I really don't want to post.  It has been such an insane month.  There's no way I can catch up on describing everything!  There've been some big blessings.  There've been some big woes.  Ready?  Here we go:

Blessing:  We had a great time in Chicago for Thanksgiving.  Yes, it was a little insane to perambulate around downtown Chicago with 4 children.  It's nerve-wracking!  BUT, staying at the Four Seasons with Rach was extremely cool.  The pool was wonderful, and that gave the kids a great activity for the cold afternoons.  We were all amazed at the level of luxury that some people live with.  You pretty much think of something you might need and it magically appears in your room!  Seriously.  We girls enjoyed that.  The kids enjoyed all the usual treats of downtown Chicago....the buildings, the elevators, the revolving doors, the escalators, and on and on.   We girls were on the 45th floor of the Four Seasons, so we had quite a view....that captivated the kids as well.  I was not terribly comfortable with the building creaking one windy night.   The Science and Industry museum was cool, but a little too nuts for me.  I was constantly terrified we were going to lose someone.  Just too crowded and too interesting for little people...they kept wandering off or stopping to observe something.  Matt and I just don't have enough hands and eyes.  Will be better when they are a little older.

Woe:  It dawned on me when we got home and Leah began coughing croupily again that her cough had all but vanished while we were in Chicago.  AND that the same thing had happened when we went to St. Louis.  She was sick before we went, better while we were gone and coughing again as soon as we got home.  This is pointing seriously to some kind of environmental allergy/asthma that is in our house.  She has always been prone to this.  Anyway, the doctor has referred us to an allergist in a few weeks where we will hopefully nail down the culprit.  I'm afraid to know.  What if we have mold?  What if it's the dog?  

Blessing:  We got a new refrigerator for Christmas (a little early).  Parts of our old one were being held together by packing tape.  It's lovely, roomy and so clean!!  I am staggered by the amt of groceries I can stuff in the freezer.  It took me the better part of a day to clean out the old and load the new...as I didn't want to put anything expired or nasty in it.  Then of course, having such a lovely clean (and empty) fridge kind of makes you want to scrub and reorganize your entire kitchen! 

Woe:   Leah got the stomach flu the Sunday after we returned.  Lovely.  Right after church, no less...she wanted to share with all the other children in the nursery, I guess.  Then on Thursday evening, Anna and David simultaneously got it.  I was up all night with Anna.  This was David's worst fear (throwing up) come true.  He is not mentally over it yet.  In fact, we've had a really terrible week with him.  He's having anxiety attacks, laying around, not wanting to eat.....it's been quite the spiritual battle.  We are praying for him, praying with him and trying to keep him from allowing his fear to control him.  He gets this honest, but I'm not going into all that. 

Blessing:  The dinner theater was wonderful.  Matt and Johnny did not get the stomach flu.  Thank you, Lord!!!  Johnny did a wonderful job with his Linus speech (from Luke 2).  I got to see it.  There were tons of unsaved people there.  The staff unanimously want to do it again and again and again.  Matt is not sold yet.  He's too exhausted still.

Woe:  Oh, just wait til you read this one.  On Tuesday evening, it was our night to host the guys Bible study for dinner.  Leah's new favorite thing is to stand on a chair next to me in the kitchen and watch whatever I'm doing....cooking, dishing up, cleaning, whatever.  So she accidentally takes a step off and hits the ground pretty hard.  Busted lip, blood....that was all we noticed at the time.  But later she was favoring her right arm.  I couldn't see any swelling or bruising, she seemed to be able to move everything....OK.  Next day, still favoring it....slight swelling, round hard spot over her wrist.  This morning, definitely more swelling and pain.  So, I thought this can't be good.  I took her in.  Her wrist is broken.  Both bones.  It's a "greenstick fracture" which means the bones didn't actually break apart/separate....it happens when the bones are bent good.  (like a green stick)  But, it has to be immobilized in order to heal correctly.  And b/c she got both the bones, she has to have a long arm cast all the way up past her elbow, so that she can't twist her arm at all.  So my TWO YEAR OLD has a hot pink cast all the way up her arm for two weeks.  They said toddlers heal incredibly fast, so maybe in 2 weeks she can be out completely.  More likely she'll get a short arm cast for another two weeks.  Ugggh....she was pretty enamored at first, but it didn't take long before it was, "Mommy, off?  Ban-aid off?"  And it can't get wet.  No baths. 

She was incredibly good during the whole process.  She sat perfectly still for x-rays.  They said she sat better for the casting than most adults.  I think she was so fascinated by all the strange goings-on.  We all marvelled at how little ones can tolerate pain...she was sitting right there on the floor using both arms to play with toys, albeit a little carefully.  But all in all, I feel like I should be up for some kind of "Worst Parent Award".   There's something incredibly guilt-inducing about seeing your toddler in a cast.   I've never broken a bone, nor any of my siblings.  Granted....when I think of all the stuff we did, I'm amazed that is the case!!   It will be a long few weeks, I'm afraid.

SO there you have it.  Blessings and woes.  Packer game coming up on Sunday.  That'll be fun.  I'm looking forward to just having my hubby to myself for a few hours.  It's been a very, long time.  We are all feeling the emotional toll of his busyness plus being sick and all.  Hopefully next week will be one of recuperation all around.  OH, and we have around 8 inches of snow on the ground.  We haven't had this much before Christmas in quite a few years.  Looks like it will definitely be a white one.  Oh,  and I know you are all dying to know that the ice fisherman are out.  It seemed like days after the lake froze, and there were already people snowmobiling on it.  Crazy people.  I really want to clear off a little rink area in front of our house this year.  Because it froze good before the snow fell, the ice should be pretty smooth there.  Fun!