We Gather Together...

Thanksgiving made for a fun and exhausting week at the Arnold House!!

My parents came in on Tuesday. Then my grandparents and my sister's clan came in on Thursday morning. We had 14 people for lunch that day. And throughout the course of the week, we managed to go through 13 lbs of flour, 3 lbs of Crisco, 3 dozen eggs, 5 gallons of milk and bake 34 lbs of turkey! It was a wonderful week!

The kids loved having their grandparents here and I enjoyed the help. Mom and I prepared the entire Thanksgiving meal. I don't think I've ever cooked so much in one week! My favorite new recipe is for Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie! Grandma even asked me for the recipe, so you know it's good!!

I was especially glad to have all of my mom's help because I wasn't feeling well most of the week. A few weeks ago I went to St Louis for blood work and it came back positive that I have the Epstein Barr Virus - the same virus that causes mono. So now on top of lupus flares, I can expect little "mini-mono" attacks as well, accompanied by lots of itching. It's pretty annoying, but it could be worse. I'm just glad that I know what it is.

I don't know if my life is just extra crazy right now or if the lupus is starting to affect my brain, which is usually does at some point, but I'm starting to forget alot of things - I get sidetracked very easily and I go to do something, but end up doing it slighty wrong. For example, I'll reach for something but end up picking up the item next to it on accident. On Wednesday, during all the baking and birthday cake making for Mom's birthday, I went to take a pain pill because I was hurting so much. For some reason, I took two. I know I'm only supposed to take one, but I forgot and took two. I had a hard time functioning the rest of the day after that. Please pray that these are just isolated incidents - too much stress, that kind of thing. I can't imagine how difficult life could get if this became a normal thing.

I'm feeling a little better this week. But it seems I've picked up a cold. It's not bad, but my chest is really hurting. Rick's afraid I may have bronchitis. But I love living with my own personal medic - he takes good care of me and he's watching me closely. We may go to St Louis if I don't get better soon.