Lots of traveling and a good ole childhood disease.

The last three days actually began on the 17th, when Abbie flew to Texas for her friend Noelle's graduation from Texas Christian University.

Congratulations, Noelle!

(PS. Noelle was in a teensy accident yesterday that sort of smashed the front end off her car. We're very thankful she's safe.)

After graduation, they drove from Fort Worth to southwest Tennessee (this was pre-accident), to Deb and David's house. Then Leah and Elijah flew there from Virginia on Monday (On Delta. Through Detroit. Does that ring a very recent bell?), and it was all one big happy family, except for Mike and I, who were still in Virginia (jobs are so inconvenient sometimes), and Ben, who was in Kuwait.

They got to see Sticky Bean (Leah made his new elf hat—he seems to like it).

They're starting him on math early in hopes of turning him into a genius.

Abbie loves Tennessee because she gets to play Annie Oakley.

And Bean decided he didn't want his clothes on. It all started two days before I got there, when he was running a low fever, between 100 and 101, and acting sort of cranky, which is really not unusual for the Bean. When Mike and I got there Thursday evening, Deb was getting him up from a nap. She brought him over to me and before I could even take him, I said, "What's up with the spots?" He had a bunch of little red spots all over his head. Within a few hours, they were spreading down over his body, and by the end of Friday he was covered.

We initially thought roseola, because some kids in our church have had it recently, but that's usually accompanied by a high fever. Same with measles. We settled on rubella, because his symptoms perfectly matched the ones we read on all the be-your-own-doctor websites. I love those things—they're like med-school-in-a-jar. So we think he has rubella, and Deb will be keeping him confined for a few days.

Anyway, he didn't want his clothes on. And he was a little cranky. Here he is with his Granny.

Okay, so he was a lot cranky. Isn't that an awesome face? Sometimes I feel like making that face, but it's a lot cuter on him.

Saturday we drove all the way home again and made it in just a little over 11 hours. I hate that drive. Got home to find snow still here, but melted enough that we could get in the driveway, for which I am most thankful. This week I'm going to buy a snow shovel just so it won't snow again.

And now it's a whopping 8:30 and I am SO ready for bed. Nighty-night.

Be thankful ~

Karen