And a partridge in a pear tree

Oh, my friends. It was not a pretty night.

It didn't start out that way. It started out very pretty. Let's dwell on that for a moment:

Beautiful Christmas program at church. Greg and I got to do our Silent Night duet on trumpet and piano. It is by far my favorite thing I have ever played on piano. Ever. It makes me feel so musical, and like I have more skill than I actually do, lol. Plus it is just such a nice arrangement to listen to. :) The choir sang some specials and there were some great soloists. The kids all got up and sang Away in a Manger. This made me realize there are reasons to love going to a small church.

Dale got up to sing with the kids, even though he hadn't been with them for one practice. I watched him sing the entire first verse. I wasn't sure if he knew it or not, but he sang right with them, just like he knew what he was doing.

That is, until they got to the second verse. I felt so bad for him... I think he might have been embarassed. He didn't know the words and he started to wiggle around some and look around and he scooted all the way back against the steps behind him. But he recovered just fine. And I was still proud of him. :)

After church we got together for a (mostly) impromptu suppery/snacky gathering with my parents and grandparents. We basically just put out what Christmas goodies we have made so far, with a few extras. Good food, good time.

We got both boys into bed fairly easily, and that's where things started to go not-so-good.

I turned my lamp off between 11:45 and 12:00. That is late for me. At 12:30 Greg woke me up. "Dale is throwing up."

Boy, a statement like that can really get you moving.

So we go in together to see what we can do for/with Dale. At 12:35, Alan woke up. And threw up. Oh no. This cannot be happening.

I will spare you all the gory details, but Dale probably threw up at least 15 times between 12:30 last night and 8:30 this morning. At least.

I took night duty, thinking Greg would still go to work, but when Alan woke up (and threw up) at 5:30, it was clear this was not a day I could face alone.

Thankfully, Alan has been pretty much himself today, and kept his stomach contents to himself. I have charge of Alan, and Greg is taking care of Dale. Greg also puts the dirty laundry (which we suddenly have lots of) in the washer, and I take it from there. Pretty good teamwork, if you ask me.

Now if I could only clean the bathroom and get a nap....

And to leave you with more pleasant thoughts.... another Christmas video! :) I ran across this one on another blog and I just think it is so fun!