Tuesday, January 28, 2014

A Holiday Update

Hello friends! How was your Christmas? I hope that you have all had a good holiday season. I have missed chatting with you in this space. Here's an update from my house, and I would love to hear how you are doing too!

December and January have been rough months for me physically, but I am hopeful for better days ahead. I had a bad flare up with my gastroparesis early on in December. For almost a week I was on a soft foods/liquid diet, and even with that I couldn't eat much because my stomach wasn't emptying well. It is the longest I have gone without a substantial amount of food, and wow, fasting with a chronic illness is rough! Thankfully, things started improving after 6 days, and over the next couple of weeks I regained some strength and energy. And just in time to feel a little better for Christmas!



My parents and sister came to visit us over Christmas break. Before they came a friend asked me if it was going to be hard on me to have family visiting for Christmas. She was concerned that having extra people in our home would make extra work for me and wear me out. I told her that, no, they don't add any extra work to my plate! They all help to take care of William and Adelaide. My mom does all of the laundry while she is here, and she prepares meals. My dad fixes things around our house. As Adelaide says, "Opa can fix everything!" They even offer to babysit so that Will and I can go out for a date if I am up for it. Talk about helpful guests!

If I am too tired or have a migraine and have to go to bed, no one is offended. They all believe me when I say that I am not feeling well. They never pressure me to do more than I can or should physically. I wish that every person with a chronic illness could have a family as helpful as mine. I am truly blessed to have such a caring family.



We celebrated Fourth Advent together. Pictured above are my dad, mother, and William.



Here are William and Adelaide with my sister, Krista. And that's my plate of Christmas cookies and treats!



My mom suggested that we have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and that was such a good idea. Spreading out the activity made it much easier on my energy levels. Will smoked a turkey on the grill. I helped Krista make the sunshine salad and roll up the crescent rolls. Those are easy tasks and I like to do what I can to help. My mom cooked everything else for us.



We all ate Christmas dinner in the living room because that is easier for me than sitting up at a regular table. I ate at the children's table while sitting in my chair from Arlene.


Adelaide and William on Christmas Day

William and Adelaide were so patient on Christmas morning. They knew that they had to wait until I was awake and out of bed before we could open presents. I don't think we started opening presents until the afternoon, but they waited patiently. When the time came to actually open presents, these are the excited faces that I got! Haha! I love those two.

We had such a nice visit with my parents and sister. It was refreshing and fun. I wish that everyone with a chronic illness could have a family as helpful and caring as mine. They are the best.

6 comments:

  1. I'm thankful you have a supportive family. It looks like a nice Christmas. Love the table by the couch.... perfect. I'm so sorry to hear you've not been feeling well. Praying you will turn a corner and feel better in February. Much love to you, Rachel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have just found your blog through your twitter account which I found through Joni & Friends. Isn't it an amazing world we live in!?


    You have wonderful parents and I'm sure they are so happy to be able to help you in any way. My daughter has a friend with chronic migraine and her parents are quite helpful, too. She too is very appreciative of their kindness and caring.

    When I read that you also suffered with gastroparesis, I nodded in recognition. After many years of gastro issues, my dr finally figured this out. No one, though, to whom I've mentioned this knows what it is. Mine is nothing like yours, only flaring up here and there. I have this great drug I take when I know I will be under high anxiety, and it helps everything stay calm and in working order. Fortunately, I don't have to take the drug very often or very long.



    Your children are also adorable, but I'm sure you hear that all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad you found me here. I'm sorry that you have gastroparesis. The flares can really be rough. I'm glad you have found a medicine that helps you through the flares. Do you have a blog? If so, I'd love to check it out. I hope you have a good weekend!

    Blessings,
    Rachel

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just realized, when I opened my email and saw your response, that your comments are done in Disquis. My blog is http://dkzody.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing! I'm heading over to your blog now!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I tried leaving a comment on your blog, but unfortunately WordPress doesn't let me comment! Even if I log in with my WordPress account. Bummer! But I did read your blog. I love the pictures of the daffodils. They are some of my favorite spring flowers. We still have snow covered ground here in Minnesota. I'm really enjoying winter, though, and am not quite ready for spring yet!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...