Well, Christmas 2010 brought many surprises. Three of these came in Steve, my, and Hannah's tummy bugs. We think Hannah caught the bug right away after she threw up in her sleep the first night of our stay in FL. She got progressively worse, and by Christmas night, she couldn't keep anything down and refused to take any milk, water, or Pedialyte. Per our home emergency nurse's instructions, we had to take our baby to the Halifax Hospital Emergency room on her very first Christmas :-(. We spent about 7 hours there, and she received an IV and some anti nausea meds. Thank goodness, the place wasn't too busy. Hannah was so tired and had no energy - Steve and I have never felt so helpless (except for when she was in the NICU after she was born). The nurses said she had great veins, but then proceeded to take 30 minutes to get the thing in. UGH. They had our sweet girl strapped up in a straight jacket and she kept looking up at us with her sweet big eyes, wondering why we were letting them hurt her :-(. Long story short, we had to come home to Charlotte early so that she could follow up with her doctor. She has spent all week recovering and today she finally had her energy and appetite back! It is great to have her squeaking about the house again :-). She has lost about 9 ounces...too much for her little body to loose, so we will be working extra hard to put some meat back on her bones.
But despite all of the sickness that spread throughout the Justice house - all of the babies and most of the adults caught either the stomach bug or a cold - we had a joyous Christmas with those that we love most. Here are some pics to commemorate three babies' first Christmases!
Our little lemon - what a cuddle bug :-)
At church on Christmas eve in Nana's Christmas outfit. We love our little present!
One happy family, right before the tummy bug plagued us all!
Cousins with their uncle/daddy Doug and Pops!
Steve, Uncle Matt, their matching shirts, and Hannah!
Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree...
One little bear with one very big bear!
Cale and Hannah having Pops time.
In his element - Steve with 4 very large dogs :-)
So stinkin cute!
Cutie pie in his Christmas outfit made by Aunt Krista.
Always reaching for something, especially remote controllers, which is why she got one for Christmas just for her :-).
Christmas morning. Wow don't we look beautiful.
Cale and daddy Kev.
As hard as it was to see Hannah sick, it was a great reminder of how blessed we are to have her. I easily get caught up in the "to-do's" and her "routine", that I often forget to cherish each second we have with her. I promised myself, after she got out of the NICU, that I would not take one second for granted. I am now reminded of that promise - and not only with Hannah, but with my wonderful husband and our amazing extended family. As I get older, I am learning that so many families have "issues". People grow and people change, but I want to make it a point, for us - the Jaco's and the Justice's - to never let anything separate us. We love each other, and one of God's greatest gifts to us is family. May we honor Him by loving each other unconditionally, forever and always.
But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15