They Made It To The Outside!

We have no idea where Kimberly was exposed to the chicken pox, so when she came down with them on September 10th, she surprised us all. Two weeks later when HollyBeth, David, Heidi, and Lisa all came down with them, we were not at all surprised; however, we were amazed that Zachary seemed to be sneaking between the germs. From the start of it all he said, "I know I have them on the inside because I'm itchy; they just haven't made it to the outside yet."

Well, Sunday Mom starting watching more closely as Zachary exhibited a couple of slight, yet suspicious symptoms. Sure enough on Monday Valerie noticed that a couple of spots, though tiny, barely noticeable, and questionable, had made their appearance on the outside. By evening those few spots had enlarged and become blistery so we were quite sure they indeed were chicken pox. Tuesday Zachary awakened to many new spots and other symptoms; it was certain that he definitely had not escaped the germs! Today his pox have multiplied yet again, but though he is itchy and miserable, he is facing them fairly patiently with the sweet distraction of his faithful sidekick & ever-loving sister, Lisa. She absolutely adores her brother and since she is still in the process of recovering from her own case of chicken pox, she is extra sympathetic and alert to his needs. What a sweet little nurse she makes! She's a pretty good parrot too - "Don't scratch! You'll make a bunch of scars!"

We are thankful God has allowed these chicken pox to run their course through six children so quickly - it could have dragged on through Christmas! We are also thankful to have them make their appearance before the children get any older - they say it's much easier when you're young.

Please pray God will give Zachary the grace to get through his turn in short order without complication as He has the other five children. We have much for which to be thankful! Please pray also that they do not affect Granddad & Grandma as shingles - so far, so good! We are trusting God to protect them.

Boys' Room Gets a New Look

We've been working on the boys' room - David wants planes to hang from the ceiling and Zachary wants trains. We plan to make a track go all the way around the room as soon as we are able. So, we are not completely done just yet, but at least the boys have finally gotten some color in their room. We do still need to hang the curtains and get another lamp. David & Zachary have been very patient - partly because the time wasn't yet right, but mostly because we had not found just the right thing until recently to please them both. Hopefully I'll post some further pictures when it is 100% complete, but here are some pictures of how it looks for now. By the way, did I mention their room now has some color?

The doorway - obviously!

The wall between the door and the closet

Same wall - closer

The ceiling, as you see it from the doorway

Another view of the ceiling

The far wall - looking straight in

Same wall - now with Zachary's bed alongside of it. David & Zachary were very anxious to put on their new comforters - wrinkles and all! Oh well!

The wall on the other side of the window

The wall to the right as you come in the door

Same wall, looking towards the doorway

And here's my favorite picture -

the perspective makes the door look like a credit card!

I think it's pretty neat!