Eskridge Easter Dinner

We had Easter dinner today at the Eskridge's and had such a good time visiting with family......and the food was really good too. The kids had a great time. We also colored Easter Eggs today with cousins Jaden and Josh when we came home. They always have a great time with their cousins. I didn't get a picture of everyone that was there today because some of them left before I got my camera out. I hate it when I do that. Regardless, we had a great time. Love you family!

It's That Time Of Year Again!

Well, it's that time of year again! This picture was taken last week on Tuesday before Benji got very ill.

Keith and the boys mowed the yard and got it looking really good. It now needs mowing once again! I have a feeling that this is going to be another twice-a-week mowing season. The boys will love that..........but Keith not so much.

Spiderman & Spiderbaby

So glad to see Benjamin playing today. He wanted to be just like his big brother Jacob. Jacob was also very happy that Benjamin was feeling better so he would have somebody to play with. Needless to say.......Spiderman and Spiderbaby saved the day! In the last picture they are sitting at the kitchen table eating their morning snack of strawberries. I thought it was cute. This was a good day! Thank you Lord.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Benjamin is over the stomach virus...Thank You Jesus! ...............now we are dealing with a new illness which I told you about in an earlier post.......Croup. Benjamin had a really bad night with coughing attacks, but we managed through them. The coughing kept me and Benjamin awake from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. straight. Needless to say, we all will be taking a long nap today.
The good news is, Benjamin is not coughing alot at all so far today (I read that croup is worse at night) and he is eating and drinking and playing with Jacob. It's a beautiful day in our household today and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Weigh In Results (Week 6), Benjamin update and other stuff

I had a pretty good day today. The center where I weigh in was not seeing clients today but there was a note on their door that said clients could go to the north Knoxville center to be seen. At first I thought "how inconvenient", but then quickly realized that my sister lives over on that side of town.........so off I went. I called my sister and she came and met up with us and went running around with us. When I say "us", I am talking about me and Jacob. Yes, Jacob buddied up with me today and I loved it. He was extremely well behaved and caused me no problems (which is usually the case with Jacob). Benjamin on the other hand, bless his little heart, is another story. LOL!
Anyway, I lost .6 pounds today. Not a whopping amount, but I'll take it after the week I've had. I didn't lose much weight because I didn't eat much food......(No Brandi, I never had a cheeseburger!....LOL!). I know that sounds so weird, but that's the way their plan works. You have to eat ALL of the food they say to eat in order for the metabolic burn to happen. Anyway, with all of the stress I have been under, it's a wonder I ate anything. So, I am at a grand total now of 11.2 pounds lost. I'll take it!
As for Benjamin, he has been very weak for most of the day. All he wants to do is lay down. He won't play at all. He won't even smile. If I try and make him laugh, he gets very agitated and mad and tells me to STOP! He vomited in the middle of the night last night one time and so far that was his last episode. He has eaten more food today than he has for the past couple of days and he has kept it down. Yeah! He has also had alot of pee pee diapers which is a good thing because it tells me that we are not dealing with dehydration. Poor thing, speaking of dehydration, his little lips are peeling from when he was dehydrated on Tuesday and he is constantly picking at them. I hope we don't develop any issues from him picking at his lips. We are already dealing with a raw, sore butt from diarreah (yes, he still has diarreah at least two or three times a day). I gave him a baking soda bath tonight to soothe the burning and I am keeping Vaseline on him at every diaper change. He screams when I change his diaper.......so, all I need now is for his lips to start bleeding and get real sore from picking. There goes my anxiety.....worrying about everything that could happen. Anyway, to add to the drama........ I noticed this morning that he had a persistent cough. Since this whole virus started, the one sure way I knew that he was getting ready to vomit was he would start coughing first and then here he went......but today's cough was different. Yes, it made me nervous a few times this morning when he coughed thinking he was going to vomit, but he never did and his cough just kept getting worse. Well, as the day went on, his cough got worse and wetter sounding and he started sneezing and then his nose started running and here we are with a full blown cold!!!! I KNOW!!! Poor thing can't even get well from a stomach virus without something else hitting him on top of it! I am upset about it, but I can't do anything about nature's course and I hate it! I can say though, that getting out and running around with Jacob and Melissa really picked me up. I also went and visited my Mom after I got back from Knoxville and that helped alot too. My Mom made me laugh alot today (and you know what I'm talking about Mom.....LOL!) and that really helped my attitude. I was able to go back home and face life as it was being dealt to me with a positive attitude. The whole way home I kept reminding myself of the scripture in the Bible that says: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth". Psalm 121:1........ So refreshing. Anyway, I put the boys to bed tonight at 8:45 and they went right to sleep. I pray that Benjamin sleeps all night tonight as his little body needs sleep so badly in order to recover. Please Lord, no more vomiting.
On a positive note......... my darling, wonderful, and awesome husband has agreed to stay home with the boys tomorrow and let me go to church. I am so looking forward to that. That will really, really help me too. My husband is so awesome and I thank God for him everyday. Here on earth, he is my rock and my shelter. I depend on him for so much and I tell him often how much I love him and need him. I hope he realizes that. Thank you sweetie!
Please continue to pray for me and my family as I am praying for you and yours. Love you all!

