The second week of our Christmas break was somewhat adventurous. Peyton's cough and fever turned into a terrible stomach virus or the flu. He never got the flu vaccine, but our nephew did and he got the same thing. Either the vaccine was for the wrong strain or this was just a nasty virus. Peyton was hardly eating or drinking and actually lost some weight. What he did eat came out one way or the other, which provoked many baths, clothes washing, and sanitizing. Amazingly the rest of our family avoided it and so did Jason's brother's family whom we stayed with for three days. Gavin and I both came down with sinus colds, but I must admit I preferred that to the other option!
Jason's mom and I took turns staying home with Peyton on Sunday so that she could fulfill her teaching responsibilities and I could play the piano for the services. Jason preached for all three services and shared about our upcoming pre-field ministry. Monday night for the New Year's Eve Service Jason stayed with him for the first part, then his mom stayed with him after he went to bed. We enjoyed the time of fellowship with the people there, as well as hearing their 2007 testimonies/praises. They are not only long-time friends of Jason's family, they are also our first supporting church.
On New Year's Day we took a grave blanket to Dad's grave. It was an absolutely beautiful day, one of the nicest while we were there. It is hard to believe that he has been gone for two years. I often wish he could come back to see his grandchildren - there have been 3 more born since he passed away.
Jason's sister bought a Wii with money she had been saving over the past year. Jason and Gavin enjoyed playing the games and I even tried my hand at a couple. It was hilarious to hear someone comment that they were sweating, tired, or sore after playing video games! It's rather entertaining to see people swinging the remotes around with intense looks on their faces.
Thursday morning we headed back to eastern PA to spend time with Jason's other brother and family. We left the boys with them the first night so we could go to NYC to see the musical Mary Poppins. We ate dinner at the two story McDonalds off of Time Square before the show and got to partake in the sights, sounds, and smells of the big city. I actually had the thought that we probably saw more cars in one night than we will see in one year living here! The show was nice with some original scenes and music which kept it from being exactly like the movie. I would highly recommend seeing it as it was extremely clean and family friendly (which isn't always the case with Broadway musicals!).
Friday and Saturday we enjoyed time with the cousins. The boys particularly enjoyed sharing in the fun of the new Christmas toys their cousins had received. Unfortunately Peyton's sickness seemed to revive after we arrived (we had thought he was over it) so we had a few more adventures! He ate mainly toast and dry cereal as his stomach could not take anything more.
We delayed going home by another day to spend more time with Jason's brother since he had to work all day Friday and Saturday. We also wanted to give Peyton another day to recuperate before traveling. Sunday morning I stayed home with Peyton while Jason and Gavin attended the church we were members of when we lived in that area. He was able to see quite a few people we knew and catch up with them a little bit. That evening we headed back home, thankfully without any sick incidents. Peyton saved his last nasty diaper for about a half hour after we arrived home! I was so glad it wasn't in the van!!!
Overall we had a wonderful two weeks with family (though Peyton might beg to differ!). It was the longest amount of time we had ever been able to spend with them and it was very relaxing. We didn't have to rush to see people or to fit everything in and we were able to see some relatives we hadn't seen since the funeral two years ago. Since we will be overseas for many holidays in the future, we appreciate the time we are able to spend with everyone now.
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