Settling Back In...

What a whirlwind the holidays were for us...which is why I haven't blogged in a while! The stomach bug hit our house hard the week before I got out of school. Lee had it first for a few days, and I woke up with it on Thursday and was miserable for two days. For those of you who haven't had it, let me just say that it was absolutely the worst thing I have ever experienced. Awful. We were so lucky first that Parker didn't get it and second that we had it at different times. Taking care of a baby is the last thing on one's mind when struck with this awful thing!

Being sick made the weekend a whirlwind as we tried to wrap everything up before leaving for our tour of Mississippi to see everyone for Christmas. We managed to finish and get to Pontotoc Sunday night. Parker's first one-year-old birthday party was in Pontotoc on that Monday followed by the exchanging of gifts with Lee's immediate family on Tuesday, dinner and exchanging of gifts with Lee's mom's side of the family on Wednesday, and Christmas breakfast Thursday morning after which we went by Lee's other grandmother's house to visit with family for a bit. After wrapping things up there, we hit the road and headed to Jackson. But not to our house. Because everyone in my family is so spread out, we rent the cabin at Luckett Lodge, which is literally 10 minutes down the road from our house, and we all stay there for a few days. It's so nice, and we had a great time. But by the end, Parker was worn out. We ended up coming home at 1am on the last two nights because we couldn't get him to go to sleep, which is so unusual for him. He was just too tired. My youngest sister was sick with the stomach virus on Saturday and missed Parker's second one-year-old birthday party, and my mom and grandfather got sick on Sunday, the day we left. From Luckett Lodge, my mom and youngest sister and Parker and I came back to my house while Lee, my dad, and my cousin got ready to go on an annual hunting trip at Lake Forest Ranch. After unloading everything on Monday and giving my mom a day to rest, she and I got busy "de-cluttering" our house. WHAT A PROJECT!! It took us two full days of nonstop work and a whole bunch of garbage bags that will be taken to Gateway, but we did finally finish. Now my house is in order, and everything has a place. Whatever didn't have a place is now gone! So Lee got home Thursday evening, and we spent Friday and today just hanging out as a family and running a few errands.

Whew! We love seeing everyone for the holidays, but it sure is tiring. I go back to school on Monday and am so sad. I have loved being home with Parker and playing with him all day and having time to do other things that have been on my to-do list. But...enough whining. It's coming whether I like it or not, so I'll just enjoy every last second of my last day of the holiday. Hope everyone else had a great Christmas and New Year!

I'll post pictures of Parker's parties soon!