TGIF

• A week ago I came down with a "cold." This, because there was no way, I, "the mom", could succumb to this flu and have our family survive. So I labeled it "a cold." And thankfully, the first part with fever and chills was pretty fast and not nearly as bad as it had been for everyone else. I kept going with life, even having people to the house on Tuesday night for home group. They had this thing too and one suggested that indeed, I too, may actually have the flu. The next day was wretched and now I seem to have progressed into bronchitis. I feel a wee bit better today than I did yesterday which is significantly better than Wednesday. I will survive. 
• Meanwhile, my Lenten commitments have been slapped down with the realities of a sick household. So here it is. For Lent 2011 we gave up HEALTH. Easter is looking really good. As for my focused prayer commitments and the proactive side of Lent, HA! But this has felt like Lent. 
• Last night Everleigh slept through the night for the first time since before she was sick. That was a gift. 
• Ben and I recently read a book on space exploration by Buzz Aldrin. He was fascinated and I decided to show him Apollo 13. We talked about how it would be scary but we knew how the story ended. He loved it. Through the whole thing he was fascinated by how Tom Hanks was playing Jim Lovell and was the "voice" of Woody in the Toy Story movies. At one point he said about the actor who played Lovell's son in the movie, "I bet he loves the Toy Story movies." I had to laugh.
• Everleigh has taken to walking around the house talking in an ongoing stream of what I'm sure are sentences. I can't understand her but she clearly has things to say. 
• Rep. Paul Ryan? Young, good-looking, economically-conservative, apparently fearless, and from middle America (Wisconsin). Hmmm.... The guy is my age. Anyone remember how quickly a junior senator from Illinois came on the scene? I'm thinking Ryan is a guy to watch.