The last 24 hours have been….horrible.  The whole “it gets worse before it gets better.”  I’ll spare you the details.  The lowdown is, I only got about 2 hours of sleep last night.

I called the pharmacy to ask if this was normal and they said yes.  It can take a bit for the new meds to take effect.  Loverly. The pharmacist suggested that I take a Benadryl to see if that helped at all.

Boy did it ever!  It knocked me out for 5 hours, and alleviated the itching somewhat as well.

Mr. OverKill had a full day of work lined up today.  But he put all that aside to care for me and the kids.  After we talked this morning and I vented my frustrations, he took the kids to get himself some coffee.  By the time he got home, I was out for the count.  While I was a asleep he got me mostly caught up on my housework!  He and the children cleaned the house, cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, and got the kid’s rooms tidied up.

I woke up feeling a bit better, although somewhat groggy, to a clean house and a happy family.

What a blessing my hubby has been to me today!  This day would have been so much different if he had not chosen to stay home and care for me and the children.

I asked the Lord this morning to show me how:

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. – Psalm 25:10

Because I surely wasn’t feeling it!

This is a hard path, but the Lord has shown me much mercy today through my hubby and children.

Mercy – a blessing that is an act of divine favor. – Merriam-Webster

Well, today Mr. OverKill and I ended up back over at the Doc’s office.

The last I mentioned, I was waiting to hear if the Doc wanted me to start another antibiotic.  Since the symptoms of the bacteria had stopped, she felt like I would be fine not taking any more.  GOOD thing too!  When Doc recommended the antibiotics, she did inform me that it was highly possible that I could end up with yet another Candida yeast infection in my intestines.  But, it was a risk we had to take to get rid of that nasty bacteria.

Well, for the last 2 weeks or so, I have been having some rather painful itching, in various locations.  It is quite unlike anything I have ever experienced.  An itch to the point of pain, and if you scratch it itches worse.  Wow!  So, 7 weeks of diarrhea followed by 2 weeks of this itching has really gotten me down.  I feel like I am being hit on all sides!  Quite frankly, I could feel myself slipping into depression. Just keepin it real, ya’ll.

So, I called the Doc’s office yesterday and they decided, I needed to come in.

We think, according to my symptoms, that we are dealing with yet another Candida yeast infection.  This time, we are going to hit it hard with some prescription-strength anti-fungal, rather than more homeopathy.  The Doc chuckled and said, “I’m sorry to say this but, the main side effect of this prescription is…..diarrhea.”  Wow.

So, I am back to square one, except I have taken care of the parasites, the 2 bacterial infections, and have learned that I need to be extra careful with gluten. And, a positive, I have lost about 30 pounds which puts me over the halfway mark to where I want to be.

Now, let me just say, 9 weeks of this has taken a toll on me, not only physically, but mentally.  I am a wife, a mother, a teacher, and a homemaker.  None of which, I have been able to do with any sort of excellence over the last 2 months. But you know what? God is so faithful! Today I was reading a book (I will share more about it later when I finish :) and it was like the Lord was speaking to me! The author was talking about some struggles that she experienced and gave some verses that really helped her through.  They sure have encouraged my heart tonight, and so I want to share them with you.

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again
and lift me up from the depths of the earth.  – Psalm 71:20

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 (temptations is also translated “trials”)

And my favorite,

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. – Psalm 25:10

These will definitely be going on the fridge!  It’s hard to see this path being filled with mercy and truth, but I have to trust that it is.

I was also reminded that I started this year off with the theme in mind of “MakeOver” and set the goal for myself to become physically fit for the service of my Lord.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into!

So, for her birthday this year Tootle Bug wanted to go camping, back to Manatee Springs.  It ended up being kind of a whirlwind trip…..here’s the low down.

There were boys on pink bikes.

And critters visiting in the night.

Behind our site was the Great Green Sink.

An iPhone made them think, think, think!

And Little Man got worn out riding his bike.

There was “Let’s jump in!” followed by “psych!”

Nephews were tossed into the waters.

And there were lots of poses with daughters.

This one enjoyed being tossed around.

These two enjoyed acting like a clown.

A store-bought cake was just the thing.

And the guys tried to declare “I’m King!”

It was fun.

It was happy.

Yes, I know my poem is sappy.

Happy Birthday Tootle Bug!

The last few nights I have had insomnia.  Blech!  I haven’t been writing because I feel like I haven’t had much to say. My brain is all jumbled up by sleep deprivation and headaches related to sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation often makes me feel rather…slow, mentally.  I am craving sleep.

I have several things I want to share with you, but I am going to wait to post them until I can think a little more clearly.

Oh, and by the way, I did not get my garden planted today.  My loverly small town does not have ANY good seeds available right now.  However, I did find an interesting website that sells heirloom seeds.  I am toying with the ides of ordering from them.  I have always wanted to try my hand at seed saving, so perhaps this is my chance.

Now, off to try to capture some Zzzzz’s. Wish me luck!