Smiles, sneezes, and coughs oh my!

We have been sick for the past few days. I took Abigail to the doctor yesterday to make sure this was just a nasty cold and nothing more. Her ears and lungs were clear. Yay! We are doing everything right with a cool mist humidifier, saline drops, and a bulb syringe. Through many moments of coughing, Tylenol, and snotty noses we have had a little bit of fun. Here are some pictures of some silly and sweet moments. (The weather has been very warm, so Abby was able to wear some of her summery clothes. The cute pink dress is from Jon and Sarah. It is a 3-6 month dress and it fits her perfectly, at 9 months. What a little baby doll!)

Merry Christmas from the Eagles!

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come. Let earth receive her King!

This year, we have all been a little under the weather. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner gathering with my side of the family at my Mom's house. Grandma and Grandpa Schwartz, Brian and Loriann, and mom and dad were there. We ate a delicious meal of swiss chicken, cheesy grated potatoes, broccoli, green salad with homemade poppy seed dressing, citrus salad fluff, and wheat dinner rolls. For dessert there was a choice of chocolate cream pie or french apple pie a la mode. We dressed Abigail in her new pajamas. Abby had fun opening her gifts. She really just wanted to eat the paper. =) I forgot all about opening my presents because I was having fun watching Abigail and everyone else open theirs. One of my favorite gifts was from my mom. She commissioned my Grandma Davis to make me an apron. I love that my grandma made this apron and I will treasure it always. After opening gifts, we ate dessert by the fire. I suggested we sing some carols, so I turned off the lights and we started with Silent Night. In four part harmony, the worshipful music filled the room. It was a wonderful way to end our evening. When we got home, David presented me with a gift of super soft purple pajamas. Abby had a runny nose most of the night and I was recovering from a cold I had since Monday. Abigail's congestion continued to get worse. She could barely nurse because she couldn't breathe well. David was starting to feel sick as well. He went to bed and I was up most of the night with Abby trying to comfort her and suction her nose with a bulb. She does not like that contraption. Poor baby. We walked around, cuddled in the rocking recliner, sat on the couch, layed down in bed, etc. She just had such a hard time getting comfortable enough to fall asleep. She finally slept for maybe an hour and a half. She was wide awake at 6 AM and I brought her out to the living room and turned on the Christmas tree lights. We played on the couch. My tiredness seemed to leave me. We shared some wonderful sweet moments that early Christmas morning. I will always remember our whispers of love and tiny special kisses and hugs. Abby had finished the small sample of infant Tylenol we had received from her pediatrician on Christmas Eve. I threw clothes over my pajamas, and went to Vons in the morning at eight, when they opened, to pick up some more. When I got home, I made our traditional Christmas treat, Monkey Bread, for breakfast. I put Abby in the Baby Bjorn and she 'helped' me for a little while and then I let David take care of her while I finished. They both went back to bed. David was feeling terrible and exhaustion had finally taken Abby to dreamland. The Monkey Bread was done and my baby and husband were both asleep. I decided to join them because I was starting to feel foggy and my head started to throb. David woke me up later with a delicious swiss, bacon, mushroom omelette he had made me. It was good to have some protein with our sugary breakfast dessert. We were all sick and David was constantly blowing his nose and was feverish. Our plans to go to David's side of the family were cancelled. Abby was still fussy and stuffy. We tried to make the best of it, and opened our stockings and a few other gifts. Later on in the afternoon, I read the story of Jesus' birth from Abigail's Storybook Bible. It was a day of sleeping, reading, blowing noses, taking Tylenol, and watching movies. The day was simple and we are still on the mend. I am thankful for Kleenex, Tylenol, family and most of all my Savior, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas.

Fasting and Prayer

Sometimes God calls us to fast and pray for a purpose. My heart has been so broken for my brother, Brian. He is sick with ulcerative colitis. It is a disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the rectum and colon. Ulcers form where inflammation has killed the cells that usually line the colon, then bleed and produce pus. Inflammation in the colon also causes the colon to empty frequently, causing diarrhea. He was diagnosed last February. He has taken many different medications and has seen several doctors. He has found little to no relief and suffers daily. It has been a very hard journey. He met with his doctor on Oct. 30 and he wanted him to make a decision between two options (surgery vs. biological drug called remicade) by the end of year. He also went to Cedars Sinai last week to consult with another doctor. He took more blood tests and they are scheduling another colonoscopy. They are checking to see if he really has colitis or if he has Crohn's disease.

The situation seems hopeless at times. God called me to fast and pray for Brian for the month of November. I am still breastfeeding so a full fast was not a possibility. I fasted desserts/sweets because I have such a sweet tooth. Today my fast is coming to a close. I'm going to continue praying. When we feel hopeless and broken, God wants us to cry out to Him and pray. Not much has changed with Brian's health in the last month, but I know God is faithful and is in control. I feel like I have given my brother fully over to the Lord. I trust His hand is on his life and will heal him in His timing.