Covid-19 (?) update

 So a totally weird thing happened!

Kevin, Isaac, Joseph, and I all had antibody testing for COVID.  And all the tests came back negative!

HUH????

Now keep in mind that of all of us, only Naomi had a positive COVID test.  The rest of us were too weary and sick to bother running off to the doctor for a COVID test in the early days. We just assumed since we had similar symptoms that we caught COVID from Naomi.

Now the boys admittedly were not very sick.  Isaac's toes got weird for a few days -- puffy and very red.  COVID toe. We thought.

Kevin and I were tired -- no, not tired, exhausted. Melt into the mattress fatigue. We had bad headaches. I had horrible body aches. I still have chilled feet off and on.

No fever or cough, and we didn't lose our sense of taste and smell.

So now we just don't know. Was it something else altogether? Was Naomi a false positive and she was sick with something else?

I really have a hard time believing that it was not COVID.  I mean, I wasn't just sick, I was WEIRD sick.  Some of the symptoms were downright crazy. The horrible pain in my back, the chilled feet!

But why would all 4 antibody tests come back negative? Did we do them too soon?

My doctor friend said ideal time is 4 to 12 weeks post symptoms and we were just beyond 4 weeks for me, at least, and Kevin was sick a little later. So yes, maybe?

I hate the uncertainty. I was happy that we had gotten COVID and were done with it. But...now I don't know.  But such is life. Life is uncertain at times.

We will continue to be careful, to wear masks, to wash hands, to isolate when possible.

Whatever it was, it was miserable and we are happy to be feeling better.

Christmas!

 When I was little, I was excited about Christmas because PRESENTS.

So I am realistic about our own younger kiddos. Of course they are excited about the PRESENTS and that is totally fine!

But, Jesus.  Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, came down from Heaven, made himself nothing, took on the form of a helpless infant.  Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Kevin graciously takes care of most of the gift purchasing and in particular, the stockings!  Aren't they marvelous?

For the first time in years, we had a white Christmas!  It was very cold and a great day to stay cozily inside.

Hmmm, not a great picture of the tree.  There were lots of packages.

The clan setting up for a rousing chorus of the 12 days of Christmas

Rose is thrilled with her plushies!

Lots of kids, lots of presents.

Naomi got a funny shirt!

Daniel got a plush cat, Steve, from Naomi in memory of the kitten we lost.

Kevin picking his way carefully through the piles of presents.

Frustrations and Thanksgiving

 I will start with the Thanksgiving. We all continue to do comparatively well. My back is better than a week ago though still not perfect.  I have a really hurting right hip which makes me naturally tend to walk strangely to favor it.  That in turn pushes everything else out of whack. BUT I am functional.

Kevin has been really tired off and on.  One day he didn't get up until noon and then went back to bed at 5 p.m. for a few more hours.

Our bodies are obviously still annoyed by the whole process of recovering from COVID but I do praise God for being in decent shape.

For a couple of weeks, I just was in survival mode. Bad headache, very very tired, occasionally other issues.  Now I am much better but I am still tired with serious back and hip aches.

So I have to balance my abilities with what needs to be done. I have a bunch of appointments to schedule for the kids (not to mention chiro appointments for me) but when I am gone from home, much less gets done here.  So then I come back and there is so much to do!

Today was like that; I took Joseph to get a filling for a tooth and then we went to the library.  We got home at 11 a.m. and the table wasn't cleared yet from breakfast.  Then Kevin and I sat down to talk and a child knocked Kevin's cup of coffee (FULL!) all over the family room floor and couch.  Fortunately said child was old enough to clean it up but it was another delay. So here it is, 12:15 p.m. and I feel like I've hardly gotten anything useful done today.

Of course I DID.  I ran a couple of errands.  That is cool. I am totally a homebody and I am "behind" here after all those week of COVID-19.

I am reading a book about a mom who had triplets and then had major complications which resulted in an emergency hysterectomy.  She was not in great shape after her babies were born, obviously.  She discusses her frustration at her own weakness.  YEP!

Ok, kids need me!

More COVID (sigh)

 It has been too long since I posted.

First, we are all fine. No one is having any horrible COVID symptoms, thankfully.  I mean, we are not necessarily happy campers but no one is having breathing problems, etc.

Kevin is mostly doing Ok though he has been more tired the last couple of days.  One of the fun things about this virus is that the symptoms come and go, apparently.  It isn't like we are just getting better every day.  

I have been dealing with significant back pain. Like, ugh!  Not all the time, but when I stand up there are muscles screaming in outrage at me.  Ouch!

I finally went to the doctor yesterday just to make sure I wasn't ignoring something important.  I wasn't.  It is just muscular pain from the virus, probably combined with me sitting around a lot.

