Chicken Pox

Abby and Ryan both came down with the chicken pox last Saturday, April 17th. They've both got it good and proper, and it's been an adventure taking care of them. God has been very gracious and allowed me to be healthy, patient, caring, loving, and cheerful through it all so far. The kids have been troopers and have tolerated it quite well, aside from the occasional itching fit and meltdown.

In addition to the chicken pox, Abby has a bad ear infection, and Ryan has been cutting teeth and has a very runny face and bad cough. He had an underarm temp of 101.5 on Tuesday night, so I took him to the doctor on Wednesday morning. The doctor said that his ears were clear, lungs sounded fine, and throat looked fine, so the congestion, runny nose, and fever are all related to the chicken pox.

The doctor seemed quite tickled to get to see a "real" chicken pox case again. He said he doesn't see them very often anymore (it had been about 5 years for him), since most kids get the vaccine nowadays. He even took pictures of Ryan's pox so he could show his nurses, since some of them have never seen a real-live case before. Amazing, huh? I'm glad I could give the doctor this "exciting" experience of seeing my poor, afflicted kids. :)

I took a picture of my "medicine cabinet", which happens to be the end table by our favorite chair. We've spent a lot of time in this chair in the past week!

Randy and Abby "playing" chess on Monday night. Abby likes to steal all the horses (knights) during her moves. Randy is a good sport to even try to show/teach her the game at her age. They had fun together at least.

Here is what Abby's back looked like on Tuesday:


The kids were playing nicely together on Tuesday, so I was able to get some photos (finally!)


Abby telling Ryan to look at the camera ("Wyan, kook!")


Abby's face on Tuesday:


Ryan's tummy on Sunday. Both look a whole lot worse now!


I chose not to get the kids vaccinated against chicken pox, figuring that it is a normal rite of passage for all children, and that my kids should/would be tough enough to experience it the "real way". It hasn't been a fun week for sure, but it will be over soon and this part of childhood will be beyond them (and us!) for good. Not sure if I'll get the vaccination for the new baby. Now that I know what it's like, it'll be hard to choose to go through it again, although next time there would only be one child with the pox, not two little ones like this time. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, but God has been faithful through it all, just as He promises. And we've appreciated the support of our family and friends through this time (albeit from afar, since noone wants our germs).