Hello February!

The last two weeks in our house have been a complete flurry of activity, mostly focused on dealing with sickness. Each of my girls took a turn with the stomach bug that was going around, one right after the other, mostly in the middle of the night. Even Joe was taken out one day by it. I thought I had tiptoes my way through it with little effect. Unfortunately, I took my turn with it at the marriage retreat weekend. And, apparently that puke fest can overload your throat with acid, triggering irritated vocal cords which results in no voice. And, lets just say that having no voice, while having 5 children, makes life a little interesting....or difficult...or gosh darn it, plain old frustrating! I whistle, clap or psst to get my kid's attention...I hope they don't feel like they're cats....
Sickness aside, we did have a fabulous time at the marriage retreat. We watched a series called, "Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage", and boy did we laugh. It was very entertaining, but also very informative. I still feel like I'm processing. The retreat was held at this beautiful house called Creek Haven Retreat, and the house alone was enough to make me feel at rest. But Jess had put a ton of effort into making the weekend flow smoothly and be enjoyable for everyone, and we so appreciate it.
This week could prove to be rather interesting as Anna and Elley are involved with a Children's Theater production at their school and are supposed to have rehearsals every night. They're putting on 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. Joelle has a small part as part of the fan club, and Anna is one of the 4 Assistant Directors, so unless someone gets sick, she won't be on stage, but judging by the binder she brought home last night, holds a lot of responsibility! I'm not sure how things will work out in regards to the weather this week, but it will be a fun experience I'm sure. Oh, Lily did also audition for the production, but didn't get a part. She was rather disappointed initially, but has readjusted her attitude and seems happy to be home to help me with the littles. I have such good girls, and I couldn't be more proud of them all.