Here's to a Happy and Healthy 2009...I hope....

What a rough end to 2008. The kids both had fevers on Christmas Eve and I had an eye infection. DH was still getting over a nasty cold. We did have a lovely Christmas morning though. The kids' reaction this year was priceless and heartmelting. Just pure joy to behold. It was perfect :)

We hosted my family here on Christmas day for a traditional turkey dinner. The food was amazingly delicious - if I do say so myself. Brining turkey is the way to go...it was soooo yummy! The kids were well enough to last the whole day and loved visiting with Grampa and their aunts and uncles. It was a great day.

On Boxing Day Dh's family came here for dinner. We had another yummy meal - this time it was lasagna, garlic bread, ham, scallop potatoes, veggies, and salad. It was another successful gathering in our home. Again, the children loved having everyone here. They love spending time with family, especially their aunts, uncles and cousins that we don't get to see very often.

While normally I quite enjoy hosting holidays in my home and cooking for family, this year it was a chore to say the least. We finally got the contractor in to finish our ceilings,walls and trim - after waiting more than 7 months. He completed the job on Dec 19th, so we scrambled to get the ceilings painted and light fixtures in. We'd hoped to get the walls painted too but that was just too much to get done so close to Christmas. Plus, getting the ceilings done wore me out completely! So, I started Christmas week off feeling pretty tired and worn out already.

I managed to pull it all off and host two nice parties here, but it left me totally exhausted. A few days after Christmas I started feeling really crummy. My eye infection had finally cleared up but I had a pounding headache, then the body ache, sore throat, swollen glands, sore ears, fever, congestion...yep I got what DH had the week before and I was in bed for four days. FOUR days! I never get THAT sick. A whole week later and I'm still not myself. I am thinking I may need to head into the the ER to get checked today or tomorrow since I am now starting to cough and having trouble breathing...this is how I was feeling a week after a cold I had in early December that turned into pneumonia. I hope I am just being paranoid and overly cautious this time. On top of that the poor kids have come down with some new bug with fevers and upset tummies :(

So while 2008 went out with a whimper for us and 2009 started the same way I hold great hope for this new year. It has got to be better than last year. I pray that my health will steadily improve once I kick this latest bug, that my gallbladder surgery this spring goes smoothly and that I get back to feeling like me again soon.

I hope 2009 brings us good health and happy times and great new opportunities. These are my wishes for you all as well. Happy New Year!!!