So I am working on stretching and moving even though it is uncomfortable. My body is all out of whack right now.

But everything else is improving. I am not as tired and my headaches have diminished.  Yeah!

My feet keep being cold. That is a very odd COVID symptom -- chilled feet!

Here is something interesting -- they did a COVID test yesterday and called me within the hour to say it was negative.

There is no way this is not/was not COVID.  I have been at home for weeks, hardly venturing out at all. I live with someone who was COVID positive.  BUT it has been 18 days since I first had obvious symptoms and I read that the best time to test is within a few days of being symptomatic.  

So yeah, I guess I am over it?  Except the back pain tells me I am not. But lingering symptoms are a thing.

Nevertheless, we are OK!  I am so thankful to the Lord for that.  I prayed against major problems and the Lord answered.  I can and will whine about the back pain, but it is a minor thing in the grand scheme of things.

COVID update

 Well, of course we got it.  I mean, COVID is super contagious.

So far we are doing really well.  I have had symptoms for a week now and while I am incredibly tired and have headaches and (oddly) chilled feet, I have no breathing problems and no coughing and no fever.  Swine flu back in 2009 hit me way harder so I am very thankful.

Kevin is also sick. Very tired, occasional headaches and body aches.

Lydia is sick.  Very tired with headaches and body aches.

There is a theme, isn't there?

The younger 7 kids are showing a few signs of fatigue and Isaac seems to have COVID toes.  It is 10:23 a.m. and none of the six girls have emerged from bed so I'm guessing they are sick and tired.

But really, so far we are doing great.  I've done some poking around and a 51 year old woman and a 50 year old man with 9 kids under 21 should all do fine with this. But still, it is a SCARY disease so if we sail through this with a couple weeks of extreme fatigue and aching, we'll be happy.

Various kind people are bringing us food when we need it.

Oh, Naomi is recovering. She was the sickest (so far) and is past the headache stage though she is still very tired.

COVID-19!

 Naomi has coronavirus!  

She works retail so it isn't a HUGE surprise.  But it is still a surprise. It is and it isn't.

She got sick about ... 10 days ago. I heard about the headache but a lot of people have had headaches thanks to allergies and the like. So like a dolt, I ignored it.

A week ago Saturday they sent her home from work as she had shared her symptoms, which included headache, fatigue, and aches and pains. NO COUGH NO FEVER!

How are we supposed to know someone has COVID when the symptoms are so variable?  It is just RUDE of the virus.

So Monday she got a test and Friday they finally told her she had COVID.

So all this time we have sort of been quarantining but...not really. Because I convinced myself she did NOT have COVID.  No one else has been sick and COVID is horribly contagious so...yeah.

Now we are super quarantining.  So far no one is obviously sick.  I have had a mild headache and very occasional nausea but I also have a lot of allergy drainage.  So yeah.

Naomi has been working and/or in her RV a lot but we still have had exposure.

So we will see how the next week goes. Naomi has done great.  She feels lousy but no problems with coughing or shortage of breath so we are thankful for that.

Thursday

 

1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV

 

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Like most people, I am not fond of uncertainty.  As of this moment, it seems almost certain that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States but it isn't quite over yet so yes, we will see.

And I am disappointed since I don't like his political views, or those of his VP Harris.

Yesterday as I was trying not to be anxious, I remembered the verse above. What can I do, Laraba, about our country's future?  I can pray for our leaders.  I can do the job I am supposed to do, which is to raise my children to love God, serve him, and serve other people.  I am just a midwestern woman with a passel of children. I am not a world changer and I won't be.  There is no point in freaking out about a future I cannot change, but there is every reason to pray.

I am finishing up another Pride and Prejudice book; this one is called Darcy Sails After Her.  I have found that most of my books have themes; this particular one is about love and devotion, and recognizing that one cannot fix everything that is wrong around us.  We all have tasks and we all have seasons in our lives.  During one season we may be at home a lot (well -- that describes most of us through COVID-19!) and another season we might be singing worship on stage at church or feeding the homeless in the streets.

I am, I admit, quite passionate about this issue which is no doubt why it has popped up in my writing. There seems to be a general feeling in the Church of Jesus Christ that the only true way to serve Jesus is to serve within the church community. Simplistically, that seems right. Of course you have to serve God's children if you are a Christian?

But what if the children in question are YOUR children.  I have had littles ones for literally decades now.  Rose, who is 6, is not happy when Mama is gone a lot.  Balancing the needs of 9 children is like a tightrope.  There are days when my brain is whirling much of the morning with trying to help 9 kids with this and that.

If I tried to add on an outside ministry, I would neglect my primary calling during this season, which is my family. I am very certain of this.