Merry Christmas! I am obviously a little late posting this week, but we have been very busy with travel.
Let's see. Most of last week was spent packing to get ready to leave for Brownfield. I somehow managed to get everything into the car on my own (a miracle in and of itself) and we left for my grandparent's house about 6pm after Francis got off work on Friday. We did this so both William and the dogs would sleep the whole way until we arrived about 12:15 am. Did it work? Sort of. As long as I was driving, we were golden, but when we stopped for gas about 2/3 of the way and switched drivers. Everyone was up until we arrived. It was a long night, but totally worth it. My family (Mom, Dad, Christian, & Danielle) arrived about 45 minutes after we did, and so needless to say we were all tired come Saturday morning. We took it easy on Saturday and after my aunt arrived by plane in the afternoon, we had some wonderful family time with all 9 adults and our most adorable William. William was very good. He only touched a few things that he shouldn't and didn't destroy anything. He mostly left my grandparents' house completely in tact. He's such a good boy.
Sunday, we went to church at First Baptist Brownfield, and then ate lunch in Lubbock. It was delightful. I believe my grandparents enjoyed having us there, and I am so glad William was able to see where I had Christmas growing up. Monday was Christmas Eve. Francis, Danielle, Aunt Camille, my dad and I went out to see my grandparents' land and the oil wells that are being installed on their property. I don't know what I was expecting, but seeing the huge hole in the ground where they are digging was a bit surprising. The ones that were already installed looked like what you always see, but it was nice to hear Pop talk about all they have been doing. You can tell he is really interested in it all. That makes me happy. In the afternoon, Danielle, my mom, Aunt Camille, William and I went and fed the ducks. William really wanted to get up close and touch the ducks and geese, and he kept trying to climb down the embankment to get into the water. Mom or I had to hold onto the hood of his jacket (the wind was chilly) while he dropped the bread down to them. I got some good pictures.
In the evening was all got dressed to go to the Christmas eve service. During family pictures, William was being fussy. Usually a camera is his best friend so I became a bit concerned. He felt warm. We went onto the service anyway and after Children's time where William got a candy cane, he passed out on Francis's lap (also something he never does). When we got home to eat dinner, William wouldn't eat and we put him straight to bed. Poor kiddo slept while the rest of us had dinner, read the Christmas story and opened presents. I got a Roomba vaccum cleaners, 3 watches (4 total for christmas), a purse, and a bunch of wonderful clothing. Francis got clothes too, as well as shoes, video games, gift cards and a bunch of other stuff I couldn't see because he was sitting behind me. It was a good evening minus my sick baby.
Christmas morning we woke up to a light snow all over the ground. A White Christmas! William seemed like he was doing better. He happily opened his presents and his stocking. He got a bunch of toys including a tools set, a motorcycle, a tunnel, a tent, a tractor, books, a number of balls, and legos. He also got clothes, candy and a light saber toothbrush. He hit the mother load! Everyone also got to open their stockings and their presents from him. The ladies got a candle holder with William's finger prints on it and the men got desktop Christmas trees with William's decorations on the pot. It was a lovely morning topped off by a wonderful turkey Christmas lunch. William started to decline again midday, and my dad, Mom Noble, and I took him to the emergency room, where they discovered he had a fever of 103.5 while on fever reducing medication. They gave him a prescription for antibiotics (even though they thought it was a virus) and gave him some hospital grade pain killer. We made it home in time to put him down for a restless night. Even with this sad hole in the middle of our day, it was still a good Christmas. I am glad I had such wonderful support to help me with William while he was sick. I have a great family.
Our drive back from Brownfield took about 8 hours including lunch with my family before they headed on to Dallas while we turned south toward Austin. The only good thing about William being so sick was that he slept much of the way, and was mostly docile, which is very unlike his usual self. The only noteworthy event was a little ways outside Sweetwater. We were following my parents when all of a sudden there are police lights behind us. We pull over and so do my parents. The police car drives around us and pulls up behind my parents. He talks to them a bit and then comes and talks to us. I am wondering what in the world is up since we were going under the speed limit. He takes a look at Francis's license and looks amused and confused as Bella Dog tries to climb out the window and come visit him. I can tell the officer looks a bit disappointed. He says he pulled over dad for following the car in front of him too closely (something you can't ticket for), and that we are free to go. Then it dawns on me that he thought we were drug runners. My dad's SUV had a suspicious looking package on his trailer (the cat's kennel) and the officer wanted to check it out. Imagine his surprise when he is greeted by three dogs and a cat (counting both cars) and a whole family of weary travelers. We were obviously not what he was looking for.
Well, William is all healed now, and we are getting all of our things unpacked and put away. I can't believe the year is almost over. It really flew by. I am amazed at how much William has grown and cannot begin to think how much he will continue to change in 2013. If I haven't told you lately how special each of you is to me, please know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Christmas is about the one who came to save us because he loved us so much. He believes we were worth every bit of the pain he endured. Thank you Jesus! Happy Birthday!
