Sick Again

My poor little guy is sick again. I could tell he was getting sick on Friday when he wouldn't eat anything...not even noodles from the Chinese buffet we go to when he won't eat anything else because he always eats their noodles.

Saturday, he had a slight fever and was a little grumpier than usual. He still wouldn't eat anything nor would he drink very much. However, he was still fairly active. He threw up his milk that morning, so I figured he had a tummy ache and told Steve we shouldn't give him any milk/yogurt until Matt felt better. Sunday, while I was at church, Steve gave him milk...and he threw it up promptly. Poor guy. Yesterday, he didn't have a fever but was more lethargic and still wouldn't eat or drink. We're pretty sure he had a sore throat all day because he wouldn't even eat a popsicle or drink soda - two things we rarely let him have and that he LOVES. When I got home from church around 1pm, I cuddled with Matt and asked Steve to make us some popcorn. Matt loves popcorn. At first he refused to eat any, but eventually he started to and ended up eating a decent amount. We had to remind him to drink his water and a couple times even used a syringe to make him drink when he absolutely refused to drink from his cup. We were able to stave off dehydration throughout the day, my main concern. In the evening, he perked up quite a bit. Still wouldn't eat but started drinking more and had his third pee diaper of the day. We hoped it was a sign he was on the mend.

Nope.

Last night, Matt woke up around 3am crying and miserable. I went in with him, he fell back asleep, so I went back to bed for 10 minutes, and then went back in when he started crying again. I ended up taking my pillow and a blanket in there and slept for a little bit; waking up whenever he got sad and reminded him that I was there. His fever came back this morning and he was really listless. I called my dad and he came over and gave him a blessing. Matt's temperature had reached 101.8 and he was sobbing, "Help me!" over and over again. Dad suggested taking him to the doctor, which is what I was feeling, too, so we headed to the doctor.

By the time we arrived and were shown into the exam room, the ibuprofen I'd given Matt when his fever spiked (it had hovered around 99-100 previously) had kicked in and his temperature dropped. The doctor checked him out and said it was a virus and to make sure he kept getting plenty of fluids. It was a comfort to know that he didn't have strep throat or anything else that needed to be treated by an antibiotic.

Steve had left work and met us at the doctor's during his lunch break. After the doctor, Matt and I headed home and Steve ran to the store to get some things for Matt.

It's hard work taking care of a sick kid, especially when he only wants one parent (me) most of the time. I'm fortunate to have such a wonderful partner who takes care of me while I'm taking care of Matt. He does everything he can to make sure we're both as comfortable as we can be and have everything we need. I don't know what I did to deserve him...in fact, I'm pretty sure I don't deserve him at all, but I am sure grateful for him.

Matt still isn't doing great. Right now he's resting in his bed. His temperature is still in the normal range, thankfully, and he's drinking more water. He had a sucker earlier...another thing he loves but refused to eat yesterday...and we took that as a good sign. He also ate half a banana. I have faith in his body's ability to heal itself (since it's nothing beyond its ability without help) and I have faith in the blessing my dad gave to Matt that offered comfort and promised a return to good health.

I hope you and your family are staying healthy. I know so many kids who are sick right now!

Julie :)

Matt before he was sick. He was so pleased that the popsicle turned his tongue blue.

Almost a full time job!

I can't remember if I mentioned in my last post that I was once in a Relief Society presidency before...as the first counselor...in a singles ward.

For those of you not of my faith, a singles ward is just like a regular LDS congregation except there are no married members besides the bishop and his counselors who lead the ward. It's a way for single adults to interact with like-minded people of the opposite sex and hopefully find friends and possibly even a spouse.

I'm sure being the RS president of a student ward has its own set of challenges, but I know for a fact we didn't have to deal with half of what a regular, family ward has to deal with.

Pretty much since day one, compassionate service has been on the forefront of what I do. Funerals, moms having babies, sick moms with sick kids, emergency room visits, deaths in the family...all things we didn't even think about when I was in the singles ward and yet have already dealt with in the three weeks I've been in the position. Of the 21 days I've been RS Pres, I think there has only been 7 days I haven't been called about someone who needs something. It's kind of wearing.