I Can See Your Heart

Needless to say, I have been extremely stressed since Tuesday because Benjamin has been sick. I know it's just a stomach virus, and everybody gets stomach viruses but I don't handle things as well as most people. I have anxiety and little things get me stressed out when I should just take them in stride. I just don't deal with adversity very well and especially if it has anything to do with my children or my children being sick. I hate this about me and I am trying to work on it. Jacob has felt my stress as well and I feel extremely guilty for displaying my emotions so much that he feels it too.

Anyway, Benjamin had another vomiting episode this evening and has been crying ever since. I thought we were out of the woods and on our way to complete recovery, but guess not. He has been crying non stop and asking for foods like pizza. I am very stressed and my insides are just shaking. At times I find myself snapping at Jacob for no reason and I feel bad for that. Jacob has also had to take a backseat since Benji has been sick, which has been almost all week. Jacob has coped well with the situation at hand and has been nothing but cooperative and helpful to me. He is such a sweetheart. I have always said that he was born with a servant's heart. He is always so willing to lend a helping hand anywhere he can, and anywhere he can't. He offers to do things that he couldn't possibly do at his age. So sweet. Anyway, I digress. Back to my story. Keith always gives the boys their baths and then we each pick a kid to dress for bed... but tonight was different. Keith solely dealt with Benji tonight so I wouldn't have to deal with him because he could tell that I was falling apart because Benji was non stop crying (all through his bath too), and when he got Benji out of the tub, he asked me to bathe Jacob while he dressed Benji. I was more than happy to bathe Jacob because it would give me some one-on-one quality time with him that I have not been able to do much at all lately. While I was bathing Jacob I told him how much I loved him and that I was sorry that I hadn't got to spend much time with him this week because Benji was so sick and I thanked him for being so understanding and patient. His response was: "It's okay Mommy, I will help you with anything you want. I will do laundry and the dishes for you". My eyes welled up with huge tears and I said "Jacob I love your heart; it is so beautiful" and he said laughing "you can't see my heart" and I said "oh but I can my dear child" as tears rolled down my face.

Benjamin feeling a bit better

Benjamin is feeling a bit better today. I have increased his food and drink and he is keeping it all down. Yeah!! I think he is on the road to recovery now. He is still weak, but doing much better. He is actually walking around on his own now. I have had to carry him for 3 days. Oh my aching back! I am glad he is feeling better now. I am ready for life to get back to normal for a while (at least until the next things hits). That was a MEAN BUG!!!!! Thanks for checking in on us and praying for Benji. You guys are the best!