The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week...but it's okay

Ever have one of those weeks?  Oh my, have we had one!

On Friday, Justin started a project to pull some warped trim off of the front pillars to replace it, and discovered that rather than replace just the trim, the bottom quarter of the pillars had water damage, so it has become a much larger project.

Gabby was diagnosed with pneumonia on Saturday, and Ellie was a bit out of sorts.

Our Christmas was wished away as we waited for our medical practice to open on Monday, as Ellie grew sicker.  On Monday we called as soon as the office opened, just to find that they weren't open--they took the day for the holiday.  So Monday I took Elliana to Urgent Care and then we were sent on to the E.R.  Justin and the other children stopped by to bring us a few things and to fill my tank with gas, as I have never ran the car below a quarter tank, and I wasn't sure how long it would hold out with all the back and forth I'd done, not wanting to stop with the sick girl.

We were so grateful that all she needed was the same antibiotic that Gabby is taking, at her own dose, of course.  It was a long three hour wait to be seen with a little gal who oscillated between talking about people (directly in front of us) who wear shoes without socks and being weepy and tired.

Tuesday morning, we had an inspector come by to look at some damage that had developed in our wood flooring in the dining room.  It is engineered hardwood, and had some spots that looked like they had gotten wet.  We weren't too concerned until we saw that it was in several spots instead of just one or two.  We found out we have termites...

We've spent much of the rest of the week attending follow up appointments, squeezing in repairs to the posts, and dosing girls with antibiotics, probiotics, and fever reducers, as needed.  And neither Justin or I have slept through the night in over a week.  We are up every night checking for fevers, sometimes staying up as we work to get them back down with medicine and cool cloths.  We are tired.

Then,  tonight I went to load our dishwasher.  I saw some discoloration, and tried to clean it up.  I found that the tub had a small crack in it.  The dishwasher isn't that old.  We purchased it when we moved in, as the one in the house was not working.

I had to laugh.  It's almost Shakespearean, this comedy of errors.  And it is a lot of mess for a week.  But soon enough the medical bills will be paid, the posts mended, the termites gone, the floor replaced, and the dishwasher repaired.  We'll look back and joke about what an interesting Christmas we had in 2016.

I can see through it all--the girls are both going to be fine.  I have thanked God so often this week for the medicines that have brought down high fevers and are getting rid of the pneumonia.  There was a day we would have likely lost Ellie and maybe Gabby too, instead I get to hear giggles and pattering feet.  The termites preferred the floor to the structural supports of the house, so those are intact and I could see the damage to know there was a problem.  Though a great deal more work, Justin can repair the posts himself, and somehow has all but the trim work done around the mess of the week we've had.  The dishwasher, well, I've hand washed dishes before, and I'll do it again.  I just pulled the drying rack out from the top of the pantry, and went on with it.

We have been protected from the worst of it.  I am so grateful.