Illness mars wedding trip

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Let me tell you about our recent trip to Ohio.

On Friday morning at 3:00, the driver of a Journey Tour bus started making its rounds, picking up four families, including our little tribe, in preparation for the seven-hour trip to Danville, Ohio, where we planned to attend a wedding of one of my husband Daniel’s cousins. Since we do not own or drive vehicles, it seemed like a wiser choice to go with a bus where all 18 of us would fit on, rather than hiring two drivers with vans. Of course I was delighted. Traveling by bus sounded much easier with five “car seat-age” children. The children were all excited about the adventure ahead. For the most part, the trip went well. We even stopped at a Cabela’s store in Columbus.

It almost seemed like a full-time job to keep everyone comfortable and the babies fed and happy. I kept telling myself that this trip isn’t for my pleasure, but to care for my family. We were all delighted to arrive safely in Danville, where we received warm welcomes from Daniel’s parents and siblings. Prior to our arrival, they had prepared the basement for us to sleep in, which I was thankful for. I knew our little ones would be quite likely to wake other sleeping family members if we’d be on the same floor.

The first night was a bit rough with Jesse not feeling well and waking time and again. Elijah was in and out all night, as well. “Just how much do little ones sense not being at home in a familiar setting?” I wondered. The next morning everyone planned to go to the wedding in my father-in-law’s shop. Jesse had enough of a cough and cold that we decided we’d better wait another hour and go a bit later. Thankfully as the day progressed, he was doing better. We had a nice day with family and friends, visiting with folks we rarely see.

By bed time, things weren’t looking the greatest. Jesse was constantly waking up, coughing and crying. I admit, by now I was feeling my lack of sleep from the incomplete night before and the night of traveling before that. Sometime after midnight, Daniel informed me that his stomach didn’t feel very good. Ugh. Surely we won’t all get that stomach flu that has been going around?! Once more I cried out to God, the only One who can really take care of us.

With Daniel being on the blink, I knew I could not depend on him to take a turn with Jesse, as he usually would. As baby kept crying, I became more worn out by the minute. My sister-in-law’s words kept coming to my mind, “If you need help during the night, just let me know.” I wasn’t too sure about it. I knew I would have to take Jesse with me upstairs in order to ask Mary to come. I was worried he’d get his strong voice going and wake others in the process. There was no way of leaving Jesse with Daniel. He was feeling too sick to his stomach. I wearily climbed the two flights of steps and softly knocked on her bedroom door. Mary was as kind as could be. As always, she was ready to do all she could. As she settled on the rocker with Jesse, he threw up. And I could hear Daniel downstairs doing the same. After a while, I was able to get a few hours of sleep before it was time to get up again. By then, my stomach was churning. “Oh no, I have to stay healthy to care for my family,” I thought. I prayed fervently that if it’s God’s will, I wouldn’t have to get real sick, or at least not until Daniel was better! It was no option for us to go to church, even though we really did want to do so.

As the day wore on, Jesse kept getting worse. “If only we’d be at home and could take him to his doctor,” I thought again and again. We prayed, asking God what we should do. Daniel felt like God was telling him that Jesse would be all right until we got home the next day, rather than taking him to another doctor in Ohio. I felt at peace to trust his decision. Throughout the day, I kept eating small servings every now and then to give me strength to keep going. And praise the Lord, I never did get very sick! Some of Daniel’s siblings were also not feeling well with the stomach flu.

Bless my dear in-laws’ hearts, they really did an outstanding job, doing all they could for us and providing us with various types of home remedies. May God bless them for it!

The trip back to Indiana was uneventful and in the days ahead everyone kept getting better. Good health certainly is nothing to take for granted, that’s for sure!

Our “adventures” throughout the trip remind me of what Daniel has reminded me of, quite frequently. “God wants our character. He wants us to be more like Him, so he uses difficulties, at times, to bring that about.”

Perhaps for this week’s recipe, I’ll share the Yoder family favorite, oven-baked omelet recipe. Daniel’s family has a tradition of having this omelet with pancakes for Sunday lunch. Unfortunately, we weren’t feeling well enough to enjoy it with them when we there, so I made it for Daniel once he was feeling better again.

DELUXE OVEN-BAKED OMELETTE

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

3 slices bread (cubed)

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup green or red peppers diced

1 cup shredded cheese, divided

1 /2 pound sausage, browned

1 /4 pound bacon, cut into pieces

Brown bacon in a large skillet. Remove bacon and lightly saute onions and peppers in bacon drippings. Add remaining ingredients, saving 1/2 cup cheese. Sprinkle on top once eggs are done. Mix together and continue heating on medium high stirring constantly until eggs are set. Or if you prefer, pour everything into a 9-inch pan and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until eggs are done.

By Gloria Yoder

Readers can write or visit Gloria at 10437 E. 300th Ave., Flat Rock, IL 62427.

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