{more}

Life lately has been {more} than I can handle.

And people's generosity has been {more} than I could imagine.

I'll start with the "life" stuff. The house, as you all know, had standing water in the crawl space. The water has been pumped out, and some guys came today to clean the gutters & deal with some of the landscape issues. This afternoon a guy is coming to re-caulk the bathroom to keep the slugs out for good and I am hoping that later this week they will send someone to dry out and scrape off any remaining mold on the underside of the floorboards, granted there is no dry rot.  So some things have been done, but in the mean time, things around here have been somewhat miserable.  The boys are sick of sleeping in playpens, which offer no support for their little bodies, so last night they slept in our $2500 bed while Josh and I each took a couch in the living room.  It's funny the things you will do for your kids when you are a parent.  Then the actual logistics of trying not to use their bedroom for clothes storage or anything-- and the house is just a mess.  Last night the boys were asking to sleep in their room. Poor kids. They don't understand.  And they've been so patient, so resilient with all the illness and changes. We've really been lucky.  The good thing is that they are healthy, and Logan's throw up the  other day was just a handful of times and we've had nothing since.  Josh is also doing better, just tired from "sleeping" on the couch.  I, however, am awful. I am nauseous, I am tired (no, exhausted), I have had a horrible headache and I am overwhelmed by the simplest of tasks-- starting the laundry, unloading the dishwasher...  I was blaming my symptoms on the mold. These are common effects of mold exposure, and being sick & pregnant does make me more susceptible.  But Josh challenged me to read the side effects of the Amoxicillin I am taking for my sinus infection and sure enough, those are also the side effects of my prescription.  So I have not taken any today. I can't stand my head feeling so foggy. It's miserable.  Since skipping two doses, my head feels much better, thankfully.  On top of all of the crap- the house, my symptoms, my exhaustion, this pregnancy- now I have a yeast infection.  This is how I start my vacation???

Now for the good.  Despite how crummy I have been feeling physically, emotionally I have been feeling very blessed.  People around me have been astonishingly generous and for that, I am grateful.  It started with Santa's Elf, whom I blogged about already.

After that Josh's sister Laura came by with a Christmas Care package for us.  It included Peppermint tea (which has worked wonders to control my nausea) and other herbal teas; a Neti Pot (which my doctor had suggested I buy, but which I had decided not to spend the money on), homemade treats (yum!) and a humongous bag of Christmas M&M's.  The Neti Pot could have made me cry. How she knew to bring that to me- I don't know. God, is all I could think of.  And oh, did it work wonders. If you ever have a sinus infection- invest in a Neti Pot. Those things are miracle workers! I swear by it now!

Then I went to work and in my box was a letter from one of my very favorite co-workers, Lisa Miller, who is an identical twin herself, and who helped me with the boys when they were infants and I was alone each night while Josh was in class.  In her card she included one of her favorite prayers:

"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may seek not so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen."

-St. Francis of Assisi
 And inside was an incredible gift for our family.  Lisa, thank you for your support, your love, your prayers and your friendship. It has all meant so much to me.


Then that afternoon I opened a letter with no return address.  
Inside was a typed letter that read:
 "CUNNINGHAMS,
THE LORD IMPRESSED ME TO SEND THIS TO YOU. BUY SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOUR LITTLE ONES. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS."
Enclosed was a whole stack of Christmas money for our family to make this holiday special.  I cried. The generosity of complete strangers astounds me.  When my friends are thinking of us, or contributing to our family- that makes sense to me. They are my friends. They know me. I know them.  But when people I don't know follow the Lord's calling to give so generously to our family- it just amazes me. 

And then, the topper, was Friday at work. First, the librarian gave me a Fred Meyer gift card and when I thanked him he said that I do so much work around there, and don't get enough recognition.  It felt as good to be appreciated as it did for him to think of our family during the holidays.  Then Keri, one of our kindergarten teachers, brought my boys the most amazing monster truck race track for Christmas morning as their gift from Santa. They are going to love it! Then Ashley, the one-on-one staff assistant in our classroom brought in a gift for each of my boys- a board game and the most adorable Thomas the Tank Engine Bridge set.  They are just going to love that one! And finally I was in our classroom, cutting out story books for two of our students at the end of the day when a whole load of my coworkers (both staff assistants & teachers) came into our room singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas!"  They handed me a box and told me to open it.  Inside were multiple gift cards and more donations for our family.  I sobbed. Then I hugged each and every one of those ladies.  I am so lucky to work at a place where I am so very loved.

I really feel that the Christmas spirit of giving is alive in those around me.
And it's a beautiful thing.
I hope to see {more} of that
in the New Year.