitch it. 

I happened to look over and saw Tara wigging out across the room. "What's wrong?" I asked her... "I just CAN'T look!"

What a little trooper.

When we got back in the car, I said to Ron: "I want to hear it". "I want to hear what?" he asked. "I want to hear you say: You were right and I'm glad we went". "Why should I say that? You never admit when you're wrong" (me wrong? Puhleez. As if!). "I want to hear it". "Fine. You were right." "Thank you".

Well, I had also planned a family outing at Rollerhaven roller rink, but with Madeline's chin, there was just no strapping a helmet on with that boo boo. So instead, we went to the Children's Museum for more family fun. The girls got to dress up, and sing on a stage while having the ability to view themselves on a T.V. Screen.

Then they got to pretend to make pizza in a pizzeria and serve up daddy.

There were all kinds of fun hands on activities to occupy growing brains.

You get the idea. Once again, our timing was perfect as there was hardly anyone there.

Next it was on to New Years Eve. We started a new tradition this year. There is a town here called Rochester Hills. For the 2nd year in a row, they put on an AMAZING light show.  My camera did not even come close to capturing the beauty of it but you'll get a gimps of what we saw. Truly beautiful. It was a really cold night but we were all dressed for the elements and stayed warm (except daddy who was cold).

Not a flake of snow, and the streets shimmering with a wet reflection of the beautiful lights...

It was a truly amazing display. The city did a great job and we look forward to going back next New Years Eve to continue our new tradition. Not a snowflake on the ground on New Years Eve....

... But on the first day of 2008, we woke up to 12 inches of the white stuff. And not just any snow, great packing snow! Perfect for snowballs, play and snow man making.

Madeline got this kitty neck gaitor for Christmas.  Tara has one just like it too.  It's so cute!

And what would hours of play in the snow be without coming in to the warm taste of hot chocolate? And not just hot chocolate. Hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and and marshmallow fluff! Here...take a wiff....

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Puurrrrfect!

The next day, January 2nd, we woke up to a little more snow, some sunshine, and frosty's hat blown off.

I really like this picture.

So please accept my belated Merry Christmas and I hope that your New Year has been blessed so far. Please remember to pray for my sister Linda .

The other day, I was making crab dip and Madeline was loving the smell of the lemons. "Do you want some?" I asked. "Yes!".... Here's how it went with Madeline's first lemon wedge

In this world which seems to be spinning out of control, a very special event is about to take place. The celebration of the birth of our Savior. CHRISTmas...What does it mean to you? Have you lost the meaning? Have you never known the real meaning? Do you share the greatest gift our amazing Lord has given to us the same way I do? Why do you celebrate Christmas? Is it about Christ? If it's not, then I pray for all of you who do not, or don't want to know.