Awful, horrible, no good, very bad....WEEK!

Gross, I know. just in case you wanted to know what hand, foot and mouth disease looked like!

Beware this blog post may not be uplifting!!!

I am usually a very positive person. I'm the one who if you ask how I am I say "great" and I usually feel like its very accurate. Not this week... Thankfully I didn't see anyone to ask me how I was doing, but if you are curious, I was not good!

On Tuesday I found a spot on Clare's tongue and knew it was hand, foot and mouth disease...again! I don't know how we have gotten it two times, but it is gross. The first time Clare had it was not bad, didn't last long, and we powered through. This time, this no good sickness took us by STORM! Clare developed blisters on her hands, her feet and all over her mouth (cheeks, tongue, roof of her mouth). Also from having it once already we knew there is no medication...just some motrin and tylenol.

Clare would scream "teeth hurt" over and over during the day, all day. She is an avid thumb sucker at night and not being able to suck her thumb meant she couldn't sleep. So she would scream for an hour, sleep for an hour and then wake up screaming again. The first night I rocked her for 3 hours, and the second night she slept with me while LD slept on the couch since he had to work the next day. She also did not eat one bite of food from Tuesday-Sunday. During the day we didn't leave the house and she screamed all day long. I normally have a very easy happy baby and she turned into a child I hope and pray I never see again. It was not pretty!

After 5, yes 5 days of this craziness her mouth started to heal. At this point we were both running ragged and by time LD walked in the door from work I was usually already in tears (and I am not a crier!!)

Last night Clare actually slept through the night and is sleeping peacefully now during her nap. Right now she is not sucking her thumb and if this sickness cured her of thumb sucking I may have to erase this post and call it all a blessing, but time will tell!

Here are some things I learned this week (in hindsight of course):

- No matter how blessed you are, and I am mighty blessed, you still have days that bring you to your knees

-When your kids get sick living 12 hours away from your mom is not a wise idea

-An almost 2 year old girl who has no sleep or food for 5 days should not be seen in public

-With God as my strength all things are possible, even when they seem incredibly overwhelming.

Today I am so thankful for my daughters sweet disposition, her joyful heart and her love for people. I know that as we bring another sweet little girl into our home in the next 2 months we will have difficult days...but God will see us through. I have no idea how I would make it through difficult times if it wasn't for His love and promises!

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9