I'm in the back on the left and Sam and Landon are close by with their yellow Lanterns. I'm standing next to Winnie. The Bishop and Elders Quorum President were in attendance as well. It was lots of fun!
Winnie and Man-Chung Ng are so great. Winnie goes to school with Chris and we attended their wedding reception last spring, just before we left Moscow for the summer. When we returned home to find them now apart of our ward and Landon's new primary teachers we were pretty happy. Winnie's family is in China so they celebrate all the Chinese holidays. Sunday was was the Chinese Autumn celebration and they invited all the kids in Landon's class and their siblings to participate. All of the older kids got to carry a lantern with a real candle in it. The little kids got smaller lanterns with plastic, battery candles. It was very exciting for everyone and I was amazed that so many people showed for the event. We walked from the church to Winnie and Man-Chung's apartment and then shared some refreshments. There was even some authentic Chinese Jello. I didn't like the Moon Cake. I guess egg yokes and flower pollen is just not my thing. We stuck around until the very end, which is where it all went wrong. Chris was putting Seth and Landon in the car and I was grabbing Sam and passing on our thanks, when Sam started making terrible noises. He proceeded to empty his stomach all over the grass. Winnie offered to get him some tea for the nausea and I just couldn't say no to her. Sam looked at me and whispered "but mom, we don't drink tea." I was so proud of him in that moment. I explained that Winnie would never give us anything that we couldn't drink and that this wasn't tea made from tea leaves it was made from herbs that were okay for us. We took the cup of tea and a paper bag and climbed into the car. Sam and I stayed on the couch for the night and were finally able to fall asleep around 2:00.
Sam spent Monday resting on the couch. He threw-up once more that afternoon so Chris and I agreed he should stay home on Tuesday too.
Tuesday was uneventful and Sam was feeling a little better. Just before going to pick Landon up from school Sam fell asleep on the couch, so I decided to be dangerous and leave him for the ten minutes it takes to get to the school and back. I locked the door behind me and went to the car. I opened my door and dropped my purse, phone and keys on my seat pushed the lock button and shut the door. I picked up Seth and tried to open his door and found it locked. Apparently I pushed the wrong end of the lock button and now was locked out of the car with no way to get back in. I panicked. In order to get back into the house I had to ring the door bell and pound on the door repeatedly until Sam opened it for me. I had no way to get a hold of Chris and I couldn't call the school. I ran around the house for five minutes not knowing what to do. I came the conclusion that we had to walk, but Sam was still not completely better so maybe he could stay at our neighbor friends house. We couldn't find his shoes so he had to wear his church shoes, and then the neighbors weren't home so he had to walk the mile to school with me, Poor Sam! I had to carry Seth the whole way too, because the stroller was also locked in the car. We didn't get to school until 3:25
(School ends at 3:00) but Landon was very understanding about it. He told me "Don't beat yourself up about it, mom." From there we walked the five minutes to the Law School and waited for Chris to get out of class at 4:45. I was glad I decided to go there instead of home because Sam was looking really pale and he ended up puking into the garbage can just minutes after we got there. We got home at 5:00 and grabbed Landon's soccer stuff. He dressed in the car and we made it to his game just in time for half time. I was really just happy we made it there at all.
Wednesday I kept Sam home again. I really felt that after being hauled around Tuesday he needed another day of rest. I was also relieved that no one else had come down sick and I was hopeful that it had passed the rest of us by. Chris went to the doctor to get new meds for his Graves and also to try to figure out why he has been having stomach ulcers for the past ten years. He was diagnosed with a bacteria(H Pylori) and has been prescribed major antibiotics and stomach pills. Yay for finally figuring out the problem!
Thursday there was no school, and the boys both played soccer games. I even took my friend's three kids while they went on a date to a school event. At 9:30 my hopes were dashed when my system decided to go rebel on me, and I spent the night running to the bathroom. Chris was kind enough to give me the bed so I could be closer to the bathroom and he slept on the couch.
Friday I called in sick to my job. It doesn't happen often that mom's can do that, but Chris is such a great husband. He stayed home from class and did his clinic meetings over the phone. I slept most of the day. I woke up at 7:30 PM to Sam shouting. Landon was now sick. Chris is so great! He stayed up with Landon so I could sleep and get better. Landon was up sick until 3:00 AM.
Saturday we watched Conference via Internet. We had it on both in my bedroom and the living room. In the middle of the afternoon session I offered to turn off the computer in the living room so Landon could rest, but he told me he wanted to watch. I was so proud of him! Sam got pretty bored but Landon didn't complain even once the whole weekend.
Early Sunday morning (3:00 AM early) Chris left our bed feeling sick. He spent the day resting in bed and listening to conference and I kept the boys out in the living room while watching conference and making dinner to take over the missionaries home. My favorite talks were about how we should teach and take care of the Lord Children and I loved that two of the Apostles told the same story in two different ways, both very inspiring and motivating me to be better. But my favorite conversation with the boys occurred during President Packers talk.
Landon looked up and said: "He's Old!" in a voice that said 'why are we listening to this really old guy?'
Me: Yes he's old but he's wonderful, I love listening to him because he's such a great teacher"
Landon: "yeah....okay"
Sam: "How old is he?"
Me: I don't know. He's been a member of the Twelve Apostles since before I was born. He's been teaching a long time."
Sam: "That means he's older than Dad"
Me: " Umm yeah....he's probably as old as Old Grandpa Pace." (that's my 92 year-old grandpa)
Sam: "Old Grandpa Pace?! WOW he really is older that Dad!"
1 comment:
I love your stories! Glad it was a long post.
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