Nine Blissful Hours!

Last night was purely a miracle, plain and simple.  God must have known my needs because He delivered a gift I was in desperate need of.

My kids and husband have all gotten sick within the last week or so.  Nausea, vomiting, fever, muscle soreness...not fun.  I was thanking my lucky stars that I hadn't gotten sick when all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks!  We were at the airport picking up Alex's little brother (more on that later) when I suddenly became very nauseated.  I ate a few saltine crackers from the airport lounge - yummy - and that seemed to calm my stomach.  I popped a piece of gum into my mouth, left the airport, put my kids down for a nap, and spent a few hours laying on the couch.  At around five o'clock I started to feel nauseated AGAIN but this time I also felt achy, feverish, and my neck was starting to hurt like it always does right before I get sick.  You know the feeling.  I managed to not throw up but I was definitely not feeling well.  I took my temperature and I indeed had a fever.  I skipped dinner in fear it would all come back up and very reluctantly went to the church to fulfill my obligations of babysitting the junior high youth group leader's kids.  My nausea came in waves...one minute I would feel fine and the next I would be rushing to the bathroom.  Nine o'clock rolled around and we packed up and went home.  My husband stopped at the store to get me some 7-Up - a MUST when I'm not feeling well - and then we came home, put Cale to bed, I took a bath, put Riley to bed, and then something miraculous happened!!!

I woke up this morning at eight o'clock!  I hadn't woken up at my usual times of midnight, two o'clock, four o'clock, six o'clock or seven o'clock.  Nine hours of REM! Not only had I woken up from a full night's sleep but I also woke up feeling rested and 100% better than when I had gone to bed. 

God must have known I needed my rest in order to feel better.  What a blessing sleep can be!  I feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel as far as getting Riley to sleep through the night, but I'm sure I'm jumping the gun on this one and she'll get me back tonight.  Oh well, the last five months made last night SO worth it!  

Anyway, so back to the airport.  Alex's little brother, Ben, was stationed in Pensacola, FL following graduating from boot camp and infantry training in San Diego, CA.  Ben is a U.S. Marine and we could not be more proud of him.  He is a different person now than when he left and that's not to say he was a "bad" guy before, but now you can just see the confidence and self-worth that has grown inside him since he left.  He returned home yesterday and is on leave until January 10th.  I have a renewed respect for our military now and thank everyone who stands in uniform this holiday season!