Happy New Year

Hey Ya'll! Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We were a little under the weather here at home. Hugh and I started coming down with a stomach virus on Saturday (the 22nd,) and it lasted all the way through the following Thursday (the 27th.) Hugh even ended up going to the E.R., and getting a couple bags of iv fluids- he was so dehydrated and weak. It put a little bit of a damper on our festivities, but we still managed to have a nice quiet time here at home. It's amazing how magnified the littlest things can be when you're sick. Hugh started feeling it before I did. We took the kids to see Disney on Ice, along with Datha, Mark and their children. On the way home, we were involved in a minor accident. It had been raining all day, and the temp. dropped so quickly as we were leaving, that a sheet of black ice formed on the roads. A car several hundred feet ahead of us slid off the road, hit a pole, and spun back into on-coming traffic, smashing into the three cars ahead of us. Even though we were slowly breaking and only coming down the hill at about twenty miles per hour, we couldn't avoid the pile up all over the road, and took a hit head on. We slid over to the side of the road and Hugh got us safely to a near by parking lot. He jumped out and met up with the ambulance arriving on the scene, to see if he could help with any injuries. I called Mark and Datha and told them not to follow us down the hill. (They had stopped for gas a few miles back, and were able to avoid the accident-Praise the Lord!) Hugh said there were twenty-five accidents at that spot that night. Mark and Datha were able to get to us another way and Mark stayed on the scene with Hugh to help, while Trey, Anna Grace and I piled in with Datha and the kids and went to their house. Later, we were all able to eat dinner together, and exchange gifts. I noticed that Hugh was very quiet and a little down. He was worried about the car, and just the whole accident in general. I was just glad none of us were hurt and that it was all over. I kept telling him to cheer up, and not let it ruin our whole night. Believe me, a couple nights later, I was eating my words. By Christmas Eve, I was really struggling. But what I wanted more than anything was to go to church as a family. It has always been a tradition in my family, and now that my mom and dad are gone- it's so much more important to me to keep those traditions going, so I pushed myself. Well, needless to say, I struggled with Trey's two year old "wiggle worms," and loud outbursts, throughout the service. I was trying so hard to have a quiet, moment of refreshment with the Lord, and I was just so tired and irritated that I melted into a puddle of tears at the end of the service. All I wanted was to have a nice time as a family at church for Christmas.- Now it all seems trivial and blown out of proportion (in my mind.) But I was just feeling so completely rotten that it seemed like a great big deal at the time. Christmas day was rather nice in comparison. The kids had a wonderful time unwrapping presents and playing with their gifts. Their favorite is the aquarium we got for them. Trey loves fish. We're all enjoying it really! And it was so nice to have Hugh home for a couple days, even if we were a little under the weather. This was also the first New Years Eve we've been able to spend together as a married couple. One of us has always been working in the past. We brought in the new year with friends- eating and playing games. We watched the ball drop and toasted the new year with sparkling grape juice, a kiss, and a prayer. I'm excited about the new year and all that God has in store for me.- but that is another post for later on today or tomorrow. Right now, I need to spend some time with my beautiful babies! Blessings to all!