This past week, we had an incident that left an awful taste in my mouth and a pit in my stomach. I couldn't sleep all last night for thinking about it. I made a mistake and said yes to something and got taken advantage of...more accurately, the ladies in our ward who provided the service were taken advantage of (although I pray they never realize it and receive all the blessings they deserve for their generosity).

Yesterday, Matthew and I watched an hour of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood in the morning (he's sick so we didn't go to the gym like we usually do). One of the episodes was about making mistakes; everyone makes them and the important thing to do is to fix them if you can and to learn from them.

Well, I made a mistake and am determined to learn from it. I chatted with the bishop (the leader of our congregation) and he assigned me to come up with some guidelines for our ward's compassionate service efforts.

I believe in providing service to those in need. It's one of the three fundamental purposes of the Relief Society and it is a godsend to those who give and receive the services. I was counselled recently to never turn away from an opportunity to serve; however, I fear that there are members in my congregation who are abusing this service, and it makes me sick in my heart. Already, there are ladies in my ward who are getting burned out from all the compassionate service needs of our ward (we have at least a dozen women who are expecting babies in the next few months - we provide 2 meals for each pregnancy - plus all the elderly, sick, and others).

It's only been three weeks. What is in store for me the next year or so (hopefully not too long)??

Julie :)

Funeral

Today I survived my first funeral luncheon as Relief Society president.

For anyone reading this who isn't LDS, the Relief Society is an organization of women in the church whose purpose is to teach the gospel and provide relief and support to the women in the church. Each congregation, known as wards, has its own Relief Society with leaders and teachers from the ward. They are all volunteers.

Last Sunday, I was called to be the president of my ward's congregation. I have mixed feelings about it, but I believe that it will be an excellent experience with a lot of hard work. I have two counselors who have specific duties as well as overall helping the ladies in the ward. After choosing my two counselors, I had to pick a Compassionate Service Coordinator. Her job is to organize help (most often meals) for sick families, women who just had a baby, and people who just had a death in the family. The gal I chose accepted the position on Tuesday, the same night I found out about a death in the ward.

Well, actually, the lady who died isn't in my ward but her daughter and ex daughter-in-law are and they requested help with the funeral. I called JaNae, the Compassionate Service Coordinator, thanked her for accepting the position and told her about the funeral. Technically, she doesn't start until being "sustained", or approved, by the congregation on Sunday, but she jumped in without worrying about it and was such a huge help.

JaNae called several women in the ward and all agreed to provide rolls, salads, baked potatoes, and desserts for the funeral and I cooked a couple hams. Everything went well and we had a lot of help before, during, and after the funeral. It was kind of stressful but was a complete success. The family and friends were so appreciative and it felt good to serve them in their hour of sadness.

I had kind of hoped to not have a funeral for a bit so I could get used to this new position, but now that it's come and gone, I'm okay that it happened my first week. Baptism by fire.

Julie :)

Snow Day

Last night it snowed over a foot!

Our house faces north, which means our front yard still had several inches of snow leftover from previous storms. Our backyard snow had melted enough to see all the dog poop we hadn't picked up because of the snow. I was going to pick it up this weekend but didn't get around to it. Now it is once again covered and who knows when the snow will melt again.

School in the county, including the university, are closed for the day. That almost never happens in Utah, despite all the snow we get. I don't remember ever missing school because of snow when I was a kid. My freshman year at the U, there was a snow day, the first in over 20 years. I had gone to an early morning meeting at my church, trudging through the thick snow from my dorms, and didn't hear about classes being canceled until I was back in my room.

Steve's work texted him this morning and said he could choose whether or not to go to work today. He waffled awhile before choosing to go to work. I guess I didn't hide my disappointment well, because he came back inside a moment later announcing he was staying home! Yay! I want to do something special to commemorate the day. I don't know what yet. :)

Happy snow day!

Julie :)