December Blessings

I am counting my blessing twice today. The kids and I have been sick again. Last Thursday we were back into the clinic with sore throat and such. On Friday one of the kids came down with the stomach bug and then the rest went like dominoes. Brandon was sick on Sunday and had the worst of it. It took my husband three hours just to clean up after him. These are time when I love my husband tremendously. I was sick in bed and since he never did get sick he got stuck cleaning all the mess.
Also, this week we had a wee visitor of sorts. I spotted a mouse in the basement and about had a panic attack. We set some traps and caught the little booger a few hours later. The first year we moved to this house we had mice and it terrified me....I almost packed my bags and moved right back out. After two years of sealing the foundation and tearing out hanging insulation and cleaning every nook and cranny we finally were rid of them. It has been 8 years since I have had a mouse in the house. I know it comes with the territory of living in the country and occasionally they find there way in, but I thought I was finally rid of them FOREVER.
Today, I woke up with the determination to clean frantically. After sick kids and the mouse I was feeling a little overwhelmed with a dirty feeling. I scrubbed down everything today even cleaned under the washer, dryer, fridge, etc. I was just about finished when it occurred to me that I should clean in the heater closet, because if I were a mouse that might be where I would hide out. When I opened the closet door, I noticed black soot all over the filters and on the door. I just changed those filters less then 2 weeks ago and couldn't believe how dirty they were. I then got on line and researched about the soot and found out that it is caused by carbon monoxide. Oh, WOW! Seriously, I can't believe we are not all dead. We shut of the heater and called a friend of ours who owns a heating business and he told us we have a God that must love us very much. This got me to stop and think how grateful I was for that little booger of a mouse that some how found his way into our home, because if not for him I would never have opened that heater door for months. Blessings really do come in all shapes and sizes and even though we are not looking forward to forking out the cash for a new heater I am still counting my blessings. I know that God loves me and as long as I live according to his plan blessings will continue to come. I love my Heavenly Father.
The greatest part is that we will all start to feeling better real soon. No more headaches and sore throats.
Until next time,
Rhonda