Dear Strep Throat,

You have truly inconvenienced me this week. I have tried to be very nice over the past week however my patience are now wearing very thin. I have not been able to see my best friend since her husbands funeral on Monday, I did not get to cook a Thanksgiving meal for my family, I missed every deal on Black Friday(however I was leaning towards not going if I am going to be honest :), I have not been able to feed my family or even touch the laundry, I did not get a head start on my Christmas shopping, and most importantly I did not get to paint my kids room before they come to put in new carpet next week. As a matter of fact the biggest inconvenience was that there are NO doctors open during the holiday week! I mean none and I refuse to go to the ER for a sore throat, body aches, and fever. Carter and I toughed it out until Friday morning then we hit the Mediserve clinic that immediately(okay not immediately after MUCH miserable waiting because none of their doctors were open either) told us we had strep throat. They were barely able to swab Carter's throat and it came up as strep throat before the swab even touched the test. So off we miserably drove to the pharmacy........can you guess what happens next???? They weren't open! Next stop Walgreens where they can't fill them right now, but come back later today and they will fill them. *Please note that I am glad all these places are closed because that lets me know that people are getting to be home with their families which is so important during the holidays.*
Not to think I am negative Nancy, but I will tell you a few positive things that happened. One is that Nana was able to come and cook, clean, sanitize, laundry, and be at Carter and I's beck and call. Another thing is that Tata took in Ian as soon as we got sick(nothing new because ever since dad got sick he has decided that he moves in with them on the weekends), so not only did he enjoy his time there, but he was also spoiled rotten!
So let me complain a few more moments about this strep throat journey and then I will hush it up and finish healing. My youngest son now truly thinks that a Thanksgiving feast consists of pigs in a blanket, chicken nuggets, and fries because he totally missed Thanksgiving. Tonight when we gave him his dinner he said I am so happy I have my own Thanksgiving feast! I couldn't burst his bubble and tell him everything he missed out on..........he can see it next year! This could have been very bad news for a little Tank like Carter who loves to eat.
So strep throat we are fighting you off! We are taking our medicine like clock work and we are sleeping on the couch together every night. Please please please it is time for you to go and not come back again for a really long time.
Sincerely,
Jill

Time is a magical thing......

I have replayed my blogging comeback many times over the past few weeks. I have no words that can express how or what I feel appropriately. However the thing that continues to weigh heavy on my heart is time. How do you measure it? How do you make sure that you embrace every moment? How do you know if you have enough? How do you know when time is up?
So many questions have whirled through my head on time. In a matter of 2 years my life has drastically changed. My husband has proven to be a survivor and beaten cancer which we pray everyday will not come back. I lost my brother and his wife in a tragic accident. Just as time began to heal our hearts our family has faced yet another life changing experience. My dad has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Our lives have changed our time has changed. I hold on to every moment not knowing if it is my last. I realize after all these life altering experiences that tomorrow may not be like today. It all comes back to time for me. I want to spend as much time with my dad and I want my kids and husband to do the same. When you face a terminal illness such as what we are facing you don't know how much time you have. The doctors can guess and you can look at a loved one and know if they are feeling good or bad, but you don't know how much time you have. As we walked into this journey I vowed to myself that I would savor every single moment with my dad and with my family. No regrets, no looking back and saying we should have. I want my boys to have every memory they can have. I want to feel my dads hand on the back of my neck as many more time as I can. I want to feel him squeeze my hand and kiss my check as many more times as God will allow. I want to see my boys crawl in his lap and smile a little while longer. My dad has said as a family we will accept Gods will because that is what the bible tells us to do and we will. I know it will not be easy and I know some days are harder than others, but what I do know is that we have TIME and we will enjoy every single moment of it that God allows us to have together.