On Saturday we went to the annual Purcell Family Christmas at Gale and Martha's house. There was a great turnout, and this year 3 new babies were born, Aaron (6/28/11) who did not make it this year, Caleb (7/14/11), and Jacob (8/22/11). Over the last 5 years there have been 10 new additions. I wonder how many more there will be? We saw lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, ate good food, played games, and Caleb got to meet lots of new family. It was nice for the Jolliffs to also be able to visit with lots of family before they leave. Sam found me at the end of the day to let me know he ate all of the m&m's, and he showed me the proof -:). At the end of afternoon, Jennifer, Michael, Catherine, Ron, and Nancy left to begin their rode trip to Rhode Island, where Jennifer's family will be living for the next year while her husband Joe attends the Naval War College. It was a fun day!
Cousins - Luke, Caleb, Emily, Jackson, Conner, Catherine, Sam, Andrew, and Jacob
Sam, Andrew, Jacob, and Caleb
Luke, Andrew, and Jackson
Great Uncle Ed and Caleb
Jennifer and Michael
The Fox's and Cluney's
Caleb and Grandma
The m&m monster
Sam ate them all!
I sure hope not!
Nathan and Catherine
I had been coughing now for 3 weeks and it was not getting better, so on Sunday Nathan took me to the health clinic. I was trying to ride it out because of nursing, but I needed medicine at this point. After a checkup and few antibiotics they sent me home. My report said I had a 'VERY LOUD HARSH COUGH'. It took Caleb about 1/2 day to transition from nursing to a bottle and formula, and we were thankful that grandpa and grandma could help us and Caleb with the new plan.
The next day Nathan headed to Bloomington to visit Mike, Brittney, Caty, and Aubrey. They met at a restaurant at IU where they all went to school, and then Nathan continued onto Indy to see Sam and Andrew's preschool Christmas program. I was bummed I had to stay home and miss the fun, but I know resting at home was where I needed to be. Nathan said the program was cute and even included a little two year old girl and boy getting into a fight on stage....it was a funny video! Nathan spent the night in Indy, and on Tuesday he helped Elizabeth get closed out and transitioned back to Illinois where they will be living for the next month. Ironically the Jolliffs will be living in the house that Nathan and Elizabeth grew up in through most of grade school. It is neat that things came full circle and their family is living there. The house has a great backyard and it brought back a lot of nice memories from Nathan's childhood. That evening we all relaxed at home and grandpa and grandma really enjoyed having all 4 grandsons to play with -:).
On Wednesday Eilzabeth, Jacob, Caleb, and I got to spend half of the day together shopping while Nathan played with the boys at home. One of my favorite stores in Illinois is 'Rural King', a farm and home store. They also sell cute kids John Deere toys and clothes, so I like to pick up a few things each time we go home. This trip Elizabeth and I got matching bibs for our little guys -:). We finished the day with lunch at Chico's, a Salem Mexican favorite. Nathan had a fun day with the boys. All they need is a shovel and some dirt, and they are happy!
On Thursday, Hap invited us to his parent's farm in Patoka. Sam and Andrew love visiting the farm, and they were happy to go see the 'moo moos.' Hap's brother Jay was there with their two sons, Hunter and Beau, and it was good to finally meet them. Hunter, their oldest son, drove Andrew and I around on the mule and gave me a tour of the farm. He drives really well for a 9 year old! Hap's mom came home for lunch and brought us all pizza, and Nathan got in a good game of basketball with Hunter, Beau, and Jay. On Christmas they announced a new addition to their family, and we are really happy for them.
That afternoon Nathan's good childhood friend John came over to hang out and meet Caleb. It is always fun to hear stories about Nathan growing up, and John sure does have a lot of them! He now lives in Arizona with his sweet wife Lindsay, so it was good to get to see him. Later that evening we went Santa Clausingkids's reactions when Santa shows up at their door. It's everything from excitement to tears. This year we mistakenly went to a wrong house. Three little boys in underwear ran to the door screaming Santa is here, and then shut the door...haha.
That night I came down with chills and a fever and it was back to the clinic on Friday. This time they took a chest x-ray and sure enough I had pneumonia and an ear infection. I got on stronger antibiotics and spent the next several days at home in bed. By the end of the trip, I ate my in-laws out of honey, tea, cough drops, cough medicine, and Kleenex. Nathan's parents were wonderful helping us out with Caleb, so I could recover and we could both get a good night sleep. For the rest of our time at home they took Caleb in their room at night and watched him a lot during the day. We really appreciate their kindness, help, and all the sleep we got those few days. I think taking care of Caleb also brought back memories of when Nathan and Elizabeth were infants, and Nathan's dad really enjoyed feeding him. We are thankful for all of the time they got to spend with Caleb, and he sure did have a great time with grandpa and grandma.
On Christmas Eve we all went to church, except for Sam and Betty because today was Sam's day to be sick. He was running a fever and had a sore throat, but he miraculously got better that evening to open gifts. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids open gifts. I still remember Sam's 2nd Christmas when he was more interested in the boxes and dog cage than the gifts...times have changed and he and Andrew had lots of fun opening presents. Caleb and Jacob had a short attention span, as expected, but they still ripped some paper. Thank you very much grandpa and grandma for the nice gifts.
Christmas day was quiet since we celebrated the night before with family and the Jolliff's went to Patoka to be with Hap's family. I spent most of the day in bed with a fever, and today was Caleb's turn to not feel well. He had a low fever, but later that day he seemed to be feeling himself again. Later that afternoon, Nathan and Caleb went to visit Grandma Rose and that evening John came back for a second visit. Thanks John for the adorable rain coat, Caleb will be the coolest dinosaur in town!
On Monday was my dad's 66th birthday, and my brother was home to help them celebrate. They had a fun day together and even got to see my mom's brother and sister-in-law who were in town from Boston. Not too much was happening in Illinois, I spent most of the day in bed, and Nathan ran some errands. Later that afternoon, their neighbor Bella came over to hang out. She is very sweet with all the boys and really enjoys spending time with Mark and Betty.
On Tuesday the Mintons over for a quick visit before visiting Mike's parents. I was glad I got to see them since I missed out earlier in the week. Aubrey, who is 3 weeks younger than Caleb, has grown so much since we last saw her in September. She is all smiles and very sweet. Caty, who will be 3 in April, is so personable and outgoing. We had a fun game of hide-and-go-seek going, but she kept hiding in the same spot -:). Later that day, we went to the Jolliff's so Nathan could shoot bebe guns with Sam. Sam was a good shot and hit the can a couple of times! Nathan loves spending time with Sam and Andrew, and he got to do a lot of it this trip!
That evening we had dinner with everyone, before turning in early for the night and starting our drive home at 2am.
That evening we had dinner with everyone, before turning in early for the night and starting our drive home at 2am.
We had a wonderful time in Illinois, and are so thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone. Betty got a gift from a friend that summed up our week: 'Life is all about how you handle Plan B.' All things considered, I say we all handled Plan B pretty well!
