Day 12 and "Patient Zero"

I started writing this blog post on January 21st. It has been sitting in my drafts folder, waiting for completion. But that hasn't happened. Because on January 21st, I became sick. I didn't think much of it, as it felt like a cold. I knew I had a fever, yet no thermometer to see what my reading was. I had been trying to take care of myself, but I won't lie... Lulu's emotions were difficult. She doesn't speak English, so she was filled with emotional sadness and happiness. I could only imagine what her feelings were, living under the same roof with an entire family with whom she had never lived!

I had become exhausted with trying to make her as "happy" as Sunshine and Iceman, that I stopped taking care of myself. I accidentally didn't take my allergy medication one night. I forgot to drink my Ningxia one morning. I played in the snow in some harsh conditions, that burned all my extremities. The list goes on and on. You know, the normal "mom stuff" where mom takes care of herself last. 

So, here's what happened next. Lulu, our incredibly emotional 4 year old, developed a raging fever with a cough. Then, two days later, my sweet 7 year old had that fever and cough. Two days later, Ray came down with more congestion than normal and couldn't sleep well. Two days later, Iceman was burning up. Then came another Texan, J, who started feeling poorly the evening of January 30th. Finally, Sunshine woke up a completely different person yesterday. She was so stoic, that we didn't realize how ill she was. She had a fever. 

Even though our Texan boys know to wake us up in the middle of the night if they aren't feeling well (like last night!), our new kids don't do that. They've probably never had that option. So, I have to be on a heightened alert, trying to figure it all out and see who's warm, who's hurting, who's coughing, etc.  FIve kids has been hard! Now that I'm back in Texas in the terrible cedar season, and my eyes are burning... like they do every year. I would love some relief in this house!

Jet lag isn't helping. Ray and I wake up around 2:30 each morning, and I've already heard a few of the kids up at 4:40. Just praying that Z has an okay day at school, getting back into that rhythm! 

Sooooo... I figured I'd start with my draft and where I left off. Here goes:  
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 Last night I came down with a runny nose and an overall encompassing feeling of poo. That wasn't great, seeing that this morning was another inspection by the orphan court. AND they got here early. AND our apartment was clean. I was midway through a braid in one of my daughter's hair, when they arrived. I wasn't even dressed. 

Today, I'm still feeling under the weather and pray to God that none of my children catch whatever it is that I am feeling.

Day 9 - Today we met another American family on their 3rd trip, to finalize the adoption of their 2 children. They were a ton of fun!  My kids are shy, but those kids were so easy to talk with and it was a perfect recipe.

Day 10 - We met up with those friends to sled in the park. We sure do love going to the park by Freedom Monument, in Riga. We then went with our new friends to the big Lido restaurant, where I encouraged my son, J, to get the local (cheap) lunch special. He said he enjoyed it. The kids all went ice skating, which made for some hilarious video. It was so much fun! It was a wonderful, long day. Unfortunately, J spent the night throwing up, due to food poisoning. Thankfully, no one else was sick.

Day 11 - J and Ray stayed home all day, as J battled his vomit. I took the other 4 kids around Riga to do some sight seeing and play in the snow. An old Russian lady gave the boys some bird seed to feed the pigeons. How very Mary Poppins!

Day 12 - J was finally better, so we visited the Baltic Sea. What a thrill! To step out on frozen waves was exhilarating. We also played at the magnificent Dzintaru mežaparks. If you're in Latvia with kids, you must visit! It was a fun, treacherous day and my throat began to feel scratchy. I was in charge of organizing all the train schedules, so I didn't let it bother me. When we returned home, however, my achiness began.

Day 13 - As I mentioned, I have been sick. The court workers came this morning and I composed myself for the meeting with them and the attorney. I then went to buy some laundry detergent. As I had mentioned before, the washing machine holds a 2 pair of jeans maximum capacity, so I spend my days trying to do laundry as much as possible. And it has backed up. Some kids have no clean socks or underwear! On the way to buy some detergent, I found a book store with some great finds, including tools for my little Latvians to learn English. It was well worth braving the freezing weather with my dripping faucet of a nose. 

Ray took the kids to our favorite park to do some sledding. Now we are all home and the kids are watching TV, doing school work, and putting together a puzzle.

This is where I stopped that blog entry, so I'll stop again. I think I can remember, through photos, what happened the rest of the trip. It wasn't quite as active as the first part, obviously, as someone was constantly sick!

I'm praying for some relief and this to stop cycling through the family.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16