The Happiness Award

I'm happy and honored to report that I was awarded The Happiness Award. My friend, Sue Jackson, of Learning to Live With CFS passed this award on to me a couple of days ago. Check out her very informative, encouraging and excellent blog with all kinds of tidbits throughout. So, thank you Sue!



Now for my 10 (or so) things that make me happy:

• The grace and mercy of my Lord and Savior
• My family - I am a very lucky woman to have such a wonderful husband and such good kids. I love them so!
• The laughter of my kids, and knowing that they are healthy and happy.
• A Starbucks coffee date with my husband.
• Watching movies with my family.
• Friendships and quality time with people I love and love me in return. You know the five love languages? - Mine is definitely Quality Time Together!
• Sunshine! - Now that spring's practically here, it's really good to see!
• The chirping of the birds - Again, I can tell it's spring.
• Springtime! And the flowers blooming.
• Our pets, especially the dogs and their unconditional love and tail-wagging.
• The water - i.e. the lake or the ocean/beach
• Mountain views / nature
• Learning this past year that I can be a runner and reach the finish line
• Chocolate
  
• Christmas!

There are many bloggers that I could and should pass this award on to including: all those that I follow, Sue at Learning to Live With CFS, Lori at Living Chronically (which is about her daughter of the same age and name as mine) which is subtitled as "A Story of Hope" and What's After 29?,
the Gracerunner Journal (a running blog with a Christian message), and my daughter who is a tremendous inspiration.

Spoke Too Soon

Jessica spent the day in bed yesterday not feeling well. That's what I get for bragging about how well she was doing!

Jessica did so well this weekend. The youth retreat, rehearsals, Dinner Theater, church Sunday, then shopping with friends even... And still was ok to go to school, but ended up with a bad headache Monday night. So, I was thinking she was doing good! But it hit yesterday (Wednesday). She was't even getting out of bed. She was weak, her throat hurt, and she kept coughing. She slept all morning. I brought lunch up to her, and she laid back down again. Jessica slept till after 3:00 but was finally upright early in the evening and made it downstairs to "her chair" to join us and watch tv. Even though she crashed, she said the weekend was worth it!

Today she's back in school and doing better.

Results of A Busy Busy Week

Jessica held up very well through her busy busy week. It was such a busy week and active week. Weekend before last was the youth retreat; then last Thursday and Friday nights were Dinner Theater rehearsals, which started again Saturday at noon and then the Dinner Theater that night. And one of her skits was an aerobic skit!! And after that, Sunday she went to church with us, then to see my grandmother for her 95th birthday, and then she went out shopping with friends!! She's held up so well that it makes me think she's almost normal. Is she well?

Jessica was tired Monday morning, and I asked her if it was daylight savings tired or other, and she said she didn't think it was daylight savings time. So I asked... "How's your throat?"... to which she replied that it actually was hurting a little bit. (Her throat always hurts when she gets tired or crashes.) She made it through the day ok, but ended up with a bad headache. Then tonight (Tuesday) when I asked her how she was, she said "ehhh" [translation: so-so] - She said she's been coughing.

Though I may want her to be well, and especially when she's going through such a good streak, but I don't have anything to complain about right now. She's doing ok!

An Average Week with a Busy One on the Horizon

Jessica had one day last week that she had a bad headache and stayed home for half the day. Sunday night of this week she woke me up in the middle of the night with leg pains. I took her some ibuprofen and rubbed her leg for half an hour. Tuesday she texted me at 2:15pm saying she didn't feel good - really tired and her ear was hurting (not sure what was going on with her ear). I called and checked her out of school early that day. She had slept in her 3rd block class and during LUNCH! And then came home and slept for 2-1/2 hours. She seems to have held up ok since then though.

This next week plus is going to be the test, as she's got a youth retreat this weekend and a dinner theater the next weekend (which will include rehearsals during the three days before). But she's going to be having fun if she can make it through it all!