During the Christmas season I did at least four puzzles, some new, some old. In a typical year, I do one or two over the Christmas break. This year I've done so many puzzles. The cats like to sit on the felt while we're working. They're helpful like that.
Here are some of the others we've done this year, and there were more I didn't take photos of!
Greg still wasn't feeling good, but he was in better shape than me on Christmas day. I managed to stay upright for the first part of the morning and ended up lying down on the couch by the end of present-opening. The kids were happy with their gifts and enjoyed the day at home, despite the disappointment of not being with other family. We facetimed with Mom and Dad M. at their house with Eric and Leah, and Mom and Dad A. came over later that day to say hello (they had both already had COVID the week before). It was a pretty low-key day.
On Christmas Eve the Wilsons took Kari, Joel, and Aubrey with them on a hike up in the snow on Mt Hood. Greg and Grant spent the day, sick on the couch, watching Star Wars movies. It was great for the older kids to have something fun to do, after yet more disappointment due to COVID cancelling our Christmas break fun.
We had some carolers stop by to share some Christmas cheer. :)
Trying to make the best of an unfortunate season, we decided to open the gifts from Grandpa and Grandma Arnold on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning.
We had our own birthday cake for Jesus after dinner, too.
Well, 8 days after Kari and Joel got sick, Greg fell victim. He was in denial until all of a sudden one afternoon, he couldn't taste or smell anything. I had him get tested (he was not pleased but it was for my peace of mind, so he complied), and sure enough, he tested positive. We had been having sick ones and Greg wear masks in the house whenever they weren't in their rooms, and I'd been vigilant about cleaning surfaces, but once Greg, the one we were most worried about because of his weakened immune system, got sick, I gave up. It was futile. We were all going to get it. The day after Greg got tested, on Christmas Eve, Grant came down with a fever. It was down to just Aubrey and I, but we didn't last much longer. I started feeling weird that evening, and I spent Christmas day lying on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep. Aubrey had a bad headache and was not feeling well on Christmas Eve, felt fine Christmas Day, but then COVID got her down, too, the day after Christmas. So, we managed to stretch out our illness to three solid weeks. It would have been nicer if we'd all been sick at the same time, but that was not part of the plan for us this Christmas. We made the difficult decision to stay home and not go to Mom and Dad M.'s on Christmas day as we had planned. Eric and Leah's family had already had it, but they had not and neither had Grandpa and Grandma M. We couldn't risk being the ones to get them sick. So, it was just us this year.
Kari and Joel recovered within a week, and Greg must have had a very mild case because he didn't feel too bad at all--never even had a fever. He was most angry about the fact that he couldn't taste anything. He went from having the bad chemo taste in his mouth, to not being able to taste at all, and then just as he was starting the meds again, his sense of taste returned. It was just wrong! He said, compared to chemo side effects, COVID was no big deal. It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose. Grant and Aubrey recovered within a week of getting sick. I was super tired but never had a fever either. I did end up with a sinus infection that dragged my recovery on to three weeks, though. Joel was well for a week and then started running a fever again. We took him to the doctor and had tests done, and nothing showed up. He must have just contracted another virus. It lasted a long time, though. He had a high fever for a week and a low-grade fever for two weeks after that. He had no energy and just didn't look right for what felt like a very long time. He finally perked up after three weeks, though. Poor guy. He was sick for almost an entire month!
So, now we all have COVID immunity superpowers for a few months at least!
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| Oreo sitting on me and keeping me company on my couch bed in the bonus room. I slept in the bonus room for a week to try to keep Greg from getting sick. It didn't work. |
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| The kids set up a liquid taste-test for Greg while he had so sense of taste or smell. He was able to identify the milk and eggnog, based on texture, but he didn't get gatorade or orange juice correct. |
All four kids enjoyed decorating their houses before Christmas one evening. They spent almost two hours on them, laughing and chatting together at the dining table. It was so nice to hear them having fun. All four of them were well that day. :) I did not make gingerbread this year. I bought the houses at Eagle Bargain Outlet for $2 each months earlier. They turned out to be awesome! I did buy extra candy decorations, but it was money well spent. We kept the tradition alive, even during COVID!
The same week Kari and Joel got sick, our oven decided to quit working. Greg took the broiler element out to test it and discovered it wasn't the broiler. It was the control board. I researched online and discovered there was an appliance shortage and the part we needed was backordered until March--three months away! I called local appliance stores and found out they couldn't get what we needed until March either--the control board or a new oven. I was getting very discouraged, trying to solve this issue. We need an oven that works! I finally was able to find one through Home Depot, and miraculously, they were able to deliver it later that week. I still don't know how this happened when NO ONE around could get us an oven. I think it was a gift from God. :-)
Mom and Dad masked up and came over to help Greg install it the day after it was delivered. Of course, it wasn't an easy install. They had to saw into the wall behind the oven in order to reconfigure where the hoses could fit, but they were successful, and I had a working oven again, before Christmas even!
