In good hands

For the last 4-5 days I've been a coughing, sneezing, nose-runny, weary pregnant lady. After taking some useless Tylenol Cold medicine, I decided to tough it out and let the cold run its course. I walk around the house with a constant tissue in my hands to capture my cough and sneeze germs in a desperate attempt to keep the rest of the household cold-free. Pretty picture, eh?

Since I've become the germ-leper of the house, I've been banished from cooking and doing dishes. My gracious mom-in-law has stepped in like a trooper! And besides doing all the cooking, she's also endeavored other household projects. She reupholstered our living room chair (it looks AWESOME!), hemmed some of Matt's pants, and sewed a nightgown for Chloe. This lady is fire of productivity!

My hubby has taken charge of getting up with Chloe in the mornings (since I've not been getting much rest at night), bathing her, and keeping her distracted and away from her sick mommy. He even grilled us a lovely supper two nights ago! And he didn't break any dishes - bonus! :) Besides that, Matt has graciously slept downstairs the last two nights so I could have the entire bed to get comfortable. Did I mention he's battling a sinus infection through all this?

My dad-in-law has been just as helpful. After each meal he pops up from the table and washes all the dishes with the speed and efficiency of a busy bumblebee (don't ask me where that metaphor came from). He's an incredibly hard worker also. Though we've had rain off and on all week, he's taken it upon himself to paint our front porch (a project we've been wanting to do all summer). He takes our portable cd player and listens to an Agatha Christie mystery while he paints. Yesterday he had the back-aching job of painting the bottom trellis part of the porch white. It looks fabulous (I promise to post pictures in a future post).

Last but not least, my Chloe-pie has been a very good girl while I've been down and out. Yesterday though, I could tell she's been missing me. After her nap we sat on the couch and read books for 45 minutes! That's a long time to read, folks. Though I had to keep taking breaks to cough and refill my hot-lemon-water-with-honey mug I enjoyed that special time with her. We'd finish a book and she'd say, "Another book" and hop off the couch happily to fetch one. Then she'd hop back on the couch and snuggle up to me as close as possible, holding my arm around her. After supper we watched a Bugs Bunny video together and during Elmer Fudd's war with the ants, I had a coughing spell which reduced me to tears. I tried to get up for some water and a cough drop, but Chloe protested, "No, no, mommy stay!" and she cuddled up closer on my lap throwing her arms around me. (Matt rescued me with the water and cough drop).

Today I got to stay home and sleep in a bit while the crew went to church. Since I'm feeling a tad better (hurray!) I walked over to the drug store to get them some thank you treats. I'm so thankful for such a caring loving family to care for me while I'm sick!

Hope you all are well and enjoying the blessings of your family today!