Surprise!

Friday was such a great day for me! Mark and I made a decision that the best thing for Emily was to come home a little early to rest. Emily spoke with all her professors and everyone agreed that she should just leave a few days early for break. So, I was the one who got to go get her! Yeah! She knew I was coming and was very, very excited. I left at 4:30 am. The thing is, the only ones here who knew were Mark and Erin. So Thursday and Friday, I spent a great deal of time lying to everyone. It was horrible! The worst one was to my mother-in-law. I felt like I was decieving her and using her all at the same time. I had to call her and have her watch the kids for me so I called and told her that the little ones wanted to spend the night. She could only keep them until 2:00 Friday, so I had to get Erin to pick them up. ... which meant that Erin got out of school early (actually, she didn't even go to school that day). Erin was feeling sick the day before, so I encouraged her to stay home and rest on Friday. I told her it would be good for her as well as for me. That way she could pick the kids up in the afternoon. She told all her teachers that she had to babysit for me (which really wasn't the case, but Erin thought it was.... I just wanted her to stay home and stay healthy. I have a huge fear that she will get this swine flu!). Anyway, I lied to my mother-in-law and it just about did me in! Both Ri and Elizabeth were a little out of sorts and clingy when I was ready to leave (which didn't help things at all!). Before I made it home, Uncle Paul was calling to tell me that Ri wanted his mommy. I had to break down and tell my brother-in-law... begging him to try to keep the kids as long as he could. Anyway.... 4:20 am, I was ready to leave. I had informed Sam that i would not be here when he woke up (lying to him by giving the excuse that i was going to the Y to work out). You see... Emily wanted to surprise everyone she could; especially Jacob. But I pulled one over her! I swung by and picked up her very best friend. THey had not seen each other for 3 months AND she had been suppose to visit Emily this weekend. BUT her brother had been so sick for so long, that the trip would be too hard for him and we all decided that Emily's flu was the icing on the cake and the trip was canceled. I had so much fun with her friend. The trip flew by. It was so nice to have her as a traveling companion (even though I would have absolutely loved having my husband). We completely floored Emily. It was great! She had absolutely no clue ... judging by the scream she let out in the hallway when she figured out who the strange girl was leaning against the hallway. We spent an hour or so on campus and then loaded up and headed home. It was a long trip home, but we made it safely and successfully surprised all! I will give a few more details on that a little later. For now, I have to go.

For some reason, I have not been able to log onto blogger. But this morning, I had success. A week has gone by since I last updated. All the kids are doing well, at least all but Emily. Sam took the longest to recover from the influenza A. He ran a low grade fever Sunday night and has been run down, but the past couple of days have been good and he seems pretty much back to normal. Elizabeth still has a little left in her chest (at least it sounds that way when she coughs). Ri is more working on a runny nose. Both get run down very quickly; Elizabeth especially. Her eyes show it the most. By mid afternoon, she has very big dark "circles" under her eyes. She just looks run down. Mark has fought hard, but lost the battle some. He needed to take a few days in bed. Erin has been tough through it all. It hasn't seemed to find her yet... though I heard her coughing last night and she looks pretty wiped out. As for Em? Well, she started with a fever and feeling horrible on Sunday. Monday she went to the nurse and was told to see the doctor on Tuesday. Tuesday she went to the doctor on campus and was treated for swine flu. She was put on Tamiflu and quarantined in her room. Tuesday she was the worst; fever of 102, deep continual cough, and unable to mover unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. At one point, I called her and asked her to take tylenal for her fever (100.8 at the time). 2 hours later, I checked her temp and it was something like 102.8. I asked her if she had taken the tylenal and she said no because she just didn't want to get out of bed "the medicine is too far away". She felt so badly that even walking across the room to get medicine was too much for her. It was very difficult being here knowing she was so sick and all alone. I was on the edge all day, just waiting for notification to come get her. At 10:00 that night, I was finally able to speak to her dorm mom to find out what the plan was for students with swine flu. It was a relief to talk to her. Students are quaranined to their room until they have been free of any fever for 24 hours. We decided for me to wait until Wednesday to see if Em's fever broke or not. If it hadn't, then I was going to go get her since it was worthless for her to be quarantined all week and only have 2 days of classes before break. Well, her fever broke at some point in the middle of the night. It was normal by Wednesday morning. She still felt miserable, but at least not like she had the night before. She took a hot shower around 11:00 and then took her temp right afterward. It was 99.2. An hour later it was normal again.... but because of the 99.2 temp, she was quarantined until after 11:00 the next day. :( That means she misses classes this morning as well. She is going stir crazy being "locked" in her room. There are a group of young men who have taken turns stopping by her room and "serinade" her. They call her and have her look out the window and then carry a conversation on with her. It is very sweet. Tony went to Arby's and picked her up a special lunch and delivered it to her. That was sweet as well. The movie ban gets lifted for kids in quarantine; so she has been able to enjoy watching some movies while so sick. She is anxiously counting down the hours for her "ban" to be lifted.

