Happy New Year?

On the first day of two twelve the new year gave to me:   a broken heater in 20 degrees. 

On the second day of two twelve the new year gave to me: carbon monoxide poisning and a broken heater in 20 degrees.

On the third day of two twelve the new year gave to me: ?  We shall see what the 3rd brings. 



I've been telling my kids this is going to be a great year.  It has got to be better then last year right?  So what if we started out with some "adventures."

So after a wonderful Christmas week with my sister Terry in California, we flew back to Denver and drove as far as Cheyenne.  Bad winds, icy roads and some closures convinced me to hole up in Cheyenne and wait til New Year's day to finish the drive home to Casper. 

When we finally got home on Sunday afternoon our house was freezing.   The heater was broken. BRRRRR.  I called our maintenance man and he came and fixed the heater.  I was so happy to have heat.  Finally I started to warm up.  That night when I was about to go to bed (around midnight) Jacob woke up with a horrible headache...the worst he had ever had.  It was so bad I took him to the ER.  I brought Lynn with me but left Micah at home.  No need to make him stay up all night in the ER.   Apparently as we left Lynn saw micah getting some ibuprofin for a headache.  On the way out the door Lynn said she had a headache and felt sick to her stomach. I thought, " Oh no, We must have caught Terry's flu  (but worse!). I felt a little sick too as we headed to the ER. I was praying I wouldn't end up with a stomache bug cause I was getting a headache and a flutter of nausea in my tummy.   At the hospital it was packed and we waited for a long time (a couple of hours).  They were very sweet and let us wait in an empty consulting room away from the noise and brought in a matress for Jacob.  Finally we got in.  The doc came and started asking questions.  Lynn said Micah had a headache too and that she had thrown up in the ER bathroom.  Finally Jacob said that his friend Noah (who had been going to spend the night) had gone home because he wasn't feeling well.  The doc thought it was odd we all got sick at the same time and mentioned carbon monoxide.  (I love that doc).   A light bulb must have popped up over my head.  The gas heater was fixed  today!  How dumb was I to have not thought of it?

 I was really scared now for Micah and I shot up some prayers to my Lord on his behalf.  It was around 4AM now...four hours after I had left him alone so he could rest.  The ER called the fire department to go check on him and check the house for carbon monoxide.  I waited anxiously (Sorry Lord  I know I am to be anxious for nothing but I want my kids here with me!)  Finally I heard news.   Micah was sick and had thrown up but was consicous and they were bringing him in.  Yes the carbon monoxide levels in the house were very high.  We spent the rest of the night with the kids having oxygen masks on and getting blood levels checked for carbon monoxide.  Finally we were sent home at around 7:30AM.    I just thank God that He woke Jacob up with that headache and I took him in to the ER.  If it weren't for Jacob's plea that his head hurt more then it ever had, I would have laid down thinking I was getting a flue and gone to sleep.   God has a reason for us to be here today.  :)      So tonight, we camp in the living room with an electric heater  plugged into the wall (no fires aloud!).  In the morning the man comes with a new heater to replace our broken one. 

So what will the rest of the year bring?  I hope it isn't quite so eventful as the first two days.  A little adventure is all good, but some peace in between would be nice.  It's all in God's hands.  Romans 8:28 says all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.  I am glad my three red heads are safe and that God protected us from what could have been a horrible newspaper story about a family tragically killed by carbon monoxide while they slept New Years night.  It's not our time yet.  :)