Palmer Family Blog: February 2010

Last week was the worst week of sickness we've had around here for a long time!! We all got what I'm guessing was H1N1? I don't know...but it was awful! Coughing, stuffy/runny noses, sore throats, fever, chills, body aches! It started out with the kids, which worked it's way to me and then on to Jeffrey. From about monday of last week (the 1st) to monday of this week we've been kind of quarantined to our house. We didn't want to go anywhere in case we got anyone else sick..and quite frankly, we didn't feel like leaving. Until about thursday when I started going insane from being stuck in our house all day everyday with no change in our routine. And having Jeffrey at home only made it seem longer, because we didn't have him coming home after work to break up our day! We decided that we needed to get out and take a walk around our street and get the mail. It was a very small thing, but I think it saved us!!! It felt so good to have fresh air and to move!! Anyway, we still are coughing and have runny noses, but we feel so much better now and I think the contagious period is over! So we'll be able to go to church this week, which I'm excited about! I always hate missing church, it definitely makes the week different...and not in a good way!

Do they not look ecstatic to be outside???

This week has been MONUMENTAL for us!! In terms of bedtime! We've had Jacey in our bed for I don't even know how long?? Coming up on a year maybe?? Anyway, it's just getting awful, he's so big now and he sleeps sideways with his feet in my back and we wake each other up all night and are pretty much miserable with each other the whole time! Poor Jeffrey is sleeping on the edge of the bed holding on to the bed frame for dear life so that he won't fall off! And Jaclyn's been sleepng like a queen in her own room!! So we decided to brave it and are preparing ourselves for a really scary month (hopefully not longer than that) and have started putting Jacey back in his room in his own bed. The first couple of nights, we put Jaclyn in the playpen in our walkin closet and had Jacey by himself in their room. Those nights ended up with me sleeping in Jacey's bed the whole time and Jeffrey in our room dealing with Jaclyn who would wake up every couple hours crying. So we thought we might just abandon ship and return to the old routine. BUT, I felt prompted to put Jaclyn back in her crib and try to get them to sleep in there together. It didn't really seem like it would work, I just couldn't fathom how they would fall asleep together..especially Jaclyn who has been used to her own room forever. But that first night, after a lot of praying and perserverence and explaining to Jacey, and an hour and 15 minutes of making sure Jaclyn stayed in her crib(she decided that day to attempt climbing out!!!) and telling Jacey his choices were sleeping alone in the room, or sleeping in there with Jaclyn (he kept crying to come in my bed with me)....they actually fell asleep!! And slept the whole night with no interruptions until 6:30am. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!! Even when Jacey's in my bed and Jeffrey and I haven't gone to bed yet, he wakes up. Every night, without fail. So I was kind of in shock when I looked at my phone and saw the time when Jacey appeared at my bedside the next morning!! I knew that it could possibly have just been too good to be true, but last night, our second attempt at the new arrangement only took 40 minutes and they were both fast asleep!!! Jacey did wake up around midnight and woke Jaclyn up with his whining and crying. So Jeffrey was trying to settle her down and I was trying to reason with Jacey and get him to stay in bed. It actually worked...my reasoning with Jacey that is, and he laid back down, and after 10 minutes of Jaclyn crying it out, they were both back asleep again!! Till 6:30am. Normally Jaclyn wakes up at 7am and Jacey wakes up at 8am, but I will take 6:30 for a while, until they can get used to all of this!! I can't even tell you how ECSTATIC I am about this!! And to sleep in my bed with JUST Jeffrey and have my own space and comfort, it's surreal!!! I barely remember what it feels like! And actually, I keep waking up throughout the night, expecting Jacey to wake up and come in...or something bad to happen. But so far, so good!!! I really can't take any credit for any of this, and nor can I explain how this has actually been working so far...except to say that I KNOW this is a direct blessing from Heavenly Father!! This is something that we've struggled with for a long time...Jacey and his sleeping issues. And for some reason, this new change just seems to be working and I know Heavenly Father is answering our many prayers and pleas for help!! It's an amazing feeling to feel the loving hand of our Heavenly Father in our lives! It for sure gives me strength to go on and deal with all the problems and trials that I will face, knowing that I don't have to do it alone!

Her favorite outfit..doesn't quite fit yet!

Helping me dust. I love this picture sooo much. Notice how Jaclyn's looking at Jacey? She WORSHIPS him and will watch his every move and try her hardest to do exactly what he's doing! It is so adorable and I just hope Jacey will always be a good example for her, cause she'll definitely follow it!