As for everything else, life is normal around the Miller home.... well... maybe not "normal". Erin and Sam are both done with soccer; so we have had a few family meals at the dinner table. That has been very strange. Erin is really blossoming and maturing lately. It is exciting to see growth in some areas. She is such a beautiful young lady and such a joy to be around when she is "sparkeling". Lately, I have seen the beautiful twinkle in her eye. Jacob has caught some kind of fire for working out. He is back to running again and has now begun lifting with Mark. He has some goals in his mind. When Jacob sets a goal, he is one who rarely gives up. He gets focused and that is all it takes. It has been fun watching him so motivated. He also has been a joy at home. He has been working hard at completely his school work every day. And.. he is really getting an interest in cooking. He made General Tsaos Chicken (from scratch) for us the other night and yesterday, he made fried ice cream! He is so much fun to watch.

On Senior night for the marching band, the seniors all wore masks and did a dance to the song "Thriller".














Well, I like this shot, but I really didn't like the coloring in it, so I played around and came up with this. It isn't exactly what I was looking for, but it is a start.
It has been a long week. I think most of us are going stir crazy. I was out a lot yesterday, though; that was nice. I ended up teaching the Sunday school class simply because something came up at the last minute for Mark and he was not able to leave. He watched the kids for me and I went to church. That afternoon, Erin was willing to take some senior pictures.... I have learned that you have to grab your camera and run when she finally is willing! Mark has learned the same thing, so he was more then willing to watch the kids and let me go. Erin is much the opposite of Emily when it comes to taking pictures! And.. I found my card reader! It was a good day :).

Elizabeth has been hit the hardest. As of yesterday, she was still having a fever and a high pulse rate. Her lungs are definitely effected by the virus. We have not had any major issues, though... so I am thankful. Sam is still out of school; but it is more precautionery. He is so wiped out that I am afraid if I send him back today, he will turn worse. I will make him do some things today and then send him for half a day tomorrow and then get him back in by Wednesday. His body just isn't strong enough yet to go full blown. Jacob has probably been down the longest. His has just been a constanst and steady worsening. Nothing serious, but definitely each day he seems to be sicker. I think he probably had something before and then when he was exposed to this, he got this as well and since he never got put on the tamiflu, it has taken longer.

Emily comes home in 2 weeks. I can not wait to spend some time with her! She is doing well. Her best friend is traveling this weekend to visit her. They are both very excited about it. And I think for the first time, I can honestly say that I am not battling emotions about someone going to spend time with her when I can't.

