What a month!

January has definitely not turned out as we had hoped.

 As I mentioned last time, it started out with the passing of my Aunt Faye. I also know of 2 others that have passed away this month. Not a good start to the year!

Although Dennis hunted several more times, he didn’t have any luck with harvesting any more deer. That still left us with a total of 3 for the season. We kept 2 and gave 1 to Stephen's family. We had hoped to have enough to share with Sheila and Ricky's families, too. Oh well, maybe next year!

Kacey and Archer came down with RSV the beginning of January. Poor Kacey really struggled with it (nothing serious, just lots of congestion and coughing). Archer just had mild symptoms. Poor Amber was tied down all week caring for sick young’uns…during that extremely cold week we had. We went over one afternoon to pick up Archer and take him out for a couple of hours for both his and his momma’s sake. Then that Friday night, Ricky took Amber out to dinner for a couple of hours and we kept both kids. Surprise, surprise…Dennis started getting sick a couple of days later. He has been sick almost 2 weeks. I thought I was going to miss it, but I began developing symptoms this past Monday night. I was still hoping it was just a cold, but I went to get tested to be sure. It is RSV, so I had to cancel going on my cruise. I’m not feeling that bad…just feels like a mild cold…but I am contagious. I didn’t need to be cooped up in a car for 6+ hours with the others, nor did I need to share a room (and my germs) with Diane. I think I’m through with ever trying to go on a cruise again. This makes twice that I’ve scheduled one and something came up to keep me from going (first COVID shutdown, now RSV). I think we’ll just stick to our driving vacations from now on!

 Amber brought the kids over Tuesday for a visit. Archer wasn’t acting like his normal self and would occasionally grab his stomach and grimace. When they got home, he was running a fever of 102.5. The pains were getting worse, so Amber took him to the ER. Ricky headed home from work and we headed over there to see if we could help with Kacey. They decided it probably was a virus, not appendicitis, as we feared it might be, and sent him home. He continued to run a high fever and suffer tummy troubles for another 24-36 hours. Amber said he seems to be pretty much back to normal today, except for being very tired. So far, no one else seems to have come down with whatever he had. Hoping that remains the case!

I have been knitting caps all month. I did a practice one using needles that were way too large, so the resulting cap is loose, even for Dennis. Since then, I’ve made 2 for Nam, 1 for Shepherd, 1 for Archer, 1 for Gracie, and am in the process of making Jesse’s. I plan to do another one for Gracie, since I had almost finished the one I was making her when I got word that her request had been amended. I plan on making one for Rosey when I am through with the others. I’ll have to do hers using 5 pointed needles, instead of circular needles. I haven’t ever done that before, so I’m a little nervous about attempting it. As with everything else that I’ve learned, it will probably take me several tries to get it right!

Shepherd's cap

Archer's cap

Gracie's cap #1

Nam's cap #2

Nam's cap #1

I’ve finished my “entries” on my embroidery journal for January. I had already added the pictures for my cruise last week. So today I had to rip them out and put something else in their place. Guess that’ll teach me not to get ahead of myself! It will sure be interesting to look back at it at the end of the year!

what disappointment looks like

final January entry

I got my new stone for Kacey added to my grandmother’s necklace. Stephen and Mandy did it for my Christmas present. It is filling up fast! That makes 2 new stones in the past year. I love having such a beautiful emblem of my grandchildren!

We were so sorry to hear of Brenda G’s passing over the weekend! I knew that she’d been very ill and that she had a genetic lung condition that would eventually prove terminal, but I didn’t expect it this soon. My heart breaks for all of the family. She was only 75 years old. That’s not much older than Dennis! I know her death will leave a huge whole in a lot of lives!

Our washing machine drain developed a clog again this month. I had to watch it closely for a few days when it was draining, to make sure it didn’t overflow. We were finally able to get a plumber out to snake it out. Sure is nice to just turn on a load to wash without worrying about it!

We are planning a get-together next month for Dennis’ siblings. Warren and Linda, Charles and Belinda are coming down for a few days’ visit. We are really looking forward to it! About the only time we ever get to do that is when we all happen to attend the same funeral. This will be much better! I’m hoping to take the ladies browsing our downtown area. There is some really neat shopping there now. Ricky and Amber are also wanting to come over one night that they are here. They really got close to Charles and Belinda when they were living in Russellville and miss them!

I hope that all of you are staying warm and dry during the winter weather that we’ve been having! Take time to be thankful for the many blessings that we have, even when things don’t turn out as we expected. 

Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.