The House of the Rising Sickness

To be honest, we wish this week had never happened so we aren't too keen to write it down for posterity but the show must go on. It was one of those weeks where it seemed like things couldn't get worse and then it did. Ironically, we watched Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day this week which seemed to fit, for better or worse. So what was so terrible? We'll tell you.

Monday was a holiday. Hooray! Relaxing and great. Tuesday we were back to our regularly scheduled programs except when Scott got home he was starting to feel sick. Wednesday was when everything fell apart. When Mackenzie woke up, she was acting odd. No jumping, no chattering. We got her down for breakfast and after a few sips of juice, everything came back up. She was out of commission for the rest of the morning. She threw up a few more times and then just laid on the couch indifferent to what was happening around her. Kiersten quickly scheduled a doctor's appointment while Scott held her and they both rested. After an exam the doctor confirmed Kiersten's suspicion of an ear infection and we got the necessary antibiotics and went back home. Mackenzie was doing a bit better and took a nap for a few hours and Scott went to work for the rest of the day.

So sad. She just slept wherever we put her down.

Thursday was another sit and watch TV all day kind of day. It was peculiar though that at 10:30 Mackenzie told Kiersten that she wanted to sleep. She then slept off and on (mostly on) until about 3:30. She was much happier afterwards and almost back to her normal self. 

Watching Peppa in her jammies. TV was made for sick days.

Friday we kept her out of school again just to be safe. She played and ran around while Kiersten did some chores in the kitchen. We discovered weevils in the pantry and they needed to be dealt with before we leave for 3 months so Kiersten deep cleaned. Probably shouldn't have done that because a few hours later she had some more spotting and laid in bed for the next several hours. She also had a chat with her doctors back in the States and at this point they are recommending her to come back home ASAP, when stable. Well after this rough week of sickness and now spotting, she's inclined to think this is a sign to get home and rest.

Friday evening Scott and Kiersten had plans to attend another Vietnamese dinner with other Embassy folks so the sick and the bed ridden gingerly made their way to the party and despite feeling under the weather had a wonderful time. There was even after dinner entertainment! This is probably the last time we'll venture out on a date until the baby is born. (I know we said that last week but this is for real this time. Kiersten isn't taking any more chances!)

We don't look so good but we had fun.

The after dinner entertainment... Michael Jackson dancers.

"Michael" senior.

"Michael" Jr. He was the best dancer.

"Michael" Jr. Jr. He was the cutest dancer.

He turned into a zombie to finish off his 'Thriller' dance routine.

You want to hear about bad days? Well Saturday was our worst day of 2018. Mackenzie was her happy, normal, energetic self and Scott and Kiersten were both very run down and sick, Scott worse off than Kiersten. Neither felt they could take care of her and she even refused to nap which is always difficult. By 2:30 we did something we never do; ask for help. We contacted one of the American sisters in our ward to see if she could take her off our hands for a few hours and she graciously agreed to come get her. Mackenzie went off to play with friends for the afternoon while Mom and Dad slept, rested and watched copious amounts of TV. We even agreed to let another of the sisters in the Ward bring us dinner. Why is it so hard for us to accept help? We are so willing to give but not receive. Well Kiersten's new motto is, 'Just say yes' and so far life has been better for it. Mackenzie came home extremely tired and we all went to bed early.

Sunday morning Scott and Mackenzie stayed home from church and Kiersten made her way to Sacrament. Even in another country and language, the Spirit speaks to your heart. It had been a very emotional weekend for Kiersten and was so happy to have refilled her spiritual cup in that meeting. The gospel of Jesus Christ is on the Earth today! (Sorry to get preachy but it was a rough week and this was a strengthening of testimony which was very much needed.) After the meeting she went to a pharmacy to get necessary drugs for Scott and come home and rest, rest, rest. We all took Sunday afternoon naps (ain't those the best?) and watched the BYU v. Cal football game. Yes, we are back into football season. It was a low-key kind of day which we needed and couldn't wait to go to bed at the end of it.

Back to the beginning of the week and we feel like somethings are improving. Kiersten's cold has basically subsided other than a persistent cough and stuffy nose, she is resting as much as possible from here on out. She has arranged for people to come help with Mackenzie for a few afternoons this week, working on craft projects and whittling away her Netflix show list because, why not. Scott took another sick day and is off to the doctor. He's had it worse than everyone and is ready to be done. His other big task this week, re-scheduling our flights home to get the girls back in VA this month instead of October. Mackenzie seems to be the only one who left this previous week unscathed. She's back to school and we are praying she has a stronger immune system to stave off any more unwelcome bacteria, for her sake and our sanity.

Her new backpack arrived and she's in love. Her other one fell apart after two days. We have higher hopes for this one.

Quirks of Paraguay:

• Welcome to Spring! It happened a little more than a week ago. The weather made a steady incline back into the 80s and a few days in the 90s. With this change in the weather it also means the ACs are back on in some rooms of the house. Good-bye, Winter. Thank you for coming around this year.
• On-line groceries. Yes this is a thing in the States but it doesn't seem to be utilized like it is here. We will now start to take advantage of this system since Saturday when we couldn't get out of the house and we has some essentials brought to our door for a very small fee.

The Mackenzie Update:

• Tantrums and the Terrible Two's. They are coming into full swing now. Not sure if this is because of her sick condition, learned from school or Nursery or if it's just that time in her life but they are not fun for anyone. Trying to convince a toddler that words are better than whines falls on deaf ears. Sadly our solution this weekend was to either put her in time out or send her to bed since we didn't have the patience or stamina to contend with her.
• She is starting to say, "I love you," voluntarily which comes out, "Lwuv uoo."

  

  She loves to draw on the white board and she's getting more creative. We even have an apron to keep her clothes clean.

• New favorite TV show(s): Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig. We watch it in Spanish. We are actually converting all of her TV time to Spanish which has been very good for us too. Hearing it more on a preschool level is good for our grammar and vocabulary. And I'll be honest, Peppa Pig is annoying in English but extremely bearable and educational in Spanish. You parents of toddlers should give it a try.

That about sums up our rotten week. Even with all of this happening, we recognize how blessed we are to live in a place that has a tight-knit Embassy community and loving Church family. Everything happens for a reason and our move to Paraguay has been no exception. We are making tremendous friends and connections that might not otherwise have happened had we stayed in our comfortable environment in Virginia. We are grateful for this move and all the challenges it has to offer us. That all said, we can't wait to come home and rest before meeting baby girl!