Emily discovered a program on her computer that would allow her to play around with some of her pictures. She is like me and loves to be creative. This is one of the results:

Well.. three down (probably four) with the influenza A virus (which is most likely the swine flu). I have symptoms of it, though it is hard to tell because I lost my voice for ten days due to post nasal stuff and ended up with a hard cough at night... so the discomfort I am having could be from that. Who knows. Erin is avoided it as much as possible. She is never around much, but when she is she pops in says hello and pretty much runs to her room and shuts the door. Everyone at school is a little afraid of her right now. THat cracks me up ... and I don't blame them at all! Sam has been down now for 5 days. He is exhausted and unable to move a whole lot. We are suppose to be watching for any dangerous signs; rising temperature, rapid pulse rate, bluish nailbeds, etc... if so, then we are to take him to the ER right away. But... God is faithful. He had a good nights sleep (and still is sleeping). The little ones are wanting to play, Ri is still on the ill behaved side (I think it is the medicines and feeling poorly). But I am pretty sure we are out of the woods with them. Both were put on tamiful right away and both seem to have very little problems. Jacob is becoming a bit of a concern. His chest was really hurting him last night. He has had a horrendous headache for 8 days now. He seems to be getting worse everyday. Though his test was negative on Monday, I am pretty sure he has it now.

It is hard to be sad or upset about the flu being here. I figure God has answered our prayers. We were on the fence about the vaccination and now we don't have to be anymore. God has held all 4 kids in His arms and has made this "thing the media has made us all fear" something that really hasn't been too bad. In fact, I think I have gotten more sleep then I have ever had during any previous sickness! All 4 kids have slept in my room for the past 3 days. Mark has moved out of the room (anxiously asking when he can move back in... poor guy!) so that I can be right beside them and monitor them all through the night. Noone has had terrible fevers and none have had horrible restless/struggles at night. That is usually when the "fearful things" set in. I have had many nights with other sicknesses where I could hardly close my eyes because the kids were so sick and the worst part of those sicknesses were in the middle of the night when I was all alone with them. The hardest part seems to be trying to keep Ri and Elizabeth from running around. When they do, they begin coughing and wearing themselves out. It definitely is a virus that hits the lungs. All have had it hit there. I can surely see the danger in patients with underlying issues like asthma or conditions that cause them to be much weaker during illnesses then others are.

We have been so blessed by family and friends. I shared with you the help with the banquet. Yesterday, a good friend from church (who has the swine flu in her home), showed up with 2 bags of groceries to minister to our family. It was amazing to see her at our door. I know her situation and what she just went through.. and yet, she took the time to come to our house just to bless us. She is an amazing woman. In fact, her whole family is! Pray for her, if you will, she is battling some health issues which put her at very, very high risk with this flu. Then my mother-in-law and brother-in-law showed up with a basket of clothes she had taken home to wash for me and arm loads of snacks and such for the kids. The day before, she had showed up with tons of drinks and yogurt and rasberries. While she was here taking care of kids for me to be at the banquet, she had cleaned out my laundry room and did SEVERAL loads of laundry, washed, dried and folded! And took what was left home. When she brought them back, she took all the new loads. I am so blessed! (see why I view her as a saint?). And.. Thursday night was the night for college moms at our church. I have been longing to go, but missed the first 2. They meet once a month to pray for the college kids and make care packages. I wanted desparately to go, but the only night we could do the banquet was that night; so I was going to have to miss it AGAIN! My dear friend heard about the sicknesses in our home and called to tell me that she would make sure Emily had a package made up! SHe took a box, a card, and snacks to fill the box. THey all prayed for Emily and put together a care package (sorry Em... I might have just spoiled your surprise!). She dropped it off with another friend, they dropped it off at my house Thursday night, and then my in-laws took it to the post office for me yesterday! I am so blessed!!!

Well.. enough rambling. God is so good and so faithful! I rejoice in His grace in my life.

No pictures for now. I have misplaced my card reader and I have no way to download :(. So sad.

Erin's banquet was last night. She was awarded the honor of 1st team all OCC. She was very happy. IT was a nice evening. We had worked on the banquet plans for sometime. A good friend and I planned most of it, but with the influenza A in our house, I ended up having to leave a lot of it on her shoulders. My mother-in-law (a saint in my eyes) came and sat with everyone so I could go to the banquet. I really felt I needed to be there since it was at our church and since my not being there would land it all on Deb's shoulders. So I helped set up and stayed to the end and even helped clean up as much as I could... but Elizabeth had taken Ri's tamiflu (purposely because she had a fever and the doctor wanted her immediately on the medicine because of her health conditions) and had been starting with hives. I wanted to get home to her and I needed to pick up her medicine (tamiflu) before the pharmacy closed. When i left, we had SEVERAL parents pitching in for the clean up and a member of our church willing to stay around and supervise so that everything was ok. I am so blessed! Our church secretary called 3 men who were so kind as to come and set the banquet tables up so that I wouldn't have to leave Ri and Sam. I praise God for such great friends!

Sam is still wiped out. Yesterday was his worse day (feeling). He is exhausted just walking up the stairs (and very winded). Today, he feels like his throat is better, his back is better, but his lungs are worse. He feels like he can't get a full breath. It has been 5 days so far. He didn't go on the tamiflu until Wednesday. My timeframe of 48 hours was almost up when I finally decided to get him on it. It is possible that he had symptoms earlier and I missed the window of opportunity. I sure wish I had just put him on it the first day instead of "fearing" his reaction to the medicine. Yet, even in my decision, God is in control! Ri is so ill behaved today. I am attributing that behavior to his not feeling well. HE has slept very well both nights (I am praising God for that!!). His lungs seem to be ok. He has a lose cough, but definitely sounding like stuff is there. He does not have a fever yet today. Elizabeth is very, very clingy and tired. She looks wiped out, yet she has no fever this morning and is trying to play some. Her lungs sound more full then the others. She had a restless night, but never really woke up. I gave her 2nd dose of tamiflu this morning and so far, she has had no reaction to it. (ANOTHER answered prayer!). Jacob, I am confident, probably has it as well. He was negative on Monday (but so was Ri). I never had him retested just because the window period for tamiflu was over. His is different, though. He has a horrible headache (and has had one for almost a week). He feels worse each day. Poor guy.

Well, another adventure in the Miller home. I dare say that there is never a dull moment! Emily is doing well. She is tired, but I think she has stayed healthy. We have set her appt up with a neurologist, for her shaking, when she comes home on Thanksgiving break. I can't wait to see my little girl again!

Sometimes I just have to chuckle. I read my previous post in which I was really struggling with the H1N1 vacination. Well... my struggle appears to be over. Today, we were informed that Sam has influenza A; which means the likelihood is that he has the H1N1 virus. They are treating him as if he does. I giggle because I took him in and once again felt like an overprotective mom. We sat and had a strep test and an influenza A test done. We waited 15-20 minutes and our nurse popped her head in and said that it was negative so far, but they wanted to wait the full 15 minutes. There have been a few tests that have shown positive in those last few mintues. So we waited patiently. 10 or so minutes went past and she announced that he was negative to both. I was much relieved and somewhat frustrated because I thought I knew my son better. There are times I just know soemthing is wrong and when I get that "negative"... it makes me feel like I am some overprotective worrier. The nurse practioner prescribed Z-pack for his cough. She felt he definitely needed something for the cough. I found out later that it was bronchitis. So, being a good mom, I went right over to the pharmacy, waited an hour and had his presciption in my hot little hands. As soon as we got home, I made him take the first dose (which is a double dose); he was feeling very badly. Relieved to get some meds in him, I went about my business. The phone rang, Elizabeth answered, and it was the doctors office. The nurse quietly said that this isn't really funny, but kind of ironic... Sam's test showed positive for influenza A. Evidently, 10 mintues after we left, they had not thrown the test away and noticed that it was showing positive. Yikes... I'm very glad they noticed it.

Now... he will be on both tamaflu and z-pack. I am assured there is no problem with that. Just pray for him. Sam does have asthma, so he has been one I feared getting it. Ri has a temperature of 100 (under his arm) and a horrible cough. It came on quickly. And Jacob has a horrible headache, body ache and runny nose. They are both going back into the doctor this afternoon. So.. we are off and running in another challenge.

Please pray for us as we battle this sickness. Sam, Ri, Elizabeth, and I are all considered in the high risk category. But.. our God is mightier!